A favorite Morning Offering

I thought I'd share this prayer, in case anyone else would like to use it.  I know Lent is a nice time to start new prayers/prayer routines.  In order to give credit where credit is due, this is from the prayer book Every Day is a Gift that I received from a dear friend.  The book does not list an author for this specific prayer.

Prayer to Bring Christ into Our Day

Lord Jesus,

present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar,

help me to cast out from my mind

all thoughts of which You do not approve

and from my heart

all emotions that you do not encourage.

Enable me to spend my entire day

as a coworker with You,

carrying out the tasks that You have entrusted to me.

Be with me at every moment of this day:

during the long hours of work,

that I may never tire or slacken from your service;

during my conversations

that they many not become for me

occasions for meanness toward others;

during the moments of worry and stress,

that I may remain patient and spiritually calm;

during periods of fatigue and illness,

that I may disregard self and think of others;

during times of temptation,

that I may take refuge in Your grace.

Help me to remain generous and loyal to You this day

and so be able to offer it all up to You

with its successes that I have achieved by Your help

and its failures that have occurred 

through my own fault.

Let me come to the wonderful realization 

that life is most real

when it is lived with you as the Guest of my soul.

If you are looking for a book (for yourself or to give as a gift) with short daily meditations, I would highly recommend Every Day is a Gift.  My friend said it jumped out at her because it had the same name as my blog, and I'm so glad it did.  It has been a nice, simple addition to my daily prayer routine, with its concise (a sentence or two) Scripture verses, reflections and prayers.

Every Day is a Gift I

When I started this blog, it took me a long time to decide a name. I probably would have started it months sooner had I been inspired with a name. Silly I know, but that's how I roll. I finally came up with Every Day is a Gift (living each day as a gift as my URL) because I liked the reminder of viewing each day as a gift from God. As I've grown as a parent, I have found the "living each day as a gift" part to kind of have a dual meaning when looked at in the light of John Paul II's concept of self-donative love. But anyways, recently a friend gave me a daily prayer book entitled Every Day is a Gift. I was so excited, and thought it would be fun to share some of its meditations on my blog once in awhile. They are short but powerful.

This one is based on Colossians 1:24 "I find my joy in my sufferings for your sake. In my flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church."

REFLECTION: Christ made me understand that I could save souls through the cross. The greater the crosses I encountered, the more ardent became my desire to endure them. -St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

PRAYER: Lord, in Your wisdom, You have given us the opportunity to suffer with Jesus. Help me to offer my sufferings for the salvation of souls.