Catholic Morning Offering, Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Starting the morning off with God is the key to strength and success in your day!

Join me in praying the Catholic morning offering, as well as hear meditations, learn about the saint of the day,  and hear today's Scripture readings from Holy Mass.

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Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

The Morning Glory Consecration Prayer is excerpted from "33 Days to Morning Glory:  A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration" by Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, © 2011 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M., p. 137.

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Transcript

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Starting the morning off with God is the key to strength and success in your day. Good morning. Today is Wednesday, March 4th, 2026. Please join me in praying the morning offering prayer and prayers for our Holy Father. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of your sacred heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the holy intentions of the Holy Father this month, amen. Prayers for the Holy Father Almighty and everlasting God, have mercy upon thy servant, Pope Leo XV, our Supreme Pontiff, and direct him according to thy loving kindness in the way of eternal salvation, that of thy gift he may ever desire that which is pleasing unto thee, and may accomplish it with all his might, through Christ our Lord, amen. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst 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. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Quote from Saint Therese of Les Perfect love means putting up with other people's shortcomings, feeling no surprise at their weaknesses, finding encouragement even in the slightest evidence of good qualities in them. Meditation of the day an excerpt from Meditations for Lent by Bishop Jacques Big Busset, pages seventeen through eighteen. Christian life is a retreat. We are not of this world, just as Jesus Christ is not of this world. What is the world? It is, as Saint John said, the lust of the flesh, that is, sensuality and corruption in our desires and deeds, the lust of the eyes, curiosity, avarice, illusion, fascination, error, and folly in the affectation of learning, and finally, pride and ambition. To these evils of which the world is full and which make up its substance, a retreat must be set in opposition. We need to make ourselves into a desert by a holy detachment. Christian life is a battle. We must never cease to fight. In this battle, Saint Paul teaches us to make an eternal abstinence, that is, to cut ourselves off from the pleasures of the senses and guard our hearts from them. It was to repair and expiate the failings of our retreat, of our battle against temptations, of our abstinence, that Jesus was driven into the desert. His fast of forty days prefigured the lifelong one that we are to practice by abstaining from evil deeds and by containing our desires within the limits laid down by the law of God. Scripture verse of the day for many, as I have often told you and now tell you, even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their God is their stomach, their glory is in their shame, their minds are occupied with earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians chapter three verses eighteen through twenty. Saint of the Day The Saint of the Day for March fourth is Saint Casimir of Poland. Saint Casimir of Poland lived between fourteen fifty eight and fourteen eighty four. He was the second son of King Casimir IV and Queen Elizabeth of Austria, one of thirteen children born to them in the royal palace at Krakow. Casimir committed his life to God from an early age, thanks in part to a brilliant and pious priest who served as the royal tutor. He turned away from the privileges of his station in life, and instead exercised extreme asceticism and self-denial. He wore a hair shirt under his clothes, slept on the cold ground, and knelt in prayer for long hours outside of locked churches. At the age of thirteen, the Hungarians requested Prince Casimir to rule their country as king, which he accepted in the hope of defending the Christian nation against the Turks. However, the plan did not come to fruition, and he returned home to continue his life of prayer, penance, and generosity to the poor. He later ruled Poland for a few short years while his father attended royal business in Lithuania. Casimir took a vow of celibacy which he upheld despite immense political pressure to marry. He suffered from a chronic lung condition, which he succumbed to in 1484 at the age of twenty five. Many miracles were attributed to his intercession after his death. Saint Casimir is the patron saint of Poland, Lithuania, and young people. Saint Casimir, pray for us. Readings for Holy Mass for Wednesday of the second week of Lent A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter eighteen verses eighteen through twenty. The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said, Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so let us destroy him by his own tongue. Let us carefully note his every word. Heed me, O Lord, and listen to what my adversaries say. Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them. The word of the Lord Responsorial Psalm, Psalm thirty one. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness. You will free me from the snare they set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit. You will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness. I hear the whispers of the crowd that frighten me from every side as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness. But my trust is in you, O Lord, I say, You are my God. In your hands is my destiny. Rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty, verses seventeen through twenty eight. As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves and said to them on the way, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, What do you wish? She answered him, Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. Jesus said in reply, You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink? They said to him, We can, he replied, My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and my left, this is not mine to give, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers, but Jesus summoned them and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you, rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. The Gospel of the Lord Prayer of Spiritual Communion In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most blessed sacrament. I love you above all things, and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already there, and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen. Morning Glory Consecration Prayer Mary, my mother, I give myself totally to you as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all that I am and have, whatever most pleases you. Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for bringing the greatest possible glory to God. Amen. Prayer to Saint Joseph. O glorious Saint Joseph, chosen by God to be the guardian of the Holy Family, whose protection is so great, so strong, in union with the Blessed Virgin Mary and our Savior Jesus Christ, send down from heaven a blessing from God to protect us from any harm, strengthen us in body, soul, and spirit. We ask this through thy powerful intercession. Holy Family, pray for us, amen. Guardian Angel Prayer O angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide, amen. Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls, amen. The three Hail Mary's Devotion The first Hail Mary in honor of God the Father. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst 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. The second Hail Mary in honor of God the Son. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst 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. The third Hail Mary, in honor of God, the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst 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. O my mother, preserve my soul from mortal sin during this day. Amen. Memori to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my mother, to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O mother of the Word incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen. Act of Faith. O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man, died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because you have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. In this faith I intend to live and die. Amen. Act of hope. O my God, relying on your almighty power, infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of your grace, and the life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen. Act of love. O my God, I love you above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen. Prayer for the poor souls in purgatory. O gentle heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed Sacrament, ever consumed with burning love for the poor captive souls in purgatory, have mercy on them. Be not severe in thy judgment, but let some drops of thy precious blood fall upon the devouring flames. Merciful Savior, send thy angels to conduct them to a place of refreshment, light, and peace. Amen. Act of resignation to the divine will. O Lord my God, from this moment do I accept from thy hands with burning love and sincere contrition, with a calm and willing disposition, whatsoever death thou shalt choose to send me with its pains and griefs. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Starting the morning off with God is the key to strength and success in your day.