FEAST OF SAINT KATHERINE DREXEL – 3rd MARCH
March 3, 2023
FEAST OF SAINT CASIMIR, KING OF POLAND – 4th MARCH
March 4, 2023
3 March, 2023
Then he said to them all, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it”. – Luke 9: 23-24
God, Almighty Father, you gave us your beloved Son Jesus, to offer his life as a humble sacrifice, for the sake of our sins, and to restore your Glory and our sonship, by our faith in and communion with our Divine Creator. Jesus taught us to do your Holy Will and to follow and obey your Holy Word. He established your new covenant with us, teaching us love of God and of neighbor. He made it evident that only by faith in him and in his Heavenly Father, would we be saved, by grace, to eternal life.
Lord God, you have demonstrated your unsurpassed love and goodness for us by the wonderful plans you have for the lives of all who believe in you. By your immeasurable compassion, you have forgiven us all our sinful deeds, and have redeemed us and given us salvation by our faith. We need to bear our faith and hope in our hearts and keep the cross of temptation upon our shoulders, abstaining from wilful sin, at the same time, spreading your Holy Word through our speech and actions.
True discipleship is enduring the trials and tribulations that a life in Christ may bring. By carrying the cross of our daily hardships, in faith and forbearance, we can conquer worldly desires, and by transforming our lives, and living in submission to your Holy Will we can fulfill our Christian duty, spreading your Holy Gospel wherever we go. It entails bearing all sufferings for the Glory of your Name, knowing that we fall short of your Glory because of our sinfulness. We pray for strength to deny ourselves by total submission of our lives to you Lord, in Jesus’ Name. Amen
