Catholic Morning Offering, Wednesday, March 18, 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 18, 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 Louis de Montfort Pray with great confidence, with confidence based on the goodness and infinite generosity of God and upon the promises of Jesus Christ. God is a spring of living water which flows unceasingly into the hearts of those who pray. Meditation of the Day an excerpt from Imitation of Christ by Thomas Akimpus Pages thirty two thirty three. Many try to fly away from temptations only to fall more deeply into them, for you cannot win a battle by mere flight. It is only by patience and humility that you will be strengthened against the enemy. Those who shun them outwardly and do not pull them out by their roots will make no progress, for temptations will soon return to harass them and they will be in a worse state. It is only gradually, with patience and endurance and with God's grace that you will overcome temptations sooner than by your own efforts and anxieties. Gold is tried by fire and the upright person by temptation. Often we do not know what we can do until temptation shows us what we are. This is how temptation is. First we have a thought, followed by strong imaginings, then the pleasure and evil emotions, and finally consent. This is how the enemy gains full admittance because he was not resisted at the outset. The slower we are to resist, the weaker we daily become, and the stronger the enemy is against us. Scripture verse of the day If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Saint of the day. Cyril of Jerusalem lived between three hundred fifteen and three hundred eighty six AD. He was a well educated man from Jerusalem and a scholar of sacred scripture. He was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Jerusalem shortly after the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire. He was given the task of catechizing new Christians leading up to and immediately following their baptism. Later he himself became bishop of Jerusalem, and soon after his ordination a miraculous apparition of a cross appeared in the sky, visible to the whole city. Because Saint Cyril defended Christ's full humanity and divinity against the Aryan heresy, he was exiled from his bishopric three times in twenty years due to misunderstandings, intrigue, and politics. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem is one of the early church fathers and one of the most important sources for how the early church celebrated the liturgy and sacraments during the first few decades after Christianity was legalized. For Saint Cyril's work in catechesis, he was named a doctor of the church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, pray for us. Readings for Holy Mass for Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent. A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 49, verses 8 through 15. Thus says the Lord, in a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you, and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to restore the land and allot the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, Come out, to those in darkness, show yourselves. Along the ways they shall find pasture, on every bare height shall their pastures be. They shall not hunger or thirst, nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them, for he who pities them leads them, and guides them beside springs of water. I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level. See, some shall come from afar, others from the north and the west, and some from the land of Syen. Sing out, O heavens and rejoice, O earth, break forth into song, you mountains, for the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me. Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. The word of the Lord. Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 145. The Lord is gracious and merciful. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. The Lord is gracious and merciful. The Lord is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The Lord is gracious and merciful. The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. The Lord is gracious and merciful. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John chapter five verses seventeen through thirty. Jesus answered the Jews, My Father is at work until now, so I am at work. For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing, for what he does, the Son will also do. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, Whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life, and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, The hour is coming and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself, and he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. I cannot do anything on my own, I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. 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.