Catholic pilgrimage

Prayer is a life; It should keep the soul glowing with the love of God so that at the moment of the reception of the sacrament it should burst into flames of love. Set prayers are merely stimulants which make us determined to love God more. Prayer is a very necessary force in the life of every priest. It keeps him so united with Jesus Christ that not only does he work for him but with him and in him. Prayer is the binding force (religion) from which religion comes. Jesus said, “I am the way and no one cometh to the Father except through me.” What is His way- the way of the Cross, and there is no other way

Evangelii Gaudium, Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, 2013 THE NEW EVANGELIZATION.

The more you forget yourself and do it with great love for Jesus the more an Alter Christus you will become . You have far to high opinion of yourself. You seem, almost without being aware of it, to hold yourself apart and aloof from your companions, to think yourself the standard of the college to which all must conform. You consider and are delighted to bluff yourself that all have a very high opinion of your sanctity and certainly often times you are disturbed even when seeing someone else exercising holy piety. You are thinking of your miserable self far too much and it is this which keeps you from Jesus. Oh Mary humble me please. I resolve to consider myself the least of all and the servant of all. I resolve especially in recreation to make a special point of endeavouring to please others.

Three uses of Penance. 1.    Penance keeps our low nature subject to reason. Make the body do what we want it to do in all things. Regarding food we eat too much.  Curé d'Ars. Jean Vianney (1786-1859) lived to a rule of one meal a day. 2.    To obtain graces. If praying is not going well a little mortification brings grace. Brings cheerfulness. Nothing gives more joy than doing hard things for Christ. To neglect penance begets sloth. Body has to be kept in it’s right place. 3.    To atone for Sins and make sanctification for temporal punishment due for Sins. If we don’t do mortification for our sins in this life we’ll have to do it in the next. Why not do it here. You’ve quite a bit to do remember. Consider the day wasted if you have not done some act of mortification. O’ Lord the saints had a great love for penances. FR NORRIS WRITES ON PENANCE AND HOW IMPORTANT THE SACRAMENT IS AND HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL GRACE WE CAN OBTAIN BY PRACTICING IT.

www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.pdf