1. Starting at the very beginning of my list is the devotion I always pray at the beginning of my day: The Morning Offering. How simply wonderful it is to promise God every moment of my day to use as He sees fit. All that I am and all that I have is a blessed gift from Him and so I give it all back to Him with joy in my heart. I ask that He use the thoughts and events of my day for the intentions of the Pope, for priests and vocations and for the spirituality of my family. "I belong completely to You, O God, take me, all of me, and use me for Your benefit. Amen."
2. I often attend Eucharistic Holy Hours as my way of offering adoration to the Lord and uniting my intentions with those of the others gathered at the Holy Hours. I enjoy these hours of adoration as a silent group with occasional vocal prayers and lots of incense more than adoration on my own. Maybe it's because I grew up with lots of siblings and I now have lots of children that I enjoy having a crowd around me when I pray, I'm not sure, but you say Holy Hour and I'm there! I could add that the same theory applies to the rosary...I prefer to pray it with fellow parishioners before daily Mass and with my sisters and nieces at our once-a-month rosary gatherings than to pray it by myself.
3. Now the Stations of the Cross is just the opposite. This devotion is one that I like to pray when I am alone, and the version by St. Alphonsus Liguori is my all-time favorite. Whenever I get a chance, I like to pray this version at an outdoor stations where it almost feels as if I am actually walking the way with the Lord.
"My Lord, Jesus Christ, You have made this journey to die for me with unspeakable love; and I have so many times ungratefully abandoned You. But now I love You with all my heart; and, because I love You, I am sincerely sorry for ever having offended You. Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany You on this journey. You go to die for love of me; I want, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of You. My Jesus, I will love and die always united to You."
4. Is it considered a devotion to light candles? If so, count me in! That flickering light on the blessed candle that continues my prayer long after I have left the church until it burns out with a whiff of sweet scented wax brings me so much comfort and peace.
5. Consecrations are another devotion with the lingering effects that carry me in prayer for much longer than the actual moment of Consecration. Last fall I had the honor of Consecrating myself to Jesus through Mary via St. Louis de Montfort. The prayer from the Crown of Mary continues to resound in my heart as I prepare to receive the Lord in Holy Communion each day..."Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, rejoice a thousand times!" It's almost time for me to begin my preparation to reconsecrate myself this year and I am greatly looking forward to it.My family and I recently consecrated ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well, in a very informal way, but I can never look at the picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that hangs on my living room wall in the same way, for now, my heart explodes with love and gratitude at the sight of that divine image.
I will pass this MEME on to the following bloggers:
Jeff at Secret Harbor
Linda at Don't Poke the Baby
Autumn at Autumn's Leaves
Tiffany at Family at the Foot of the Cross
Elizabeth at 100th Lamb
Just in case you're interested in following what happened to that meme, and how it mutated, come on over and check it out!
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking Anne!
ReplyDelete1. Divine Office - Usually the 1962 Breviarium Romanum. Matins, Lauds and Vespers are chanted in Latin while the remaining hours are recited in Latin.
2. Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary - also found in the 1962 Breviarium Romanum and usually precedes the corresponding hour of the Divine Office - the Carthusian way :-). It is recited in Latin.
3. The very simplistic act of sitting in silence listening for the whispers or movements of the Spirit. Many challenges in this form of prayer, however, such as concupiscence, temptations from within, and one's own struggle to be interiorly quiet.
4. Lection Divina - reading the Scriptures prayerfully.
5. Office of the Dead - also found in the 1962 Breviarium Romanum. It is recited in Latin and offered for the souls in purgatory. This Office is not prayed daily but weekly - again, the Carthusian way of doing things.
Thanks for the list Jeff! It's totally you, Carthusian to the core!
ReplyDeleteI like your comments about listening to the whispers of the Spirit. I agree that it is definitely a challenge to silence all the interior noise!
Thanks, Anne. Now I see how it works. I will try to come up with my five in the next few days.
ReplyDeleteWow, I like yours, Anne. Many wonderful things have happened when I lit candles, and Holy Hours are not said nearly enough. They are somewhat rare around my neighborhood. And stations of the cross outside, wow! I love the experience at Holy Hill near Milwaukee Wisconsin, with it's bigger than life outside stations. I used to stop on the way to my parents house and just walk through them in the beautiful setting. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteDear DNBA,
ReplyDeleteI've been to Holy Hill many times-it is a wonderful walk! There are also several convents in Milwaukee that have outdoor stations and I enjoy having them so close to home so that I can be a frequent visitor.
I made a mini-pilgimage to LaCrosse, WI last year to see Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine and the outdoor stations there are also very lovely!
Thank you so much for tagging me :)
ReplyDeleteI have been away for the last week, so am just getting back into things, but will do mine soon. I have added you to my blogroll, too :)
God bless, Autumn xx
Yikes, I am challenged. I will work on this.
ReplyDelete