a Daily Catholic moment
TEN MINUTES A DAY ALONE WITH GOD
COMPILED BY PETER CELANO
WITH DAILY INSPIRATIONS FROM THE SAINTS:
Athanasius, Catherine of Siena, Francis of Assisi, John Chrysostom, John of the Cross, John Henry Cardinal Newman, Teresa of Avila, and Thérèse of Lisieux,
AS WELL AS GREAT WRITERS, POETS, AND THEOLOGIANS PAST AND PRESENT:
Br. Benet Tvedten OSB, Enzo Bianchi, G. K. Chesterton, Dorothy Day, Thomas Groome, Fr. Albert Haase OFM, Sr. Bridget Haase OSU, Thomas Merton OCSO, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Thomas J. Scirghi SJ, Bonnie Thurston, Br. Paul Quenon OCSO, Timothy Verdon, and the Desert Fathers and Mothers.
2014 First printing
A Daily Catholic Moment: Ten Minutes a Day Alone With God
Copyright © 2014 by Paraclete Press, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-61261-575-2
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Scriptures marked THE MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Scripture texts marked NAB are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture texts marked DOUAY-RHEIMS are taken from the Challoner-Rheims edition, The Holy Bible. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1914.
The Paraclete Press name and logo (dove on cross) are trademarks of Paraclete Press, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A daily Catholic moment : ten minutes a day alone with God / compiled by Peter Celano.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-61261-575-2 (trade pbk.)
1. Devotional calendars—Catholic Church. 2. Catholic Church—Prayers and devotions. I. Celano, Peter, compiler.
BX2170.C56D35 2014
242'.2—dc23 2014029005
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in an electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Published by Paraclete Press
Brewster, Massachusetts
Printed in the United States of America
“Since we have made up our minds to devote this
brief period of time to Him …
let us give it to Him freely with our minds
unoccupied by other things.
We should make up our minds not to take
back the time we have committed
to Him, no matter what kinds of trials
or annoyances we suffer.
Let me realize that this time is being lent to me,
and it is not my own.
I can rightly be called to account for this
time if I am not prepared to devote it
entirely to God.”
—St. Teresa of Avila
Contents
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Sources
January
Today is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
“Oh, beloved Mother, with what gratitude do I sing of the mercies of the Lord! Wasn’t I, according to these words of Wisdom, ‘taken away, lest wickedness should alter my understanding, or deceit beguile my soul’ [cf. Wis. 4:11]? The Blessed Virgin also was watching over [me] her little flower, and not wanting her to be faded by contact with the things of the earth, she withdrew her onto her mountain before she had fully opened.” —St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
But above all bless your Maker, who fills you with his good gifts.
—Sirach 32:13 (NRSV)
“Humble and continuous prayer, founded on knowledge of oneself and of God, is the best way for any creature to receive a taste of the truth. Following the footprints of Christ crucified, and through humble and unceasing prayer, the soul is united with God.”—St. Catherine of Siena