A Prayer for Unity and Against Division

     Come Holy Spirit with Thy Seven-fold gifts and anoint us with Thy Divine light, wisdom, and power. Come Lord Jesus Christ and anoint us with Thy Precious Blood, freeing us from every snare and stronghold of the principalities and powers of darkness. O Mother of God, glorious and Immaculate ever Virgin Mary, come and crush the head of the ancient serpent. O great father, St. Joseph, terror of demons, come and annihilate the enemies of our souls. St. Michael, great prince and commander of the heavenly army, strike down the insidious foes who seek to destroy us. Come glorious band of the Apostles, come great patriarchs and prophets; come white-robed army of Martyrs, come pure and noble throng of Virgins. Come to our aid Holy Mother St. Teresa, our Holy Father St. John of the Cross, St. Elijah, St. Elisha, St. John the Baptist, St. Therese, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, all you saints of Carmel, our Guardian Angels, Archangels, and all you holy Angels and Saints, come repulse the attacks and deceits of our wicked enemies; render them impotent and helpless. Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered and let all those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so are they driven away; as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked perish at the presence of God. Amen.

Some confused Catholics believe that they need the Buddhist practice of Mindfulness to deal with anxiety and out of control thoughts that lead us away from peace and the experience of God in the present moment. However, by the grace and provision of the Holy Spirit, the scriptures and Catholic mystical tradition are replete with all the wisdom we need to come to a place of authentic peace and focus on the loving and healing presence of God. This is why we spend a good deal of time and energy practicing and teaching discernment of spirits in Apostoli Viae. During a recent heavy interior battle related to my Father's passing, I was reflecting on the powerful authentic practices of our faith and was inspired to compose a prayer that I/we could pray in moments when finding this authentic peace can be difficult. This prayer will be added to the new Apostoli Viae prayer book for all who make their first promises this summer and those who have already made first promises. I pray it is a blessing to you and helps you to fight the battle of taking "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Most glorious, kind, and blessed God of the present moment, I beg Your grace and Your presence that I might be able to reject the temptations of the enemy and my flesh that drive my mind to obsess on the past or worry about the future. Help me instead to embrace the sufferings and challenges of the present moment knowing that You are with me in them and that if I surrender myself to You and the duties of this present moment, You will give me all I need to endure or overcome any challenge, take care of all matters that are outside of my control, and will reveal Yourself and Your holy will within and through them. By Your grace I reject, in Jesus’ name, all regrets, laments, frustrations, or other temptations that draw my thoughts and attention away from the duties of this present moment and more importantly, away from Your presence and provision. I affirm, invoke, and implore the power of Jesus’ name against the efforts of the enemy to draw me out of Your presence in this moment, and I, by God’s Grace, His Divine Will, and my human will, through the power of the Holy Spirit, choose to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Mary, Mother of the Divine Will, pray for me. Yours in Christ, Dan and Stephanie Burke PS: If you want to read a good book that offers an authentically Catholic perspective on Mindfulness, click HERE.