Prayer for Protection against the Coronavirus
Pope Francis’ Prayer to the Virgin Mary for Protection

O Mary,
you always shine on our path as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross, to the joy of the resurrection.
Amen.

Welcome to our Spiritual Growth section. We hope that the resources offered on this page will allow you to grow in your life of prayer. Here you can find links to the reading of the day, lives of the saints, daily reflections, catholic answers and much more....

LIVE THE LITURGY - INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK OF December 6th

Prepare the way of the Lord! The message of John the Baptist becomes the calling of every baptized disciple of Jesus Christ. Each one of us is asked to prepare the way of the Lord. Given the humble means of our lives, how can we do this? It certainly does not require that we stand on street corners announcing God’s future coming! We can more readily take up the task of our lifework by clearing our lives of unnecessary, distracting clutter. By creating solid and deep spiritual lives, we can heighten our awareness of God’s presence and help people point to and discover God’s presence around them. By conducting ourselves in holiness and devotion, we can speak volumes to those we meet.  Not by preaching actual words, but by living lives that communicate the comfort God wants His people to know. As the world sometimes frantically unfolds around us, we can be people of patience who show others that it’s okay to wait for God’s gift to come. Conducting our lives in this manner, we will know the peace that comes from doing what we have been asked to do.

November 29
Be watchful! Be alert! The core message of Advent cannot be more direct or simple. As those who are postured in a spirit of readiness and anticipation, we must always be attentive and vigilant. We have to be ready not only for the anticipated arrival of our Lord, but watchful and attentive to the unexpected visit as well. While we know that the Christ is coming, we also do not know the exact time. Cultivating this expectant attitude is the purpose of this season. It is easy to grow slack, inattentive, and too self-assured. We can easily deaden ourselves to the wonder and surprise of God’s presence. We get so absorbed in so many other distractions that it can seem like Christ’s second coming, and even Christ’s coming in time are of lesser importance. When it finally dawns on us that we have wandered far away from where we need to be, and lost our attentiveness and focus, we will wonder how this all happened. We may even try to put the onus on God and blame God for a lack of involvement or presence. We are the ones, who through our own choice, put the distance in our relationship and lost touch. Now it’s time to come back and perk ourselves up a bit!

November 15th 
God has entrusted his possessions to us. God’s possessions are not earthly, physical things like ours: a home, bank account, personal items, and so forth. God’s possessions are far greater and deeper. God’s greatest possession is His very Self and it is precisely this pearl of great price that He bestows freely upon us. What are we going to do with it? Nourishing the fruits of wisdom is of the first order in determining how we are going to use what God has given. Understanding that His gift has not been given purely for our self-benefit is another. Wisdom asks us to broaden our horizons, to embrace all avenues of human life, including the needs of the poor, the marginalized, and the needy. Manifested primarily in the virtues of faith, hope, and love, what God has entrusted to us can multiply exponentially if we invest His gift wisely and reap the greatest benefits. While it requires a great deal of focus and persistent hard work, we will experience tremendous joy when we realize just how much confidence God has in us. Not acting on something out of fear or lack of trust serves no purpose and is of no use to either God or ourselves.

November 8
Do you consider yourself spiritually mature and awake? We can become a little presumptuous in the Christian life and even put a little too much stock in God’s mercy. We foolishly believe that in the end, God is going to give everyone a passing grade and all will be well. Therefore, until that time comes, I can remain mediocre in my faith disciplines and put aside the effort needed to go from okay to excellent. We can be accomplished procrastinators! The meeting of God face-to-face either when we die or when Christ comes again, whichever comes first, is not going to be as casual as we may think. There is no earthly meeting in our experience that can even compare to what it will be like to meet God. To say that we are going to be caught up in awe is an understatement. But, there is something even more significant than that to consider: If we haven’t learned how to be attentive, recognize, and long for the holy of holies in this life, what make us think we are going to recognize and desire it in the next? Pray for the wisdom to act prudently.

November 1
Especially with regard to living the Gospel, we are not alone. A great cloud of witnesses journey with us offering us inspiration, wisdom, intercession, and support. We look to them for the example of perseverance we desperately need in order to be faithful, and for what it means to “walk the talk!” The Beatitudes are indeed a blessed vision that people hunger to hear and embrace. But, they also clearly remind us that following Jesus is difficult. Poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy, and peace making are not virtues readily accepted by the world. Pursuing a purity of heart and acknowledging the hunger of our souls require not only a courageous stance, but a single-minded devotion to God. And, after going against the grain of the world and meeting resistance along the way, the true disciple may find themselves persecuted and paying a high price. Look to all the saints for the secret to happiness and the example of fidelity. Their lives speak volumes of how God can use even the weakest and most humble among us in tremendous ways. Saints are not even close to being perfect. They are just ordinary folks like us trying to give honor to God with their lives.

October 25
Do we really understand how important our relationships with our brothers and sisters throughout the world truly are? Many give God’s commandment to love your neighbor and yourself a congenial glance of approval and agreement without really thinking about the implications. Sometimes it is easier to kneel in reverence before the tabernacle in a church than to kneel in reverence before the tabernacle of another person’s soul. Witnessing and being consumed by the Divine Power alive in the heart of every living being transforms not only how we see our brothers and sisters but how we see God Himself. The cries of the poor and those who are hurting must echo in our hearts. We can no longer be deaf to the world’s pain. It is no longer acceptable to judge others, unduly criticize, or marginalize, neglect, abuse, manipulate, or participate in the exploitation of anyone! We are asked to become hypersensitive to not only what we are doing, but why we are doing it. This holds true not only with regard to the daily conduct of our lives but our economic and corporate relationships and policies as well.

Live Stream Opportunities For Prayer

As a reminder, none of these are open to the public.

Christ the King Catholic Church in Madisonville – Fr. Carl McCarthy leads the Rosary              nightly at 6 PM:  https://www.facebook.com/ctkmadisonville/

St. Michael in Sebree Adoration Mon-Fri 8:30am:  https://www.facebook.com/smsebree/

Sts. Joseph & Paul in Owensboro Wednesdays at 12 PM Noon- Stations of the Cross:  https://www.facebook.com/stjpcc/

St. Agnes in Uniontown leads the Rosary daily at 3 PM. Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 5 PM:  https://www.facebook.com/St-Agnes-Roman-Catholic-Church-370425936471392/

St. Paul/St. Elizabeth Parishes, Grayson County leads Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 5:30 PM; Liturgy of the Hours Monday through Saturday at 10 AM and Sundays at 6 PM; and  Divine Mercy Novena at 3 PM every day from Good Friday through Divine Mercy Sunday (April 19):
https://www.facebook.com/stpaulcatholicchurchleitchfieldky

Holy Spirit in Bowling Green leads the Rosary Monday through Friday at 3PM:
https://www.facebook.com/HSCCBG/

St. Mary Magdalene in Sorgho: Live musical offering Sundays at 11AM:
https://www.facebook.com/MaryMagdaleneKy/