Write Non Fiction In November : #WNFIN Day 13
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We are living in interesting times politically. If our prophets are to be believed, it is part of a shaking by God to remove corruption so that the structures of the culture of death can be undone and the structures of a culture of life rebuilt.

In our nation a citizenship scandal has been unfolding, and several electorates are facing by-elections because their former representative was technically a dual citizen of another country at the time of his/her election. Given just how much post WW2 migration there was to this country, and how many children of those brave immigrants are now of an age to be politically engaged, it isn't really surprising. What is surprising is that no one really took this part of the Constitution seriously until now.

Out of this process three options are possible. The emergence of worse leadership, the emergence of 'more of the same' leadership, and the emergence of new leaders with good morals whom we'd be happy to vote for. What is the only way of ensuring that we get the third option – lots of prayer!

I'm desperately unhappy about the current leadership of our major political parties. I'd love to be able to vote for a political leader who had both the vision and the capability to put the needs of the weakest and most vulnerable first.

Knowing that God's providence goes before us, we have to believe that there are good leaders waiting in the wings, ones who have a particular calling from God on their lives for this very purpose. They probably don't look like much at the moment (think David, Gideon, Joshua and Elisha) but God knows that they are capable of great good. They don't even have to be believers (think Cyrus).

These are the ones we should be praying for now, the ones that have been in God's preparation rooms for a while - and if there is sufficient prayer – who will soon be in leadership. Of this we can be sure, that the enemies of God have them in their sights and are trying to keep them hidden and considered of no account.

These chosen leaders need our prayers now. They will need our prayers later too, but now is a particularly important time to pray, especially as the political landscape gets more fluid and turbulent. In fact, every time you pray for our leaders (which you are already doing as per St Paul's exhortation in 1 Tim 2:1-3) you should pray for their successors as well.

Enough talking, let's pray….

Heavenly Father each day we pray as Jesus Your Son taught us, and pray that Your kingdom may come. He asked us to pray it, so You must very much want to answer it. Forgive us for not being as passionate about Your kingdom as You are.

To usher in Your kingdom we need leaders after Your own Heart. We need the new David's, Moses's, Joseph's and Solomon's, but without the moral weaknesses that undid so much of their good work.

Only You, Lord God, can raise them up to accomplish Your whole purpose. Only You, Lord God, can bring to nothing all the delays and obscurifications of the enemy. Only You, Lord God can give them the Wisdom that sits by Your side. Only You, Lord God, can call together the support teams that they need to govern effectively, who will get them the truth, and tell them the truth and work for the best solutions for the maximum common good of our peoples.

Please send Your Holy Spirit upon them to give them the gifts and charisms that they need to lead Your people, and the ability to inspire others to goodness, and the ability to call forth and encourage the gifts and charisms of others into productive teams.

If some of them need a Damascus Road experience like St Paul, then please work in their lives to bring about a powerful conversion to You and Your ways.

Many of them have been blinded by the falsehoods promoted by the culture of death. In Your great goodness dear Heavenly Father please remove all instances of this blindness from them and grant them the clarity and beauty of Your truth.

Please grant to them the grace to be able to stand up for Your truth, no matter how heavy the pressure to give in to any unholy political party policies.

Please help them to root out of their lives any immorality and any inappropriate relationships.  Bless their spouses and their children, and bless and protect the relationships of love that bind them together.

In Your goodness please call forth teams of intercessors who will pray for these chosen leaders whom You are raising up in our days, and who will pray for them unremittingly.

Please grant to these chosen leaders the precious gift of prayer, that they may seek You and Your will for them and those entrusted to them daily and diligently. Grant to them an earnestness to seek Your solutions and strategies for the good of the nation, and to always consult You as their best and closest counselor in all of their decisions.

May these chosen leaders be given the gifts necessary to foster unity, mutual respect and co-operation between nations.
Amen.

Write Non Fiction In November : #WNFIN Day 12
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At the present time I don't have any one or any group to pray regularly with. Yet the need for prayer is urgent, and so many good things are delayed due to lack of prayer. So this one's going to be a bit like the long prayer of Daniel (cf Daniel 9), and I invite you to pray it with me:

Dear Holy Spirit, You have promised us that the floodgates of heaven would open and that the outpouring of grace would be greater than that of the flood of water in Noah's day that took 40 days and 40 nights to expend itself. Since You love to do Your great wonders with us rather than without us, You have invited us to pray from the depths of our hearts for this great outpouring of grace.

If we are honest, we prayed a bit at the beginning, and we prayed more intensely as Pentecost neared, and we've continued to pray at a regular level although it has been more through habit and gritted teeth than anything else. It has been the prayer of the long haul and each day the faith in Your promise gets tested when we observe no change. Please forgive us for giving up hope and becoming more and more half-hearted about our prayers.

In the beginning we thought all we had to do was to pray once and it would all unfold as You promised. If there was a message about praying in perseverance until it happened, well we didn't pick up on that one.

We don't get why you would test us with such a long delay, but You are God and You know best. If we had a better comprehension of how big the movement of Your grace is going to be, then maybe we would understand why it needs our hearts full of longing and our prayers full of trusting perseverance.

We confess that we have failed on both counts. Forgive us. We kid ourselves that things are okay as they are, and that a new move of Your grace would be a lovely bonus, because our hearts are paralysed with fear that if we risk our hearts in faith again that they will be broken beyond mending.

Only You can fix us and heal us so that we can begin to pray in true expectant joyful faith and not just in dry obedience.

Without You Holy Spirit we can do nothing.

Later at Pentecost You encouraged us that the harvest was both ripe and massive and that we would see You move in ways beyond all our hopes and imaginings, if only we were docile to You, and prompt in obedience. Our track record of docility to Your will, even of docility to the teachings of Your Church, is a poor one. Help us! Only if we know Your will can we begin to fulfil it, and how can we know Your will unless there are trustworthy prophets among us? Please send out charisms of prophecy, that we may have Your orders for our specific situations. Without Your guidance and Your strategies for the harvest, we will get nowhere.

O Holy Spirit, please grant that we would see what You want us to see, to hear what You want us to hear, to feel what You want us to feel and to dream what You want us to dream.

Without You Holy Spirit we can do nothing.

We can't even get others interested in praying that Your promised tsunami of grace would happen as You have said.

Only You can put into us both the motivation to pray and the commitment to pray on our own and with others. We could begin to see hope if there was a committed prayer group dedicated to praying for unity and for the massive outpouring of Your grace. But we don't even have that. Only You Holy Spirit can draw people together for prayer. All of our efforts up to this point have been in vain. Only You can bring together the prayer groups and prayer communities that will intercede for breakthrough and act as lightning rods to bring down Your grace upon our neighbourhoods and cities and nations.

Without You Holy Spirit we can do nothing. Please come!

Without You there is no thirst for holiness. Without You all preaching lacks power and effectiveness. Without You all of our evangelistic efforts come to nothing. Without You all of our catechetical efforts fall on stony hearts and yield nothing. Without You the weak and vulnerable cannot forsake the lures of the world and walk the way of righteousness. Without You nothing changes for the better.

Without You Holy Spirit we can do nothing. Please come!

Without You we have no hope of persevering. Without You we have no hope of healing. Without You the bound cannot be set free. Without you we are as uncoordinated and ugly as meaningful lyrics drowned in an inappropriate melody and chorus of silliness. Without You we cannot stand up to the forces that want us to deny God's plan for life, marriage and family from conception until natural death.

Without You Holy Spirit we can do nothing. Please come!

Without You all we yield is mediocrity and no excellence. Without You our young people only get rock concert festivals and social activities and no true sustenance for living out the Gospel of Jesus. Without You the unity that Jesus prayed for is impossible. Without You our days pass in barrenness and fruitlessness. Without You we have no hope of bringing a heart which hasn't given God a serious thought in decades back into the fold of Your family. Without You all we have are the ashes of our wasted efforts.

Without You Holy Spirit we can do nothing. Please come!

When will You at last come with power? When will we at last see Your signs and wonders? When at last will we see the sick healed and the dead raised? When at last will we see the missing generations return? When will we see Your people fully armed, and fully equipped for the battle to take back the gates of Hell and release the seats of government, media, culture, entertainment, sport, commerce, education and justice back to God's rule?
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Without You Holy Spirit we can do nothing. Please come! Delay no longer. Amen.

Write Non Fiction In November : #WNFIN Day 7
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The topic for today is experiencing God's love. Without a profound encounter with God's love nothing of the Christian life makes sense. However, once a person has experienced such an encounter, then everything makes sense, and what was once a chore becomes a delight.

The good news is...that there is always more. Whatever we have encountered of God's love, there is always more for us to encounter, and in new and deeper ways.

It stands to reason that the experiences of God at the beginning are usually powerful and life changing. As we grow and discover more about this God who loves us, those times of sensible encounter decrease and the times of encounter that are beyond feelings increase. For many people the hardest times are in the lengthening periods when the presence of God seems absent. But they are necessary, because how else do we and God find out whether we love Him for Himself or because of what He does and can do for us. When the testing times are over, He invites us to deeper levels of encountering His love.

In the testing times relief from the aridity of personal prayer comes from four sources, group prayer, lectio divina, time sitting with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and time spent with those who are suffering – either as a companion or in service to them.

So what are these encounters with God like?

Some are like everything at once, tears of joy, laughter, repentance, dancing, adoration, singing, amazement.

Some are a personal message with or without audible words, usually at unexpected moments. Change of direction and vocational calls can frequently be like this.

Some feel like a collapsing kaleidoscope where a whole manner of different things suddenly fall into place with astonishing clarity, and this confirms that you are in the right place, at the right time, for His kind purposes.

Some contain burning, tingling, and physical healing.

Some come in the form of visions and dreams of significance.

Some experiences we should be a whole lot more grateful for than we usually are…the ones where He lays a precise finger on the parts of our lives that are displeasing to Him as an invitation to ask His help to clean them up through His mercy and pardon.

Some are like a sensation that all barriers are gone and prayer is effortless and going straight to the heart of the Father.

Some are more external when the realisation happens that God has arranged everything 'just so' and the outcomes could have been much, much worse, and that you have been saved from those greater layers of disaster and that the outcomes have several unexpected silver linings.

Some can be profound encounters through a near death experience.

But whenever you go seeking encounters with God, or try to replicate the conditions under which the previous encounter took place….nothing happens. We can most certainly ask Him for an experience of His love, but we need to let Him be God and let it be in His chosen time and place and not when we think it should be.

We certainly love the extraordinary manifestations of God's love, who doesn't? But there are many ordinary manifestations that we usually overlook on a daily basis; the gentle breeze that refreshes and lifts your spirits, the beautiful bird that caught your eye and lingered for a while, the gift of a good night's sleep, an unexpected extra kindness or tenderness from a child or spouse, the unexpected meeting in an out of place location with someone who had been on your mind, the gift of meeting someone truly holy.

Evangelisation is meant to help people open up their hearts to God, so that He can encounter them with His love. Catechesis only makes sense and becomes fruitful after a person has had a profound encounter with God's love. Prior to that encounter you may as well have been speaking a foreign language to them.

So let's pray, firstly for a loved one, and then for ourselves.

Heavenly Father, I bring before You ……………….. He/she has yet to experience Your love, otherwise You would be the number 1 priority in his/her life and not the last on the list after many things more important and urgent to him/her. Only You can quieten down the other voices in his/her life long enough for Your cry of love to break through. Please tonight, tomorrow, sometime during the week ahead, grant them an experience of Your love that will transform his/her life. Please grant them all that he/she needs to respond wholeheartedly to You, and to place his/her life completely at Your service. Amen.

Dear heavenly Father, I know You exist, I believe in You, but it feels so long since I experienced Your love at the life-changing level. I want that. Thank You for being active in my life. I really appreciate how You have been taking care of me and my loved ones. But I feel like I am surviving on empty fumes. The exterior proofs of Your love are amazing, but my heart longs for something interior, deeply personal and profound. Please tonight, tomorrow, sometime during the week ahead please break through my darkness and let me experience Your everlasting love in a new and fresh way that leaves me amazed. For the sake of the people who You are bringing into my life who need to hear how You are acting now and not the barely remembered yet much treasured encounters of past decades, please come. I give You permission to show Your love to me in any way You desire. Amen.

As we look to this momentous Pentecost, #ccrgoldenjubilee2017 can we do better than pray prayers to the Holy Spirit inspired by the very person God chose to remind the Church of the power and action of the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit Chaplet by Blessed Elena Guerra

This prayer to the Holy Spirit originated with the exhortation of Pope Leo XIII. Indeed the same Pontiff in a Papal brief promulgated on May 5, 1895, exhorted all Catholics to devoutly make this Holy Spirit Novena. On this occasion, the Pope suggested a special formula of prayer: “Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.” He strongly recommended this to be prayed. With this in mind, in 1896, Blessed Elena Guerra, “The Holy Spirit Apostle of modern times,” composed these invocations, to ask the Holy Spirit for the grace of a new Pentecost which renews the face of the earth.

– O God, come to my assistance.
– O Lord, make haste to help me.
– Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen

In Each Mystery, ask for a gift of the Holy Spirit (then)
Repeat seven times on seven beads.
“Father in the name of Jesus, send forth your spirit and renew the world”
Conclude with
“O Mary, who by the work of the Holy Spirit, conceived the Saviour, pray for us.”

The Seven Mysteries invoking the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
1- Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, detach us from earthly things and infuse in us a love and taste of heavenly things.
2- Come, O Spirit of Understanding, enlighten our minds with the light of your eternal truth and the riches of holy thoughts.
3 – Come, O Spirit of Counsel, make us docile to your inspirations and guide us in the way of salvation.
4- Come, O Spirit of Fortitude , and give us strength, constancy and victory in the battle against our spiritual enemies.
5- Come, O Spirit of Knowledge, be the Master of our souls and help us to put into practice Your teachings.
6- Come, O Spirit of Piety, come to live in our heart to possess and sanctify all of our affections.
7- Come, O Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, reign over our will and make us always disposed to suffer every evil rather than to sin.

O most pure Virgin Mary, by your Immaculate Conception you were constituted by the Holy Spirit a chosen tabernacle of Divinity. Pray for us.
May the Divine Paraclete come soon to renew the face of the earth. Hail Mary…
O most pure Virgin Mary, by the Mystery of the Incarnation you were constituted by the Holy Spirit true Mother of God. Pray for us.
May the Divine Paraclete come soon to renew the face of the earth. Hail Mary…
O most pure Virgin Mary, persevering in prayer with the Apostles in the Upper Room, you were abundantly inflamed by the Holy Spirit. Pray for us:
May the Divine Paraclete come soon to renew the face of the earth. Hail Mary…
Let us pray:
Send Your Spirit, Lord, and transform us interiorly with Your gifts. Create in us a new heart that we may please You and be conformed to Your will.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
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Our Lady, Help of Christians, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of Pentecost, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.
​Blessed Elena Guerra, pray for us.

​This Pentecost, 4 Jun 2017, is going to be an extraordinary one. Read the long version of why here. The short version is that this year marks 100 years since Fatima, 50 years since the start of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, 120 years since the Pentecost Novena requested by Leo XIII began, 1950 years since the martyrdoms of St Peter and St Paul, and it is within the time frame of the Azuza Street prophecies.
 
If, as believers in Jesus, we are going to take back the strongholds of the enemy, then we need a massive outpouring of the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Nothing less can bring lasting change, but we have to do our part and go deeper in our relationship with God, and call out to Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit from the deepest places of our hearts and recognition of our need for Him.
 
It is a lot easier to do that together, than it is to do it on our own. So let's pray this Pentecost.
 
What do we pray for? Our deepest need is for charisms of preaching and teaching. When someone preaches under the charism of preaching, we forget who the preacher is because he has made Jesus real for us and we are enabled to focus on Jesus and our hearts are touched by Him. This is something far beyond any natural gift of rhetoric. When someone teaches under the charism of teaching, we feel that it is Jesus Himself teaching us. This brings about an infusion of divine understanding in students and is far beyond any natural gifts of teaching.
 
Why do we pray? Can you think of the last time any preaching or teaching 'cut you to the heart' cf Acts 2:37? Or made you feel that God was talking directly into your heart? How often do we make our way home unmoved by what we have heard and unable to recall it even a day later? Without these precious charisms of the Holy Spirit we cannot extend the Kingdom of God. Paraphrasing Romans 10:14-17: Faith comes from what is preached and taught, and since people cannot begin to believe in Jesus unless they have heard of Him, and they won't hear of Him unless a preacher or teacher is sent, we profoundly need the Holy Spirit to empower and send us. For this the Holy Spirit needs willing helpers, and the gauge of how willing we are is the depth of our prayer and asking.
 
What matters is that Jesus is preached, and that Jesus is taught. Believers of any denomination or non-denomination can agree with that. There are people that the Baptists can reach that the Anglicans cannot, and vice versa. There are people that the Presbyterians and Uniting Churches can reach that the Catholics cannot, and vice versa. But together we can unite in praying for these charisms of the Holy Spirit for us all.

When: Sunday 4 June 2017. Formal prayers from 1pm-2pm. Informal prayers from 2pm onwards.
Where: St John the Baptist Catholic Church, Woy Woy, NSW (wheelchair accessible)
Who should come? Everyone, but especially those with a ministry of preaching or teaching, and those who regularly intercede for others in their prayers: That's priests, deacons and pastors, catechists, Sunday School teachers, Kids Club teachers, Children's Liturgy teachers, primary and secondary Scripture class teachers, those who prepare children and adults to receive sacraments, those who teach newcomers and those who help adults grow in faith. If you long to be used more powerfully by God to bring people to Jesus through your regular preaching or teaching, come!
I want to come, but I am unable? Find a friend who is coming, and give them a photograph of yourself to bring with them. They will act as proxy for you.

So that there is no visible confusion between preachers and teachers, we ask that priests, deacons and pastors wear some visible sign of their office eg, clerical collar, metal crosses on lapels of shirts etc

Please use #Letuspray2017 when you spread the news about this on social media.

Here's an A4 flyer to print and share:

And here's an 8 A4 page PDF of the Formal Prayers that will be used:

​And a larger print version of them (11 A4 pages):

Print them off, and consider praying some of these prayers daily in preparation for Pentecost Sunday.
 
PS. If you live more than 100kms away, you have full permission to use the same PDFs to host a Let Us Pray 2017 in your own region as long as you 1) try to make it as ecumenical as possible and 2) do the right thing with regard to music licensing.
 
Now some of the hymns that we will use may be unfamiliar to you. Most have been chosen because they have been used by centuries of Christians before us. When we pray and sing these ancient hymns in a sense we truly pray and sing with those generations of believers who have prayed and sung them before us. So here are some recordings to listen to:
 
Veni Creator Spiritus
http://gregorian-chant-hymns.com/hymns-2/veni-creator-spiritus.html or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnUJWDEQDW4
 
Come Holy Ghost, Creator Come
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSsQ8lfgF2M
 
Litany of the Saints, John D. Becker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kId0NBvNiCk
 
Our Father (this version is sung very flat, but I couldn't find one closer to how it is actually sung)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-QNZHL6gR8
This version is close, too, but it has a few extra notes and differences in syllable emphasis to how it is actually sung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egar8MKQrUA
 
Sub Tuum Paesidium (although it is odds on we will say and not sing this one)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws2b7-6OmZ8
 
Magnificat – Amazing Grace tune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQjrrwoflEk
 
Holy God we praise Thy Name
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVBQYnfkiBM
 
God can do it again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYPAcEDYNjU   (a bit flat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwo5zLP0Pek  (a big high)

​Frequently asked questions
 
Will someone who is uncertain about the whole charismatic thing feel comfortable?
During the formal hour of prayer from 1pm-2pm there will be nothing overtly charismatic. The closest we will come is during the prayers for various groups of preachers and teachers. At that time those present will be invited to pray in unison using English or any other language. For some people it is more comfortable to pray in their native language or in a prayer language.
From 2pm onwards - which is optional - we will try our best to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and be open to any charismatic gifts.
 
Haven't I already received the Holy Spirit in Baptism, Confirmation (and if applicable Holy Orders)?
You have indeed received Him in those sacraments. No question about that. The question is not how much you possess the Holy Spirit, but how much does the Holy Spirit possess you? How much do we live under His direction and guidance? We can always grow in greater responsiveness and surrender to Him. The Holy Spirit is always willing to give us fresh gifts to help us grow in holiness and to build up the Kingdom of God Eph 4:11-13. Those gifts have results beyond what is humanly possible Acts 8:4-8. The Holy Spirit acts like a gentleman, and never forces His gifts upon anyone, but we are invited to ask for them. Luke 11:9-13, 1 Cor 12: 31a, 1 Cor 14:1
 
Why the Latin hymn to begin with?
Because when you are serious about calling on the help of the Holy Spirit you dust off the very best bits of your prayer arsenal. This hymn has been used for over a millennium and for the most important occasions. It is part of our shared Christian heritage. But even more than that the melody has a lot to teach us about the respect, adoration, intimacy, longing and reverence with which we should seek the Holy Spirit.
 
What's with asking the saints for prayer?
This is another of those very best bits of your prayer arsenal. It, too, has been prayed in various formats by Christians since at least the late 3rd century, and for the most important occasions. All of us at some time or other have asked our earthly friends to pray for us. If that is OK and normal, surely it is OK to ask our heavenly friends to pray for us. Jesus Himself said, 'For to Him all men are in fact alive'. Luke 20:38b We know that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God Rom 8:27b, and surely that is truer for the residents of heaven than for our holy friends on earth. The scriptures teach us that while God can act sovereignly and sometimes does, He prefers to collaborate with us. Take that strange story in Ezekiel 37 about the dry bones as an example. God could have done it all Himself, but he kept giving words to the prophet to say. When in John 12:20-22 the Greeks went to Philip and said, 'We would like to see Jesus', and Philip went and got Andrew, and together they went to Jesus – was the glory of the mediation of Jesus decreased? Of course not! Wasn't Jesus more glorified and honoured this way than if the Greeks had gone to Him directly? Didn't more people share in the good work of bringing people to Jesus? Asking the saints to pray for us and to pray with us is concretely acting upon the belief we share as Christians in the Apostles Creed: 'I believe in the communion of saints'. This particular sung version of the litany of the saints is an easy tune to pick up.
 
Can saints hear prayer? Can they answer prayer?
1 Sam 28 where king Saul decides to consult a medium rather than one of God's prophets. He wants to hear from the deceased Samuel. In the dialogue that follows Samuel knows what is going on (so yes saints can hear prayers) and God has permitted him to bring an answer to Saul (albeit one that Saul doesn't want to hear). Matt 25:21 'You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much' is a promise fulfilled on earth and in heaven. There are far too many Christian shrines dotted over the world with the testimony of crutches and other aids left behind when people were healed to deny that saints hear prayer. They hear our prayers just like any true friend would, they add their prayers to ours and take them together to God on our behalf, and when God permits they have a role in delivering God's answer back to us. Does it make you happy when your good friend gets honoured? Then why is it so hard to understand that it makes God happy when we honour His best friends? Is it hard to believe that it delights God to see His friends, earthly and heavenly, working together for the good of His Kingdom? Any honour we show them redoubles to God's glory, because God is the source and origin of their holiness.
 
Is the presence and intercession of Mary important?
Without her 'Yes' to God, Jesus would not have become incarnate for us. When it comes to collaborating in the works of grace, the mother of Jesus has no equal. She was there at the foot of the Cross of her Son when He entrusted all of the disciples He loves to her maternal care John 19:26-27. Who else but the woman overshadowed by the Holy Spirit in Luke 1:35 can best teach the believers in the Upper Room awaiting the promised Advocate about Him? Would the Holy Spirit do anything important without collaborating with His spouse? We take Jesus for our model. We know that He kept the commandments perfectly, and He kept the commandment to honour His mother. We honour her because Jesus honoured her first. He chose to involve her in all the most important parts of His life, and all of the most ordinary and hidden parts of His life too. With this example, how can we do otherwise? If God Himself wanted Mary at conception and birth of His Son, He also wanted her at the conception and birth of the Church, His body, the body of Christ. How then could we fail to take this Godly hint to invoke her presence and intercession at crucial times in the life of the Church?

What is a charism? Why would you want any?
A charism is a free supernatural gift from God for the building up of the kingdom of God on earth. Eph 4: 7,11-12. Think of the difference between a hand held paper fan and an electric powered fan as an analogy between a natural gift and a supernatural gift. Both move the air around to make it feel cooler. The hand held paper fan has a limited range, and eventually your hand tires and you stop and rest. It does a good job for the one or two people within its range, but there will eventually be burn-out. The electric powered fan is plugged into a power source (the Holy Spirit) and switched on by prayer and consent. It can cool down a whole room, will not burn-out and the amount of power released is proportional to how surrendered our lives are to God – we can set it to low, medium or high depending on our surrender and co-operation with God's grace. Our free will is never compromised, we always have the choice to decrease the power, switch off, and unplug. When a charism is operating people see Jesus in action, and hearts are changed.
 
Maybe a story will help:
St Vincent Ferrer lived in Spain between 1350 and 1419. He became a priest of the Dominican Order. He had a special God-given charism of preaching. Many people were converted to God just by listening to him preach. St Vincent counted on God. He also asked for the prayers and penance of many people for the success of his sermons. He knew it was not his words or his talents that won people over. That is why he prayed before every sermon. But one day, when he knew that a very important person was going to listen to him, he worked harder than usual on his sermon. He ran out of time to pray. This sermon which he had prepared so carefully did not affect the nobleman much at all. God let that happen to teach Vincent not to count on himself. Another time, this same important person came to listen to Fr Ferrer preach. But this time the priest did not know it. He prayed and counted on God as usual. The nobleman listened to the sermon and was greatly impressed by what he heard. The nobleman explained it like this: ‘In the first sermon it was Vincent who preached. In the second sermon, it was Jesus Christ.’ From 'Saints for Young Readers' Volume 1, April 5
 
Is it OK to feel excited and scared at the same time?
Yes. God is very generous with His gifts, but He never ever forces them on anyone. Having a charism doesn't mean you are holy, but it can be a means to help you grow in holiness. Many of them only operate when God wants them to.
 
Do you have to have experienced 'the baptism in the Spirit' to have charisms operate?
No. Sacramental baptism or the desire for sacramental baptism is sufficient, together with a desire to bring people to Jesus and the desire to respond to the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit. Often it feels like St Peter felt when Jesus said, 'Come' and invited him to get out of the boat and walk across the water in Matthew 14: excited and scared at the same time, but trusting in the One who says, 'Come'. There is an argument that Joel 3:1/Acts 2:17 implies that the promise to pour out the Holy Spirit on all mankind covers the non-baptised as well. At the same time it must be acknowledged that the asking and yielding/surrendering to the Holy Spirit that are part of the baptism in the Spirit experience have frequently been responded to by God with the outpouring of charisms.
 
So I don't have to worry about turning into a raving loony if I ask God to give me the gifts needed for me to serve Him better and be more effective at bringing people into His kingdom?
That's right. You will still be you, just more supernaturally equipped for ministry. And you will still need to do your part to provide the raw material for God to collaborate with (ie prayer, study, preparation of lessons and/or homilies, and seeking holiness). 

The Hour of Grace is from 12noon till 1pm on 8 December each year, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Mother of God. The promise that goes with this Hour of Grace which begins with reciting King David's plea for mercy, Psalm 50(51) three times and continues with silent personal prayer in a place away from distractions is: 'The Blessed Virgin promised that whatever a person asked of her during this Hour of Grace (even in impossible cases) would be granted them, if it was in accordance with the Will of the Eternal Father.
 
That's a big promise, and many people who read about it think that it is a big leap to believe in.
 
I'd like to demonstrate that the leap is actually quite small.
 
What are the kinds of things that add a bit of clout to our prayers?
 
It helps if you pray out of right relationship with God. Praying this Psalm of repentance three times is a plea for mercy, and acknowledges the truth that we are sinners in need of God's forgiveness. We see our sin more clearly when we focus on the absolute absence of sin in Mary, the Mother of God. A heart in right relationship with God is more likely to be heard. 'The humble man's prayer pierces the clouds' Ecclesiasticus 35:17
 
Prayer with penance is more powerful than prayer alone. Praying for an hour is a sacrifice of all the other things we could be doing, and a challenge for anyone not used to spending an hour in prayer. Setting an hour aside to stay away from distractions is part of this too. Any hour of prayer is a reparative response to the question of Jesus on the night of His agony and betrayal, 'Could you not watch one hour with Me?' Matthew 26:40 Prayer flavoured with penance is more likely to be heard.
 
Praying in union with others is more effective than praying solo. Who could be a better prayer partner than Mary, the Mother of God? It is a mother's task to take the offerings of her children and arrange them in the way which will please the father most, removing the icky bits and adding her own special touch. A child might give mum a handful of flowers, and she will get rid of the insects, dead leaves and imperfect petals and add a matching ribbon and arrange them on a silver platter. With mum's help an ordinary offering becomes something especially pleasing. Think about how much more difficult it is to say No to two people who come before you with pleading eyes than to say No to one person. With Mary's help our prayers are more likely to be heard. Matthew 18:19
 
Praying in obedience is more meritorious than praying according to our own will. This Hour of Grace is prayed in accordance with heavenly instructions, and even if you feel a bit wobbly about the whether it is truly from heaven or not, you are still praying it in a way you wouldn't normally choose to. Romans 5:19
 
All four of these things are present when praying the Hour of Grace, so even without the promise attached, your prayers have a much greater hope of being heard and answered than usual.
 
For more information about the Hour of Grace, print and read this PDF:

If you are able, set aside this special Hour of prayer each year.

Immaculate Mary, Mother of God, we entrust all the prayers of our hearts to you, that you may take them to your Son Jesus and obtain His smile of mercy upon them. 

In honour of this year's feast day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary here are some meditations on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary:

The Annunciation

What does the Annunciation teach us about Mary's heart?

It teaches us that her heart was lowly, because she was disturbed by the lofty greeting of the angel. It teaches us that her heart was used to listening because she didn't interrupt the angel's long message. It teaches us that Mary's heart was full of faith because she did not doubt that God could make her a mother. Her only question related to what God required of her to make it happen. This indicates that her heart was willing to follow God's will even if it meant setting aside her virginity. Her answer tells us that she considered herself completely at God's disposal, showing a depth of trust, and her heart's desire that God's plan be fulfilled in her fully according to His wishes and without any desire that she be consulted about the details.

The Visitation

What does the Visitation teach us about Mary's heart?

It teaches us that God only had to make her aware of a situation for her to act upon it. She must have pondered why God told her that her cousin was pregnant, beyond giving her an example of His power to do the seemingly impossible. God left her free to act, and her generous heart decided to do whatever it took to go and assist her cousin. Mary didn't go to Elizabeth with a high and mighty heart, but with a servant's heart willing to all she could to help her cousin in the most awkward months of her pregnancy. When Mary finally arrived she didn't grumble and complain about the journey, but she expressed her praise and thanks to God for His mercy.

The Birth of Jesus

What does the Birth of Jesus teach us about Mary's heart?

In this mystery we have no words of Mary, only her actions. In the face of the rejection and abject poverty which caused her to give birth in a rough stable, Mary does not complain, nor does she make a scene. Her heart accepts whatever God gives her. How happy her heart must have been to see the face of Jesus for the first time! When she gets unexpected guests in the form of smelly shepherds she does not turn them away, but invites them to gaze with her upon the promise of the Father, now made visible. From this we learn how welcoming and hospitable her heart is. Her heart listens carefully to the story they tell and she carefully ponders over it seeking to comprehend all the messages from God it contains.

The Presentation in the Temple

What does the Presentation in the Temple teach us about Mary's heart?

Travelling with a new born baby is inconvenient at the best of times, but Mary goes to the Temple to offer her thanks to God as well as her heart in obedience to His law. At the same time that she offers her Son to God through the Jewish ritual of redeeming first born sons from sacrifice, Mary dedicates her whole heart and her whole life to the mission of Jesus. To indicate that her offering is acceptable to God, He sends her Simeon as a messenger, who confirms that the road ahead is full of unimaginable suffering. Yet from her compassionate heart comes no complaint because to not be united with the sufferings of her Son is unthinkable.

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

What does the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple teach us about Mary's heart?

To search for a lost child for even an hour is a most horrible experience. To go through that worry for three days would put any mother's sanity to the test. Here the patient heart of Mary is seen, going from person to person, asking the same questions over and over again, describing the appearance of her Son. We see her heart trusting in God's plan despite the darkness of not knowing why and the searing pain of loss. When she sees Him at last in the Temple, she has control of her heart, she doesn't make a scene, but she does ask 'Why?'. Her heart accepts the answer Jesus gives, even though she does not understand it. But she takes this too as a message from God and ponders it in her heart, trusting that with time and prayer some understanding will come. Despite the sorrows she went through and her inability to understand the reason for it, Mary's heart forgives and doesn't retain any bitterness.

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For a print friendly version, click on the document link below:

"Pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them." Message of Mary to the children of Fatima August 1917.

What can we learn from this message?

If the message wasn't of the utmost importance, then the Mother of Jesus would not have been sent as a messenger to give it to us.

The message is worth studying in detail, because messages like these tend to be carefully layered and only yield their full impact after a lot of prayerful pondering.

'Pray' is the first word of the message. What is prayer? The raising of the heart and mind to God. Each and every time Mary appears on earth she asks us to pray. It stands to reason that if she is asking us to pray, then most of us are not praying, or if we are praying we need to increase our prayer.

Why pray? Because pray connects us with God, the source of everything that is good. Prayer connects us to the power source of love. Prayer is the switch that turns the power on. If we pray, we give God permission to help us.

Why are we so reluctant to pray? Because the sheer act of praying acknowledges that we are not in control; acknowledges that God is the creator and that we are His creatures, and that we are not God. Despite the mountain of evidence in our lives that we are not in control, we still hate to admit it.

'Pray very much' is the next part of the message. A loving mother tells us what to do: 'Eat your greens. Eat lots of greens and you will be healthy.' If we pray much we will be on our way to being spiritually healthy. As long as we pray, and pray more than we are praying now, how we pray isn't important.

'Pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners.' This part of the message tells us what we should be praying about. Prayer is praise/adoration, thanksgiving, contrition/repentance and petition/intercession. If we are weak on those first three types of prayer, then work on them first. We tend to be pretty good at asking God for things, to heal us, to help us pass our exams, to take away our problems, to make that cute person of the opposite sex notice us etc. But how good are we at 'Pray very much for sinners'?

'Pray very much for sinners' implies that in our petitions and intercessions to God that the majority of those prayers should be for the conversion of those who are not living according to the 10 Commandments (not putting God and God's will in the first place in their lives, swearing, not attending Sunday worship, ignoring their obligations to their parents, stealing, lying, perjury, violence, murder, participating in sexual activity outside marriage, greed for material things etc). Every one of us has at least one person in our lives doing some of those things. Have we prayed for him or for her? Have we prayed regularly for him or for her?

'Pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners'. Here the Mother of Jesus is telling us that prayer alone is insufficient to obtain a conversion, sacrifices are also necessary. What are we willing to do as a sacrifice in intercession for a loved one's conversion? Are you willing to reduce your social media time? Could you give up the biscuit you like with your cup of tea? Is adding an extra no-alcohol day to your week possible? By and large our world has forgotten that prayer combined with sacrifice is very powerful, but Our Lady has not forgotten and like the good mother she is, she reminds us.

This need for both prayer and sacrifice to obtain a conversion alerts us that to win the conversion of a soul is not easy, and that it requires commitment and perseverance. It takes dedication and courage, and the good news is that if the mother of Jesus has requested this of us, then it is possible for us to do it.

The last part of the message gives us all the motivation we need: 'For many souls go to Hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.'

Why do we need to pray and sacrifice ourselves for our loved ones who are living sinful lives? Because we don't want them to end up eternally unhappy. If Mary is real, then God is real, and Hell is real. Hell never ends, not for a thousand years, not for a million years, not even after a billion years. Hell never ends. To not see beauty, to not hear harmony, to not feel loved, to not have a friend, to never hear another kind word, and to know that it was your own misdeeds and your own refusal to love that obtained a place for you in Hell. What unimaginable horror!

Our heavenly mother came to remind us that Hell is real, and that we have to do our bit to prevent others from spending their eternity there. If we truly thought about it, we wouldn't even wish our worst enemy to be deprived of love for all eternity. Even though it is so unfashionable to talk about the existence of consequences for our actions, that doesn't make those consequences go away. It is all too easy to think that consequences are only for those who are convicted of criminal misdeeds. Where are the consequences of our actions leading, to heaven or to hell?

'For many souls go to Hell': that part of the message should make us shudder. The mother of Jesus is telling us that it is quite common for souls to go to Hell, and not just the world's most hated persons from history. She is telling us that we need to do our bit to reverse this trend. She is telling us that we cannot assume that everyone we attend the funeral of will end up in heaven, contrary to what most eulogies have to say.

The other thought that eventually comes when pondering this message is that if I don't start praying and offering up some sacrifices to obtain conversions then I am partially responsible for those who could have been saved from Hell if I had started praying and offering sacrifices. How horrible must it be to stand before the judgment seat of God and to discover that no one had ever prayed for you! That no one had loved you enough to even light a candle for you. On the other hand, what consolation must it be to learn at the judgment seat of God that your friend had prayed for you every day; and that your friend had given up swearing in order that you might receive mercy and pardon.

Even though this message was given to the world in 1917, it is still relevant. When God speaks through Mary, He speaks eternal truths. He speaks truths that do not change with the centuries and with the millennia. We could even say that this message is even more relevant now than it was in 1917 because back then family life was strong, Sunday worship was strong and governments upheld the 10 commandments in their laws.

What should we do to respond to this message?

* We should pray daily.

* We should include prayers for the conversion of sinners in our daily prayers.

* We should find something each day to offer up as a sacrifice to God for the conversion of sinners.

Doing these three things is not beyond anyone.

You might find the prayers on the PDF below useful in doing the first two things:

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Blessed Francisco, Blessed Jacinta, holy Sr Lucia, pray for us.

At each Easter Vigil, while the Church gathers around the new fire some prayers are said during the preparation of the paschal candle before it is lit. Because these prayers are so short you could easily miss them, but they are packed full of power.

The first one proclaims that all time belongs to the risen Lord: 'Christ yesterday and today, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. All time belongs to Him; and all the ages. To Him be glory and power through every age and for ever. Amen.' As this prayer is said, we focus on the iconography of the candle. In the middle is a cross representing Jesus Christ. Above it is an Alpha, below it is an Omega. This visually shows the power of the Cross spanning all time from the first moment until the last one. Then in the four quadrants of the Cross are the four numerals of the year (2, 0, 1, 5), visually proclaiming that this year, too, is under the Lordship of Jesus.

Whenever we look upon a paschal candle then, we are visually reminded that God is in control, that He has the ultimate victory, and consequently we can increase our trust in Him.

The second short prayer is no less powerful: 'By His holy and glorious wounds, may Christ the Lord guard us and protect us. Amen.' While this prayer is prayed five grains of incense (usually covered in red wax) are pressed into the centre and outer edges of the Cross to represent the nail wounds in the two hands, two feet and heart of Jesus.

Whenever we look upon a paschal candle then, we are visually reminded of these five great and glorious wounds of Jesus through which our salvation was accomplished.

If Holy Mother Church has drawn our attention to these Holy Wounds so vividly at the solemn beginning of the Easter Vigil, then they must be extraordinarily important for our lives as Christians.

So when was the last time you deliberately thought about the Wounds of Jesus? And what are we missing if we don't ponder them regularly?

When we pray the Chaplet of Mercy we generally think more about the sorrows of Jesus. When we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary we more frequently ponder the broad sweep of action going on than the minor details. Some other chaplets start with the Sign of the Cross five times in honour of the five great and glorious wounds Jesus received for us on the wood of the Cross. But by and large pondering His Wounds isn't the regular part of our prayer lives that it should be.

Especially when driving, as I am praying the Chaplet of Mercy to mentally keep count of each decade I will either use the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary or the 5 Holy Wounds.

Sometimes if in Confession I am given a penance of 2 Hail Marys or 2 Our Fathers, I will multiply them by 3 and do one each in honour of the Crowning with Thorns and the 5 Holy Wounds.

Let us ponder the Wounds of Jesus and see what treasures we find:

The Agony in the Garden: We know that 'In His anguish Jesus prayed more earnestly, and His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.' Luke 22:44. Blood only comes from wounds, and these wounds were at skin cell size, incredibly small and yet extraordinarily numerous. Can you see in them redemption and reparation for all of our everyday sins that we try to convince ourselves don't matter? The angry word; the slammed door; the white lie; the stolen coin; the cold shoulder; the swear word; the taunt; the salacious joke. Each and every one of those small failures to love, Jesus paid for.

The Scourging at the Pillar: These wounds were many and received under official orders with many complicit bystanders. Each lash was on vulnerable uncovered skin, and like the paw swipe of an enraged lion. Can you see in them redemption and reparation for the brutality of those in power towards those who have none, of the crimes of domestic violence, the atrocities committed in war time, the acts of revenge of one person against another, the violence meted out to those in protective custody? And then the majority of those wounds get covered up and hidden under the regular clothes of Jesus. How would we cope if we experienced just one lash from the scourge? And yet Jesus endured this multiple times for us.

The Crowning with Thorns: These wounds didn't have official sanction, and were received in a more private setting where a gang mistreated a single victim. These wounds were smaller than the scourges, but sometimes deeper. From another angle they are wounds that went beyond the bounds of official orders, and were completely unjustified. Because they are wounds upon the head, they are attacks against the mind and the ability to reason. Can you see in them redemption and reparation for bullying, extortion, works of terror, propaganda, rebellion and mockery of the truth? Unlike the scourges which are inflicted multiple times over a longer period and systematically, the thorns are inflicted quickly but with ongoing consequences when the gang is no longer around. Jesus understands our pain, our fear and out terror, that's one of the things these thorn-caused wounds teach us.

The Carrying of the Cross: The wound we usually focus on here is the shoulder (or shoulders) of Jesus upon which the Cross was carried. But there are additional wounds to think of because each fall under the Cross would have added wounds to His knees, hips, hands and face. Any fall results in grazes and torn skin, especially if the fall is onto a rough surface. At public executions like this, projectiles like small stones and garbage would have been thrown as well. Some of them would have hit Jesus and drawn blood. They represent the sharp words and weapons we hurl at each other. The wound in the shoulder reminds us of those wounds that only get bigger over time. Jesus suffered it to redeem and reparate for the ways we destroy our souls through increasing jealousy, resentment, rage, bitterness, and self-pity until the original cause of our hurt is indecipherable.

The Stripping of His Garments: Any wound is bad, but a re-opened wound is worse. A wound received in private is one thing, but the humiliation of a wound exposed to hostile public gaze is more painful. These are like the wounds of a victim that has to relive his or her ordeal before a courtroom, and have all credibility called into question. Jesus went through this stripping of his garments for us, to redeem and reparate our sins. He went through this re-opening of his wounds especially for all those sins committed when we are unclothed; for the multiplicity of sexual sins as well as the sins we tempt others too when we are immodestly dressed.

The Nailing of Jesus to the Cross: These wounds in the hands and feet of Jesus caused by the nails redeem and repair for all the sins we commit with our hands and our feet. Stealing is an obvious one, as is desertion of duty. These wounds also obtain forgiveness for our failures, our failures to help those in need, our failures to visit the sick and suffering. When we look at these wounds, we are amazed that Jesus would permit His hands and feet to be pierced through in order to permanently remind us of His love for us. We ask the age old question, 'Lord, is my soul worth this much?' And these wounds of His answer, 'Yes!' every time.

The Piercing of His Heart: 'Any wound rather than a wound of the heart!' Ecclesiasticus 25:13. Physical wounds heal with time, but wounds of the heart linger. Betrayals, infidelities, adultery, rejection; how they hurt more sharply than any lance. How difficult they are to forgive! But with God such forgiveness and freedom from the burden of hurt is possible. Of all His Wounds, this one is the most eloquent. All of us are guilty of lack of love towards the God who with infinite love created us, redeemed us through the Cross and wants to sanctify us. This wound in His Sacred Heart makes visible the ardent desire with which He wants all sin removed from our lives so that we can enjoy the fullness of His love. However much we have wounded His Heart with our sins, He is willing to forgive us and to renew our relationship with Him. The best way to seek that forgiveness and renewal is in the sacrament of penance (a.k.a. confession to a priest).

Pondering the Holy Wounds of Jesus a) dispels the loneliness of our own sufferings because He has already experienced the same sufferings, b) weans us from our attachment to sin, c) allows us to hope for mercy and d) increases our love and appreciation for Jesus.

Let us ponder His Holy Wounds more often and more regularly.

You may find these PDFs about the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds helpful. The first is a single A4 sheet that folds into a ¼ size booklet. The second single A4 sheet has three panels.

The day before Pentecost is kept as the feast day of Mary Queen of Apostles in some parts of the world. It is a beautiful idea and quite fitting. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to keep the apostles persevering in prayer for nine days, and how tough that last day must have been before the Holy Spirt arrived? How many of them had flagged in zeal? How many of them were bored and impatient?

So to honour her, here is a little selection from Chapter 1 of Blessed James Alberione's book entitled 'Mary, Queen of Apostles', followed by the 2nd of 5 prayers he composed as a chaplet seeking her intercession under this title of Queen of the Apostles.

Excerpt from his book

'To exclude Mary from the apostolate (or new evangelization) would be to ignore one of the most essential parts of God's redemptive plan. It would be depriving ourselves of Mary's all-powerful intercession…. The apostle, the preacher, the missionary, the confessor, and the man of action run the grave risk of constructing on sand if their activity is not supported by an intense devotion to Mary and confidence in her. Every apostolate is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on individuals and on the world. Because of Mary's response to the angel, the Holy Spirit descended upon her and worked the greatest prodigy: the Incarnation and the sanctification of Christ. From that moment on, Mary acquired a kind of jurisdiction over every temporal outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thus, no one receives grace except through Mary. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended after he was called upon by Mary who was leading the apostles in prayer."

Prayer of Bl James Alberione

'O Mary, Queen of all the angels, full of grace, conceived without sin, blessed among creatures, living tabernacle of God, remember that painful and solemn moment in which the dying Jesus from the Cross gave you John as your son, and in him all men and especially all the apostles. What tender love flooded your heart at that moment for souls consecrated to the apostolate, to the following of the Cross, to the love of Jesus. For your indescribable sufferings and those of your divine Son, for your motherly heart, O Mary, increase the glorious ranks of apostles, missionaries, priests and virgins. May these souls be resplendent for sanctity of life, integrity of morals, solid piety, the deepest humility, the most firm faith, the most ardent charity. May they all be holy, purifying salt of the earth and light of the world.

Queen of the Apostles, pray for us.'

Blessed James Alberione, pray for us

All the holy Apostles and disciples who gathered with Mary in prayer before the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, pray for us.