Suffering is our best teacher, because it hangs onto us and keeps us in its grip until we have learnt that particular lesson. Only then does suffering let go. If we haven’t learnt our lesson, we can be quite sure that the same lesson is going to come again, because life is nothing but an adult education class: if we don’t pass in any of the subjects, we just have to sit the examination again. Whatever lesson we have missed, we will get it again. That is why we find ourselves reacting to similar situations in similar ways many times.
—Ayya Khem
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
My Saviour!
I cheerfully accept all the painful dispositions
in which it is Thy pleasure to place me.
My wish is in all things to conform myself to Thy holy will.
Whenever I kiss Thy cross, it is to show that I submit perfectly to mine.
Amen.
—St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed
but I try to work one day at a time.
If we just worry about the big picture,
we are powerless.
So my secret is to start right away doing
whatever little work I can do.
I try to give joy to one person in the morning,
and remove the suffering of one person in the afternoon.
That’s enough.
When you see you can do that, you continue,
and you give two little joys,
and you remove two little sufferings,
then three, and then four.
If you and your friends do not despise the small work,
a million people will remove a lot of suffering.
That is the secret. Start right now.
—Chân Không
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
When you are in trouble, you need to put all your energies into thinking that there is a way out. Then, the bottom, the dark hole, becomes just a springboard from which you can leap so high that your head might hit a cloud.
—Fatema Mernissi
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
Dear Jesus, you know intimately the challenges
that I face in showing patience toward the people
you have put in my life.
I have failed so often to bear with others in love.
Forgive me. Thank you, dear Savior, for paying
in full the price for these failures.
Thank you for your life of perfect patience, lived in my place.
Give me strength today to reflect your patience to others. Amen.
—Mollie Schairer
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
Forgiveness is not always easy.
At times, it feels more painful
than the wound we suffered,
to forgive the one that inflicted it.
And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.
—Marianne Williamson
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
O Holy Patroness of those in need, St. Rita, whose pleadings before thy Divine Lord are almost irresistible, who for thy lavishness in granting favors hast been called the Advocate of the Hopeless and even of the Impossible; St. Rita, so humble, so pure, so mortified, so patient, and of such compassionate love for thy Crucified Jesus that thou couldst obtain from Him whatsoever thou askest, on account of which all confidently have recourse to thee expecting, if not always relief, at least comfort; be propitious to our petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy suppliant; be lavish to us, as thou hast been in so many wonderful cases, for the greater glory of God, for the spreading of thine own devotion, and for the consolation of those who trust in thee. We promise, if our petition is granted, to glorify thee by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever.
Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, we pray thee grant that [here mention your request].
By the singular merits of thy childhood, obtain for us our request.
By thy perfect union with the Divine Will,
obtain for us our request.
By thy heroic sufferings during thy married life,
obtain for us our request.
By the consolation thou didst experience at the conversion of thy
husband, obtain for us our request.
By the sacrifice of thy children rather than see them grievously
offend God, obtain for us our request.
By the miraculous entrance into the convent,
obtain for us our request.
By thy severe penances and thrice daily bloody scourgings,
obtain for us our request.
By the suffering caused by the wound thou didst receive from the
thorn of thy Crucified Savior, obtain for us our request.
By the Divine love which consumed thy heart,
obtain for us our request.
By that remarkable devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, on which
alone thou didst exist for four years, obtain for us our request.
By the happiness with which thou didst part from thy trials to join
thy Divine Spouse, obtain for us our request.
By the perfect example thou gavest to people of every state of life. Pray for us, O holy St. Rita, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. LET US PRAY. O God, Who in Thine infinite tenderness hast vouchsafed to regard the prayer of Thy servant, Blessed Rita, and dost grant to her supplication that which is impossible to human foresight, skill, and efforts, in reward of her compassionate love and firm reliance on Thy promise, have pity on our adversity and succor us in our calamities, that the unbeliever may know Thou art the recompense of the humble, the defense of the helpless, and the strength of those who trust in Thee, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
—Prayer to Saint Rita
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
When Buddha spoke about suffering,
he meant that we have unsatisfactory experiences.
Even the happiness we have does not last forever,
and that situation is unsatisfactory.
The causes of our problems lie not
in the external environment and those inhabiting it,
but in our own mind.
The disturbing attitudes and negative emotions,
such as clinging attachment, anger, and ignorance,
are the real source of our unhappiness.
—Thubten Chodron
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
Admirable St. Dymphna, how just you were to all whom you encountered, and how careful you were to give every person his due, and more than he might desire or expect. By your power with God, please come to assist us to be just to all we meet, and even to be generous in giving everyone more than strict justice requires.
Amen.
—Catholic Liturgy
This post is an excerpt from The Woman’s Book of Prayer by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.
Kindness is Your Super Power 