Part of the Introductory Program for the HeartWork Community. Join us for spiritual formation here: https://touchingthesunrise.com/heartwork/

Intro 1 What Is Heartwork

Lord, remember not only men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they inflicted on us. Remember the fruits we have borne thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of this; and when they come to judgment let all the fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.”

~ Written on a piece of wrapping paper found near the body of a dead child in Ravensbruck, the second largest concentration camp for women in the German Reich, where 92,000 women and children died in the Holocaust.

How, O my God, could a woman in this death camp write these words?

How did she find the courage to keep her heart open? To care about the eternal salvation of those at whose hands she suffered and very likely died?

Friends, today we also are living through turbulent and violent times. As we watch the social fabric of our nation disintegrate with mass shootings and watch with horrified anger at what Russia is inflicting on the Ukrainian people and the world, we may find our hearts closing. It could be that our hearts are hardening in fear or anger without our even realizing it. Whatever we are feeling, it is okay. We might feel overwhelmed at the prospect of the future for our children and grandchildren. It is okay. We might feel lost in the midst of everything that is going on around us. It is all okay.

How difficult are you finding it to love and believe in the power of love in these days?

The news cycle overwhelms and incites the fires of anger and fear and hatred in our minds and hearts. It all can feel so righteous, so right. After all, there is a clear bad guy in these incidents, and our hearts immediately take the side of the innocent victims. Today only the bravest can keep lit in their hearts the flame of charity.

How To Keep Loving In Violent Times

he most important truth to be convinced of is not that God loves you. As broken, wounded, wandering as we each may be, as desperately yearning to know that we matter and that we are worth someone’s attention, contrary to what we might think, we do not need most to know how much God loves us.

I almost cringe as I write these words. For almost 40 years this has been both my mantra and my misery, my hope against hope, the alphabet of my feelings of spiritual failure. I had not realized that I was seeking for something that was only half-true, a shabby imitation of the fierce and passionate, surprisingly disconcerting way of divine love.

In the first week of the spiritual exercises, St Ignatius draws the retreatant into love through the very narrow and demanding path of coming to grips with what is not loving in one’s life. The retreatant comes to Jesus in prayer, again and again, begging for the grace to acknowledge the mystery of iniquity which spins a web of deceit around them. Repeatedly I came before Jesus begging for the grace to become deeply aware of my personal sin history and my hidden disorders. I begged Jesus and Mary for interior knowledge of my sins, an awareness of the disorder of my actions, that I might hate them and allow God to bring order once again to my life.

The way of truth is the only foundation for the confidence of love. But ah! how hard is this truth!

You, yes YOU, are God's Choice (Horizons of the Heart 8)

I certainly would never compare my life to that of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. The memories I have of my childhood are of a little girl who always wanted to be a nun and who was—by my own standards at least—well-behaved. St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, however, had a will of steel and a temper that raged into violent outbursts even at the age of four. She was impossible to control. Family and friends recalled how she would lock herself in a room in a rage when she didn’t get what she wanted, kicking the door in her fury. Only when she had spent all her energies and was exhausted could her mother sit down with her and attempt to teach her gentleness and charity.

Though my childhood personality, at least as I remember it, was pretty calm, I have a distinct memory at twenty-one of raging against God. Just a month after suffering a stroke, and a year after my first profession of vows, I was silently before Jesus in the Eucharist one day in the chapel and from somewhere deep inside came words which surprised me, even shocked me. “I hate you,” I said to him. I had lost dreams and ambitions and physical abilities and, what seemed to me as a young adult, my future. And from somewhere within me, this anger and hatred at the one I felt was to blame came raging out. It took me by surprise, for, after all, I had been “well behaved” up to that point. Day after day, in a struggle that stretched to weeks and months and years, I submitted my heart to the transforming action of the Spirit at work in the Eucharist. Each day after receiving Jesus in Communion I prayed, “Help me, for I see now how poor I am, how in need I am of you, Jesus.”

In her diary, Elizabeth herself recorded how her first encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist was a moment of transformation. In fact, she said that it was decisive for the rest of her life. She began to take on from that moment the gentle self-control that would characterize her as an adult.

“In the depths of her soul, she heard his voice…. [The] Master took possession of her heart so completely that thenceforth her one desire was to give her life to Him” (The Spiritual Doctrine of Sister Elizabeth, pg 2).....

How to Bear the Fruit of Christ in Your Life

Entering The New Year 2023 With Jesus

This guided prayerful exercise in forgiving will bring you peace and flood your heart with mercy.

Sr Kathryn Hermes, FSP 
http://www.touchingthesunrise.com
Music from Pixabay

A Prayerful Exercise In Forgiveness

Clearing the Space is a great way to begin your prayer more intentionally.

Background Music: AShamaluevMusic Beautiful Music

Beautiful Music

Intro 9 Clearing the Space

Jesus is offering you peace, whatever may be the turmoil around you or within you.

www,touchingthesunrise.com

FesliyanStudios.com

Guided Meditation for Inner Peace

Guided Prayer in the Presence of God

A 20 minute guided meditation for Inner Peace by Sr. Kathryn James, FSP More at touchingthesunrise.com

Music Public Domain via wevideo

New Age Journeys

01 - Lift Me Up

Not only do the Daughters of St. Paul pray for you, but through this CD we pray with you. We share twenty-three of our favorites-eighteen vocals and five instrumentals-that we sing when we pray. Along with them comes "the hope that is in us" (1 Pt. 3:15). The program booklet includes an interview with one of our soloists and ideas for making a Eucharistic hour of adoration.

01 Ave Verum

This album is a compilation of favorite songs from the Daughters of St. Paul Choir to commemorate and rejoice in twenty years of song. Combining both choral and instrumental offerings, Celebrating 20 Years savors the message of hope and healing, worship, and love. Join the Daughters of St. Paul in praising God in song!

02 - Prayer Of St. Francis

01 - How Can I Keep From Singing

Dating back to ancient times, Marian hymns have been an essential component of Catholic Church music, played in both devotional and liturgical services. This music is also celebrated in Marian ceremonies and feasts and is perfect for deepening your devotion to Mary, teaching the songs to others, and enhancing your personal prayer time.

Sung by the award-winning Daughters of St. Paul Choir, this 2-disc set of favorite Marian hymns compiles Volumes I and II of the best-selling Handmaiden of the Lord: Songs of Mary. Beautifully and timelessly arranged, these 27 songs celebrate and praise Mary as Mother of God, Mother of Mercy Incarnate, Virgin Mother, Queen of Heaven, and more. Combining songs old and new, familiar and unfamiliar, this complete 25th anniversary edition collection inspires, calms, and heals.

Nobody reaches into a Catholic Christian heart the way Mary does. As you listen to these songs, sense her nearness, her protectiveness, and her prayer for you.

03-Immaculate Mary

06-Holy Is His Name

02-Regina Coeli

01-Hail Holy Queen

12 - Ave Maria

06-Salve Regina

02-In Paradisum

01-Ave Verum Corpus Natum

01-To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King

Kids learn best when they are having fun! This enhanced CD combines upbeat and easy-to-learn lyrics that teach and inspire. The accompanying reproducible activities make this a unique and valuable resource for classroom and home. CD features sheet music, lyrics, hand motions, and more!

06 - My Good Shepherd

The selections for this album span the centuries. Mixtures of ancient, time-honored melodies with other modern arrangements creates an awesome collection of hymns leading one to cry: Sanctus!

01 - Agnus Dei

There is a special feeling in the air during Christmas: expectation, joy, love?. The hurry and stress of Christmas preparations might impede our experience of this joyful season. The carols and songs of Season of Love can inspire us and deepen the meaning of this holy time.

04-Carol of the Bells

A little light in the darkness. Some hope, encouragement, or faith?. This is what keeps you going day after day. On this album, the Daughters of St. Paul Choir share with you songs that have inspired them, songs that they've seen work miracles in people's lives. These eleven inspirational, popular, and religious songs from yesterday and today will help you find the sacred in everyday life and the sanctuary your soul longs for. Discover anew the amazing gifts of God's gracious presence and mirac

01 - Medley

06-Bring Flowers of the Rarest

In this meditation and guided prayer, you will be invited to listen to the words Jesus wishes you to hear even when things are mixed up or you have messed up. Jesus loves you unconditionally and forever, and he has great expectations of you to share this love with the world.

Image: davidyonathan4 via pixabay
Music: pixabay public domain

Peace Be With You

This recording of the Rosary offers you the sisters as prayer companions, making it easy for you to pray along whenever you like. Includes Scripture readings and meditations from Pope Francis before each decade. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hail Holy Queen, and an appropriate song conclude each set of mysteries. This audio Rosary can be used as a learning tool by those who are just beginning to pray the Rosary or as a bridge to deeper contemplation by those who have loved this prayer for years. Great also for those unfamiliar with the Rosary.

Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary

Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary

El Santo Rosario de la Virgen María, en su sencillez y profundidad, sigue siendo una oración de gran significado, destinada a producir lo frutos de santidad. Y encaja muy bien en el camino espiritual de un cristiano que, después de dos mil años, no ha perdido nada de la novedad de los orígenes y se siente animado por el Espíritu de Dios a "remar mar adentro," para anunciar, más aún, "proclamar" a Cristo al mundo como Señor y Salvador, "el Camino, la Verdad y la" Vida "(Jn 14: 6) (ver RVM, 1).

Con la oración del Santo Rosario, las Hermanas Paulinas, les invitamos a aprender de María para contemplar la belleza del rostro adorable de Cristo y sobre todo para experimentar la ternura y la profundidad de su amor. Y mientras meditamos con el Santo Rosario, coloquemos en los corazones misericordiosos de Cristo y su Santísima Madre, nuestros sufrimientos, dolores y esperanzas y que María Reina de la Paz, madre del Príncipe de la Paz, nos enseñe el secreto de ser constructores de paz y cómo difundirla con el testimonio de nuestra vida diaria, en el mundo de hoy. "La verdadera paz es un don especial del Resucitado" (Jn 14, 27).

MISTERIOS DOLOROSOS

MISTERIOS GOZOSOS

Smallfoot: The Catholic Movie Review

Sister Thea Bowman said of her music: “When I was a child my people sang the songs of faith. The songs of faith were passed on, taught, learned, and prayed in an environment of love and celebration. Sharing the songs of faith bonded us in family and church. Sharing the songs brought hope and consolation and joy.” Sister Thea dedicated her life to spreading the joy of the Gospel and promoting cultural awareness and racial reconciliation. Her cause for canonization was introduced in 2018.

Sister Thea reflected about the spiritual Deep River: "In the days of slavery, separated from kin and country, my ancesters longed for home. Home is where love is, where you are nurtured and sheltered and challenged and comforted. For slaves who longed so passionately for home, home became a figure of heaven, the heavenly City, where there would be no separation, no death, no auction block, no moaning, no weeping or wailing, no sorrow, no loss....where all will know we are His because we love one another."

Now, after thirty years, Sister Thea Bowman’s remarkable voice is back. “The gift that has been given to me is the gift I share with you.”

Deep River is sung by Sister Thea Bowman and found on her double-CD collection "Songs of My People: The Complete Collection," recorded in 1988 two years before her death and now mastered for digital distribution.

Songs of My People

Deep River by Sister Thea Bowman

If you are like most of our members your Faith is important to you, but you have unanswered questions, can’t find someone you can trust to talk with
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They begged him to touch those who were sick. A reflection on Mk. 6:53-56 #Pause4Prayer

They begged him to touch those who were sick. Mk. 6:53-56 #Pause4Prayer

Pauline Books and Media is the publishing of the Daughter of St. Paul, a congregation of women religious serving the Church through evangelization with the media. www.pauline.org www.paulinestore.org

Pauline Books & Media

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