St. Isidore of Seville, Ora Pro Nobis!

April 4 is the feast day of St. Isidore of Seville. Isidore is a doctor of the Church and, according to the CNA entry, is "the last of the ancient Christian philosophers and great Latin Fathers." He is the patron saint of the internet (appropriate for all bloggers!), and author of the first encyclopedia ever written. He died April 4, 636.

Prayer for the intercession of St. Isidore of Seville
(proposed) Patron Saint of Internet Users

Almighty and eternal God,
who created us in Thy image
and bade us to seek after
all that is good, true and beautiful,
especially in the divine person
of Thy only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
grant we beseech Thee that,
through the intercession of Saint Isidore,
bishop and doctor,
during our journeys through the internet
we will direct our hands and eyes
only to that which is pleasing to Thee
and treat with charity and patience
all those souls whom we encounter.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen

(Prayer from Catholic Web Resources)

Rosary of the Seven Sorrows

A combox question finally penetrated through my extra-thick cranium to the soft gray matter underneath. Russ asked whether a special rosary was required to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries.

There is, in fact, a version of the rosary that differs from the standard five-decade version that most of us know, and that version does indeed require a special set of beads. The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, also known as the Servite Rosary or the Dolors Rosary, is prayed on beads divided into seven groups of seven (as opposed to five groups of ten).

The basic mechanics are the same, with each mystery including one Our Father, and seven Hail Marys, but there is no Glory Be. Where the standard rosary begins with the Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, and three Hail Marys, the Rosary of Seven Sorrows begins with an Act of Contrition and prayer to the Holy Spirit. The prayers at the end are also a little different.

The seven sorrows are (1) the prophecy of Simeon; (2) Mary flees into Egypt with Jesus and Joseph; (3) Mary seeks Jesus lost in Jerusalem; (4) Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary; (5) Mary stands near the cross of her Son; (6) Mary receives the body of Jesus taken down from the cross; and (7) Mary places the body of Jesus in the tomb.

It’s always been interesting to me that two of the seven sorrows (the prophecy of Simeon and the losing of Jesus in Jerusalem) have corresponding Joyful Mysteries (the Presentation, and the finding of Jesus in the Temple).

The Rosary in Lent

My wife and I received an email from a friend who reads our blogs, asking whether the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary are prayed more often during Lent. The short answer is that they can be if you want them to be. Before the Luminous Mysteries were added by Pope John Paul II in Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the typical pattern was Joyful Mysteries on Monday and Thursday, Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday and Friday, and Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. When I started praying the Rosary, the Sunday mystery floated -- Glorious was the default, but if it was Advent or Christmas, it was Joyful, and if it was Lent, it was Sorrowful.

With the addition of the Luminous Mysteries, John Paul II rearranged the typical schedule.

According to current practice, Monday and Thursday are dedicated to the “joyful mysteries”, Tuesday and Friday to the “sorrowful mysteries”, and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday to the “glorious mysteries”. Where might the “mysteries of light” be inserted? If we consider that the “glorious mysteries” are said on both Saturday and Sunday, and that Saturday has always had a special Marian flavour, the second weekly meditation on the “joyful mysteries”, mysteries in which Mary's presence is especially pronounced, could be moved to Saturday. Thursday would then be free for meditating on the “mysteries of light”.

This indication is not intended to limit a rightful freedom in personal and community prayer, where account needs to be taken of spiritual and pastoral needs and of the occurrence of particular liturgical celebrations which might call for suitable adaptations. What is really important is that the Rosary should always be seen and experienced as a path of contemplation. In the Rosary, in a way similar to what takes place in the Liturgy, the Christian week, centred on Sunday, the day of Resurrection, becomes a journey through the mysteries of the life of Christ, and he is revealed in the lives of his disciples as the Lord of time and of history.

My personal practice will be to continue with the typical schedule, but John Paul II specifically noted that an individual is free to pray whichever mysteries meet his or her spiritual needs.

Prayer for Government Leaders

God of power and might, wisdom and justice,

through you authority is rightly administered,

laws are enacted, and judgment is decreed.

Assist with your spirit of counsel and fortitude

the President and other government leaders of these United States.

May they always seek the ways of righteousness, justice and mercy.

Grant that they may be enabled by your powerful protection

to lead our country with honesty and integrity.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

-USCCB Committee on the Liturgy

Praying for the President

Part of ritual of night prayers with the kids involves a litany of people for whom we ask God's blessing. We pray for our pastor, and our neighbor with cancer, and our President. I've thought a bit about whether we should ask for God to bless President Obama, given his apparent commitment to extending an unlimited "right" to abortion. I've concluded that we will continue to pray for our President after January 20.

I think that Russell Shaw put it pretty well in a recent column, which he begins by likening to the just completed season of the Washington Redskins football team:

Like Obama, moral conservatives also need to learn a lesson from football: Don't let your guard down on abortion with this administration or they'll probably go for the bomb. Hope and pray President Obama succeeds on many things. Hope and pray he fails on this. Work hard to bring that about.

Let us all pray that God's hand will guide the actions of our incoming President.

St. Paul, pray for us.

Prayer Before Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Lord God,

I offer this Divine Office to you, together with the adoration and praise of the angels and saints in heaven, as well as that of all the priests of your Church and all other consecrated souls. I present to you, holy Father, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, this chorus of prayer, made Holy in the Heart of Jesus and made one with His most holy prayer. May all the words of this prayer be acts of pure love, adoration, thanksgiving, satisfaction, trust, and surrender to your holy Will. Let this prayer be for my weak self a spiritual communion, an act of humility, and of perfect self-denial; and may it be a sacrifice of praise and glory to you, O Blessed Trinity.

Amen.

Prayer for Departing Troops

All-powerful and ever-living God,

when Abraham left his native land

and departed from his people

you kept him safe through

all his journeys.

Protect these soldiers.

Be their constant companion and

their strength in battle,

their refuge in every adversity.

Guide them, O Lord, that they may

return home in safety.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

- USCCB Committee on the Liturgy

The Music of Morning Prayer

Mother Theresa of Calcutta famously remarked that the fruit of silence is prayer. To that end, I have, on occasion in the past, tried to find quiet moments by doing things like turning off the radio in my car. I get uncomfortable in those moments. Rather than entering into conversation with God, it seems that after a minute or two, there's nothing happening at all: nothing in and nothing out.

I've also been on a silent retreat and found the experience to be very productive, spiritually speaking. At the retreat, I would return to my room after every meditation and write my reflections out. I found that in the writing, I was able to enter into the dialogue with God that was eluding me otherwise. It was after I shared this experience that someone suggested I start writing a blog. Whether that was a good idea or not remains to be seen.

Where I'm going with all this is that I've been saying Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours every morning upon rising. After saying the Invitatory, a hymn is sung. If I don't know the tune, I play it out on the piano (this is typically before any of the kids are awake). The rest of Morning Prayer follows. I've mentioned before in this blog that I really like breakfast, and for a long time, I would start preparing my breakfast in-between the psalms and canticles and readings, so that my Morning Prayer was all broken up. For the last two weeks, I've been saying the entire Morning Prayer before starting any of my breakfast, and I've been a little surprised by the result.

After I finish the prayer and begin preparing for my day, the hymn continues to play in my mind. The music in my brain continues the prayer and makes me reluctant to turn on the radio or television. The silence that previously caused me such discomfort is now a source of comfort.

Prayer Before Reading Scripture

Lord,

Inspire us to read your Scriptures and to meditate upon them day and night. We beg you to give us real understanding of what we need, that we in turn may put its precepts into practice. Yet we know that understanding and good intentions are worthless, unless rooted in your graceful love. So we ask that the words of Scriptures may also be not just signs on a page, but channels of grace into our hearts.

Origen (ca. 185-254)

K of C Prayer for Vocations

Heavenly Father, bless Your Church with an abundance of holy and zealous priests, deacons, brothers and sisters.

Give those You have called to the married state and those You have chosen to live as single persons in the world the special graces that their lives require.

Form us all in the likeness of Your Son so that in Him, with Him and through Him we may love You more deeply and serve You more faithfully, always and everywhere. With Mary we ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Sonnet to Our Lord on the Cross

I am not moved to lover you, O my God,
That I might hope in promised heaven to dwell;
Nor am I moved by fear of pain in hell
To turn from sin and follow where you trod.
You move me, Lord, broken beneath the rod,
Or stretched out on the cross, as nails compel
Your hand to twitch. It moves me that we sell,
To mockery and death, you precious blood.
It is, O Christ, your love which moves me so,
That my love rests not on promised prize;
Nor holy fear on threat of endless woe;
It is not milk and honey, but the flow
Of blood from blessed wounds before my eyes,
That waters my buried soul and makes it grow.

- Attributed to an Anonymous author
- Taken from Handbook of Prayers

Patron of Veterinarians

My nephew is taking his veterinary boards today, and his mother (my sister) asked me to remember him in my prayers. Being the Catholic that I am, I had to look up the patron saint of veterinarians. I was expecting St. Francis, based on the annual blessing of animals on his feast day in October. Instead, I was surprised to learn that it is St. Eligius. Eligius was apparently a metal smith in the 7th century who became a bishop. How does a metal worker become patron saint of veterinarians? Eligius liked horses. When he died, he left one to a priest. The new bishop took the horse from the priest. The horse got sick. The horse was returned. The horse got better. So now, he is the patron of all veterinarians.

As for the boards, I don't just want to pray that Kyle passes. I am confident that he knows his stuff, so I pray that he will remain calm, and that God (and Eligius!) will facilitate his memory, that he may recall his training and studies appropriately.

St. Eligius, please pray for Kyle.