Prayer in the life of the Redemptoristine

(Here you will see that our day is very full and meaningful)

As Redemptoristines, our vocation of prayer in the Church is to live out the unceasing prayer of Christ.  Our prayer and intimacy with the Lord, in union with His redemptive mission, becomes an offering for the salvation of the world.  We allow Christ to relive His Mystery in us by contemplating Him in the whole of His life.  In communion with Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray always and without losing heart.  Our liturgical prayer which is the source of our devotion and food for our personal prayer is constantly refreshed by this life of recollection and prayer.

To nourish our life of prayer and contemplation we seek to develop our religious awareness and spirituality by drawing on the best sources.  We find in Holy Scripture the wonders of God and the teaching of Him who is 'the Way, the Truth and the Life'.  We have a preference for the Fathers of the Church together with Saint Alphonsus and our Venerable Mother, Maria Celeste, and the great spiritual writers of our times as well as the writings of the many authors of our twofold Institute.

The Intentions of the Hour

Intimately bound to the pattern and rhythm of the Divine Office is the 'Intention of the Hour' which has an especial import for the Redemptoristine and is a feature of Redemptoristine Spirituality.

    "You must imitate My Life and do all your acts united to the Works of My Life" (Jesus to Celeste).

This referred to acts carried out all throughout the day.  Celeste felt in her heart a secret companionship with the Lord who always accompanied her.  From this continuous presence were born...

.....each hour we dedicate to a specific intention so that we can focus more particularly on a special aspect related to facets of the life of our Redeemer and what followed and objectively concentrate our attention precisely.

The entire day of the Nuns of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer is presented as a "Memoria" of

    - The Incarnation and Birth of Christ
    - His Passion and Death (with special stress on the Last Supper)
    - of Pentecost, and of the apostolic preaching which followed.
    - and of the hidden life and activity of the Saviour.

ON AWAKING FROM SLEEP

    We render thanks for the benefits received...Offer to God the first fruits of your affections, and put Me in possession of your heart; unite your thoughts and the powers of your soul to My Spirit, to the glory of the eternal Father and direct to Him all the words and sufferings of the day, resigning yourself into His blessed hands...

MORNING PRAYER

To Thee, my God, O most adorable Trinity in Unity, do I offer and consecrate my whole being. O Eternal Father, deign to accept my memory and my actions. O Eternal Word, to Thee do I consecrate my words and my understanding. And Thou, O Holy Ghost, Eternal God, vouchsafe to accept my will and my thoughts. May my heart, my tongue, and all my senses; may my body, with all my pains and sufferings, be devoted to the worship of The most holy Humanity. O Jesus, my Redeemer, who for me did not hesitate to deliver Thyself into the hands of Thy enemies, and suffer the torments of the cross, give me, I beseech Thee, the grace necessary to work out my sanctification by the perfect observance of my rules. Above all, grant me the gift of final perseverance. Amen.

    Ask the blessing of My dear Mother on leaving your cell...

OFFICE OF READINGS (Matins)

    Call to mind the truths, prophesies and figures of the Old Law which were verified in My Person and throughout the time of the Law of Grace.

MORNING MEDITATION

    In memory of My Incarnation and the nine months I spent in My Mother's womb the invocation of the Holy Spirit evokes the memory of the hour when the dawn of the Divine son burst upon the earth and with it the dew of the grace of the Holy Spirit fell on all creatures.

MORNING PRAYER (Lauds)

    Remember My birth and the joy of the whole earth in that hour, as at the rising sun; sing your gratitude to the eternal father for all the benefits bestowed on the world through the Incarnation.

INTERVAL is the memory of the massacre of the Holy Innocents, the flight into Egypt and the persecution of Herod.

HOLY MASS AND COMMUNION

    In memory of My Passion and Death...during this time of grace you will receive the fullness of heavenly blessings in your soul, and there shall fall upon your heart the abundance of My mercies like the dew upon the fields ...and you will participate in the truth and justice of My Spirit.

TERCE is in memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.

INTERVAL is in memory of the hidden life of thirty years which Jesus Christ led in the house and workshop of Nazareth.

We pause and rest awhile at one with God's world around us.

 
WORK

    Retire to your employment with your heart united with Mine, and let your works be done in uprightness and truth, in order that everyone may see that I live in you and you in Me.

SEXT

    is in memory of the preaching of the Apostles after they had received the Holy Spirit....and all of those who have preached or confessed My Name on earth at the cost of their lives.

{Note: GILH Liturgical custom in both the East and West has especially retained Terce, Sext and None principally because these hours commemorated the events of Our Lord's Passion and the first preaching of the Gospel}.

EXAMEN

    Make an examination of conscience, remembering that made by the Apostles when I said - "One of you shall betray Me" and each one said - "Is it I Lord?".

Conclude with the Litany of My dear Mother Mary recommending yourselves to her intercession and protection.

DINNER Remember tha Last Supper which I took with My disciples.

LITTLE SILENCE

    In memory of the three hours during which I remained upon the Cross to suffer for the salvation of the human race.

REFLECTION

    "During this time of SILENCE and RECOLLECTION you will remain withdrawn within yourself and will live in My Heart ...also at this time remember the three most painful hours that I passed on the Cross, overwhelmed by anguish both of body and soul.  I gave My Life for love of you and for the salvation of souls which are so dear to Me.

    You must remain beneath the Cross and gather up My Blood so as to offer it to My Father for the salvation of sinners".

AFTERNOON MEDITATION

In memory of the prayer I offered to my Father for those who were crucifying Me. Pray for all those now in the world who are crucifying Me in their hearts through sin, and so you will be sharers in the work of Salvation, wrought by Me for the benefit of mankind.

NONE

In memory of the agonising death of Our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of His three hours on the Cross and His -

"Father, into Your Hands I commend My Spirit."

At 4.00 pm while a soft gong is given 33 measured strokes, the Sisters kneel with arms extended in prayer for the dying and for the whole world.  This marks the end of the Little Silence devoted in a particular way to the hours of Redemption.

INTERVAL is in memory of the hours during which Jesus Christ remained suspended on the Cross after His death.

The Shepherd, our Redeemer, is always near

 
SPIRITUAL READING

    Recall that in the Cross are contained the whole doctrine and every virtue of the Christian life.

EVENING MEDITATION

    In memory of the time I spent in prayer to the Father during the hours of night upon lonely mountains, to obtain from My Father the fullness of mercy for all souls and to leave the world an example of the importance of this virtue of prayer.

EVENING PRAYER (VESPERS)

  In memory of My sorrowful death. The hymn in honour of My sacred head crowned with thorns, the psalms in honour of My five wounds and the Magnificat to honour My dear Mother Mary as she suffered beneath the Cross.

INTERVAL is to call to mind the sorrow and flight of the Apostles who at the death of Our Lord were rendered like sheep without a shepherd.

SUPPER

    In memory of the seeds of the Holy Gospel ... My words left sown in the hearts of My apostles and disciples.

RECREATION

    In memory of the great consolation enjoyed by the saints in Limbo when Jesus Christ descended there after His death to deliver them from their obscure prison.

GREAT SILENCE

    In memory of the hidden life and silence that I practised from My birth during thirty years of My life, entirely concealing during that time the splendour of My divine essence, hidden beneath My humanity.

NIGHT PRAYER (Compline)
    In memory of the burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ so that as we are buried with Him in Baptism so we may rise with Him in newness of life.

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BEFORE RETIRING

    Give thanks to My Eternal Father for having given Me to the world, and for all those treasures which the Church, My Spouse, enjoys through My merits; and this done, ask the blessing of My dear Mother.

PRAYER

O my most sweet Saviour Jesus, I give Thee thanks for all the gifts and all the graces, both spiritual and temporal, which Thou hast bestowed on me, notwithstanding my unworthiness. I recommend to Thy merciful goodness during this night, my soul, my body, and this Community, which belongs to Thee. Grant that, pure and without stain, I may take my rest for the glory of Thy name, and in union with that repose of love which Thou, my Lord, didst condescend to take on earth to honour Thy Eternal Father, and save the world. I desire, and beg of Thee to grant that each of my aspirations, and respirations, may be an act of praise and love of Thee. O my God, O Mary, Virgin Mother of God, who art so full of compassion and mercy, have pity on me! Obtain for me the pardon of my sins; I recommend myself to Thee. Defend me, I beseech Thee, from all the snares of my enemies, so that, without contracting any stain, I may take the necessary repose in Thy arms; and deign also to bless my soul. Amen.