Catholic Morning Offering, Monday, May 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.

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, May 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 Charles Boromeo If we wish to make any progress in the service of God, we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible, and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor. Meditation of the Day an excerpt from The Glories of Mary by Saint Alphonsus Ligori, pages one hundred o five and one hundred six. Truly unfortunate are we children of Eve, for guilty before God of her fault and condemned to the same penalty, we have to wander about in this valley of tears as exiles from our country, and to weep over our many afflictions of body and soul. But blessed is he who, in the midst of these sorrows, often turns to the comfortress of the world, to the refuge of the unfortunate, to the great mother of God, and devoutly calls upon her and invokes her. Blessed is the man that heareth me and that watcheth daily at my gates. Proverbs chapter eight, verse thirty four. Blessed, says Mary, is he who listens to my counsels and watches continually at the gate of my mercy, and invokes my intercession and aid. The Holy Church carefully teaches us her children with what attention and confidence we should unceasingly have recourse to this loving protectress, and for this purpose commands a worship peculiar to Mary. And not only this, but she has instituted so many festivals that are celebrated throughout the year in honor of this great queen. She devotes one day in the week in an especial manner to her honor. In the divine office all ecclesiastics and religious are daily obliged to invoke her in the name of all Christians. And finally, she desires that all the faithful should salute this most holy mother of God three times a day at the sound of the Angelus bell, and that we may understand the confidence that the Holy Church has in Mary, we need only remember that in all public calamities she invariably invites all to have recourse to the protection of this divine mother by novenas, prayers, processions, by visiting the churches dedicated in her honor and her images. And this is what Mary desires. She wishes us always to seek her and invoke her aid, not as if she were begging us of these honors and marks of veneration, for they are in no way proportioned to her merit, but she desires them that by such means our confidence and devotion may be increased, and that so she may be able to give us greater succour and comfort. She seeks for those, says Saint Bonaventure, who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children. Scripture verse of the day. God sees, not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Saint of the day. The saint of the day from May 4th is Saint Florian. Saint Florian lived around 250 to 304 AD. He was a commander in the Roman army in what is now Austria. He served during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who violently persecuted Christians. Among Florian's military duties was the organization of firefighting brigades. Saint Florian was secretly a Christian and was known for miraculously saving a town from being destroyed by fire. After praying to God for help, he extinguished a raging fire with a single bucket of water. Word reached the emperor that Florian was not enforcing the ban against Christianity in his territory. He was put under investigation and was discovered to be a Christian. In one account, it was for refusing to offer sacrifice to the gods, in another, for refusing to execute a group of Christians. He was then condemned to be tortured and executed for his Christian faith. Refusing to recant, Saint Florian was then flayed alive, scourged, and martyred by being dumped in the river with a millstone attached to his body. His body was later recovered, and today his relics are venerated at a church named for him in Krakow, Poland. Saint Florian is the patron saint of firefighters, chimney sweeps, brewers, drowning victims, Austria, Poland, and against floods, fires, and battles. Saint Florian, pray for us. Devotion of the month. May is the month of Our Lady. In addition to the Marriad Feast Days honoring Our Lady under her many titles and virtues, the entire month of May is especially given to her praise. In the words of Pope Paul VI, May is a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the mother of God, for this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration, and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God's merciful gifts comes down to us from our mother's throne. Readings for Holy Mass for Monday of the fifth week of Easter A reading from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter fourteen verses five through eighteen. There was an attempt in Iconium by both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders, to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas. They realized it and fled to the Lyconian cities of Lystra and Derby and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued to proclaim the good news. At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a loud voice, Stand up straight on your feet. He jumped up and began to walk about. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Laconian, The gods have come down to us in human form. They called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker, and the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, for he, together with the people, intended to offer sacrifice. The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd shouting, Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways, yet in bestowing his goodness he did not leave himself without witness, for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts. Even with these words they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them. The Word of the Lord Responsorial Psalm Psalm one fifteen Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, because of your mercy, because of your truth. Why should the pagans say Where is their God? Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory. Our God is in heaven, whatever He wills, He does. Their idols are silver and gold, the handiwork of men. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory. May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth. Heaven is the heaven of the Lord, but the earth he has given to the children of men. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John, chapter fourteen verses twenty one twenty six. Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him. Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. Yet the word you hear is not mine, but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while I am with you, the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I told you 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.