the feast day of St Jude Thaddeus

Today, oct 28, is the feast day of my Patron Saint, St. Jude! This post is dedicated to him for he never fails to help us in times of need. The storm that is currently occurring in Britain is named after him! Anyway, through St Jude, I find favour with our Dear Lord.. thank you for everything St Jude. Your prayers, love, and care for all your brothers and sisters on earth. I shall forever thank you for everything you have done for u

Compassion

I think compassion is a very important quality in each of us. It is way how we express our love and care to others, even to those who we don't know personally. We are all created as brothers and sisters in Christ and as Jesus has taught us, we are ought to love one another as Christ loves us. To me, sharing something with others gives me the joy that lasts for a long time. It always makes me happy when I know I can do something for someone. It is indeed very rewarding. What is it that you would like to give others today? It doesnt have to be a financial support, it can be smaller things like doing something for others. May God bless you all.

My prayer routine

So in today's post I'd like to share a bit about my prayer routine. Hopefully, it makes us all aware of the importance of spending time with our Lord. Personally, I think it's very important to be grateful for what we have and of course, for what we are, no matter what our circumstances are. Remember, nothing happens to us if it's not for our own good. So my morning prayer starts with Angelus prayer at 6 am (I try to be on time!). Then, I offer my entire day, my work, myself to Jesus, good or bad, He has it all. At 12 pm and 6pm, I say the Angelus prayer again. It is important for me to be aware of His presence wherever I am. Finally, before I go to bed, I pray the Rosary... Praying the Rosary brings peace in my heart and I certainly encourage everyone to pray the Rosary everyday. Have a wonderful day and don't forget to say thanks to Jesus :)

Forgiveness

Is it often a problem for some of us to forgive others? or do we find it even harder to forgive ourselves? I have been in a few situations where it was so hard for me to forgive some people. However, I find it even harder to forgive myself. I seem to dwell in my sins to the point where I despair. I know that the feeling of despair is not of God and I am trying to let go. For the past few days, I have not been proud for myself and my life seems to be drifting away from God. The truth is I never want to be away from God anymore. I feel like my soul has become the 'servant' of my body. For me personally, being a Christian is hard in every way because we, as Christians, no longer conform to the world. Jesus has died for us so that we might have the eternal life. That is why the Lord asks us to forgive seventy times seven times a day. The truth is living the holy life in such a wounded world is not easy. I don't want to be accustomed to sins and everyday I fear that I no longer feel guilty when I sin against such a loving Lord. It is important for us to admit our faults to God and say sorry. In the same way, we have to forgive others with a loving heart just as how God has forgiven us.

Have a blessed day!

How do we love?

It has been some time since my last post, but today I'd really like to share a bit about live. The truth is nobody, including me, is perfect. We might not always like some people we know, but Christ tells us to love one another for He has loved us. How great is it to know that we are dearly loved by our Lord?! Personally, when others tell me they love me, it makes me feel happy and secure. Now I know that Jesus loves each of us in a very special way, I feel EXTRA special and it makes me try and show my love not only to those I know but also to those I see and those I meet every day. In my daily morning prayer, I often ask our Lord and our Sweet Mother to teach me to love others today.. so let us try and radiate the love of Christ to others today. Have a lovely day! God bless you all.

Devotion to St Jude Thaddeus

In today's post, I'd like to share a bit about St. Jude Thaddeus. St Jude has been my patron saint for the past 8 months. I have been having a special devotion to him particularly in times of trouble. His help never fails me. I found this website: http://shrineofstjude.claretians.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ssj_homepage and a lot of people shared their troubles as well as thanksgiving in this blog. When I felt like there is no way out in my problems, I read how St. Jude has answered their prayers. Somehow, it strengthens me. It brings me hope. I would really like to encourage you all to pray to St. Jude, particularly when you face difficult problems. I posted a novena to St. Jude Thaddeus a few months ago, but I will post it again here.

Novena To
St. Jude

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus,  the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult  cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.
Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is  almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive  the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and  sufferings, particularly -
(make your request here)
- and that I may praise  God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be  ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as  my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.
Amen

PRAYER

May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, and loved in all the  tabernacles until the end of time. Amen.

May the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised and glorified now and forever. Amen

St. Jude pray for us and hear our prayers. Amen.

Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Blessed be St. Jude Thaddeus, in all the world and for all Eternity.
(say this prayer, followed by the Our Father and the Hail Mary)


Novena of Thanksgiving to St Jude

I receive the gifts of God with a grateful spirit. St. Jude, help me to see the blessings that surround me and give me life. I offer you my prayer of thanksgiving. Give me the grace to be forever thankful for God’s love and mercy, and the gift of life each day. May this gratitude inspire me to give generously of myself to others—in my actions, in my prayers, and in my fortune however small that may be. Be with me now, St. Jude. Linger with me in gratitude, and let thanks fill my heart, washing away my pains and troubles. May I desire nothing except to be in God’s presence, and to learn from you to be an example of hope, love, and thanksgiving to everyone I meet. Amen.

The power of novenas

I have always believed in the power of praying novenas. Our Holy Mother Mary and the Apostles are great witnesses to the power of praying novena prior to the descent of the Holy Spirit. In times of trouble, I pray 3 Hail Mary's novena, Novena to the Sacred Heart, Novena to St. Jude, Novena to St. Anthony of Padua, as well as Novena to St Gabriel. The prayers of the Saints are so powerful. Thus, I humbly asked them to pray with and for me, as my prayers are far from perfect, being a sinner that I am. I've learned that the mercy of God is far beyond my imperfections. What a generous God we have. From my experience, God has given me MORE than what I could ask for. I must say that I despair sometimes, but that is only because I forget that God cares for me. He has taken away heavy burdens in my life and I am very grateful. Praying the novenas are not merely about petitions, but I think it's also about our love that we express to God, His wonderful Mother, and His holy Saints.

I definitely encourage you all to pray the novenas even after your prayers are answered. God bless you and have a wonderful day!

MY GREATEST GRATITUDE! The Lord has answered my prayers!!!!!!!!

Hello all,

Jesus has saved us from all distress! Hallelujah! I am speechless and I really don't know how to express my gratitude. I have been praying intensely for the past 8 months and Jesus has granted me the best gift I can ask for. My heart rejoices and my soul will always proclaim the greatness of our dear Lord! I would also like to thank Sweet Mother Mary for She has undone the knots in our lives. She has truly helped us!!! throughout these difficult times, I have also continuously prayed to St Jude Thaddeus, St Anthony, and St. Gabriel. Their intercessions are so powerful and words cannot describe how much I thank them! What a miracle.

Jesus and Mary, I love You! Thank you for everything!

The Blessed Sacrament

Do you have a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament like I do? Since I've learned more about the presence of our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, I've been going to the adoration room as often as I can. In my home country, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unfortunately, here in England, the Blessed Sacrament is only exposed twice a week and only for 1 hour each session. I like to kneel down before the Blessed Sacrament and pour out the cares of my heart since I know that Jesus loves each of us so much. We are all invited to come before Him..Praise God,  I found this site which provides live streaming of the Blessed Sacrament.. www.savior.org 

So for those who have a special devotion to our Dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, you all can access this website. I like to open the site and say my novena, my petitions, and my thanksgiving prayers. Let us all make an effort to visit Jesus! I'm sure He'd be very, very happy :)

Love

"Do you love Me?" that's exactly what Jesus asked Peter in the Gospel. This particular question has always made me think what Jesus means in my life. Well, the answer is everything. He is everything for me. He lifts me up when I'm down. He gives me great joy. He pours out His grace and mercy to me, my family, and my friends. He entrusts me with crosses to bear in this life, but He never left me alone. Truly, He is my everything. So, yes I do love Jesus for I am nothing without Him. What about you? Do you love Jesus? or do you merely love the good things He has given to you? Let us show our love for Jesus by loving others around us. There's a wonderful prayer of love by St. Faustina...

O Lord. I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, O Lord, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, O Lord, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness (...)
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. (...)
May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me

for more, see http://www.faustina-message.com/prayers-sister-faustina-litany.htm

Signs in our lives

Last night, I was watching another episode of Mother Angelica Live Classic. I thought she really brought up some really useful points, so I better share them with all of you in this post. On the day of the resurrection, Jesus walked beside the disciples but they didn't recognize Him, possibly because they were rather disappointed... Isn't that happening in our lives these days? When bad things happen to us, we lost sight of God, although He is always with us. In other words, He's walking beside us. Our lives on earth is a journey, a journey to the eternal life. We will encounter problems, sufferings, and difficulties, but God has never left us alone. Mother Angelica specifically mentioned that these things are a part of a wonderful picture God has created for each of us. So be thankful to God not only when He gives us wonderful things, but also when He entrusts us the crosses in our lives. Have a wonderful Saturday. Oh, and s
ince the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed today for one hour at our Church, I will go and visit Jesus :)

Faith and perseverance

So I have something coming up in the next few days and I fear at times. I can tell you that it's not something good, but I have constantly prayed and I've been faithfully saying the novenas, particularly the rosary novena, 3 Hail Mary's, The Sacred Heart novena, and of course a novena to St. Jude Thaddeus. I, as always, come up with a few petitions but this experience has taught me to be faithful and to increase my spiritual hope. That's okay that I don't know what is going to happen, but I know that the Lord will not leave us alone. I am at peace and that's what I am thankful for. I know the Lord will take care of everything. So if you fear or if your heart is troubled, say a short prayer. The Lord will grant you great peace in your heart. Have a beautiful Wednesday.

Novena of the Miraculous Medal

Ok, so I just had my sacramentals blessed by the Priest yesterday. Today, I'm starting the Novena of the  Miraculous Medal and will continue to say it for the next 9 days. It's such a powerful prayer for those who desire help and intercession from our Blessed Mother Mary... I truly encourage you all to pray with me with love and full hope.



Novena of the Miraculous Medal

O Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Our Lord Jesus and our Mother,
penetrated with the most lively confidence in your all-powerful and never-failing intercession, manifested so often through the Miraculous Medal,
we your loving and trustful children implore you to obtain for us the graces and favors we ask during this novena,
if they be beneficial to our immortal souls,
and the souls for whom we pray.
(Here form your petition)

You know, O Mary, how often our souls have been the sanctuaries of your Son who hates iniquity.
Obtain for us then a deep hatred of sin and that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone so that our every thought, word and deed may tend to His greater glory.
Obtain for us also a spirit of prayer and self-denial that we may recover by penance what we have lost by sin and at length attain to that blessed abode where you are the Queen of angels and of men.
Amen.

Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/novena/MiraculousMedal.htm#ixzz2YbFIXT6X

Urgent need

Hi all,

Well my vacation time in my home country is almost over and I'm about to fly back to the UK and continue my study life. There are certain difficulties that my partner and I have to face once we're in the UK. I'm feeling a little down, I know I should have fully trusted in the Lord. For the past 9 days, I have gone to the Blessed Sacrament and pray. We have a thing coming up on the 23rd July, please please pray for us. I sometimes feel so helpless and alone but I believe that God will save us from all distress.

God bless you all and don't forget to say the Rosary everyday!

The living hope

So, I haven't written for a while as I'm on holiday in my home country. My dear boyfriend and I have been truly blessed and we have been able to enjoy this holiday in the midst of tribulations. Unfortunately, my boyfriend wasn't given the unconditional university offer he really wanted. These experiences teach me to fully trust in the Lord for He has greater plans than what we can imagine! Please pray for my boyfriend that he may be able to accept the will of God with a loving heart and that God may help him on the 23rd of July. I have a petition that I truly implore and I hope with my whole heart that the Lord grants our wish through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, and St. Jude Thaddeus. Please, please pray for him. Don't forget to say the Rosary everyday and I will visit the Adoration Chapel today so I'm so excited! See you all and God bless you.

My tribute to the most holy Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus

So it's pretty obvious that in this entry, I would like to encourage everyone to submit their burdens to the Blessed St. Jude. He WILL pray for all of you who ask him. St. Jude has never failed me. He has helped me through rough times. I just received an e-mail from Father Mark Brummel, who encourages us to pray the solemn novena to St. Jude Thaddeus this month. Send your petitions before him and I know that his intercession in Heaven is so powerful!

Blessed St. Jude, pray for us and hear our prayers.

I already posted the novena to St Jude is you're interested.

The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Ok, so today is one of the Marian feasts. On this special day, I went to confession and I have joy in my heart because I know that God has forgiven me!! What a wonderful thing! My confessor also told me that today is the feast of Our Lady. I would like to share a little about how Our Lady has helped me in difficult times. I was in a really bad shape for the past month or so due to difficult circumstances that have been going on. I must say this problem has brought me closer to Jesus and Mary. I'd like to think of it as my 'purifying moments'. Even though it has been really bitter, I have learned to see God's Hands in everything. I also pray the Rosary everyday and recently I prayed the Mary, Undoer of knots novena. Our Lady has certainly untied the knots in my life and my words cannot express how grateful I am for her constant help in my life. She is our Mother and I believe that Her intercession is so powerful that I can talk to her about anything. If it's for our good, I believe that our requests are always granted. Sometimes, what we need to do is just to make a request and realize that we are nothing without God in our lives. So that's what I'm trying to do. I ask the Lord for things and if He wants it, I want it too. I trust Him.

Don't forget to say the Rosary today and present a wonderful spiritual bouquet before the Queen of Heaven (our Mother!)

If you're interested in the Mary, Undoer of knots novena, check out: http://www.theholyrosary.org/maryundoerknots

The will of God

Ok so the hardest part in life is not knowing the will of God but doing the will of God. Last Friday I just heard a disappointing news regarding my research grant. I must admit that I was greatly disappointed but I know that God has a greater plan for me, although I might not see it clearly at this moment. I believe that nothing happens to us if it isn't for our good and I thank God for every good and bad things that I receive in my life. I try to unite what I do to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I believe that being able to receive this bad news and see God in each thing that happens is such a grace granted me by God. I would like to thank the Lord, Mary, and St. Jude for answering my prayers!

I love You Jesus and Mary, save souls.

the act of love

So today I went to the Church for the Corpus Christi mass, but it turned out that there was no mass and I only found a group of 3 ladies saying the Rosary together. So I joined in and since I didnt have my rosary with me, one of the ladies gave me hers. After the rosary I gave her back the Rosary, and she said to me "keep it and say it. I cant believe this but i was so happy when she told me that. Although it is a small gift, it means more to me than the rosary I bought myself. This act of love teaches me how pleased God is with small things we do for Him out of love. This makes me realise that I have repeatedly offended such an awesome, merciful God.. Lord Jesus, forgive us and have mercy on us...

I strongly encourage you all to pray the rosary together with your family or in your community. May the Lord bless you always.

Sweet Mother Mary, bring us closer to Thee and to Thy  Divine Son..

Are you pro-life?

Hi all,

I read a really good book and in that book, Jesus said "I only seek to love you, but why do you only seek to offend Me?" Doesn't that question remind us of our behaviours? I think it's time for all of us to examine our conscience...

I just watched news on TV about a baby in China found trapped in the sewer pipe. How heartbreaking that is! It's obviously against God's will and I wish everyone realises that. Every individual is uniquely created by God and we all should respect His creation. With abortion and euthanasia exercised in this world, we have wounded God deeply and at some point, I think He will stop all this. We, as Christians,  have to ask for pardon and repair for our sins and the sins of the world. So I encourage you all to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the next 9 days, to ask for His mercy and forgiveness as we truly have offended Him so much.

I'm proud to say that I am and will always be pro-life..