The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Happy feast day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, through whom Jesus gave us the Sacred Heart devotion.

Our Lord:"Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love.... I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament" (Third apparition).

Padre Pio's Sacred Heart Novena

O my Jesus, You said "verily I say to You, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you", behold I knock, I seek and I ask for the grace of...

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
Sacred Heart of Jesus I put all my trust in Thee.O my Jesus, You said, "verily I say to You, whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you", behold in your name I ask the Father for the grace of...

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Sacred Heart of Jesus I put all my trust in Thee. O my Jesus, You said, "verily I say to You, heaven and earth shall pass away but My words shall not pass away", behold I encouraged by your infallible words, now ask for the grace of...

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Sacred Heart of Jesus I put all my trust in Thee.O sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom one thing alone is impossible, namely, not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of Thee through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your and our tender Mother.

Say the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) and add, St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

Litany of Saints for the unemployed

The official unemployment rate stands at 9.5%.

St. Cajetan, patron saint of the unemployed, pray for us.

St. Joseph, patron saint of husbands and fathers, pray for us.

Blessed Virgin Mary, patron saint of wives and mothers, pray for us.

St. Homobonus, patron saint of business people, pray for us.

St. Jude, patron saint of impossible cases, pray for us.

St. Martin of Porres, patron saint of the poor, pray for us.

Lord God, through the intercession of your holy saints, may all those who seek work find it.

Amen.

A Prayer from a True Contemplative

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton