Radiating Christ
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was an Anglican priest who converted to the Catholic Church in 1845 and was ordained a Catholic priest. Newman was a theologian and Church historian who devoted his life to Catholic education and pastoral work. He was named a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879. He was canonized by Pope Francis last October. The following prayer, known as Radiating Christ, owes its origins to Cardinal Newman. This prayer was a favorite prayer of Mother Teresa. I recently came across this prayer in a book I am currently reading: Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers by Shane Clairborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove:
Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others; the light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine: it will be you shining on others through me. Let me thus praise you in the way you love best: by shining on those around me. Let me preach you without preaching, not by words, but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you. Amen.
I love this prayer. I can see why Mother Teresa liked it so much. As I reflect upon this prayer, I think of how there are some blessing that can come from what we are going through right now. We in the Catholic Church are looking at new ways to reach out to people in our faith. We are also looking at the traditions of our faith to bring us comfort and encouragement. Blessings to all of you this week.
Father Lincoln
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