O Holy Spirit of God, abide with us;
inspire all our thoughts;
pervade our imaginations;
suggest all our decisions;
order all our doings.
Be with us in our silence and in our speech,
in our haste and in our leisure,
in company and in solitude,
in the freshness of the morning and
in the weariness of the evening;
and give us grace at all times humbly to rejoice
in Thy mysterious companionship.
Prayer of Intercession for the Feast of PentecostO living God, come and make our souls temples of thy Spirit.
Sanctify us, O Lord!
Baptize thy whole Church with fire, that the divisions soon may cease, and that it may stand before the world as a pillar and buttress of thy truth.
Sanctify us, O Lord!
Grant us all the fruits of thy Holy Spirit: brotherly love, joy, peace, patience, goodwill and faithfulness.
Sanctify us, O Lord!
May the Holy Spirit speak by the voice of thy servants, here and everywhere, as they preach thy word.
Sanctify us, O Lord!
Send thy Holy Spirit, the comforter, to all who face adversity, or who are the victims of men's wickedness.
Sanctify us, O Lord!
Preserve all nations and their leaders from hatred and war, and build up a true community among nations, through the power of thy Spirit.
Sanctify us, O Lord!
Holy Spirit, Lord and source of life, giver of the seven gifts,
Sanctify us, O Comforter.
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, Spirit of counsel and strength,
Sanctify us, O Comforter.
Spirit of knowledge and devotion, Spirit of obedience to the Lord.
Sanctify us, O Comforter.
(Prayer of Taize Community)
The "Did You" of Christ
Did you give him a lift? He's a brother of man,
And bearing about all the burden he can.
Did you give him a smile? He was downcast. and blue,
And a smile would have helped him to battle it through.
Did you give him your hand? He was slipping downhill,
And the world, so I fancied, was using him ill.
Did you give him a word? Did you show him the road,
Or did you just let him go on with his load?
Do you know, what it means to be losing the fight,
When a lift just in time might set everything aright?
Do you know what it means just a clasp of the hand,
When a man's borne about all a man ought to stand?
Did you ask what it was, why the quivering lip?
Why the half-suppressed sob and the scalding tears drip?
Were you brother to him when the time came of need?
Did you offer to help him or didn't you heed?
Best Time of My Life
It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty. I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me.
My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine years old and in terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day, he noticed I wasn't full of my usual vitality and asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas' age, so I asked him, "What was the best time of your life?"
Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, "Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer to your philosophical question:
"When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life."
"When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life."
"When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life."
"When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life."
"The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time of my life."
"When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life."
"When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life."
"And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life."
~ Author Unknown ~
The Ten Most Wanted Men
The man who puts God's business above any other business.
The man who brings his children to church rather than sending them.
The man who is willing to be the right example to every boy he meets.
The man who thinks more of his Sunday school class than his Sunday sleep.
The man who measures his giving by what he has left, rather than by the amount he gives.
The man who goes to church for Christ's sake rather than for himself or for someone else.
The man who has a willing mind rather than a brilliant mind.
The man who has a passion to help rather than a passion to be helped.
The man who can see his own faults before he sees the faults of others.
The man who is more concerned about winning others for Christ than he is about winning worldly honor.
May 15 - Jesus Calling
Spending time alone with Me is essential for your well-being. It is not a luxury or an option; it is a necessity. Therefore, do not feel guilty about taking time to be with Me. Remember that Satan is the accuser of believers. He delights in heaping guilt feelings upon you, especially when you are enjoying My Presence. When you feel Satan’s arrows of accusation, you are probably on the right track. Use your shield of faith to protect yourself from him. Talk with Me about what you are experiencing, and ask Me to show you the way forward. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to Me, and I will come near to you.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. “For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”
—Revelation 12:10
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
—Ephesians 6:16
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
—James 4:7–8
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