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                     A PRIEST

     To live in the midst of the world
             without wishing its pleasures;
     To be a member of each family,
             yet belonging to none;
     To share all suffering;
             to penetrate all secrets;
     To heal all wounds;
             to go from men to God
             and offer Him their prayers;
     To return from God to men
             to bring pardon and hope;
     To have a heart of fire for Charity,
             and a heart of bronze for Chastity
     To teach and to pardon,
             console and bless always.
     My God, what a life;
             and it is yours,
             O priest of Jesus Christ.

                                     —Lacordaire

SERENITY PRAYER

God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen
-- Reinhold Neibuhr

PADRE PIO'S PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You.
You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so
often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for
You, a nest of Love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes,
death, judgement, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will
not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I
fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You,
my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of bread, so that the Eucharistic
Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the
unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not
by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but, the
gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for. Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your
Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and
more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You
perfectly during all eternity.

Amen

THE MEMORARE

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known
that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or
sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this
confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother, to you I
come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the
Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear
and answer me. Amen.

                                       PRAYER OF SURRENDER

Lord, Jesus Christ, I ask the grace to accept the sadness in my heart, as Your will for
me, in this moment. I offer it up, in union with Your sufferings, for those who are in
deepest need of Your redeeming grace. I surrender myself to Your Father’s will, and I
ask You to help me to move on to the next task that You have set for me.

Spirit of Christ, help me to enter into a deeper union with you. Lead me away from
dwelling on the hurt I feel:
  to thoughts of charity for those who need my love,
  to thoughts of compassion for those who need my care, and
  to thoughts of giving to those who need my help.

As I give myself to You, help me to provide for the salvation of those who come to me
in need.
  May I find my healing in this giving.
  May I always accept God’s will.
  May I find my true self by living for others in a spirit of sacrifice and suffering.
  May I die more fully to myself, and live more fully in You.

As I seek to surrender to the Father’s will, may I come to trust that He will do
everything for me.

                                                                                      Father Walter Ciszek, S.J.

GOD’S PLAN

Whatever did not fit in with my plan did lie within the
plan of God.

I have an ever deeper and firmer belief that nothing is
merely an accident when seen in the light of God, that
my whole life down to the smallest detail has been
marked out for me in the plan of Divine Providence
and has a completely coherent meaning in God’s all-
seeing eyes.

And so I am beginning to rejoice in the light of glory
wherein this meaning will be unveiled to me.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross