“Give some time every day, if it is only half an hour, to devotional reading, which is as necessary to the well-ordering of the mind as the hand of the gardener is to prevent the weeds from destroying your favorite plants.” (CW 1:219)
– St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

– Lord, I need to be nourished by reading your inspired word to keep my spiritual life alive and well. Help me to make this a priority in my life.

“Now if there ever was a good work, it is that of nursing the sick, so much so indeed that it surpasses all others in value.” (CCD X:1)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– Lord, whenever I am involved in any way with sick persons, whether at home or in the hospital, may I always see in them your image and treat them with great tenderness.

“God made the interests of the afflicted his own.” (SW 668)
– St. Louise de Marillac

– In union with you, Lord, I will take the core value of “advocacy for the poor” seriously and make the interests of the poor a real priority.

“You must expect everything from his infinite goodness.” (CCD 11:64)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– Lord, you have told us to “ask and you shall receive.” I ask you now for all those graces of which I stand so much in need. You are my strength in weakness and I rely on you.

“The poor cannot be judged by their outward appearance, not by their show of wit, for very often they do not look nor seem like intelligent beings, so rough, and homely are they.” (CCD 11:26)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– O God, teach me to look beyond external appearances and find you in those who call on me for help.

“Seek God in all things. In all your actions submit your motives to this unerring test: will this be approved by his all-seeing eye?” (CW 2:710)
– St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

– Even when I think my motives are the purest, I can still find a lot of self gratification in things I do. Lord, today I will make an effort to consult you when I have important decisions to make.

“God does not ask you to go beyond the means he has given you.” (CCD 7:523)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– O God, assist me today to use well the resources you give me for service to your poor ones.

“If we wish to give satisfaction to our good God, we must not stop to consider what we would like to do, but rather what he wishes us to do. Our Lord will know where to find you when he intends to give you other work to do.” (SW 604-605)
– St. Louise de Marillac

– Lord, why is it I am sometimes dissatisfied with what I am doing and tempted to look for “greener pastures” elsewhere? Help me to prayerfully discern Your will for me and then be content in following it.

“Our Lord will counsel you what to do.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

– Where would I be, Lord, without your presence within me? You are always there, ready to counsel and guide me. All I have to do is ask!

“Our love of God is always opposed by our self-love, our love of one another by the miserable pride and pretension which creates jealousy, rash judgment and the pitiful dislikes and impatience which so often trouble us and wound charity.” (CW 3a:259)
– St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

– Expand my heart, Lord, that pettiness may have no place in my life nor cause the loss of charity among my family and community.