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.)

April 30, 2024

Daily Thought from the Saints

"Commitment is doing what you said you would do, after the feeling you said it in has passed."

— St. Camillus

Daily Scripture Verse

"If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Matthew 6:14-15

Daily Meditation

"The soul, who is lifted by a very great and yearning desire for the honor of God and the salvation of souls, begins by exercising herself, for a certain space of time, in the ordinary virtues, remaining in the cell of self-knowledge, in order to know better the goodness of God towards her. This she does because knowledge must precede love, and only when she has attained love, can she strive to follow and to clothe herself with the truth. But, in no way, does the creature receive such a taste of the truth, or so brilliant a light therefrom, as by means of humble and continuous prayer, founded on knowledge of herself and of God; because prayer, exercising her in the above way, unites with God the soul that follows the footprints of Christ Crucified, and thus, by desire and affection, and union of love, makes her another Himself."

— St. Catherine of Siena

Daily Catholic Wisdom

Faith never comes into being without love and cannot exist without love; at most it could be a dead relic in sin. In contrast to this, love can be the beginning of something even without faith, for love always contains the seed of insight, even though one may not yet know what the seed contains.

—Adrienne von Speyr
from her book, “Water and Spirit”

A Prayer

Rev. Michael Belinsky, C.S.C.

Dear God, our campus, our neighborhoods, our world longs for the peace that can only come from you. Help us to place our cares and our hearts in your hands. Your Son taught us to trust in you and the mystery of the cross. Help us when we are afraid to trust in you and your promise of new life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!

The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL

Acts 14:25-27

Reading

After proclaiming the word at Perga [Paul and Barnabas] went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished. And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Meditation

When we come together, our conversation can be too filled with negativity. In contrast, when Paul and Barnabas are gathered with fellow believers, they report the good things that God has done. What if our conversation were more mindful of God's good doings, and less filled with grumbling, cynicism, despair, or other forms of negativity? Would this make us more hope-filled in the Lord and better workers for Him?

Prayer

Lord, while there are many bad things in this world and we need to address them at times, still keep me mindful of the good You are doing in our midst. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Contemplation…

Daily Thought from the Saints

"Commitment is doing what you said you would do, after the feeling you said it in has passed."

— St. Camillus

Daily Scripture Verse

"If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Matthew 6:14-15

Daily Meditation

"The soul, who is lifted by a very great and yearning desire for the honor of God and the salvation of souls, begins by exercising herself, for a certain space of time, in the ordinary virtues, remaining in the cell of self-knowledge, in order to know better the goodness of God towards her. This she does because knowledge must precede love, and only when she has attained love, can she strive to follow and to clothe herself with the truth. But, in no way, does the creature receive such a taste of the truth, or so brilliant a light therefrom, as by means of humble and continuous prayer, founded on knowledge of herself and of God; because prayer, exercising her in the above way, unites with God the soul that follows the footprints of Christ Crucified, and thus, by desire and affection, and union of love, makes her another Himself."

— St. Catherine of Siena

Daily Catholic Wisdom

Faith never comes into being without love and cannot exist without love; at most it could be a dead relic in sin. In contrast to this, love can be the beginning of something even without faith, for love always contains the seed of insight, even though one may not yet know what the seed contains.

—Adrienne von Speyr
from her book, “Water and Spirit”

A Prayer

Rev. Michael Belinsky, C.S.C.

Dear God, our campus, our neighborhoods, our world longs for the peace that can only come from you. Help us to place our cares and our hearts in your hands. Your Son taught us to trust in you and the mystery of the cross. Help us when we are afraid to trust in you and your promise of new life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!

The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL

Acts 14:25-27

Reading

After proclaiming the word at Perga [Paul and Barnabas] went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished. And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Meditation

When we come together, our conversation can be too filled with negativity. In contrast, when Paul and Barnabas are gathered with fellow believers, they report the good things that God has done. What if our conversation were more mindful of God's good doings, and less filled with grumbling, cynicism, despair, or other forms of negativity? Would this make us more hope-filled in the Lord and better workers for Him?

Prayer

Lord, while there are many bad things in this world and we need to address them at times, still keep me mindful of the good You are doing in our midst. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Contemplation…

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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.  from  The prayer comes from The University of Notre Dame's daily Gospel commentary. "The Abbot's Daily Lectio Divina" is written by Abbot Austin Murphy of St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, IL.)


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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