Come, Let Us Go Up...

Spend a little time reading in Isaiah. Ponder the promises of the Lord and the call to go up -- to his house of prayer....

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." Is.2:3

"But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord Says --he who made you, who formed you in the womb and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant...I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessings on your descendants." Is 44:1-3

"Listen to me, O house of Jacob,...I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Is 46:3-4

"Come near and listen to this: "From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there." And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, with his Spirit." Is 48:16

"In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer." Is. 54:5

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come tot he waters..." Is 55:1

For this is what the Lord says:...to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. ...these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." Is 56:4-8

Silence & Solitude

"I shall sum it up like this," the Pope said. "By withdrawing into silence and solitude, human beings, so to speak, 'expose' themselves to reality in their nakedness, to that apparent 'void,' which I mentioned at the outset, in order to experience instead Fullness, the presence of God."
--Pope Benedict XVI (quoted on ZENIT today)

Prayer: Radical Trust

"Turning to Lord in prayer involves a radical act of trust, in the awareness that one is entrusting oneself to God who is good, "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 86:15; cf. Joel 2:13; Genesis 4:2; Psalm 103:8; 145:8; Nehemiah 9:17). For this reason, today I would like to reflect with you on a Psalm that is wholly imbued with trust, in which the psalmist expresses the serene certainty that he is guided and protected, and kept safe from every danger, because the Lord is his shepherd. It is Psalm 23 -- according to the Graeco-Latin tradition [Psalm] 22 -- it is a text familiar to all and much-beloved by all...

"He who goes with the Lord even into the dark valleys of suffering, of uncertainty and of every human problem feels secure. You are with me: this is our certainty, this is what sustains us. The darkness of night frightens us with its moving shadows, with the difficulty it brings in distinguishing dangers, with its silence filled with indecipherable sounds. If the flock moves after sunset, when visibility is lessened, it is normal for the sheep to become restless, since there is a risk of stumbling or of going astray and becoming lost -- and there is the added fear of possible aggressors, who conceal themselves under the cover of night.

"In speaking of the "dark" valley, the psalmist uses a Hebrew expression that evokes the shadows of death. The valley to be crossed is therefore a place of anguish, of awful threat and of mortal danger. And yet the man who prays proceeds securely and without fear, for he knows that the Lord is with him. His "you are with me" is a proclamation of unwavering trust and sums up the experience of radical faith; the nearness of God transforms reality, the dark valley loses its danger -- it is emptied of every threat. Now the flock can walk in peace, accompanied by the familiar sound of the staff hitting the ground -- the sign of the reassuring presence of the Shepherd.

"This comforting image concludes the first part of the Psalm, and gives way to a different scene. We are still in the desert where the shepherd lives with his flock, but now we are transported to his tent, which is opened in order to provide hospitality."

--from ZENIT, quoting Pope Benedict XVI in the general audience yesterday.

Dominant Defect

"We cannot become discouraged at the thought of our faults and failures. The Lord knows full well what we are made of. He relies on time and grace along with our desires to improve.

"According to many authors of spiritual books, progress in our life of piety depends a good deal on our recognition and understanding of our dominant defect.  This is the defect which has the biggest influence on our behavior and thinking.  It typically becomes evident in what we do, what we want, what we think:  it can be vanity, laziness, impatience, pessimism, a critical spirit...Each person has his or her own path to holiness.  Some people require more fortitude.  Others need more hope or joy.  If we think of the interior life as a little fortress, then the dominant defect is the weak point in the wall.  The enemy of souls looks precisely for this area of vulnerability so that he can enter the fortress with relative ease.  As a result, we would do well to know this weakness.  We ought to ask ourselves:  What do we habitually have our hearts set on?  What worries us most?  What leads us to suffer or lose our peace or fall into sadness?  Most of the temptations we experience will be related in some way to this dominant defect.  This strategy is completely logical from the enemy's point of view.

"Progress in the interior life requires knowledge of this defect.  Let us ask God for his grace in overcoming it:  Lord, keep away from me whatever keeps me away from you.  We can repeat this prayer many times a day.  We should build up the firm resolution never to make a compromise with our defects.  The particular examination should be focused on the wearing down of the dominant defect.  In your particular examination you have to go straight toward the acquisition of a definite virtue or toward the rooting out of the defect which is dominating you.  We will find the strength to wage this life-long struggle in personal spiritual direction."  (from In Conversation with God, volume 5, pages 132-133.)

St. Michael, Defend Us

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the Power of God,
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Prayer to Take Authority

In the name of Jesus I take authority and I bind all powers and forces in the air, in the ground, in the water, in the underground, in the netherworld, in nature and in fire.

You are the Lord over the entire universe and I give you the Glory for your creation.  In your Name I bind all demonic forces that have come against us and our families and I seal all of us in the protection of Your Precious Blood that was shed for us on the Cross.

Mary, our Mother, we seek your protection and Intercession with the Sacred Heart of Jesus for us and our families.  Surround us with your mantle of love to discourage the enemy.

St. Michael and our guardian angels, come defend us and our families in battle against all the evil ones that roam the earth.

In the Name of Jesus I bind and command all the powers and forces of evil to depart right now away from us, our homes and our lands.  And we thank you Lord Jesus for You are a faithful and compassionate God.  Amen.

“Close your ears to the whisperings of hell and bravely oppose its onslaught.”   --- St. Clare (quoted in Magnificat, Sept. 2011 p.303)