Prayer For Healing Of The Soul

by Babsie Bleasdell


Father I lift up my soul to you. Claim me for yourself, Lord. Reach down into my memory and remove any obstructions to your grace. Reach down deep into my soul, into the substance of my body where I may have been wounded, and release me to your most powerful embrace where nothing is left untouched or undone.

Cover me, O Blessed Mother, with your mantle of grace and claim me for yourself, to be given to Jesus, holy and blameless.

O Magnificent Holy Spirit, uncover and release thought patterns of rebellion entrenched in my understanding which I may have used to survive. Sweep down upon me with your anointing, O Holy Spirit, and immerse me in the Precious Blood so that any patterns of unlove will be erased and replace by the sacrificial love poured out on the cross. Pour love in abundance into my memory, understanding and will.

Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the cross and the Precious Blood, I command every demonic spirit that attaches itself to me to be gone in Jesus’ Name; to leave me now, quietly and without disruption, and be disposed of at the foot of the cross. And Blessed Lord, as I begin to feel a newness within me that leaves me unsure and puzzled, walk in, march in, and fill every crevice of my soul with the felt sense and knowledge that I am a child of the King. Fill every crevice with a new substance of love and acceptance of who I am. 

As the walls of Jericho come tumbling down, may the quiet walls of the light of your Holy Spirit, assure me that it is okay to be me, to be ___________ in this world.

Shed your light; shed your love, Lord. Let the skin I shed be released, cut away so that nothing will impede my response to your embrace, for you are my true Father. Thank you O Shepherd of Shepherds for hearing my prayer. Amen.

Cracked Pot

An elderly woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your
house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

To all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers.

Philothea's Solemn Protestation

As set out by Saint Francis De Sales, Introduction to the Devote Life, Pt. I, Bk. XX

After Philothea's prostestation (act of contrition) is made, St. Francis congratulated her saying, "It only remains for you to take the pen in your hand, sign with a good heart the act of protestation, and afterward go to the altar, where God on His part will sign and seal your absolution....In this way, methinks, Philothea, your soul will be purged from sin and from all affections to sin." 

SOLEMN PROTESTATION, TO ENGRAVE ON THE SOUL THE RESOLUTION TO SERVE GOD AND TO CONCLUDE THE ACTS OF REPENTANCE

I, the undersigned, in the presence of the eternal God and all the court of heaven, having considered the boundless mercy of His divine goodness towards me, most unworthy and wretched creature, whom He created out of nothing, preserved, sustained, delivered from many dangers, and loaded with so many benefits; but above all, having considered  the incomprehensible sweetness and clemency with which this most good God has so graciously borne with me in my iniquities, so often and so lovingly inspired me, inviting me to amend my ways, and so patiently waiting for me  to repent until this N___ year of my age, in spite of all my ingratitude, disloyalty and faithlessness, whereby deferring my conversion and despising His graces I have so shamelessly offended Him; after having considered also that on the day of my holy baptism I was so happily and holily vowed and consecrated to my God to be His child, and that, contrary to the profession which was then made in my name, I have so many times miserably and detestably profaned and violated my spirit, applying it and employing it against His divine Majesty; returning now at last to myself, prostrate in heart and in spirit before the throne of divine justice, I acknowledge, avow and confess myself to be rightly attainted and convicted of the crime of high treason, and guilty of the death and passion of Jesus Christ, by reason of the sins which I committed, for which He died and suffered the torment of the cross, so that I deserve in consequence to be lost and damned for ever.

By turning toward the throne of the infinite mercy of this same eternal God, after having detested with my whole heart and with all  my strength the iniquities of my past life, I ask and humbly pray for grace and pardon and mercy, together with an entire absolution from my sins, in virtue of the death and passion of the same Lord and Redeemer of my soul, relying on which as the sole foundation of my hope, I again promise and renew the sacred profession of fidelity made on my behalf to my God at baptism, renouncing the devil, the world and the flesh, detesting their miserable suggestions, vanities and concupiscences, for all the time of this present life and for eternity. And turning to my God, who is full of loving kindness and compassion, I desire, I propose, intend and resolve irrevocably to serve Him and love Him now and eternally, to this end giving, dedicating and consecrating to Him my spirit with all its facilities, my soul with all its powers, my heart with all its affections, my body with all its senses; protesting that I will nevermore misuse any part of my being against this divine will and sovereign Majesty to which I sacrifice and immolate myself in spirit, to be evermore loyal, obedient and faithful to Him, without ever wishing to retract or change my resolution. But alas! if through some suggestion of the enemy or through some human infirmity, I should in any way contravene this my resolution and consecration, I protest this very day and resolve, with the assistance of the Holy Ghost, to rise again as soon as I perceive my fall, and to turn to the divine mercy again, without any delay whatsoever.

This is my inviolable and irrevocable will, intention and resolution, which I avow and confirm without reserve or exception, in the same sacred presence of my God, and in the sight of the Church triumphant, and in the presence of the Church militant my Mother, who hears this my declaration in the person of him who, as her minister, hears me make this declaration. Be pleased, O my eternal God, all powerful and all good, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to confirm this resolution in me, and to accept this sincere and interior sacrifice of mine in the odour of sweetness; as it pleased Thee to give me the inspiration and the will to make it, give me also the strength and the grace necessary to fulfill it. O, my God, Thou art my God, the God of my heart, the God of my soul, the God of my spirit; I acknowledge Thee as such and adore Thee now and for all eternity. Vive Jesus.     

When It Hurts... I Remember That Jesus is the Reason for My Commitment

It's really easy to fall into a dark gloomy place where you feel sorry for yourself, question all your actions, and wonder whether you can ever trust another human being. It is during these moments that it seems that somehow every one disappoints you in some way, including yourself.

This is the place where I have been in the last two weeks. As this relationship was obviously getting worse and worse, many people came forward saying how they knew that this person would be trouble or this and that. Yet, they also at the same time, supported the relationship by their other actions, words and silence... so in regard to where they truly stood, I am confused and probably always will be.

At first, I just wanted to stay in the fetal position and cry. I really care about this person and wish that our differences could be miraculously reconciled. However, at this point in time, it seems that this will NEVER be the case.

As I look back at all the pain in the relationship, I wondered whether it was all just a big FAT mistake. Should I have ended our friendship at the first sign of trouble?

Instinctively, I said "YES!!!!!!!! There was tooooo much conflict. I was so stupid to give this person chance after chance."

But then I thought about, "Why did I do that? Why would I continue in a relationship that wasn't mostly peaches and cream?"

Well, first of all, I am not perfect myself. I wasn't always the angel or the victim. I caused some of the  damage. If I expect to be forgiven and shown mercy, I must give forgiveness and shower mercy.

But the most important reason was because this person challenged me to love in a way that nobody else ever had. Nobody else challenged me to love unconditionally. It's easy for me to love those who are regularly there for me. Yet, what about a person who often disappoints or purposely hurts me? Well, to love someone unconditionally means to love WITHOUT RESERVE.

In other words: "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor....Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it doesn't rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."  1 Cor 10:24, 13:4-8

Every time I said, "That's IT. I have had ENOUGH!!!!!!" I remembered Jesus' call to love one's enemy.  I thought it over and literally asked myself, "What would Jesus have me do?  What do I believe Jesus is asking of me in this moment and with this person?" I don't always do this with everybody. Yet, I am deeply called to do this time and time again for this person. My inner conscious says to keep trying... to keep loving.

Despite our many differences, I believe that this person was brought into my life for my sanctification. This person has taught me how to live my faith, not just preach about it. This person has taught me that I must comfort my Savior.  I learned what it means to always be completely responsible for my own actions. No matter what anybody may say or do to me, it is my duty as a Catholic Christian to respond with love and forgiveness. I also learned that every sin, big or small, has consequences. No sin stays secret, it's effects will creep up and manifest themselves in some way. And one can't hide or "fix" a sin by committing another one. Rather, I learned that once you catch yourself in a sin, you need to snuff it out as quickly as possible by confessing and repenting. One sin of mine can seriously harm another...
 
In these realizations, I began to experience what Christ is actually asking when He said,"take up your cross and follow Me", "turn the other cheek," and "whatever you to to the least of your brothers, you do to Me."  Good or bad, whatever I do to another, I do to Jesus.  Thus, in these experiences, I learned that the love that Jesus asks of me is proved by my patience, humility, forgiveness, mercy and gratitude in my interaction with others.

Thus, if I take Jesus' words at face value in all the gospels, I am called to love every one with an unfailing love. The individual that I am currently struggling with taught me this very very clearly. I learned that everything I do is a choice.  Do I chose to love? Or, do I chose to sin? Do I say "fool!" to those who make me angry? "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement. Again anyone who says to his brother, "Raca' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell." Matt 5:23  Thus, these are the only two options: love or sin. (Failure to keep a commandment of God is what sin is... and the greatest commandment is the twofold love of God and neighbor.)

If I did chose to love and was betrayed, I can still be secure in my decision because that was the greatest action I could have chosen.  If I chose to love, but somehow messed things up, my motivation was still rooted in the right place. I may have lacked a element necessary for a pure love -- true charity, but if I am sincerely trying to love like Christ, I am improving. Hopefully, with each advancement, I'll become "perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect". In loving, I lose nothing. In not loving, I lose my soul.

So.... instead of bemoaning my past and living in the pain, I am making the choice to focus on the fact that the highest form of love is not an emotion, but an act of the will. Although, I don't feel like loving, I still can. My actions aren't slaves to my emotions.

Looking back, I don't regret loving this person and being in this person's life. I do regret the moments in which I completely failed: where I lost my cool or did stupid things because of my lack of virtue, in particular, prudence. It was always my goal to love this person as Christ loves me, and because this was one of my main goals, I can forgive myself for all that haunts me in this relationship.

I still love this person and I will continue to love this individual. It was a choice I made a long time ago.

If you are this person...know that I am praying for you and wish upon you every happiness. Also, know that I deeply regret all my actions that offended God and you. It is never too late to reconcile.

"You can never fall too hard, so fast, so far, that you can't get back when you lost where you are. It's never too late, so bad, so much, that you can't change who you are." (Unspoken, Who we are)

Maybe we will never completely heal in this time on earth, but it is my greatest desire to meet you in heaven where we can glory in the Blessed Trinity for eternity -- this is the only thing that matters. May God bless you wherever you are and whatever you are doing. I love you.

Inspirational Quotes for Being the Best Me Today

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader."
– John Quincy Adams


"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
– Theodore Roosevelt


"Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal to find it and keep it lit."
– Mary Lou Retton


"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."
– Helen Keller


"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"
– Mary Anne Radmacher


"I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that, and I realized I was somebody."
– Lily Tomlin


"Your always only one choice away from changing your life."
– Mary Blochowiak


"Everyone has the power of greatness. Not for fame, but for greatness. Because greatness is determined by service."
– Martin Luther King Jr.


"For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us"
- St Paul (Romans 8)


"Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better."

- St. Paul  (Colossians 1:10)


"In the royal galley of divine Love, there is no galley slave: all rowers are volunteers."

- St. Francis De Sales


"Courage, my sons, Don't you see that we are leaving on a mission? They pay our fare in the bargain. What a piece of good luck! The thing to do now is to pray well in order to win as many souls as possible. Let us, then, tell the Blessed Virgin that we are content, and that she can do with us anything she wishes." 
- St. Maximilian Kolbe

Losing - Tenth Ave North