Our Monthly Devotions

Preface. January. The Holy Infancy. Considerations and Prayers for Every Day. First Day. Second Day. Third Day. Fourth Day. Fifth Day. Sixth Day. Seventh Day. Eighth Day. Ninth...

The Lord has commended His holy name to every Christian as a precious jewel which he is to use to obtain mercy and grace. “That whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name...

Again the angels said, “Peace on earth to men of good‐will.” How precious is the peace of the soul! Peace is the fruit of a good conscience, which produces peace with God and wi...

Be merciful. _Spare us, O Jesus!_ Be merciful, _Deliver us, O Jesus._ From all evil, _Deliver us, O Jesus._ From all sin, _Deliver us, O Jesus._ From Thy wrath, _Deliver us, O J...

Do with me what Thou wilt; I am willing to submit to joy or sorrow, life or death, fortune or misfortune. It is all indifferent to me as long as it is Thy will, only give me the...

We should not, therefore, be deterred from frequenting these sacraments by human considerations, or by the mockery of the people of this world. We should have these words of Chr...

Humbly prostrate before Thee, O my God! and before the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I return my grateful thanks for the inestimable benefit bestowed upon me, of being b...

Joseph remained in Egypt until the time of Herod’s death. The angel again appears to him, and bids him return to Judea, as if the divine Infant were not sure of His life until H...

O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector of thy chaste spouse, the Virgin Mother of God, I choose thee this day to be my special patron and ad...

After the discourse at the Last Supper Jesus takes off His outer garments, girds Himself with a towel, pours water into a vessel, and approaches Peter to wash his feet. For this...

The first words which Our Lord utters after a long silence, are words of mercy, and a prayer for forgiveness: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus prays...

Jesus Christ. Lord, have mercy on us. _Christ, have mercy on us._ Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. _Christ, graciously hear us._ God the Father of heaven, _Have mercy on...

It was ordered by the Law of Moses that all women should, at a stated time after childbirth, repair to the Temple and present themselves to the priest, in order that they might...

O Virgin Mother most sorrowful, I detest my sins because they have offended God, and caused thee so much pain! I am sorry for them, and will be sorry for them as long as I live,...

Our Lord became obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross, in order that we might, after His example, labor to acquire and practise the virtue of obedience. The perfec...

Thee, Thee alone, O Heart of my God, will I love! Heart most pure, Heart most holy, never tiring of my insults, ever forgiving and forgetting, and, if I do but love Thee sincere...

Heart of my God, Thou art for me light, hope, heaven, eternity, all. I thank Thee, sweetest Jesus, for all Thy generosity towards Thy unworthy creature. I scarcely know myself w...

This adorable Heart offers to us at once the motive, the example, and the grace of holiness. What could be more of an incentive to keep ourselves from sin, than the remembrance...

We come to understand the value of our soul from the price which was paid for its ransom. When you wish to purchase a precious gem, you judge of its value from its cost. We must...

There is a virtue which, in the language of the theologians of the Church, is called the angelic virtue: a virtue most pleasing to God. It is chastity. The precious blood makes...

4. Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the most precious blood of Jesus, Thy beloved Son and my divine Redeemer, for all those who shall this day pass to another life, th...

The Holy Trinity does all the work exterior to itself by the joint power of all; for the persons of God cannot be separated from the one God. There are certain things which in o...

Peace is a gift of the Holy Ghost, somewhat similar to joy; if we have peace nothing can disturb our soul; even if we are afflicted we are not out of humor, for we see that it i...

We beseech Thee, O Lord, that the Paraclete, Who proceedeth from Thee, may enlighten our minds, and, according to the promise of Thy Son, may lead us into all truth; through Our...

What lesson may we draw from this second sorrow of Mary in Egypt? An important one is this, that sufferings and trials, if they come from God, are far better for us than great c...

O my Lord, Thou Who alone art most worthy of my love, behold me standing before Thy divine presence utterly overwhelmed by the many grievous injuries I have done Thee. I ask Thy...

Thus we may say that the seraphim represents the Holy Ghost; the cherubim, the Word, the Son of God; the thrones, the Father. These choirs of angels are in the immediate presenc...

O pure and happy spirits, whom the Almighty selected to become the angels and guardians of men! we most humbly prostrate ourselves before you, to thank you for the charity and z...

We will now hear from the great St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. I am quoting from his treatise on the care for the dead. Mark how beautifully he writes: “We read in the book of...

The Catholic doctrine of the intercession of the saints must not be lost sight of in this series of thoughts on the November devotion. In our wants, personal wants, spiritual an...

Prompt, we beseech Thee, O Lord, our actions by Thy inspirations, and further them with Thy continual help; that every prayer and work of ours may always begin from Thee, and th...

Lord, have mercy on us. _Christ, have mercy on us._ Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. _Christ, graciously hear us._ God the Father of heaven, _Have mercy on the suffering...

There have been no new doctrines added to the dogmas of the Church. People are sometimes scandalized when they hear, from Protestant and infidel sources, that the Church is cont...

O my Jesus, would that I could take Thee to witness of the holiness of my life and the innocence of my heart! But it is in Thy mercy only that I place all my hope; my consolatio...

Exaudi nos, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus: et mittere digneris sanctum angelum tuum de cœlis, qui custodiat, foveat, protegat, visitet, atque defendat omnes habit...

Te igitur, clementissime Pater, per Jesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum, supplices rogamus ac petimus, uti accepta habeas, et benedicas, hæc dona, hæc munera, hæc sancta...

Gratiam tuam quæsumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde, ut qui, angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per Passionem ejus et crucem, ad resurrectionis gl...

O infinite majesty of my God! I am so full of shame at the sight of the ingratitude and malice of which I find myself guilty before Thee, that I dare not raise my eyes to heaven...

And is it possible, O my Jesus, that Thou Who art infinite purity desirest to come and reside in this soul of mine, which has been so many times the dwelling of Thy enemy, and s...