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``Where the
Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be; |
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Morning Offering
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Morning Offering began in 1844 as an aspect of the League of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus' "Apostleship of Prayer," in a Jesuit
seminary in Vals, France. The seminarians were destined to evangelize
in Indian and American missions and, anxious to get on with their work,
were reminded by their spiritual Father, Fr. Francois Xavier Gautrelet,
that salvation is supernatural and that they can also get on with their
apostleship through prayer and by offering up their sufferings, joining
them with Christ's, as St. Paul reminds us in Colossians 1:23-24: "I
Paul am made a minister; who
now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind
of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is
the church."
Later,
another Jesuit, Jesuit Father Ramiere, began to publish the "Messenger
of the Sacred Heart" to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
This helped to spread the "Morning Offering Prayer," encouraging the
faithful to begin each day by offering that day and its sufferings to
the Lord for the good of the Church and the Holy Father's intentions --
i.e., the Pope's General Intentions for each month and his Mission
Intentions for each month. 1 Lord Jesus Christ, in union with that divine intention wherewith on earth Thou didst offer to God Thy praises through Thy Most Sacred Heart, and dost now offer them in the Sacrament of the Eucharist everywhere on earth even to the end of time, I most gladly offer Thee throughout this entire day, all my thoughts and intentions, all my affections and desires, all my words and deeds, in imitation of the most sacred Heart of the blessed and ever Virgin Mary Immaculate. Amen. Now,
throughout the day, offer up your
harships and sacrifices to Jesus, uniting them with His sufferings and
merits so that your works gain the merit they can never have apart from
Him. It is especially beneficial to offer them to Mary to give to Jesus
so that her intercession as Queen Mother of Israel renders them more
pleasing. Glory be to the Father, Who
hath created me.
Glory be to the Son, Who hath redeemed me. Glory be to the Holy Ghost, Who hath sanctified me. Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity now and for ever. Amen. Another
prayer prayed in the morning, though not a part of the formal Morning
Offering, is a prayer to one's guardian angel. The traditional prayer
taught to children, and which can, of course, still be prayed by adults
is this one: Angel of God, my guardian
dear,
to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. Whether
you pray the formal Morning Offering or pray the same sentiments in
your own words, it's a good idea to think of God the first thing in the
morning, as soon as you open your eyes, and to ask your guardian angel
to watch over you. Advert your attention
to God and His angels the
moment you're awake, and your day starts out in a good way. Remember, Christian soul,
that thou hast this day and every day of thy life:
God to glorify, Jesus to imitate, The Angels and Saints to invoke, A soul to save, A body to mortify, Sins to expiate, Virtues to acquire, Hell to avoid, Heaven to gain, Eternity to prepare for, Time to profit by, Neighbors to edify, The world to despise, Devils to combat, Passions to subdue, Death perhaps to suffer, And Judgment to undergo.
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