Search Engine of Mind and Heart

He who does not meditate acts as one who never looks into the mirror and so does not bother to put himself in order, since he can be dirty without knowing it. The person who meditates and turns his thoughts to God who is the mirror of the soul, seeks to know his defects and tries to correct them, moderates himself in his impulses and puts his conscience in order. -- Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. -- 2 Corinthians 3:18

Father in heaven, you are the mirror of my soul!

Whenever I fail to put into practice all the words I have received from you, I am easily convicted and my conscience bothers me. This is because your words have become the greatest treasures of my life and only by being a doer of your word will I be blessed.

Please forgive me from all my sins and fill me with the most Holy Spirit so that I may continue to be transformed into the same image of your son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whom you are well pleased.

All these I humbly ask and pray In Jesus Name. Amen.

"Anyone who listens to the word

but does not do what it says 

is like a man who looks at his face 

in a mirror."

James 1:23

Declare His Virtues

Unless you strive after virtues and practice them, you will never grow to be more than dwarfs. -- St. Theresa of Avila

Intensify your Prayer Time

After you have made a decision that is pleasing to God, the Devil may try to make you have second thoughts. Intensify your prayer time, meditation, and good deeds. For if Satan's temptations merely cause you to increase your efforts to grow in holiness, he'll have an incentive to leave you alone. -- St. Ignatius of Loyola

On-Line with God

You go to pray; to become a bonfire, a living flame, giving light and heat.

-- St Josemaria Escriva

Understanding the Truth

O Truth, you are present to those who seek your help, and at one and the same time you answer all, though they seek your counsel on different matters. You respond clearly. but not everyone hears clearly. All ask what they wish, but do not always hear the answer they wish. Your best servant is he who is intent not so much on hearing his petition answered, as rather on willing whatever he hears from you.

-- St. Augustine

SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI

True charity consists in doing good 

to those who do us evil, 

and in thus winning them over.

 
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." --Matthew 5:44

"Your Father who is in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. -- Matthew 5:45

"I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?" -- Matthew 18:32-33

"If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." -- Matthew 5:23-24


Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?

"I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." -- Matthew 18:21-22

Father in heaven, I pray for all those who have persecuted me. May I finally be reconciled with them so that I may forever be free from this burden. Touch their hearts today as you have touched mine in order to bring about everlasting peace to all those who love you. We are all your children and as such, we should love one another as you have loved us through your son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In this season of lent, I choose to free myself from any imprisonment of the heart by invoking the power of forgiveness so that the light of love shall shine in me all the days of my life.

All these I lift up to you in prayer, in the mighty name of your son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you now and forever. Amen.

Behaving towards God

Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?
Job 15:4

Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angles tremble. -- St. Teresa of Avila

My office table where I do my daily reading, reflection and prayers were full of things that I have not yet sorted out as I spent my whole weekend cleaning up this room that I occupied for my work and business.

Somehow, I was first moved to clean the table before I started my daily reading, reflection and prayers to my Lord. I did this so that my mind and heart could focused clean and refreshed to my God without catching sight of any disorderly surroundings. Moreover is the reverence I have for my Lord in this place where I seek to communicate with Him in prayer.

After I have set the table right so to speak, I began my first order of the day, and that is to open and set my computer to EWTN's Daily Scriptures.

As I read the message of St. Teresa of Avila, I know that the first acts of work I did of cleaning up before praying is led by the Spirit of the Lord that dwells within me.

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. -- Psalm 89:7

Father in heaven, you are my God who is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving!

I offer you my place of work, use it for your glory. Bring glory to the work of my hands for you alone is all I need to bring to fulfillment the wishes and desires of my heart.

May the Spirit of my Lord be always upon me in whatever I say and do for only through Him can I be made pleasing to you.

In Jesus Name, I give you back all the honor as I thank you for all my answered prayers.

Hear the Lord

"Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 

I knew that thou hearest me always."

John 11:41-42

It is better for a man to be silent and be [a Christian], than to talk and not to be one. It is good to teach, if he who speaks also acts. There is then one Teacher, who spake and it was done; while even those things which He did in silence are worthy of the Father. He who possesses the word of Jesus, is truly able to hear even His very silence, that he may be perfect, and may both act as he speaks, and be recognized by his silence. -- St. Ignatius

If Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness (Romans 8:10).

Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. (Ezekiel 37:12-13)

So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me" (John 11:41-42).

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Laz'arus, come out."  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him;  (John 11:43-45).

"I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it, says the LORD" (Ezekiel 37:14).

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you (Romans 8:11).

Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world! (John 11:27)

"I am the resurrection and the life; 

he who believes in me, 

though he die, yet shall he live, 

and whoever lives and believes in me 

shall never die. 

Do you believe this?" 

John 11:25-26

No Fear of Sin

"See, you are well! Sin no more, 

that nothing worse befall you."

John 5:14

Never rise from the table without having given thanks to the Lord. If we act in this way we need have no fear of the wretched sin of gluttony. -- St. Pio of Pietrelcina

There will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing." (Ezekiel 47:12)

Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Psalm 46:2-3).


Father in heaven, please forgive me for I have sinned.

All are going well for me because of the grace and mercy of your son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Deliver me from sin so that nothing worse shall befall upon me.

I pray for your people especially those who became victims of calamities and wars. Though all these things must come to pass, be in their midst and help them in their times of distress.

Thank you for all the good works that you have done. May you continue to be with me all the time through Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you now and forever. Amen.

God is in the midst of her, 

she shall not be moved; 

God will help her right early.

Psalm 46:5

Care and Guidance for the Young

"Go; your son will live."

John 4:50

The strongest support is provided not only to protect the young from evil, but also to rouse them and attract them more easily and gently to the performance of good works.

Like the twigs of plants, the young are easily influenced, as long as someone works to change their souls. But if they are allowed to grow hard, we know well that the possibility of one day bending them diminishes a great deal and is sometimes utterly lost. -- Saint Joseph Calasanz

There was an official whose son was ill. He went and begged Jesus to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe. Go; your son will live."

The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was living. So he asked them the hour when he began to mend, and they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."

The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live"; and he himself believed, and all his household. -- John 4:46-53

No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed (Isaiah 65:20).

Father in heaven, you are my help and my healer! Your anger is but for a moment, but your favor is for a lifetime! In you, there is always hope for a brighter future and a better tomorrow.

In my prosperity, I shall never be moved. It was you who turned my mourning into dancing and my sorrows into joy.

I humbly offer you my praise and thanksgiving for all the good things you have done in Jesus Name. Amen.

Sing praises to the LORD, 

O you his saints, 

and give thanks 

to his holy name.

Psalm 30:4

Worldly Possessions

"Do you believe in the Son of man?"

John 9:35

The love of worldly possessions is a sort of bird line, which entangles the soul, and prevents it flying to God. -- St. Augustine

Restore my soul O God, and lead me in paths of righteousness for your name's sake (Psalm 23:3).

Christ shall give you Light
Ephesians 5:14

Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8-10)

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. (Ephesians 5:11-13)

"You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you" 
John 9:37

"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Father in heaven, there is nothing that I want other than you!

I believe in Jesus Christ your son, my Lord and Savior, who makes it all possible for me as a sinner to praise and glorify your name.

Thank you for the abundance of blessings that you continue to provide me. I have begun to see the light of fulfillment for all the wishes and desires of my heart.

With you my God, there is nothing impossible nor there is anything that I should fear. All your works are meant to give me protection and comfort.

Your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in your house for ever.

In Jesus Name I humbly worship and pray. Amen

God Abides in the Soul

God, be merciful to me a sinner!

Luke 18:13

I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

The soul united to God and transformed in him draws from within God a divine breath, much like the most high God himself. And God, abiding in the soul, breathes forth the life of the soul as its exemplar.

This I take to be what Paul meant when he said: because you are children of God, God has sent to the Spirit of his Son into your heart's crying, Abba, Father; this is what takes place in those who have achieved perfection. -- St. John of the Cross

John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz) (24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591), born Juan de Yepes Alvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile.
Saint John of the Cross was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, as a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. He is also known for his writings. Both his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and one of the peaks of all Spanish literature. He was canonized as a saint in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. He is one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Church. When his feast day was inserted into the General Roman Calendar in 1738, it was assigned at first to 24 November, since his date of death was impeded by the then existing octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This obstacle was removed in 1955 and in 1969 his feast day was moved to his date of death, 14 December.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others:

"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, `God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.'

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner!'

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."  -- Luke 18: 9 - 14

Father in heaven, you alone are just in all your ways!

I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. I have sinned against you done that which is evil in your sight. Be merciful to me a sinner!

Please do good to me in your good pleasure so that you will delight in my right sacrifices and offerings.

In Jesus Name I humbly pray. Amen.
-- Psalms 51: 3 - 4, 18 - 21

No Extraordinary Thing except to Love God!

"You are not far 

from the kingdom of God."

Mark 12:34

God does not require of us extraordinary things. -- The Cure of Ars

St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney. The miracles recorded by his biographers are of three classes:

    * first, the obtaining of money for his charities and food for his orphans;
    * secondly, supernatural knowledge of the past and future;
    * thirdly, healing the sick, especially children.

The greatest miracle of all was his life. He practised mortification from his early youth. And for forty years his food and sleep were insufficient, humanly speaking, to sustain life. And yet he laboured incessantly, with unfailing humility, gentleness, patience, and cheerfulness, until he was more than seventy-three years old.

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them (Hosea 14:9).

There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it (Psalm 81:9-10).

It is I who answer and look after you. From me comes your fruit (Hosea 14:8). In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place; I tested you (Psalm 81:7). I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket (Psalm 81:6).

I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them (Hosea 14:4).

Father in heaven, I love you with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength!

Take away all iniquity; accept that which is good and I will render the fruit of my lips. I will say no more, `My God,' to the work of my hands for in you, I have found mercy.
(Hosea 14:2-3).

Give me the grace to love all your people whoever they may be. Create in me a compassionate heart for the poor and the needy. Make me a friend to those who seek your guidance and care.

You are the only One True God for me who keeps me close and near through my Lord Jesus Christ. He makes all things possible for a sinner like me to have access to you.