September 23rd Holy Spirit Novena Scripture selection is Day 7 Period I.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries for September 23rd are Joyful.

  

A Few Thoughts
September 22, 2026

Today, What a friend in Jesus!!!!

Dear Lord, I Pray and give You my love
for all the days you have given to me in my life.

For You were there always, Lord, if I thought about You or not.

You are always with me, if hidden it may seem sometimes, but really very near.

You are near in joys and sufferings, in laughter and in pain.
I know all I need to do is turn to You and You are with me.
I am never alone, Lord, You are there.

Sing Song: You are Near

Feel the closeness of the Almighty God who walks with us, and is carried in love in our heart.

Do you believe in such a friend as Jesus?

Jesus loves us so much He was there always doing the heavy lifting.

Jesus loved us to His death on the cross.

Oh what a friend is Jesus.

Jesus loves us like the Father loves Him. John 15:9

Jesus You are near, You are always in my heart, You are always near and Jesus, You love me, love ME,
and You gave Yourself on Calvary for me.

Jesus You give Yourself to me in the Holy Eucharist, every day.

And Jesus You are always waiting in the tabernacle, truly present, in Your Divinity and humanity for me to come and be with You.

What a friend I have in Jesus. I know Him in greater oneness in my heart every day I live.

I love You so much Jesus!!

And Mary is Mother at our side, our Mother that loves us more than any earthly mother.

I can turn to Mary, my Mother.

The love of the Two Hearts.

Go to the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Know Their love.
Dwell in Them, our little heaven on earth.
They are waiting.
Amen.
 

A Few Thoughts

Jesus is always there.

A lot of times with a suffering heart when we turn to Jesus He pours down blessings and vision that we can only get from God.

Omnipotent love.

God is always there,
He may seem hidden, but He is always near.
Dear God, give us the grace to open our hearts and our wills to love.

God I love Your love You give us constantly.

God is love.
I need You always!
Help me always and tuck me in Your blazing Heart of love.

Amen.

Oh what a friend in Jesus!!!!

From the Priestly Newsletter Book II

Mother of Our Christ-Life

Here are words from a spiritual journal: “Mary is always desiring to bring forth her children to a greater Christ likeness. It is through Mary that we join in deepest intimacy with Jesus’ Heart. Jesus came into this world in the womb of His Mother through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is today, in the womb of Mary, in the heart of Mary, that we are transformed through the Holy Spirit more and more to the likeness of Jesus. Let us go to the heart of our Mother and ask the Holy Spirit to increasingly sanctify us that we may go ever more deeply into the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of endless love. We do not fully comprehend the love of God. We are so limited in our vision. We do not fully know how Jesus’ Heart is truly burning and on fire. Do we know what it is to feel love burning in our heart? This is what Jesus felt when He allowed Himself to suffer during His Passion and to die on the cross. His Heart was on fire.”
 

Chief Shepherd of the Flock

Mother at Our Side

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. (Jn 10:11-151)

Yes, the Good Shepherd has laid down His life for us. As He was near death, an awesome episode in the work of redemption took place: Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, this is your son”. Then to the disciple he said, “This is your mother.” And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.” (Jn 19:25-27).

Speaking of Mary, Vatican II tells us: “In an utterly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.”2

Mary is the Mother of Jesus. She is also our Mother. The above words of Scripture and of the Second Vatican Council attest to this. Yes, Jesus has given us Mary as our spiritual Mother. As He hung on the cross, Jesus told John to look upon Mary as his Mother, this John who represented all of us. In His moment of deepest anguish and suffering, Jesus was thinking of us. As the undescribable physical pain racked His body from head to toe, as the unfathomable spiritual anguish penetrated to the depths of His magnificent Heart, Jesus was thinking of us. If we allow this scene to penetrate into our hearts, if we take the time to contemplate the depth of Jesus’ and Mary’s love for us as their Hearts were pierced with grief, we are truly overwhelmed with the magnificent greatness, sorrow, and tenderness of the scene.

The fact that Mary is our Mother, the fact that she has such a powerful role to play in our salvation in no way detracts from the mediatorship of Christ. Vatican II states: “The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. For all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on men originate, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. They flow forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rest on His mediation, depend entirely on it, and draw all their power from it. In no way do they impede the immediate union of the faithful with Christ. Rather, they foster this union.”3

In her loving, maternal role, Mary cooperates with the Holy Spirit in forming Christ in us. Pope John Paul II tells us: “The Church knows that ‘all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on mankind originate… from the divine pleasure…’ This saving influence is sustained by the Holy Spirit, Who, just as He overshadowed the Virgin Mary when he began in her the divine motherhood, in a similar way constantly sustains her solicitude for the brothers and sisters of her Son.”4

Mary, our Mother is ever with us, guiding us, teaching us, caring for us, protecting us, loving us. With her maternal assistance we go to the Father through and with Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Mary nourishes our growth in Christ with a very tender and specialized love for each of us. She regards each of us as a precious, unique individual. John Paul II again speaks to us: “Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. For each child is generated in a unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the mother and for the child.”5

The Holy Father then applies these ideas to Mary and us: “It can be said that motherhood ‘in the order of grace’ preserves the analogy with what ‘in the order of nature’ characterizes the union between mother and child. In the light of this fact it becomes easier to understand why in Christ’s testament on Golgotha His Mother’s new motherhood is expressed in the singular, in reference to one man.”6

This is the awesome and consoling truth—you and I are very precious to Mary. She shows us her Heart as a symbol of her life of love, including her most special, unique love for each of us individually. Yes, she loves each of us much more than we can ever fathom. It is our great privilege and responsibility to love her in return. She asks for this love, she asks for our trust, she asks us to come to her maternal and Immaculate Heart, so that she can lead us ever closer to the Heart of her Son, Jesus.

Are we sorrowful, anxious, troubled? Let us go to Mary our Mother and ask her to console us. Let us ask her for the grace to handle our sorrow, our anxieties, our troubles properly—according to God’s will. In this way our suffering will bring us closer to Christ as it simultaneously allows us to contribute to the ongoing Christianization of the world.

Are we especially joyful, happy, basking in the glow of a goal successfully accomplished? Let us go to Mary and ask her to help us handle our joy, our happiness, our success as God intends. Let us petition her not to allow our joy to make us forgetful of God, our God Who is the source of all true joy, success and happiness.

Yes, Mary invites us to come to her in all circumstances—whether it be in joy or sorrow, success or failure, laughter or tears. Mary wants us to share in her maternal wisdom so that we may understand how to use our various experiences to come closer to God in Christ. Sharing our lives with Mary in this fashion, and on a consistent basis, requires that we love her, that we trust her, that we surrender ourselves to her maternal love. Help us, Mother Mary, to probe ever more deeply into the depths of your love for us. Help us to realize more and more that to be loved by you is to experience a sweetness, a warmth, a tenderness, a serenity, a security, which makes us cry out, “O Mother, how good and loving you are!”

2. The Documents of Vatican II, “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church”, America Press edition, no. 61
3. Ibid., No. 45.
4. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, The Mother of the Redeemer, United States Catholic Conference, No. 38.
5. Ibid., No. 45.
6. Ibid., No. 45.
 

Mary Queen of Peace Pray for us!!

 

Various Thoughts

We read from a spiritual journal: “We cannot have deep intimacy with Jesus if we only give Him part of ourselves. We think we are holding on to things we need when in reality we are blocking that which we most desire deep within our hearts—profound union with Jesus. There is only one way to achieve this union. We must give Jesus what He wants. In this lies our true peace, and only in this.”

Isolation allows a person to stay locked in his or her imperfections. Relating to others according to God’s will helps us to grow to be more like Christ. We can find it very difficult at times to interact with others because the interaction is calling us to die to old behavior patterns which interfere with our relating to others as we should. It is through prayer and love, through God’s grace acting within us, that, in dying more and more to our imperfections, we will grow in greater oneness.

God intends us to walk hand in hand, interacting, and depending on one another. When we are hurt and bleeding because of interaction with others, many times we wish to close our arms and close the door to others. At these times let us look at Jesus on the cross, His arms outstretched. He continued to love even those who crucified Him. He did not close His arms. He hung, arms outstretched to the end.

We must keep our eyes on the goal. We must keep our arms outstretched in loving surrender to Jesus. Many times we are weary and are tempted not to so act. In loving interaction with others, our brothers and sisters help us hold our arms outstretched.

When we begin to think, “I don’t need you, it is Jesus and I, I can do it alone,” we are closing our arms. We obviously need God to accomplish our God-given destiny, but it is not only God that we must love. In the normal progression of love, there must be healthy interaction with others. This is the way of Jesus. In love we help each other live according to the Father’s plan. We help each other keep our arms outstretched. We grow more and more in Christ’s ways as we learn to love. The more we die to our imperfect ways of loving, the more we merge toward oneness with each other in Christ Jesus, Our Lord and Master.
 

September 21, 2026

Glorious Mysteries

The Resurrection

1. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead.
2. The world belongs to Christ.
3. God the Father is Creator, we are creatures.
4. God the Father has a Plan.
5. God created us in the image of Jesus.
6. Each of us were created uniquely.
7. God gave us a free will to obey His Laws or disobey His Law.
8. We were created as social creatures to work with each other.
9. Jesus came, He took flesh, He showed us the way.
10. God is light and in Him is no darkness.
 

The Ascension

1. Jesus was always going back to His Father.
2. Jesus ascended body and soul into heaven.
3. Christ reigns over all creatures.
4. The Father has exulted the Son through His Resurrection and Ascension.

5. Ephesians 1:17-23

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.
May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people,
and how extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power at work in Christ, the power which he exercised in raising him from the dead and enthroning him at his right hand, in heaven, far above every principality, ruling force, power or sovereignty, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as he is above all things, the head of the Church; which is his Body, the fullness of him who is filled, all in all.

6. Christians should feel at home in the world of Jesus.
7. Man’s world is crippled by many evils.
8. God helps man make the world good in so many ways.
9. We can pray for the priests, the Church and the world.
10. God loves us and wants us to love Him.
 

The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Virgin Mary.

1. Acts 2:1-11

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.

    Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, and each one was bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely,’ they said, ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; residents of Rome—Jews and proselytes alike—Cretans and Arabs, we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

2. The followers of Christ opened themselves to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
3. Many were converted.
4. Pentecost marked the birth of the Church.
5. Mary and the Holy Spirit were there.
6. Do we remain closed to the Spirit out of fear?
7. To refuse the Spirit is to refuse real happiness.
8. Life in the Spirit helps us be more human.
9. Sing: Come Holy Ghost
10. God travels with us along life’s path.
 

The Assumption

1. Mary was taken body and soul into heaven.
2. Mary is Mother of the Church.
3. Mary is Jesus’ Mother.
4. Mary is Mother of Jesus.
5. Mary is our Mother.
6. Mary is Mother at our Side.
7. Mary is Mother of the Eucharist.
8. Mary is our spiritual Mother
9. Sing: Immaculate Mary
10. Mary leads us to Jesus.

 

The Queenship of Mary

1. Mary is Queen of Heaven and earth.

2. Revelation 12:1-2

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth.

3. Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth.
4. Mary is our spiritual Mother.

5. John 19:25-27

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

6. “Behold your Mother.”
7. Sing: Hail Holy Queen

8. Sing: See the Eyes That Look at Mary

9. Mary appeared at Fatima.
10. Mary is Queen of Peace.

 

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To Jesus, Through Mary

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