My Morning Prayer Sampler

For me, it starts by clearing the cobwebs. I jump out of bed and I am into the shower, get dressed and pour myself a nice cup of coffee. I want get up at a time when I don’t feel rushed to meet my daily duties. Mornings (after a shower and my first few sips of coffee) are quality time for me. It’s uninterrupted time with just me and my loving God. After a few minutes of quiet time, I begin my prayer.

5:20am – Morning Offering (30 seconds)

5:21am – Spiritual Reading: “Freedom from Despair” (below) by Fr. Rick Heilman (4 minutes)

5:25am – Mental Prayer. Using my Peace Through Strength Journal, as I sip my coffee, I pray the Preparatory Prayer found in the journal as I spend the first few minutes speaking to God. This can include what or who you are praying for today. I write this in my journal. Then I just sit quietly, allowing today’s spiritual reading to resonate in my heart, while I listen for anything God wants to speak to my heart, which I can write in my journal. Then I pray the Closing Prayer found in my journal. (15 minutes)

5:40am – Pray the Rosary. During these 90 Days I am so looking forward to the peaceful offering of the rosary by Doug Barry in the video below. (19 minutes)

6:00am – Pray the Angelus (1 minute)

Then I spend some time reflecting on today’s readings for Mass, and I am off for a brisk walk with my dog, Gracie (still reflecting on today’s readings). Then, it’s time to head to Mass.

There you have it, like Jesus spending 40 days in prayer in the desert, defeating the devil, we dedicate ourselves to just 40 minutes of prayer each morning, cultivating our love for our Lord and our Lady, filling the house of our soul with their love and God’s grace, which brings peace. Now I am well-prepared to live my day for God, not for me.

Our Daily Prayer for Liberty and for a Holy Spirit Revival 

“Free us from every force of oppression, both internally and externally. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties; by your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land. Heavenly Father, grant a Holy Spirit Revival in our land!” (Based on a prayer by the USCCB)

“Freedom from Despair” by Fr. Rick Heilman

There is a stirring scene in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, a chapter referred to as the “Bread of Life Discourse.” Jesus had just told the crowd, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” The response by nearly all was, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Jesus returns with, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.” And then, in the 66th verse of chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, or rather John 6:66, almost everyone leaves: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

The crowd who abandoned Jesus had abandoned hope. They despaired. So, what did they do? They turned back to the emptiness of merely existing in the flesh. This emptiness, or desolation, is the place the devil wants us to be. It is Satan’s kingdom.

I believe it is no accident that the chapter and verse of this act of despair in John’s Gospel is 666. We are given free will. We can choose God or not. In the Book of Revelation, 666 is the number of the beast or the number of man. Once separated from God, Satan wants us to believe we are merely one animal (beast) among many; just part of the herd. So, like animals, we are left to scramble to fill this void with worldly wants and lusts; works of the flesh.

Make no mistake about it, the influencers of our culture (media, Hollywood, TV, universities, public schools, etc.) are, by and large, godless propagandists who are determined to instill in us the notion that we are “merely animals.” Therefore, women are objectified, men are just vulgar beasts, pre-born babies are a clump of cells, and the nuclear family – the bedrock of civilization – is outdated. As the Satanist Aleister Crowley said: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” Just be animals.

After the crowd abandoned Jesus in despair, He then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that You are the Holy One of God.”

The Apostles were not buying the lie of the devil. No, we are not just animals; we are precious children of God, created in His image. Therefore, life in the Spirit is filled with the hope of a joyful and amazing journey of striving to please God in every way, especially by striving to become the best version of ourselves we can possibly be. And, just as Jesus demonstrated on the cross, we are called to a total selfless love of neighbor.

The crowd abandoned Him in despair, but the Apostles stayed with Him in hope. If we want the hope of all meaning and purpose in life as a child of God, we simply must get near to Him, because “the Spirit gives life.” We must combat the temptation of allowing our faith to devolve into merely “punching the clock” by fulfilling basic obligations. Many avoid an intimate relationship with the Lord because, like the crowd, they believe, “This is a hard teaching.” In other words, if we “let God in” He will ask “too much” from us. It’s better to keep God at arm’s length — a manageable distance.

It’s time to make it personal. It’s time to get near to Him before the Blessed Sacrament, to spend time adoring Our Lord. This can be done by scheduling an hour at a local adoration chapel, or you can simply come early or stay after Mass. Be careful though, because you may just find yourself crying out, “My Lord and my God!” … and then everything will change. Your life, filled with hope, will rise to new and exciting heights!

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31). (From “Let Freedom Ring“)

You can enlist in the United States Grace Force HERE (please recruit family and friends!)

Information on the United States Grace Force can be found HERE

We highly recommend ordering the book “Let Freedom Ring” authored by Fr. Bill Peckman, Fr. James Altman and Fr. Rick Heilman. This amazing book will be a great tool for easy access, highlighting and bookmarking as you traverse through the first 40-days of our 90 Days to Liberty journey with tens of thousands of other special forces prayer warriors!

You can order the book at RomanCatholicGear.com.

You may want to consider using the Hallow App for Lent: Hallow.com

GET YOUR PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH PRAYER JOURNAL …

HERE

Fr Richard Heilman