RELIGION AND ART

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS      Act of Love before Mass O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  Mass Readings   Lectures de la Messe   Reflection   Memorial of the first Martyrs of the See of Rome   First Reading Genesis  Genesis 21:5,8-20 Hagar and Ishmeal, expelled for Sarah's sake, saved by the Lord Abraham was a hundred years old whe...

PRAYER BEFORE MASS Go before us O Lord, in this our sacrifice of Prayer and Praise, and grant that we say and sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and practice and show forth in our daily lives. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.   PRAYER AFTER MASS Bless, O Lord, our hearts and minds, and grant that as we leave Your house, we may continue to be aware of Your presence. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.  by Saint John Berchmans, Patron Saint of Altar Boys. Readings   Lectures   Reflection   Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles First Reading Act 12:1-11 Now I know the Lord really did saved me from Herod King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end...

PRAYER BEFORE MASS Go before us O Lord, in this our sacrifice of Prayer and Praise, and grant that we say and sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and practice and show forth in our daily lives. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.   PRAYER AFTER MASS Bless, O Lord, our hearts and minds, and grant that as we leave Your house, we may continue to be aware of Your presence. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.  by Saint John Berchmans, Patron Saint of Altar Boys. Readings   Lectures   Reflection   St. Irenaeus, Bishop, Martyr   Genesis 18:16-23 Abraham negotiates with the Lord From Mamre the men set out and arrived within sight of Sodom, with Abraham accompanying them to show them the way. Now the Lord had wondered, ‘Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am going to do, seeing that Abraham will become a great nation with all the nations of the earth blessing themselves by him? For I have singled him out to command his sons and his household after him to maintain...

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS      Act of Love before Mass O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  Mass Readings   Lectures de la Messe   Reflection First Reading Wisdom 1:13-15,2:23-24 God takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living Death was not God’s doing, he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living. To be – for this he created a...

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS      Act of Love before Mass O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  Mass Readings   Lectures de la Messe   Reflection First Reading  Gen. 18:1-15 Next year your wife Sarah will have a son   The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of t...

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS      Act of Love before Mass O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  Mass Readings   Lectures de la Messe   Reflection   First Reading  Gen. 17:1,9-10,15-22 The Lord make a covenant and gives Abraam and Sarai new names When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El Shaddai. Bear you...

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS   Act of Love beforeMass O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  Mass Readings    Lectures de la Messe   Reflection     First Reading     Isaiah 49:1-6   I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth Islands, listen to me, pay attention...

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS  Act of Love before Mass O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.   Mass Readings   Lectures de la Messe   Reflection   First Reading  15:1-12,17-18 Count the stars: such shall be your descendants It happened that the word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will...