Dear God, help us to use Your rich gifts as You want us to. Teach us to share them with our neighbor when he is in need. Make us see, in the marvelous succession of sea sons, and in the growth and ripening of our crops, the merciful, generous hand of Your Divine providence. Help us to realize, too, that if we keep Your commandments and live according to the inspirations of Your grace, we shall also reap a plentiful harvest in the autumn of our lifetime: a harvest that we will be able to enjoy for ever and ever, where no rust can destroy, nor blight spoil any least part of it. Amen.
October 28, 2016
I praise you, Lord, for autumn: for falling temperatures and morning chill, trees turned gold and red, brown and orange, falling leaves and blowing leaves, the smell of burning leaves, the joy of leaf-pile jumping. I praise you, Lord, for autumn: the interplay of outside temperatures and inside warmth, the promise of cider and pumpkin bread, the blessing of blankets and sweaters. I praise you, Lord, for autumn: the beauty and hope in the change of season, the promise that the coming of autumn heralds another ending, a new beginning, and the wonder of another winter, another spring, another summer, yet to come.
October 28, 2016
Lord, I wish to believe in You. Let my faith be full and unreserved, and let it penetrate my thought, my way of judging Divine things and human things. Let my faith be free. Let my faith be strong; let it not fear the difficulties or the problems of which the experience of our life, eager for light, is full; let it not fear the hostility of those who question it, attack it, reject it, deny it, but let it be strengthened in the intimate proof of Your truth; let it resist the attack of criticism. Let my faith be joyful and give peace and gladness to my spirit, and dispose it for prayer with God and conversation with all. Amen.
October 27, 2016
O glorious St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, you did provide for the Holy Family. We commit to your protection all our crops and farm industries. We beseech you, to intercede in our behalf with Almighty God, Who rules the seasons, so that our fields being safe from pests and favored by the weather may yield abundant crops that will allow us to supply the wants of life. Thus freed from earthly worries may we after your example apply all our thoughts to eternal life. We beseech you to instill a love of the land into the hearts of our youth for their own salvation and that of Christian unity so that we may all share hereafter in the same blissful life you enjoy in heaven. Amen.
October 26, 2016
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Your servants departed the remission of their sins, that, through pious supplications, they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired. Who live and reign with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
October 25, 2016
Father in Heaven, ever-living source of all that is good, keep me faithful in serving You. Help me to drink of Christ's Truth, and fill my heart with His Love so that I may serve You in faith and love and reach eternal life. In the Sacrament of the Eucharist You give me the joy of sharing Your Life. Keep me in Your presence. Let me never be separated from You and help me to do Your Will.
October 24, 2016
Lord, I believe: I wish to believe in You. Lord, let my faith be full and unreserved, and let it penetrate my thought, my way of judging Divine things and human things. Lord, let my faith be joyful and give peace and gladness to my spirit, and dispose it for prayer with God and conversation with men, so that the inner bliss of its fortunate possession may shine forth in sacred and secular conversation. Lord, let my faith be humble and not presume to be based on the experience of my thought and of my feeling; but let it surrender to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and not have any better guarantee than in docility to Tradition and to the authority of the Holy Church. Amen. – Pope Paul VI
October 23, 2016
Merciful Lord, who prayed that there be one flock and one shepherd, I ask the light of faith for those who are related to me and do not know You in Your Eucharistic Presence. Give them the joy of Your protecting presence. Bring them into the one fold of which You are the master and Lord. Forgive them their sins and teach them the way of repentance. In the end bring them into the larger circle of Your family, to God our Father, to Mary our Mother, and to You our beloved Brother. Amen.
October 22, 2016
O Holy Spirit, Divine Spirit of light and love, I consecrate to You my understanding, my heart and my will, my whole being for time and for eternity. May my understanding be always obedient to Your heavenly inspirations and the teachings of the holy Catholic Church, of which You are the infallible Guide; may my heart be ever inflamed with love of God and of my neighbor; may my will be ever conformed to the Divine will, and may my whole life be a faithful following of the life and virtues of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and You be honor and glory forever. Amen.
October 21, 2016
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep today, and give Your Angels and Saints charge over those who sleep. Tend Your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest Your weary ones, Bless Your dying ones, Soothe Your suffering ones, pity Your afflicted ones, Shield Your joyous ones, And all for Your love's sake. Amen
October 20, 2016
Dear Jesus, the cool breath of autumn reminds us that the seasons are changing. Daylight more quickly dims. Each life faces new seasons with different challenges. Give us strength to bear the weight and hearts warm and tender with which to love and care. Amen By Columban Fr. John Comiskey
October 19, 2016
Every day of my life belongs to You, O my God, and every action of my life should be performed with the pure intention of honoring You alone. From this moment I offer them to Your Sacred Heart, and by this offering, I consecrate them without reserve to Your glory. What a motive for performing all my actions with all possible perfection! Do not permit them, O my divine Savior, to be sullied by any motives unworthy of Your Sacred Heart. I renounce all that could lessen the merit of my offering. I renounce all vanity, self-love and human respect. Grant, O my God, that I may begin, continue and end this day in Your grace, and solely from the pure motive and pleasing and honoring You. Amen.
October 18, 2016
Jesus, I entrust all my problems to you. Come to me. Speak to me. Reveal the will of God to me. Jesus! Pour your precious blood on me. Remove all the stain of sin from me. Grant me freely, redemption from sin and salvation by the merit of the crucifixion and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. Deliver me from dangers and diseases, and the worldly temptations we encounter in everyday life. Save me by the merit of your suffering. Jesus, send upon me, in power, the Holy Spirit, promised by the Father. Renew me, and my dear ones by the Holy Spirit. Thank you God. Praise be Jesus. Praise be the Holy Spirit." Amen.
October 17, 2016
Every day I need you Lord But this day especially, I need some extra strength To face whatever is to be. This day more than any day I need to feel you near, To fortify my courage And to overcome my fear. By myself, I cannot meet The challenge of the hour, There are times when humans help, But we need a higher power To assist us bear what must be borne, and so dear Lord, I pray, Hold on to my trembling hand And be near me today. Amen.
October 16, 2016
Let me pause as I begin this new day to give it to You, Lord. Before the tumult of activities breaks in; before breakfast plates crash through my still sleepy mind; for this last moment in my bed, thank you, Lord. Let me hold Your promise of new life. Keep me from slipping back for I know that what is forgiven is as if it never were. Each new day, Your grace gives me a fresh start to walk in Your light again. May the Lord support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.