Seven Days A Week: Brief Meditations and Prayers

Caritas Sunday

Veritas Monday

Bonitas Tuesday

Pulchritudo Wednesday

Sanctitas Thursday

Unitas Friday

Haereditas Saturday

+ + +

Charity Sunday

Resurrection

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

A heart of love offers the mercy of healing to others.

Be ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly but they can help to keep you humble. (Whether trivial or big, accept them). All these can be so many chances to be a little nearer to our Lord. There is nothing to fear if you are near to the Lord and in His Hands. Michael Ramsey, excerpt from Five Helps for the New Year.

Almighty Father, help us to be ever mindful of Thy gift of salvation in Christ Jesus, Thy Son, who died so that we might have life and love Thee for all eternity. May we abide in humility, that we be numbered amongst those within Thine everlasting Kingdom. Grant that we be ever merciful, welcoming others into Thine embrace; through the same Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The charity of God is a true charity seen in the Resurrection of Jesus.

Truth Monday

Holy Angels

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

A will conformed to the truth of God offers the seeker the knowledge of Jesus Christ. All are invited into communion with the Son of God for the salvation of souls.

We need to become persons who are aware of the power of words. Words shape us and form us. Words direct our attention and our energies. Words can build up and they can tear down. Even a word of truth can be destructive when it is not uttered in charity and true love. Philip Lawrence, OSB.

When God created man according to His own image, He breathed into him life immortal, He gave Him the spark of knowledge, and indued his soul with reason and understanding, in which regard it is called 'the candle of the Lord.' Excerpt from The Lord’s Prayer, Sermon VII, Text Luke xi:2; Lancelot Andrewes, Works, Sermons, Volume V, pp. 362-371.

O God our Father, Thou art the Just and True. Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is Thy law fulfilled, the Word incarnate sent to redeem us, to restore us to likeness with Thee. We pray, O Lord, assist us with the help of Thy holy angels. Grant us the grace to be ever configured to Thy unchanging truth; through the same Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The righteousness of God is the Holy Gospel revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, true God and true man.

Goodness Tuesday

The Apostles

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

God is the architect, the builder of the universe; God has placed within creation a principle of order according to which all creatures are joined and united by peace and fellowship; all creatures, shaped by God and ordered by God’s agents, participate in divine order and so in God himself. Excerpt from Spiritual Friendship by Saint Aelred.

Good and merciful Father, grant thou that I may attain a perfect and abiding compassion towards those most in need of thy grace. When vexed, aid me to remain bounden unto peace, and to answer with goodwill, freely given. Grant me grace, I beseech Thee, to show forth a largesse unto others, sprung from a heart of thankfulness for Thy saving mercies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The peace of God is life in the Kingdom.

Beauty Wednesday

Saint Joseph

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Beauty manifest by the person with a heart filled by gratitude and joy. The beauty of life can be seen in the eyes of the newborn child.

To recognize Christ in the Guest I may have to step back a bit (metaphorically speaking) to get the stranger in proper perspective. Sometimes we may meet Christ in his most unattractive state, like Isaiah’s suffering servant who had no beauty in him and was dismissed as being of no account. I sometimes wonder whether the late Byzantine and late Gothic images of the Suffering Servant–Christ after his scourging, bloody and crowned with thorns–empowered the devout of those times to recognize Christ in the outcasts of their societies. Can I recover that vision today? Excerpt from Benedictine Hospitality by James, a monk of Holy Cross Abbey, Virginia.

O most loving Father, grant that I be filled with Thy joy, to manifest a heart made fair by Thy loving-kindness. I give thanks, good Father, for all Thy graces which do stir within me a longing to serve Thee and to seek the good of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Perfect beauty is the communion of the Holy Trinity.

Holiness Thursday

The Eucharist

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

A pure heart makes possible goodness toward others and self.

Perfect contrition (also called contrition of charity) is a repentance for sin that is motivated by faith and the love of God. It contrasts with imperfect contrition, which arises from a less pure motive, such as common decency or fear of Hell (Catechism of the Catholic Church). By surrendering all pretense, i.e., by admitting the fault of our misdoings (sins of commission and omission) is solely our own, we expose our hearts to a thorough cleansing, to a restoration and peace that only God can and does give.

Heavenly Father, help us to worship Thee in the beauty of holiness. Grant, Thou lover of souls Who bids us into communion, the grace of a will habitually configured to Thy perfect will, free of distractions, beautified by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ; through the same Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

A pure heart is a heart alive in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Unity Friday

The Passion of Christ

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

No medicine is more valuable, none more efficacious, none better suited to the cure of all our temporal ills than a friend to whom we may turn for consolation in time of trouble, and with whom we may share our happiness in time of joy. St. Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship.

Heavenly Father, united in the suffering of Thy Son, Jesus, manifest on that day we call Good Friday and of which we remain mindful of throughout the week, grant all who worship Thy Son the grace of full visible unity as willed by Thy Son. May those of us already united with the Church founded by Jesus, be messengers of concord in the truth; through the same Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Our wounds make a place in us for God; the wounds of Jesus make a place for us in God (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Tradition Saturday

Our Lady's Saturday

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Sacred Tradition is the Church's living communion with the apostles, inseparably united to Scripture under the Magisterium's guidance, dynamically unfolding through the Holy Spirit toward fuller truth. It calls Catholics to abide faithfully in this apostolic heritage, allowing it to shape doctrine, worship, and life. CCC 78

Heavenly Father, Thou hast given us the Blessed Virgin Mary as our mother, and we seek her intercession to remain faithful to Thee at all times, when faith is tested and evil presses on from many sides, but especially when we are able to enjoy natural comforts, lest we become distracted by the same. Help us carry forth wisdom handed on by the saints in Thy Church to be faithful disciples working for the salvation of souls and the coming of Thy blessed Kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church... the task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. ITC, Chapter 2: Abiding in the Communion of the Church; Fidelity to Apostolic Tradition.