RELIGION AND ART

To do everything according to the truth: This is the light that must irradiate our whole personality and set its mark on every act of our lives. (St. John XXIII) Prayer  Heavenly Father, forgive me for putting myself first. By your Spirit, teach me how to love.   Father, unite all your children as one. Jesus, pour out your spirit of unity and love among your people. May your spirit erase any hostility that divides us, so we can reach out to the world with your love. Free us from all negligence and laziness, and give us joy in your gifts of grace. Lord, you are the light of my life   Sometimes it seems as if I don’t have very much to offer.   Help me to be brave and generous with the love you have given me. Teach us to be faithful in seeking common good for your sake, that your light may shine on the whole human family by means of your Church. come to me beloved

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT   Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.   He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. with the Lord there is mercy When I call, answer me. O God of justice. From anguish you redeemed me, how long will your hearts be closed,  will you love what is futile and seek what is false?  It is the Lord who gives favours to those whom he loves; the Lord hears me whenever I call him.   Fear him; do not sin, ponder on your bed and be still. What can bring us happiness? Many say lift up the light of your face on us. O Lord, you have put into my heart a greater joy than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.   Psalm 4 Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my God’. Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows. Never will I offer their offerings of blood. Never will I take their name upon my lips. O Lord, it is you w

For forty days God’s people lived in desert land. For forty days Elijah trudged the wilderness; Our Lord was tempted, prayed and fasted forty days. Now we, his Church, observe the sacred time of Lent.   Pauline Prayer of the Church The Lord, your God, has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own.   It was because the Lord loved you and because f his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.   Understand, then, that the Lord, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation towards those who love him and keep his commandments.   Deut. 7:6, 8-9 Prayer: Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil.   As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this holy by our self-denial.   Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who liv