March 2019: Prayers and Reflections

Prayers and Reflections for March

The Pope’s Intention for March:

That Christian communities, especially those who are persecuted, may feel that they are close to Christ and may have their rights respected.

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As you pursue your vocation – a vocation so intimately related to the word of God – I wish to recall to you one simple but important lesson taken from the life of Saint Patrick; and it is this: In the history of evangelisation, the destiny of an entire people – your people – was radically affected for time and eternity because of the fidelity with which Saint Patrick embraced and proclaimed the word of God, and by reason of the fidelity with which Saint Patrick pursued his call to the end. What I really want you to realise is this: that God counts on you, that he makes his plans, in a way, depend on your free collaboration, on the oblation of your lives, and on the generosity with which you follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in the depths of your hearts.

Pope St John Paul II, Address to Seminarians, Maynooth, 1979

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Love and suffering. The two go together. We cannot have love without suffering; and we will not suffer unless we love. The call to love is the call to suffer; the willingness to suffer is but a confirmation of love. The joy of suffering is born of love just as the joy of love is born of suffering! Does that sound strange and surprising? The drama of human birth repeatedly teaches us this truth for in it there is both pain and love. It is from suffering and love that life emerges. The deeper the love, the deeper is the suffering; the deeper the suffering, the deeper is the love.

Mgr Alex Rebello,
Wandering in the Wilderness:
Discovering the Divine in Everyday Things

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Lord, over time loving relationships are tested

by the demands we make upon each other.

May we see that perfect love is found only in you

and that the bonds we pledged and share

can be strengthened as we humbly recognise

our mutual humanity and frailties.

Love bears all things, believes all things

hopes all things, endures all things.

Let our love cover the multitude of our faults.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Fr Paul Clayton-Lea,
In the Light of the Word. Family Life through the Lens of Scripture

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In reflection, fasting, and prayer, each of us deep down should ask ourselves, Is this really the world I desire? Is this really the world we all carry in our hearts? Is the world that we want really a world of harmony and peace, in ourselves, in our relations with others, in families, in cities, in and between nations? And does not true freedom mean choosing ways in this world that lead to the good of all and are guided by love?

Pope Francis, Embracing the Way of Jesus

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Download March Prayers and Reflections here.