Day 17 of Lent

Thank you for joining us today. I pray you and your family are having a blessed Lent.

TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE:

COLOSSIANS 4:2

DEVOTE YOURSELVES TO PRAYER, BEING WATCHFUL AND THANKFUL.

Devote is a verb defined as: give all or a large part of one’s time or resources to a person, activity, or cause.

There are many types of prayer. So many that it can be overwhelming. Here are a couple of tips to hopefully help you start devoting your life to prayer.

1. Look to Jesus – Prayer can be as simple as a conversation. Tell Jesus what you did today. What were your struggles? What were your strengths? Where were your tempted? Ask Him to help you when you fall. When you do so, close your eyes and see our Lord sitting in front of you. See his merciful loving eyes and warm smile as you pray. If you want to restore all things in Christ, live and act like Christ. Hebrews 12:2
2. Take the Virgin Mary as Your Model – Christ isn’t easy to imitate, since He is more than perfect; He is Divine. Pope Pius realized this and wrote: “Since the majesty of that Model may be too much for fallen human nature, God mercifully gave Us another model to propose for your imitation, the glorious Virgin Mother of God. While being as close to Christ as human nature permits, she is better suited to the needs of our weak nature.” Never be afraid of loving Our Mother Mary too much. We can never love her as much as Christ did.
3. Imitate the Saints – St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”. Praise God for the Saints! They have done the hard part for us! They show us the best way how to imitate Christ. They have already paved the road… we just have to walk it.
4. Be a Saint – Sanctity wins more souls than argumentation. Even if you have the best Catholic apologetics or theology in the world, that won’t matter for much if your life doesn’t reflect the love of Christ. So be the light of Christ!
5. Pray for Priests and Seminarians – One of the chief ways people encounter Christ is through their priests: in the Sacraments, in the proclamation of the Gospel, and in the priest himself. This is why holy priests are so important. Holy priests are indispensable for the laity. 
6. Pray Catholic prayers and ask for grace – The Catholic Church says numerous prayers that the laity can pray. Here’s 10 go-to prayers. These prayers have been prayed for centuries before you and will for centuries after you. Ask for the grace to join in these prayers with the Body of Christ.
7. Trust in Christ, Rather than Yourself – When your young son or daughter reaches out to you in a time of distress, do you not immediately come to their aid? Do you not think God, who is Love Eternal, will do the same? Trust that Christ will guide you. Just give Him the opportunity… He will do the rest.
8. Be Catholic – Pope Pius said it best….

Now the way to reach Christ is not hard to find: it is the Church. Rightly does Chrysostom inculcate: “The Church is thy hope, the Church is thy salvation, the Church is thy refuge.” (Hom. de capto Euthropio, n. 6.) It was for this that Christ founded it, gaining it at the price of His blood, and made it the depositary of His doctrine and His laws, bestowing upon it at the same time an inexhaustible treasury of graces for the sanctification and salvation of men.

“IF YOU HAVE LOST THE TASTE FOR PRAYER, YOU WILL REGAIN THE DESIRE FOR IT BY RETURNING HUMBLY TO ITS PRACTICE.”

BLESSED POPE PAUL VI

IDEAS TO HELP YOU MEMORIZE BIBLE VERSES EACH DAY:

1. ASK FOR THE GRACE TO REMEMBER THE VERSE THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
2. ASK YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL TO HELP YOU REMEMBER THE BIBLE VERSE THROUGHOUT THE DAY
3. BEFORE UNLOCKING YOUR PHONE OR SENDING A TEXT MESSAGE, EACH TIME REPEAT THE BIBLE VERSE.
4. BEFORE SENDING AN EMAIL OUT, REPEAT THE BIBLE VERSE.
5. WHILE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH IN THE MORNING AND AT NIGHT, REPEAT THE BIBLE VERSE.
6. EACH TIME YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, BEFORE YOU START IT, REPEAT THE BIBLE VERSE.
7. BEFORE PRAYER BEFORE MEALS WITH YOUR FAMILY, REPEAT THE BIBLE VERSE.
8. SEND THE BIBLE VERSE TO YOUR SPOUSE, KIDS, OR FAMILY THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS A REMINDER.
9. START EACH PRAYER THROUGHOUT THE DAY WITH THE BIBLE VERSE.
10. EACH TIME YOU WALK THROUGH A DOORWAY, REPEAT THE BIBLE VERSE.

PLEASE HELP US BY SHARING THIS WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

WE WILL BE HAVING A REFLECTION EACH DAY, SO PLEASE COME BACK TOMORROW!