Catholic Morning Offering, Monday, March 23, 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.

To sign up to receive a daily email of the Morning Offering through The Catholic Company, go to https://www.morningoffering.com/

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.

I want to assure you that I never use AI in recording this podcast!

If you have any comments, please email me at Deanna.pierre25@gmail.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Starting the morning off with God is the key to strength and success in your day. Good morning. Today is Monday, March twenty third, twenty twenty-six. 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 Alphonsus Lagory If you embrace all things in life as coming from the hands of God and even embrace death to fulfill his holy will, assuredly you will die a saint. Meditation of the Day an excerpt from Meditations on Death Preparing for Eternity by Thomas Akimpus, pages twenty through twenty four. My friend, reflect next upon how much terror and anxiety there will be at the great scene of the final judgment. The miraculous trumpets of angels shall then sound a deafening fanfare. Great bolts of blazing lightning will illuminate the earth and the sky with a blinding luminosity. Tumultuous thunder will roar, penetrating into the very depths of each human heart. The earth, the sea, and heavens themselves will all tremble. Consider the enormity of the wrath of the most just judge, which will blaze against those who have offended him through disobedience and disbelief. From this wrath an abject and paralyzing fear will engulf the minds of all those who are guilty and terrifying even the innocent. And consider the fateful and irreversible division of the assembled multitude which shall then take place, for those who are righteous, humble, and meek will be directed to the right hand of the throne of judgment, whereas the proud, envious, uncharitable, and wicked will be sent away to the left. Those on the right will rejoice, knowing that they are destined for eternal bliss, while those on the left will quake and quail, realizing the horrendous fate that awaits them. And none will know with certainty in advance to which side they will be sent, neither Pope nor bishop, nor king, nor beggar, nor even convicted criminal. For God alone perceives into the depths of the heart and knows all secret thoughts and actions, and he shows mercy to whom he wills. Thus there will be two standing together, apparently similar in their conduct, beliefs, and morals, and one will be taken and the other left behind. How shocked and taken aback will be many of those who are proud and elated in this vain and deceptive world. For the Lord God shall exalt above such presumptuous people the poor, the wretched, the rejected, and the lowly. They will see those whom they regarded as vile and treated with contempt and disdain, being richly rewarded and being granted all the dignities and splendors of heaven. The proud and haughty will then declare in their hearts, these are the ones whom we held in derision and ridicule. We considered their lives as foolishness and believed that their ends would be without honor, but behold, now they are numbered amongst the children of God. And then all the righteous will stand up boldly against those who mocked and persecuted them in this present life. Consider, my friend, the account and explanation which you will be required to render for all your deeds and thoughts when you stand before that awesome tribunal of judgment. The book of your life shall be opened, which will contain a detailed record of all your actions, utterances, and desires and plans, from the moment of your birth until your final breath, and you may be questioned about anything at all. Imagine the heavenly Jerusalem situated close by the tribunal of judgment and illuminated by an ineffable celestial light. That holy light will shine so brightly that it will expose the very depths of every heart. Within that all revealing luminosity will be an irrefutable witness to every single thing you have ever done or said or thought. There will be no secrets, none at all. And thus sinners will stand condemned both by their own consciences and by the whole universe itself. And Christ will display there the bloody signs of his most noble passion and the wounds which he sustained for the sake of our redemption. Consider the bitter guilt and unspeakable shame which shall then overwhelm the wicked, and the pangs of conscience which shall pierce their very hearts. Imagine also the deafening thunder as if resounding through every particle and atom of creation, and the irrevocable sentence which shall be uttered against the wicked. Go forth ye wicked into the everlasting fires prepared for the devil and his angels. But consider also the sweet and delightful invitation which shall be extended to all the just, calling them to partake in the eternal banquet of indescribable, infinite bliss. Come unto me, ye blessed of my Father. Consider how at that moment every work of mercy and piety which you have performed during this life will be seen clearly by Christ the eternal judge, and that no good work shall fail to receive its due reward. My friend, it is wise to call to mind this final judgment very frequently. Whenever you have to decide upon a course of action, reflect for a moment upon how you will account for it on that last day. Will it cause you to be ashamed or to feel regret or to fear the retributions due to it? Or will it be counted joyfully to your credit before that omniscient tribunal? Always remember that each one of your deeds is done in the full sight of Christ and his angels, and shape your actions accordingly. Scripture verse of the day. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians chapter two verses nineteen through twenty. Saint of the day The Saint of the day for march twenty third is Saint Rafka, in Arabic Rebecca. Saint Rafka lived between eighteen thirty two and nineteen fourteen. She was born in Himlea, a Maronite village in the Lebanese mountains. She was an only child and her mother died when she was seven. After her father's remarriage, there was much family discord as to whom Rafka should marry. Not wanting to wed any of the men in question, she turned to God and entered religious life at the age of twenty one. She had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which she learned from her mother. She studied and served as a teacher for many years, but after witnessing and surviving a massacre of Christians, she decided at the age of 39 to become a cloistered contemplative nun living under a strict rule in a monastery. Here Rafka prayed earnestly that she might share in the sufferings of Christ. Her prayers were heard almost immediately. She became blind and paralyzed, and over the course of thirty years she struggled with deteriorating health and incredible pain. All of her sufferings she united to the sufferings of Christ without complaint. Under obedience to her superior, she worked on an autobiography near the end of her life. She died at the age of 82, and her grave is credited with many miracles. Saint Ravka is a Catholic Maronite saint canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II in 2001. She is the patron of sick people, bodily ills, and loss of parents. Saint Ravka, pray for us. Devotion of the month. March is the month of Saint Joseph. The Church traditionally dedicates the month of March to the special veneration of Saint Joseph, whose feast day is March nineteenth. He was chosen by the Eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely his divine son and Mary Joseph's wife, says Saint Bernardine of Siena. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying, Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. Due to Saint Joseph's leadership of the Holy Family, he has been declared the protector and patron of the universal Catholic Church. Readings for Holy Mass for Monday of the fifth week of Lent. A reading from the book of the Prophet Daniel, chapter thirteen, verses one through nine, fifteen through seventeen, nineteen through thirty, and thirty three through sixty two. In Babylon there lived a man named Joachim, who married a very beautiful and God fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah. Her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joachim was very rich, he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all. That year two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, Wickedness has come out of Babylon, from the elders who were to govern the people as judges. These men, to whom all brought their cases, frequented the house of Joachim. When the people left at noon, Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk. When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences. They would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments. One day while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm. Nobody else was there except the two elders who had hidden themselves and were watching her. Bring me oil and soap, she said to the maids, and shut the garden doors while I bathe. As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her. Look, they said, the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us. Give in to our desire and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you. I am completely trapped, Susanna groaned. If I yield it will be my death. If I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord. Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her as one of them ran to open the garden doors. When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her. At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna. When the people came to her husband Joachim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered, send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joachim. When she was sent for, she came with her parents, children, and all her relatives. All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping. In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head. Through tears she looked up to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly. The elders made this accusation. As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls. A young man who was hidden there came and lay with her. When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime, we ran toward them. We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold because he was stronger than we, he opened the doors and ran off. Then we seized her and asked her who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. We testified to this. The assembly believed them since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death. But Susanna cried aloud, O eternal God, you know what is hidden, and are aware of all things before they come to be. You know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me. The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up in the Holy Spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud, I will have no part of the death of this woman. All the people turned to him and asked him, What is this you are saying? He stood in their midst and continued, Are you such fools, O children of Israel, to condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her. Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel, the elder said, Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age. But he replied, Separate these two far from each other, that I may examine them. After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said, How you have grown evil with age, now have your past sins come to term, passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, The innocent and the just you shall not put to death. Now then, if you were a witness, tell me, under what tree you saw them together. Under a mastic tree, he answered. Daniel replied, Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two. Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you. But a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together. Under an oak, he said. Daniel replied, Your fine lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both. The whole assembly cried aloud, Blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor, they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day. The Word of the Lord Responsorial Psalm Psalm twenty three Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil, for you are at my side. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In verdant pastures He gives me repose. Beside restful waters he leads me, he refreshes my soul. Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil, for you are at my side. He guides me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil, for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil, for you are at my side. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil, for you are at my side. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil, for you are at my side. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John, chapter eight verses one through eleven. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, but early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? They said this to test him so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger, but when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Again he bent down and wrote on the ground, and in response they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She replied, No one, sir. Then Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more. 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. 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.