Daily Bible Readings for Thursday May 12, 2011

Reading 1, Acts 8:26-40

26 The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, 'Set out at noon and go along the road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.'

27 So he set off on his journey. Now an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia; he was her chief treasurer.

28 He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 The Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and join that chariot.'

30 When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?'

31 He replied, 'How could I, unless I have someone to guide me?' So he urged Philip to get in and sit by his side.

32 Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this: Like a lamb led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb in front of its shearers, he never opens his mouth.

33 In his humiliation fair judgement was denied him. Who will ever talk about his descendants, since his life on earth has been cut short?

34 The eunuch addressed Philip and said, 'Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?'

35 Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the good news of Jesus to him.

36 Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'Look,is some water; is there anything to prevent my being baptised?'

37

38 He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and he baptised him.

39 But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.

40 Philip appeared in Azotus and continued his journey, proclaiming the good news in every town as far as Caesarea.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 66:8-9, 16-17, 20

8 Nations, bless our God, let the sound of his praise be heard;

9 he brings us to life and keeps our feet from stumbling.

16 Come and listen, all who fear God, while I tell what he has done for me.

17 To him I cried aloud, high praise was on my tongue.

20 Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer, nor his own faithful love from me.

Gospel, Jn 6:44-51

44 'No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God; everyone who has listened to the Father, and learnt from him, comes to me.

46 Not that anybody has seen the Father, except him who has his being from God: he has seen the Father.

47 In all truth I tell you, everyone who believes has eternal life.

48 I am the bread of life.

49 Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead;

50 but this is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that a person may eat it and not die.

51 I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.'

May the holiness of consecrated people edify the Church, Pope prays

At the conclusion of Evening Prayer in Feb. 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI offered a special prayer that those in the consecrated life would edify the entire Church with their holiness of life.

“My thoughts turn affectionately to all consecrated men and women everywhere, who I entrust to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” the Pope said.

“Oh Mary, Mother of the Church,

I entrust consecrated life to you

That you may obtain for it the fullness of divine light.

May it remain attentive to the Word of God,

Humble in the following of Jesus your son and our Lord,

Open to the visit of the Holy Spirit,

In the daily joy of the Magnificat,

So that the Church might be edified by the holiness of life

Of these your sons and daughters

In the commandment of love.

Amen.”

Prayers for Mothers - Catholic Prayers for Mothers and Motherhood

For many Christians, their mothers are the primary source of their faith. From the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Monica, mothers have played an important role in the building up of Christianity Prayers on behalf of our mothers, and prayers for mothers themselves to recite, should be a daily part of our prayer life.

Prayer to Saint Monica for Mothers

Saint Monica faced a culture in which Christianity had not yet fully taken hold; we live in a culture in which Christianity is increasingly marginalized and children are pulled from the Faith. This prayer for her intercession on behalf of mothers is particularly appropriate today.

Prayer to Saint Gerard Majella for Motherhood

St. Gerard Majella is the patron saint of mothers and motherhood. This prayer could be said as a novena by a wife trying to conceive a child.

Prayer to St. Gerard Majella for Safe Delivery

In this prayer, a mother asks St. Gerard Majella, patron of mothers and motherhood, to intercede for safety for her and her child during childbirth. This is a good prayer to pray as a novena as a mother's due date approaches.

Prayer of Mothers

Motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to participate in God's creative activity. In this prayer, mothers ask for God's grace to cooperate with Him in the creation of new life and the salvation of their children.

Prayer of Parents for Their Children

Parenthood is a great responsibility; for Christian parents, that responsibility extends beyond physical care for their children to the salvation of their souls. We need to turn to God, as in this prayer, for guidance and for the grace necessary to fulfill this greatest of duties.

Top 10 Prayers Every Catholic Child Should Know

1. The Sign of the Cross

The Sign of the Cross is the most basic Catholic prayer, though we don't often think of it that way. We should teach our children to say it with reverence before and after their other prayers.

The most common problem that children have in learning the Sign of the Cross is using their left hand instead of their right; the second most common is touching their right shoulder before the left.

2. The Our Father

We should pray the Our Father daily with our children. It's a good prayer to use as a short morning or evening prayer. Pay close attention to how your children pronounce the words; there are a lot of opportunities for misunderstandings and mispronunciations, such as "Howard be thy name."

3. The Hail Mary

Children naturally gravitate to the Virgin Mary, and learning the Hail Mary early makes it easier to foster devotion to St. Mary and to introduce longer Marian prayers, such as the Rosary. One useful technique for teaching the Hail Mary is for you to recite the first part of the prayer (through "the fruit of thy womb, Jesus") and then have your children respond with the second part ("Holy Mary").

4. The Glory Be

The Glory Be is a very simple prayer that any child who can make the Sign of the Cross can easily memorize. If your child has trouble remembering which hand to use when making the Sign of the Cross (or which shoulder to touch first), you can get some extra practice in by making the Sign of the Cross while reciting the Glory Be, as Eastern Rite Catholics and Eastern Orthodox do.

5. An Act of Faith

Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity are common morning prayers. If you help your children memorize them, they will always have a short form of morning prayer at their disposal for those days when they don't have time to pray a longer form of morning prayer.

6. An Act of Hope

An Act of Hope is a very good prayer for school-aged children. Encourage your children to memorize it so that they can pray the Act of Hope before taking a test. While there is no substitute for study, it is good for students to realize that they don't have to rely on their own strength alone.

7. An Act of Charity

Childhood is a time filled with deep emotions, and children often suffer real and perceived slights and injuries at the hands of friends and classmates. While the primary purpose of an Act of Charity is to express our love for God, this prayer is also a daily reminder to our children to try to develop forgiveness and love toward others.

8. The Act of Contrition

The Act of Contrition is an essential prayer for the Sacrament of Confession, but we should also encourage our children to say it every evening before they go to sleep. Children who have made their First Confession should also make a quick examination of conscience before saying the Act of Contrition.

9. Grace Before Meals

Instilling a sense of gratitude in our children can be especially hard in a world where many of us have an overabundance of goods. Grace Before Meals is a good way to remind them (and ourselves!) that everything we have comes ultimately from God. (Consider adding the Grace After Meals to your routine as well, to cultivate a sense of thanksgiving as well as to keep those who have died in our prayers.)

10. The Guardian Angel Prayer

As with devotion to the Virgin Mary, children seem predisposed toward belief in their guardian angel. Cultivating that belief when they are young will help to protect them from skepticism later on. As children grow older, encourage them to supplement the Guardian Angel Prayer with more personal prayers to their guardian angel.