What gives you strength to move forward?

Apathy is a reality that can be a daily threat for all of us. Pope Francis, in Open Mind, Faithful Heart, says that we "need to be humbly aware that it is always with us. That is why we must nourish ourselves with the word of God, which gives us strength to continue moving forward." The underlining is mine. He continues to tell us that the temptation to apathy is why we "must seek the joy that comes only from the Lord when he finds us keeping watch, searching for him in the many moments when he becomes present in our ministry."
Here are the questions the Francis asks after suggesting we pause a moment and review our lives:
What guises does apathy assume in me?
In what situations of my life am I tempted to feel weariness and to flag in my resolve, so that I end up almost paralyzed?
I guess I just need to look at the situations where I know I should act and instead procrastinate - I have not thought much about apathy as I usually am enthusiastic and determined, but I do put off writing letters and now I do everything accept work on the writing of the Life of Lucile Mathevon. I count on your prayer to keep me going as I say I want to write her life and keep postponing the actual work of writing!!! I guess this is apathy and I did not recognize it!

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sacred Heart of Jesus,
To Your adoration, I unite myself
To Your burning love, I unite myself
To Your ardent zeal, I unite myself
To Your reparation, I unite myself
To Your thanksgiving, I unite myself
To Your firm confidence, I unite myself
To your fervent prayers, I unite myself
To Your silence, I unite myself
To Your humility, I unite myself
To Your obedience, I unite myself
To Your gentleness and peace, I unite myself
To Your surpassing kindness, I unite myself
To Your universal charity, I unite myself
To Your deep recollection, I unite myself
To Your intense desire for the conversion of sinners, I unite myself
To Your close union with the heavenly Father, I unite myself
To Your intentions, desires, and will, I unite myself.
Love of the Heart of Jesus, inflame my heart.
Charity of the Heart of Jesus, abound in my heart.
Strength of the Heart of Jesus, uphold my heart.
Mercy of the Heart of Jesus, forgive my heart.
Patience of the Heart of Jesus, do not weary of my heart.
Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus, be established in my heart.
Wisdom of the Heart of Jesus, teach my heart.
Zeal of the Heart of Jesus, consume my heart.
Will of the Heart of Jesus, act in my heart.

Adorable Trinity,
We thank you for the favors which you granted Madeleine Sophie.
We ask you to grant us the same grace to be conformed to the Heart of Jesus completely. Amen.

This will give you plenty to pray over until the Second Sunday of Advent when I shall be back from my mini-retreat at the Cenacle in Gainesville.

You can just choose your favorite invocation and stay with it, if you want, but I took each in turn and really found myself remembering to say it during the day and it is a way of union with the Heart of Jesus.

Today is the feast of St. Andrew and the wedding anniversary of my parents!

Jesu-Maum Prayer

Today I am going to tell you about the Jesu-Maum Prayer or Journey through the Heart of Jesus Prayer. It comes from one of our Sisters in Korea who has written a book about it. Maum means Heart in Korean and this Jesu-Maum Prayer uses the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which I have been using this past month for prayer and which I am beginning to use again. The book was published in 2010 and is available from St. Pauls in Seoul, Korea. http://www.paolo.net. The title is Jesu-Maum Prayer: Christian Contemplation in an Eastern Way.by Kwon Min-Ja, RSCJ.

"Jesu-Maum Prayer is a prayer through which we intend to strive to unite our heart with the Heart of Jesus and to consecrate our whole mind, effort and energy to God, trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In short, it is a prayer that brings us into union with the Triune God. We practice the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a prayer of simplicity, to unite our heart with the Heart of Jesus."

Kwon Min-Ja has given many retreats to teach others about this prayer; she gives retreats of five days, eight days, and forty day retreats. I tried going through the Litany one phrase a day and found this very fruitful. I mostly stayed with the phrase during my morning prayer and then tried repeating it often throughout the day; it worked for me so I am beginning the Litany again and intend this time to stay with a phrase more than one day, if so moved by the Spirit. Tomorrow I will post the entire Litany and then I will be away so after tomorrow I will write a blog for the 2nd Sunday of Advent and tell you about my mini-retreat then. Please do not forget to pray for my friend in Scotland; she has a brain tumor and is getting worse and is now snowed in and in the hands of God.

First Sunday of Advent

I am determined to finish my Christmas cards today so as to enter into the silence of Advent and give more time to prayer. I also need to find more time for writing that book or it will never get written. As we begin this season, let us pray together so our hearts may be more aware of the presence of Jesus who came into this world to bring us life. As we prepare anew for a special coming at Christmas, may we also be able to be Christ for one another this Advent. It is not easy so we need to pray for one another.

I have a Christmas card with a young drummer boy playing his drum at the foot of the manger and Jesus is looking at him. The card says above "He played his drum for Him." Below the picture which has only the drummer boy and the Infant Jesus with animals surrounding them, it says, "He played his best for Him." I hope that when Christmas comes this year I will be at the crib piping a song of joy for Jesus and that He will be able to see that I have done my best for Him this Advent. I have framed the card so I will give it my best effort to spread peace and joy, His peace and joy, and love, to all.

Advent begins tomorrow

Advent is a short season of only four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time of preparation and celebrates the coming of Jesus into our world on the first feast of the nativity; the coming of Jesus into our hearts in a special way when we call him and are prepared to receive him; and the third coming is when we will meet Jesus in the final judgment. Now is the time to prepare. Jesus is coming to us as a tiny baby; an infant who is weak, vulnerable, dependent on others for everything. He wants to be with us so let us pray and plan for an Advent season that will prepare our hearts to receive him with love. What do I need to do to prepare my heart? Is it a peaceful place? Or is it noisy? Is there too much interior chatter? Or is my heart too full of clutter? How will I prepare this Advent for his coming?
I shall be going up to see my spiritual director at the Cenacle in Gainesville and so will not be writing my blog next week. I suspect I will be off the blog from Tuesday to the second Sunday of Advent, December 5. A mini retreat is a good way to begin Advent and I look forward to these days of silent prayer. Please pray for me and I will share when I return.
I have added the book I spoke about the day before Thanksgiving. It is The Gratitude Factor: Enhancing Your Life through Grateful Living by Shelton so look for it on the right side.

What a wonderful day is Thanksgiving - and the day after!

The day after the feast is fun as we relive the time with our friends, the lively Mass full of Indians and Pilgrims and a children's choir who sang before Mass and then waved flags during the patriotic sing-along after Mass. Our feast was really a banquet and we thought of so many who might not have anything to eat today, but at least the soup kitchens were busy yesterday so that all would have a real Thanksgiving dinner! Now is the time to keep on thanking for the blessings we have and cultivate the habit of gratefulness. I am grateful for these days of quiet and look forward to some swimming and reading. I feel that we are all enjoying vacation, but I know that those who work in stores will have a hectic day tomorrow. I cannot imagine shopping the day after Thanksgiving with the crowds of people. Still, I will try to get a start on Christmas cards this week end and my Christmas letter as I like to have this done before Advent. Now that so many have e-mail, I hope to send fewer cards as the postage is more, too. Still, I know some of my friends like to have my card and Christmas letter sent by regular mail, so suspect I may not cut the list very much. I should be thinking of Sunday as the first Sunday of Advent and preparing for the coming of Christ. I am going to start over with the Litany of the Sacred Heart.

Thanksgiving, A Day and A Way of Life

We give thanks today for all our blessings! But we are ungrateful children if we do not turn daily to our Creator God who lavishes love on us in so many ways...
I am reading a book I received just two days ago called: "The Gratitude Factor: Enhancing You Life through Grateful Living" by Charles Shelton, S.J. It is a book that I know I will want to suggest to others as there are so many practical exercises and reflection questions throughout the book to help us grow in gratitude. Charlie Shelton is a licensed psychologist as well as a Jesuit priest and this is his sixth book. I am eager to sit down and read it.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and let us decide now to live a grateful life each day!

It is my brother's birthday and also the birthday of my former Dean and friend so do pray for John and Joe today. I remember vividly the Thanksgiving that my brother was born; we had just finished eating a huge turkey dinner at my paternal grandmother's and my mother told Daddy that she should probably go to the hospital and not go home. My Dad's youngest sisters said they would take her to my Dad could take us home first with my grandmother who had agreed to come and stay with us as my brother, George, would not be two until Christmas day. I was too excited to go to sleep that night until I heard that I had another brother born on Thanksgiving.

So much to thank for...

Someone just sent me this which was written by Joyce Rupp, one of my favorite writers for quotes, prayer preparation, and practical exercises. See if you like this to pray about on the eve of Thanksgiving:

A Closer Look at Thanksgiving

If you sit on the bank of a river, you see only a small part of its surface. And yet, the water before your eyes is proof of unknowable depths.

Anita Diamant, The Red Tent



If you look at a sunset, you might see only the disappearance of daylight.

If you look beneath, you may see darkness opening the splendor of stars.

If you look at illness and disease, you might see only physical diminishment.

If you look beneath, you may see it as a teacher bringing you vital wisdom.

If you look at a broken relationship, you might see only a harsh ending.

If you look beneath, you may see the courageous seeds of new growth.

If you look at lost dreams, you might see only disappointment and doubt.

If you look beneath, you may see the stuff that new dreams contain.

If you look at the death of a loved one, you might see only pervasive sorrow.

If you look beneath, you may see that love lives on forever in the heart.

If you look at the planet's pain and creatures' woe, you might see only despair.

If you look beneath, you may see hope woven in the compassionate care of many.

If you look at yourself, you might see only tarnished unfinishedness.

If you look beneath, you may see your basic goodness shining there.

If you look for the divine being, you might see mostly unresolved questions.

If you look beneath, you may be astounded at the availability of divine love.



Thanksgiving is a time to look beneath our external lives for the unwavering love, the ceaseless peace, and the enduring strength that lie in the deep waters of our soul. The more we trust the "unknowable depths" of our existence, the more the power of gratitude becomes a song we daily sing. With what do you struggle today? What might lie beneath that struggle for which you can "give thanks?



Joyce Rupp

My invocation which is the last from the Litany of the Sacred Heart and which I will be using in all the odd moments today is: Will of the Heart of Jesus, act in my heart.

An Oasis

Someone sent me this picture this morning and I thought that my life right now is an oasis. Maybe yours is, too. I think this week is also an oasis between the last Sunday of the Liturgical year and next Sunday when we begin Advent. In fact, I suppose you could say that it is a moment to rest and refresh ourselves for the journey through Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and I love to think of the desires and hope in Mary's heart as she waiting for the birth of Jesus.
Zeal of the Heart of Jesus, consume my heart is today's invocation.

This is a picture of the first Thanksgiving; I am afraid it is a small picture but it makes me proud to think that we have been celebrating Thanksgiving for centuries and that the entire country is gathered around this national holiday each year. We have so much to give thanks for and sometimes it helps to keep a journal of gratitude so we begin to see how many little things happen to us each day that call forth gratitude on our part. In South Florida, the hurricane season closes on November 30 and so we can again give thanks that we have been spared the many hurricanes that have formed in the Atlantic but have not hit us. Poor Haiti has had earthquake, hurricane, storm, and floods, and now cholera. I guess when we give thanks we are also praying for those countries who are less fortunate. I pray for those without freedom as living in a free country is such a gift. I pray for those who suffer from a lack of water, food, and housing; I pray for those who are without work and are suffering because they cannot care for their families. I am grateful for my health, home, friends, vocation, family, and education - listed just as I was typing and not necessarily in that order but one does not prioritize gifts and all listed are pure gift!
Wisdom of the Heart of Jesus, teach my heart!" is my invocation for today from the Litany of the Sacred Heart.

Giving thanks for todays feasts and the entire universe

Check this site out for Thanksgiving!
http://www.thebranch.org/videos/Creation_Calls.mov

The video is spectacular and has many pictures and sound so I hope you can watch it. Today is the feast of Christ the King and marks the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. Next Sunday we begin Advent and so this week is one of Thanksgiving for the good we see around us, the beauty of our world, and for the many graces we have received this year. It is also the feast of the presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the founding of the Society of the Sacred Heart dates back to this day in 1800 so we are celebrating a 210 year birthday today. Let us pray for all who have gone before us!

"Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus, be established in my heart" is the next invocation in the Litany and very fitting as it coincides with today's feast; I see this as a special intervention of the Lord as the truth is the invocation each day has been just right and a big help to me during these last weeks to keep me in the presence of Jesus in all the odd moments as well as during my formal times for prayer. I finish the Litany on Thanksgiving Day! I think I need to copy it all here for you to have it the day after Thanksgiving. I might, and probably will, begin it again then and keep it during Advent as I have found it so helpful!

A Meeting Place with Jesus

For many reasons, I love this little house. I have a fantasy exercise that I used to use with students about imagining a house they discover in a favorite place and find their name on it. As they approach, Jesus stands at the door waiting for them. He welcomes them, offers them refreshment, shows them the house that is set up just for you with your favorite things, and then both of you sit and relax in front of the fire and just talk. Before you leave, Jesus tells you that He created this house for you so you would have a comfortable place to come and just be together. Then he gives you a gift. What does Jesus give you? And so the fantasy is an imaginative way of getting in touch with Jesus who is always waiting for us.
That is my thought for the day. My invocation is "Patience of the Heart of Jesus, do not weary of my heart."

Waking up laughing

Yesterday I had a lovely feast of St. Philippine Duchesne. This is a picture of her tomb in the Shrine at St. Charles and I am praying to her today to thank her for her many years of watching over me. I woke up laughing yesterday and remembered the last part of a vivid dream. I was in a Chapel praying in a stall; others came in and the one next to me said it was time for chanting Office and I was the officiant. I sat down and then realized I had a missal in my hand and not my office book. I had to get up to lift the stall and find my office book. Then I realized that all were waiting for me and I was flustered and began the office not sure of what I was doing; at one point, not knowing if it was my part or another's marked in the office, I said to myself, "but who am I?" By the time Office was over I felt that I had made mistakes but I wanted to laugh. In fact, I told the person next to me that I was sorry but could not stop laughing and then I woke up. It was a good dose of humility with humor and a lovely way to begin the day.
Here is a poem to honor Philippine, written by one profession ceremony:

You old woman saint and creased face

went to Sugar Creek,

your eyes speaking hope, your ears compassion.

Others preached, you prayed.

Others taught wise truths, you played with children

smiled at them and held a small bird in your lap,

hid a frightened child in your skirt folds,

wound your ancient time-piece once again

before a child’s-gaze, amazed.



You blessed the prairie Church

with your true presence.

Then with your old body

and beads smooth-worn

Went home to die,

you with your old hands.



Judy Brown, RSCJ


Today I am praying, "Strength of the Heart of Jesus, uphold my heart."

Feast of Philippine Duchesne

Today is Philippine's Feast and I have this marvelous picture of a statue of her that is in the Chapel at Mound City. It was taken by Dawn Stringfield on our trip in October to see the places where we had worked with the Indians in Kansas city. The problem is that I cannot seem to find where I saved it. Now, I think I found it. It says a great deal to me about Philippine. The older picture is posted with it as we need to remember that Philippine was over seventy when she finally was able to go to the Indians. Let us ask her for courage, and a tremendous love for Jesus.
My invocation for today is "Charity of the Heart of Jesus, abound in my heart."

Love of the Heart of Jesus, inflame my heart!

My invocation from the Litany of the Sacred Heart is "Love of the Sacred Heart, inflame my heart!" As I say it today, I am thinking of St. Philippine Duchesne. Her heart was certainly inflamed by the love of the Sacred Heart and this allowed her to do heroic things for Jesus, but it was the daily duty done so faithfully from the morning call before dawn to the nights when she stole time for more prayer or went around the dormitories to see what was needed, or spent time writing to loved ones in France. Letters gave her pleasure when receiving news from across the sea, but she also wrote to give pleasure to others and to let them know about the American mission. Here is a prayer to her:
"O God who lovest souls and hast in all ages chosen apostolic hearts and endowed them with Thy knowledge and Thy love, hear the prayers which we offer through the intercession of Thy servant Saint Philippine Duchesne. Kindle in us the zeal with which her life was consumed, and grant that after following her example in charity, self-denial and prayer on earth, we may be admitted one day to the same glory in our heavenly country. Through Christ Our Lord, who livest and reigneth now and forever. Amen."

Check this out: http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2010/11/as-great-challenge-as-reformation.html - it is an article from one of the blogs listed on the right that is worth reading on electronic communication by a Bishop to his fellow bishops!

Our novena:last day!
Lord Jesus, through the intercession of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, to your Sacred Heart I confide...(here I am putting my friend from Scotland, but you may add your own intentions, too) Only look...Then do what Your Heart inspires...Let Your Heart decide... I count on It...I trust in it...I throw myself on its mercy...Lord, Jesus! You will not fail me!..."

Sugar Creek and Philippine Duchesne

Philippine was happy to be able to be with the Indians even if she could not learn their language. She was there to pray for them and pray she did. The story is that she was in the Chapel for four hours in the morning and another four in the afternoon; I know that the Indians called her the "woman who prays always." However, she also was the one to help nurse sick Indians so often her prayer was at the bedside of a dying Indian. The winter was very cold and the Indians did not know how to dress to survive the ice, sleet, and snow and often became ill. They were touched by Philippine's care and concern. She was suffering herself but found the energy to go out and assist when she was needed at the sick bed of an Indian.

My friend in Scotland, the one we are making the novena to St. Philippine for, just sent me this that I want to share with all:

For Freedom

As a bird soars high
In the free holding of the wind,
Clear of the certainty of ground,
Opening the imagination of wings
Into the grace of emptiness
To fulfill new voyagings,
May your life awaken
To the call of its freedom.

As the ocean absolves itself
Of the expectation of land,
Approaching only
In the form of waves
That fill and pleat and fall
With such gradual elegance
As to make of the limit
A sonorous threshold
Whose music echoes back among
The give and strain of memory,
Thus may your heart know the patience
That can draw infinity from limitation.

As the embrace of the earth
Welcomes all we call death,
Taking deep into itself
The right solitude of a seed,
Allowing it time
To shed the grip of former form
And give way to a deeper generosity
That will one day send it forth,
A tree into springtime,
May all that holds you
Fall from its hungry ledge
Into the fecund surge of your heart.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

An Older Mother Duchesne

When Mother Duchesne was sixty-five years old she described herself as "a worn out instrument, a useless walking stick, fit only to be hidden in a dark corner." She added, "God allows every circumstance to deepen this impression on my soul."

Three years later she is writing: "It seems I have outlived myself, and I see the time coming when I shall be good for almost nothing...I have time now to plant and tend our vegetable garden. This quiet work has one very great advantage- it brings such peace to the soul. This results, no doubt, from contact with the beauty of nature, which lifts one up to the Creator."

Just three years later Mother Duchesne is on her way finally to the Indian Mission at Sugar Creek, Kansas. There she was venerated by the Indians and named, "the woman who prays always". She loved the Indians and they loved her, but her health was such that her superiors felt that she should return to the convent at St. Charles where she spent the last ten years of her life.

Today's invocation from the Litany is Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Your will, I unite myself."

Our novena continues:
Lord Jesus, through the intercession of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, to your Sacred Heart I confide...(here I am putting my friend from Scotland, but you may add your own intentions, too) Only look...Then do what Your Heart inspires...Let Your Heart decide... I count on It...I trust in it...I throw myself on its mercy...Lord, Jesus! You will not fail me!..."

Shrine in honor of St. Philippine Duchesne

This is a picture of the Shrine at St. Charles at the Academy of the Sacred Heart; Philippine's tomb is here and it is a very prayerful place. I am preparing the prayer for the RSCJs in the area today on Philippine and asking her what she wants to say to me at this moment in my life.

I am also reminded of what we have learned from her and will share what Father T. Gavan Duffy said:

"What have we learned from her? The value of a steadfast purpose; the success of failure and the unimportance of our standards of success; the power of grace released by deep, divine desires and simple duties daily done; the old, unearthly, start, unwelcome fact that God is the workman, we the tools, so that He often takes the keen edge of our choice plans and uses it in His own way, not ours, producing wonderful results beyond our ken—but only if the handle of the tool is smoothed and rounded to His hand by penance and by prayer."

The invocation from the Litany of the Sacred Heart for today is: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, to your desires I unite myself."

Our novena continues:
Lord Jesus, through the intercession of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, to your Sacred Heart I confide...(here I am putting my friend from Scotland, but you may add your own intentions, too) Only look...Then do what Your Heart inspires...Let Your Heart decide... I count on It...I trust in it...I throw myself on its mercy...Lord, Jesus! You will not fail me!..."

Prayer used by St. Philippine Duchesne

Here is a prayer that Philippine used and I really like:

Lord, You alone are the Center in which I find rest.
Give me Your arm to support me,
Your shoulders to carry me,
Your breast to lean upon,
Your Cross to uphold me,
Your Body to nourish me.
In You, Lord, I sleep and rest in peace.

Our novena continues:
Lord Jesus, through the intercession of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, to your Sacred Heart I confide...(here I am putting my friend from Scotland, but you may add your own intentions, too) Only look...Then do what Your Heart inspires...Let Your Heart decide... I count on It...I trust in it...I throw myself on its mercy...Lord, Jesus! You will not fail me!..."

My walking prayer today is "Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Your intentions, I unite myself."

Lord, teach us to be generous...

Yesterday I promised this prayer that is in the Novena Booklet:

"Lord God, Master of our lives, you led St. Philippine Duchesne from the silence of the cloister to an intense apostolic life. Through her intercession enable us to respond to your call with the same generosity which she drew from the Heart of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. (Then our novena of confidence)
Lord Jesus, through the intercession of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, to your Sacred Heart I confide...(here I am putting my friend from Scotland, but you may add your own intentions, too) Only look...Then do what Your Heart inspires...Let Your Heart decide... I count on It...I trust in it...I throw myself on its mercy...Lord, Jesus! You will not fail me!..."

The invocation from the Litany of the Sacred Heart today is "To Your close union with the heavenly Father, I unite myself."