Catholic Morning Offering, Thursday, April 16, 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 Thursday, April 16th, 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 Nicholas of Flu You should carry the passion of God in your hearts, for it is man's consolation in his last hour. Meditation of the day an excerpt from the Sermons of Saint Alphonsus Legori for all the Sundays of the year by Saint Alphonsus Legori Pages one hundred sixty through one sixty one. Listen to what happened in a city in Italy. A certain young man who had contracted a vicious habit, though frequently called by God and admonished by friends to amend his life, continued to live in sin. One day he saw his sister suddenly struck dead. He was terrified for a short time, but she was scarcely buried when he forgot her death and returned to the vomit. In two months after he was confined to bed by a slow fever. He then sent for a confessor and made his confession. But after all this, on a certain day he exclaimed, Alas, how late have I known the rigor of divine justice? And turning to his physician he said, Do not torment me any longer by medicines, for my disease is incurable. I know for certain that it will bring me to the grave. And to his friends who stood around, he said, As for the life of this body of mine, there is no remedy, so for the life of my poor soul there is no hope. I expect eternal death. God has abandoned me, this I see in the hardness of my heart. Friends and religious came to encourage him to hope in the mercy of God, but his answer to all their exhortations was God has abandoned me. The writer who relates this fact says that, being alone with the young man, he said to him, Have courage, unite yourself with God, receive the viaticum. Friend, replied the young man, you speak to a stone. The confession which I have made has been null for want of sorrow. I do not wish for a confessor, nor for the sacraments. Do not bring me the viaticum, for should you bring it, I will do that which must excite horror. He then went away quite disconsolate, and returning to see the young man, learned from his relatives that he expired during the night without the aid of a priest, and that, near his room, frightful howlings were heard. Behold the end of habitual sinners. Brethren, if you have the misfortune of having contracted a habit of sin, make as soon as possible a general confession, for your past confessions can scarcely have been valid. Go forth instantly from the slavery of the devil, attend to the advice of the Holy Ghost. Give not thy ears to the cruel Proverbs verse nine. Why will you serve the devil, your enemy, who is so cruel a master, who makes you lead a life of misery here, to bring you to a life of still greater misery in hell for all eternity? Lazarus, come forth, go out of the pit of sin, give yourself immediately to God, who calls you, and is ready to receive you if you return to him. Tremble, this may be for you the last call, to which if you do not correspond, you shall be lost. Scripture verse of the day. Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job chapter one verse twenty one. Saint of the day. The saint of the day for April sixteenth is Saint Bernadette Subaru of Lourdes. Saint Bernadette Subaru lived between 1844 and 1879. She was the eldest of nine children born to an impoverished family from Lourdes, France. She was a sickly child who suffered from severe asthma her entire life. While out collecting firewood on february eleventh, 1858, at the age of fourteen, Bernadette saw an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a grotto cave on the banks of the Gave River. It was the first of eighteen times that the Blessed Mother would appear to her. Bernadette faced much controversy and opposition as a result of her visions, including humiliating interrogations from both the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Yet many of the townspeople believed her and gathered at the grotto when she continued to have visits from the Virgin Mary. During one of the visits, a hidden spring was shown to Saint Bernadette, which proved to have miraculous healing power. When Our Lady finally revealed her name to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, the local bishop acknowledged the visions as authentic. As requested by Our Lady of Lourdes, a church was erected at the site of the grotto and spring. Today, Lourdes is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage shrines in the world. Multitudes have experienced medically documented cures of body and soul from the Lourdes waters. Saint Bernadette became a nun and died at a convent in Navere, France on april sixteenth, eighteen seventy nine at the age of thirty five. She was canonized in nineteen thirty three by Pope Pius XI. Saint Bernadette Subaru, pray for us. Readings for Holy Mass for Thursday of the second week of Easter. A reading from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter five, verses twenty seven through thirty three. When the court officers had brought the apostles in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them. We gave you strict orders, did we not, to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us. But Peter and the apostles said in reply, We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. When they heard this, they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death. The Word of the Lord Responsorial Psalm, Psalm thirty four. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Taste and see how good the Lord is. Blessed the man who takes refuge in him. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. The Lord confronts the evildoers to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. When the just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the Lord delivers him. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John chapter three, verses thirty one through thirty six. The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. 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.