Prepared by Diane Wiel

1. Book of Prayersbased on Prepared by Diane Wiel MeditationsbyJohn Baptist de La Salle

2. “Jesus did not come so much to teach us the holy truths of Christian morality as to engage us to practice them faithfully.”1 •Almighty God, we believe in Your teachings. Help us to do good on earth so that we may attain fullness of life forever in heaven.

3. “After he gave away all his possessions in favor of the poor, St. Anthony withdrew to the desert where he labored manually to earn a livelihood and to help the poor. To his labor he joined constant prayer.”2 Lord, let us not be closed up on our own self interests. Let our actions always be for the good of the others and for the salvation of souls.

4. “For this present life you should not be concerned about anything except to make God reign in your heart by his grace and by the fullness of his love. It is for him that you should be living; it is the life of God himself that ought to be the life of your soul.”3 Almighty God, help us to live in a way that is pleasing to You. Grant us a spirit of joy because we know that You are always with us.

5. “...you yourselves should be entirely filled with God and burning with love of his holy law, so that your words may have their proper effect on your disciples. Preach by your example... .”4 •Lord God, grant us grace to understand Your truths. Help us to believe Your truths and to practice them every day when we work with others.

6. “Prayer … is a divine medicine which drives out of our hearts all of the malice it finds there and fills them with all justice.”5 Heavenly Father, help us realize how important prayer is in our daily lives and help us to make use of it every day.

7. “…love God and … give yourself entirely to him. For this you must detach yourself from all creatures and love God alone.”6 Almighty God, we know that You are a father to all and that You love us. Help us to return that love to You every day.

8. “Ah, how good it is to give oneself to God! Even in this life he rewards and fills with very tangible consolations the soul that consecrates itself to him. The more you give to God, the more he will bless you; the more you are despised by others, the greater you will be before God.”7

9. “What you say and do need not be as great a concern as the intention and the manner of these actions.”8 God of kindness, help us to treat others with Christian courtesy so that we will treat them in the way You want us to treat them.

10. “The only remedy for . . . disorders is union and charity, because, as St. Paul says, charity is patient.”9 Lord, teach us to do what You want us to do in patience. Help us to be patient when we work with others out of our love for You.

11. “. . . without faith it is impossible to please God . . . because faith is the foundation of the hope that we have.”10 •Lord God, help us to place our trust in You. Strengthen our faith so that we will be able to do in faith the things You want us to do.

12. “… true interior peace proceeds from charity.”11 God of love, thank You for everything You have given us. Help us use the things You have given us well.

13. “The more we are poor, the more we will have the spirit of Jesus Christ … . The more despoiled we are of possessions of this world and the more we renounce the comforts of life, …the more we will share in the possession of grace and the more pleasing we will be to God.”12 Loving God, help us to be generous wit others so that we may imitate Your generous love of us.

14. “Jesus Christ came down from heaven only to procure the salvation of all people. He knew that this purpose would not be accomplished unless he suffered much and died on the cross.”i3 • Loving God, help us to not be afraid of suffering. Give us the strength to bear our sufferings, knowing that You are always with us.

15. “… eternal wisdom . . . is hidden from us in this life, and is known to us only through faith. It is rightly only in heaven that we will see God unveiled and entirely revealed.”14 Lord, be with us this day. Let us see You in the people we meet today. Help us to serve You in others so that we may serve You in heaven.

16. “The world’s joy will be brief, that of God’s servants will have no end.”15 Loving God, let us to bring Your message to those we meet. Help us to give Christian example to those we meet and, in a small way, to change the world.

17. “Jesus Christ made himself ready by submission and obedience to carry out the great task of the redemption and the conversion of souls, because he knew that nothing can ensure the success of this mission more certainly and more effectively than preparing himself for it by a long practice of a humble and submissive life.”16 • Lord, let us to submit to Your will for us even when times are difficult. Help us to never despair because we know that You love us.

18. “This simple view of faith leads obedient persons to transcend themselves and to see only God where often he is not apparent.”17 Lord Jesus, grant us the faith to see You in all people we meet. Help us to treat them with respect and with love because of You.

19. “For, as Saint Paul says, God gives us not only the will to do what is right, but also the grace to accomplish it, and a wilt forearmed and sustained by God’s grace to achieve something good, finds nothing difficult because God smoothes out all the obstacles encountered in the action.”18 Lord Jesus, give us the faith we need to trust in You especially with times are tough and You seem far away from us.

20. “Love God and . . . give yourself entirely to him. For this you must detach yourself from all creatures and love God alone.”19 •Dear Lord, thank You for everything you have created. Help us to see you in the things you have created and to give you the love that we owe you.

21. “If you wish to dispose yourself as well as God asks of you in order to be filled with the Spirit of God. . . , apply yourself with attention and fervor to prayer in order to be filled with God’s grace.”20 Heavenly Father, let us realize that everything we do is done because of You. Help us to pray so that we may be filled with Your grace.

22. “For the Spirit of God alone can give us a correct understanding of these maxims of the Gospel and can inspire us to put them into practice, because they are above the level of the human spirit. How, indeed, can we ever realize that blessed are the poor, that we should love those who hate us, . . . And when people say all sorts of evil against us, that we should return good for evil, and so many other truths entirely contrary to what nature suggests, unless the Spirit of God himself teaches them to us?”21

23. “God, who created all people, desires them to receive what they need, and when other means fail provides for them himself.” 22 • Dear Lord, thank You for providing us with the things we need. Help us to be generous and share with others who have less than we do.

24. “Let your ears, then, be always open and attentive to God’s word; learn to speak little and to speak only with wisdom.”23 Almighty God, help us to be silent and to learn to listen to You. Give us the wisdom to understand and to carry out Your will.

25. “For this present life you should not be concerned about anything except to make God reign in your heart by his grace and by the fullness of his love. It is for him that you should be living; it is the life of God himself that ought to be the life of your soul. You nourish the life of your soul with God’s life by occupying yourself with his holy presence as much as you are able.”24

26. “Nothing shows better that we love another person than when we cannot help thinking about that person.”25 •Heavenly Father, help us to think about others before we think about ourselves. Let us show our love for You by our care and concern for others.

27. “This charity which is required of us presupposes a patience that is proof against everything. Everybody has defects, and we bring them with us everywhere we go; consequently, it is only by overlooking them among ourselves that we can maintain peace and union even in the most select societies.”26 Loving God, help us to overlook the shortcomings of others so that we can maintain peace and unity in our world.

28. “Act in such a way that your life may begin today to be holy and edifying and continue to be such in the future.”27 Loving God, help us to see good in the people we meet. Let us begin today to treat others with Christian charity so that our lives will be holy and pleasing to You.

29. “Be assured that the more you devote yourself to prayer, the more you will also do well in your work.”28 • Heavenly Father, help us to talk to You through prayer so that the work we do will be meaningful and for the good of others.

30. “Do not complain in the least of what people may say or do against you. Show by your silence and patience that you are content and that you accept all willingly for the love of God.”29

31. “…when you have some trouble, unite yourself to Jesus suffering; …this union and this love will soothe your pains and will make them much more tolerable.”30 Lord Jesus, let us come to You in times of trouble. Through Your love help us to feel consoled.

32. “It is in the peace of solitude. . . that people find God and strive to please him; on the one hand there is nothing to distract them from God, and on the other hand there is nothing which does not encourage them to do all they can to please him.”31 • God, help us to take time from our busy days to enjoy the peace of solitude, to find You, and to try to do that which pleases You.

33. “The main purpose of faith is to lead us to practice what we believe.”32 Almighty God, give us a strong living faith. Help us to practice what we believe because we trust in Your love.

34. “God listens favorably to the prayers we offer and is pleased to fill with graces those who have recourse to his goodness.”33 Lord God, help us to praise You through our prayers, and let our prayers produce in our lives truly Christian deeds.

35. REFERENCE Arnandez, Richard, FSC, and Loes, Augustine, FSC, Translators. Loes, Augustine, FSC, Huether, Francis, FSC, Editors. Meditations by John Baptist de La Salle. Landover, Maryland, 1994. 10. P. 446 11. P. 88. 12. P. 335 13. P. 79 14. P. 342 15. P. 93. 16. P. 47. 17. P. 52. 18. P. 55. 19. P. 105 20. P. 106 21. P. 109 22. P. 132 23. P. 14 24, P. 147 25. P. 154 26. P. 162 27. P. 174 28. P. 175 29. P. 176 30. P. 306 31. P. 324 32. P. 327 33. P. 403 • 1 . P. 43. • 2. P. 180 • 3. P. 183 • 4. P. 147 • 5. P. 96. • 6. P. 105 • 7. P. 190 • 8. P. 466 • 9. P. 142