A Daily Personal Prayer Journal

(The Daily Personal Prayer Journal is a gathering of quotations from various sources, each of which might lead you to a quiet moment of prayer, of a sharing of love between you and God. Choose one and then use it as a springboard into prayer.)

May 1, 2026

Friday of the Fourth Week in Easter; Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker

O God, author of our freedom and of our salvation, listen to the voice of our pleading and grant that those you have redeemed by the shedding of your Son’s Blood may have life through you and, under your protection, rejoice forever unharmed. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Daily Thought from the Saints

"Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to Him, 'Lord, here I am. Tell me what You would have me do.' If He gives me some task, I am content and I thank Him. If He gives me nothing, I still thank Him since I do not deserve to receive anything more than that. And then, I tell God everything that is in my heart. I tell Him about my pains and my joys, and then I listen. If you listen, God will also speak to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen. God always speaks to you when you approach Him plainly and simply."

— St. Catherine Laboure

Daily Scripture Verse

"And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful."

Colossians 3:14-15

Day by Day with Mary, the Mother of God

May is a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. This is the month during which Christians in their churches and their homes offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration, and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne.

— Pope St. Paul VI

A Prayer from Notre Dame University

Rev. John Conley, C.S.C.

Heavenly Father, you have given Jesus authority over all your creatures, over each one of us. He exercises his authority by having become one with us in our flesh and blood, in our struggles and hopes. Help us to be so closely united with Jesus that our truest selves will be molded in Jesus’ likeness. Amen.

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("Thoughts from the Saints," Scripture Verse of the Day," and "Daily Meditation" are all taken from "Your Morning Offering" by The Catholic Company. "Daily Catholic Wisdom" is taken from CatholicWisdom.org.  The prayer comes from The University of Notre Dame's daily Gospel commentary. "

Father Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M.

A Franciscan Friar and Roman Catholic priest ordained in 1975, Fr. Lawrence has experience as a high school teacher (1970-1974, 1975-1979, 1986-1992), an itinerant preacher (1996-1999), an editor, and administrator. He has served as Executive Secretary (Secretary of the Province) for the Franciscans of the Sacred Heart Province, headquartered in St. Louis, MO (1979-1984), Associate Novice Master (1984-1986), Post-Novitiate Formation (1986-1987), President of the Board of Directors of Mayslake Village, Oak Brook, Illinois (1987-1989), Associate Business Manager of St. Peter's Church, Chicago, IL (1992-1996) and Master of Postulants (1999-2004). From 2007 to 2021, he served as administrator of CUSA - an apostolate of persons with chronic illness and/or disability. 

Fr. Lawrence also has extensive experience as an editor and proof reader. After 20+ years of teaching English in a high school classroom, he has turned his language skills in the direction of publishing and editing. 

Fr. Lawrence also has more than forty years experience of teaching English as a second language to natives of Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Austria, Vietnam, and Italy.

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