Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Day Seven- World Youth Day

Day Six

Enjoy a goofy parody (AXE Commercial) postcard from one of our resident comedians Robert! Thank you Robert for blessing us with some laughter! Our hard-drives are recovered so keep checking youtube for more World Youth Day memories!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Day Five



Just like airmail from Europe...these postcards will be a few days behind. Thank you for your patience.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

On our way home!

Here we are in the Amsterdam airport recalling stories from our pilgrimage. We will miss our new friends but are excited to see you all again and share our experience with you. So far our flight is on-time. Keep checking the blog for postcards from WYD.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Check out the WYD Flickr page!


Dont forget to check out our flickr page! For those of you who have never used flickr, don't worry, you do not need an account to view photos. When the page come up look to the left for the sets. Copy and paste this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/27198961@N02/ or goggle World Youth Day 2011 Madrid/Rome!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Day Three-World Youth Day




What a day!

We began day three in a Roman traffic jam on our way to the Vatican Museum. Our guided tour through the museum was amazing, ending with time in the Sistine Chapel. We then proceeded down to St. Peter’s. There we encountered the Pieta and prayed at the tomb Blessed John Paul II. After a great time walking through the rest of St. Peters and the square we ventured off to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall. In this peaceful church, we prayed over the tomb of St. Paul, himself. This left a profound experience on many of us. I brought the intentions of the diocese here and included them with my prayers asking for St. Paul’s intercession.

After so many full experiences we completed our day with a tour of the catacombs. We were to able to walk and touch the graves of the early Christians in the first few hundred years of our Church. Then with Fr. Jose, we celebrated Mass in the Catacombs! We prayed for all our deceased relatives and friends. I wish I could add details to every step of this day, but we have so much more to see tomorrow.

Special note: Full resolution videos will be re-posted when we get back to the states, this is due to European video formats. Be patient. We are working hard to get video postcards out after full days on the road. Chao!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Postcard from World Youth Day- Day Two



We are still working on resolution solutions.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Day One World Youth Day




Hello from Rome! This video is low resolution because the European internet cloud will not accept our full resolution american video formats. We will upload full resolution versions of these videos on youtube when we get home.

Visit our youtube page at: http://youtu.be/dSlj0Q1sTuY
See still images of the trip at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27198961@N02/

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Day Nine

O Lord, Holy Spirit,
grant me sight to see the wondrous promise of divine love;
insight to see my own weakness;
delight in Your divine presence in my soul
which You have made Your temple through sanctifying grace.
I pray, O Holy Spirit,
that I may be not doubting;
that I be spared the pain of being alone
without trust or hope in Christ;
that my prayer may always be "My Lord and my God!"
I pray that I may acquire a sense of retreat
to prayer and recollection at various times in my daily life;
for prayer is the bond that joins us to Christ.
I pray that I may be aware of the physical needs of the poor
and that I may share what I can with them
in the charitable works of the Church.
I pray, O Holy Spirit,
that You will in Your mercy
grant me the favor I have sought in this novena...

State your request here...

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Day Eight

O Holy Spirit,
life and light of the Church,
give us thoughts higher than our own thoughts,
and prayers better than our own prayers,
and powers beyond our own powers,
that we may love and live,
imitating Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior.
Come to us, Holy Spirit,
come with the Father
and the Son
and grant me the favor I so earnestly request in this novena...

State your request here...

Vouchsafe to dwell within our souls
and quickly make our hearts Your own.
Quench in us the fires of hate and strife,
the wasting fever of the heart.
From perils guard our feeble life
and to our souls Your peace impart.
Let voice and mind and heart
and strength confess
and glorify Your name
and let the fire of charity burn bright
and other hearts inflame.

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Day Seven

Come, Holy Spirit,
creator of all things:
come visit our hearts with Your power.
Fill with grace, friendly guest,
the hearts which You have created.
You are called the Consoler,
gift from the hand of God,
source of life, light, love,
and flame, highest good.
You are the pledge of sevenfold grace,
finger of the Father’s hand,
promised us by Him,
and You make our tongues speak the truth.
Cast light on our senses,
pour love into our hearts.
Grant our weak bodies strength
that they may never grow weary of doing good
and grant me the favor I so earnestly seek in this novena...

State your request here...

Keep the enemy far from us,
give us peace always,
let us willingly follow in Your footsteps
that we may be far removed from sin.
Grant that through You
we may grow in knowledge of the Father and of the Son,
and that we may ever strongly believe in You,
the Spirit of both.
Praise and honor be forever to the Father on the highest throne,
in the risen Son of God,
in the Consoler.

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Day Six


O Father in Heaven,
I beg You to send the Holy Spirit.
May Your Holy Spirit remind me
when I am apt to forget Your law.
Your love, Your promises.
May Your Holy Spirit strengthen my memory
to recall frequently Your sanctity,
omniscience, wisdom, and goodness,
faithfulness, and love.
May Your Holy Spirit encourage me when I am slothful;
strengthen me when I am weak;
enlighten me when I no longer can help myself.
Breathe into me, O Holy Spirit,
that I may do what is holy.
Stir me, that I may love what is holy.
Strengthen me, that I may preserve what is holy.
Protect me, Holy Spirit,
that I may never lose what is holy
and grant me the favor I so earnestly seek in this novena...

State your request here...

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Day Five

Come, O Spirit of sanctity,
from the glory of heaven
and send forth the radiance of Your light.
Father of all the poor,
light and peace of all hearts,
come with Your countless gifts.
Consoler in desolation;
refreshment full of loveliness,
come dear friend of my soul.
In weariness send repose;
breath gently cool refreshing breeze;
console the desolate who weep alone.
Light of Beatitude,
make our hearts ready;
come enter our souls.
Without Your grace,
man stands alone;
he cannot be good or sure.
Cleanse what is soiled;
heal what is wounded;
moisten what is arid.
Bend the stubborn will;
warm the cold heart;
guide the wandering footstep.
O Holy Spirit,
we beg You to give us grace through Your sevenfold power
and grant me the favor I so earnestly seek in this novena...

State your request here...

Give us merit for the present,
and one day beatitude when we have finished our earthly journey.

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Day Four

O God, Who today by the light of the Holy Spirit
did instruct the hearts of the faithful,
give us, by the light of the same Holy Spirit,
a love for what is right and just
and a constant enjoyment of His comforts.
Pray Holy Spirit,
that I may strive to learn more of my faith;
that I may ever be conscious that reason in all
its human magnificence is capable of grasping
but a glimpse of the reality that is God.
Pray that I may accept as the motto of my life:
"All for the greater glory of God"
and grant me the favor I so earnestly seek in this novena...

State your request here...

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Day Three

Heavenly Father,
You have called me to be a member
of the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ,
and to be a temple of the Holy Spirit.
I ask You to give me these gifts of the Holy Spirit:
wisdom, that I may understand the follies of this world;
understanding, that I may grasp more fully
the meaning of my existence
and the purpose of all things in the world;
counsel, that I may always choose the proper way;
fortitude, that I may remain faithful to You
under the pressure of temptation.;
piety, that I may revere You in all I do, think or say;
fear of the Lord, that should the motive of love fail me,
I may quickly be awakened to the eternal consequences of my deeds.
Visit me by Your grace
and Your love
and grant me the favor I so earnestly seek in this novena...

State your request here...

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Day Two

O Holy Spirit,
make me faithful in every thought,
and grant that I may always listen to your voice,
and watch for Your light,
and follow Your gracious inspirations.
I cling to You,
and give myself to You,
and ask You by Your compassion
to watch over me in my weakness.
Holding the pierced feet of Jesus,
looking at His Five Wounds,
trusting in His Precious Blood,
adoring His opened side and stricken heart,
I implore You adorable Spirit,
helper of my infirmity,
to keep me in Your grace,
now and always,
and grant us the favor we ask in this novena...

State your request here...

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Novena to the Holy Spirit

Begin be reciting the following prayer...

O Holy Spirit, Divine Consoler!
I adore you as my True God.
I bless You by uniting myself to the praises
You receive from the angel and saints.
I offer You my whole heart,
and I render You heartfelt thanks
for all the benefits You have bestowed
and do unceasingly bestow upon the world.
You are the author of all supernatural gifts
and who did enrich with immense favors the soul
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the Mother of God,
I beseech you to visit me by Your grace and Your love,
and grant me the favor
I so earnestly seek in this novena...

State your request here...

O Holy Spirit,
spirit of truth,
come into our hearts:
shed the brightness of your light on all nations,
that they may be of one faith and pleasing to You.

Amen.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Recite the prayer of the appropriate day...

DAY ONE

O Holy Spirit,
bestow upon us Your seven holy gifts.
Enlighten our understanding that we may know You.
Give us wisdom that Your will may be clear to us
and that we may accept it.
Grant us the gift of counsel
that we may always perceive what is right.
Fortify us that we may always be capable
of fulfilling Your Divine Will.
Inspire us with the spirit of learning
that we may be able to penetrate more deeply
into the truths that You have revealed.
Let our hearts be steeped in the spirit of childlikeness
that we may bring You joy.
Let us have proper fear of God
that we may never grieve You
or wander from the path of goodness.
Give us the fulness of Your gifts
that we may glorify You.

Amen.

Look with compassion upon us,
O Holy Spirit,
and grant us the favor we seek in this novena...

State your request here...

if it be in accordance with Your Holy Will.