Prayer of Thanksgiving for Graces Received from the Infant Jesus

I prostrate myself before Thy holy image, O most gracious Infant Jesus, to offer Thee my most fervent thanks for the blessings Thou hast bestowed upon me. I shall incessantly praise Thine ineffable mercy and confess that Thous alone art my God, my helper and my protector. Henceforth my entire confidence shall be placed in Thee! Everywhere I shall proclaim aloud Thy mercy and generosity, so that Thy great love and the great deeds which Thou dost perform through this miraculous image may be acknowledged by all. May devotion to Thy holy infancy increase more and more in the hearts of all Christians, and may all who experience Thine assistance persevere with me in showing inceasing gratitude to Thy most holy infancy, to which be praise and glory forever. Amen.

Powerful Novena to the Infant Jesus

(In cases of great urgency, a novena of nine hours may be made instead of nine days. The prayers should , if possible, be repeated at the same time every hour for nine consecutive hours.)

O Jesus, Who hast said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened unto you," through the intercession of Mary, Thy most holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted.

(Mention you request here.)

O Jesus, Who hast said, "All that you ask from the Father in My Name He will grant you," through the intercession of Mary, Thy most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask Thy Father in Thy Name that my prayer will be granted.

(Mention your request here.)

O Jesus, Who hast said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away," through the intercession of Mary, Thy mosy holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.

(Mention your request here.)

And then pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

The Miracle Prayer

Lord Jesus, I come before You just as I am. I am sorry for all my sins. I repent of my sins; forgive me. In Your name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I give You my entire self, the evil spirits and all their works, I give You my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I invite You into my life, Jesus, I accept You as my Lord, God and Saviour. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul and spirit. Come, Lord Jesus, cover me with Your Prceious Blood and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I love You, Lord Jesus, I praise You, Jesus. I thank You, Jesus, I shall follow You every day of my life. Amen.

In Memory

We may not walk to the martyr's stake,

but we must walk in the master's steps.

After a long winter, a local newspaper celebrated the first summerlike day with a photo of a young man stretched out under the warm sun. He was wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, blue jeans, and a sleeveless shirt. One hand rested on his foreheaf and the other balanced a radio on his stomach. This was obviously his kind of day.

But there was more to the picture. The man was relaxing lazily on top of a larhe monument in a veteran's memorial park. On the marker were the names of 225 soldiers who had died for their country. As I looked at the photo, I realized that brave men and women had given their lives so that he could enjoy his.

This reminds me of the many gallant servants of God who willingly made the supreme sacrifice so that we could hear the gospel. They went from house to house, city to city, and continent to continent with the good news. Their testimony, often sealed in blood, made it possible for us to bask in the warmth of God's love.

Let's pause to remember the great price paid by our spiritual forefathers. Then let's ask ourselves if we are wiling to do the same for our children. May we determine to stand for Christ faithfully in life and in death. - MRD II

Spring Beauty

The Bible - Eternal Truth

and never-fading beauty.

As we strolled the woods together, my 9-year-old grand-daughter taught me something about plants. I had scarcely noticed, until Kelsey pointed out, that the forest floor was painted light pink with thousands of tiny flowers. "Thos eare spring beauties," she informed me. She went on to show me dogtooth violets, Dutchman's-breeches, and trillium.

After Kelsey called my attention to the wildflowers, I saw them everywhere. What a delicate beauty they brought to the landscape! And what interest and delight a young girl and her grandfather could share!

"If we come back in a week or so," I commented, "these flowers will be all gone. They're beautiful, but they last only a short time. We'll all jave to wait till next year to see them again." Kelsey already knew that. She had studied the seasons in school.

What Kelsey didn't know is what wildflowers teach us about the Bible. The flowers last a few days and are gone, Isaiah told us, but the Word of God lasts forever.

God's Word never fades, dries up, or blows away. Its treasures are there for us to appreciate each day.

Have you taken a walk through God's Word lately? Did you catch the beauty and majesty there? -DCE

Clean Up The Environment

Help stamp out pollution -

Clean up your speech!

What a frustrating problem pollution is! Everybody suffers from it, yet everybody contributes to it.

Pollution takes many forms, but one type is often overlooked. Charles Swindoll calls it "verbal pollution", passed around by grumblers, complainers, and criticizers. "The poison of pessimism," Swindoll writes, "creates an atmosphere of wholesale negativism where nothing but the bad side of everything is emphasized."

A group of Christian friends became concerned about this form of pollution and their personal part in it. So they made a pact to avoid critical words for a whole week. They were surprised to find how little they spoke! As they continued the experiment, they actually had to relearn conversation skills.

In Ephesians 4, Paul called believers to that sort of decisive action. He said we are to "put off" the old self and it's conduct that grieves the Holy Spirit and "put on" the new self that builds up others. As we rely on the help of the Spirit, we can make those changes in our conduct, our thinking, and our speaking.

If we want to be rid of verbal pollution, we must choose to change and ask for God's help. It's a great way to start cleaning up our spiritual environment. -JEY

Love Hurts!

Nothing costs as much as loving

except not loving.

"Sometimes love sure hurts!" The mother and father were expressing the difficulties and heartaches of guiding their children through their teen years. "Maybe if we didn't love them quite so much it wouldn't be so hard," the husband added.

Even though love brings pain and sorrow, what would life be without it? In his book "The Four Loves", C.S. Lewis wrote:

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness...... The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers ...... of love is hell."

To love is to take risks, to expose our hearts. Sometimes it hurts! It hurt Christ, but He kept on loving, even at the cost of His life. He commanded us, "Love one another as I have loved you."

We must keep loving that spouse, that teenager, that neighbor, that co-worker. It is Christlike -  and it's better than locking your heart in a coffin of self-centeredness. - DCE