A new morning exercise, à la St. Francis de Sales.

I took a nice long hiatus from it while I was traveling, but I fully intend to get back to the series I had started on Salesian spirituality.  Today seems like a good day.

First, a recap of the three posts I wrote before we left:

• Salesian spirituality:  Four examples.   
• Francis de Sales:  The patron saint of to-do lists?
• The Salesian Preventive System, or, how to not punish kids.

Bonus:  the post where I went to visit St. Francis and St. Jane Frances:

• Catching up with a few travel notes.

Okay, today's post comes from St. Francis's Spiritual Directory, a set of instructions to the Visitation Sisters on their rule of life.  I've already mined this document once in the bit about to-do lists, where I started by discussing Article #2.

Backtracking, let's talk about the first part of  Article #1, "Rising." 

First of all on awakening, followers of the Directory are to direct their minds completely to God by  some holy thought such as [one of] the following:

• "Sleep is the image of death and awakening that of the resurrection;"
• that voice that will ring out on the last day, "O dead, arise and come to judgment;" 
• with Job: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that on the last day I will rise again. My God, grant that this be to eternal glory; this hope rests in my inmost being;"
• "On that day, O God, you will call me, and I will answer you; you will stretch forth your right arm to the work of you hands; you have counted all my steps."
• or others which the Holy Spirit may suggest, for they do have the freedom to follow his inspirations.

After the Angelus they will make the morning exercise,

• adoring Our Lord from the depths of their being
• and thanking him for all his benefits.
• In union with the loving offering which the Savior made of  himself to his eternal Father on the tree of the cross, they will offer him their heart, its affections and  resolutions, and their whole being,
• and beg for his help and blessing.
• They will greet our Lady and ask for her blessing,
• as well as that of their guardian angel and holy patrons. 
• If they wish, they may say the Our Father.

All this should be done quickly and briefly.

I don't pray the Angelus, so to adapt this to my own life I unified the two into a single morning exercise.  It tends to work best for me if I tape a copy of it to my bathroom mirror.   I chose just one of the locutions that St. Francis suggests, used an Ave for "Greet our Lady and ask for her blessing," and added an adapted version of a non-childish prayer to children's guardian angels that I found online here.  

Here's my version.

+ + +

Morning Exercise

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that on the last day I will rise again.
My God, grant that this be to eternal glory; this hope rests in my inmost being.

O Lord, I adore You from the depths of my being
and I thank You for all Your benefits.

In union with the loving offering
which You made of Yourself to our Father
on the tree of the cross,
I offer You my heart,
its affections,
its resolutions,
and my whole being.

I beg You for Your help and blessing.

Hail Mary…

I humbly salute you, O you faithful, heavenly Friends of my family!
I give you thanks for all the love and goodness you show them.
Continue to watch over them,
providing for all their needs of body and soul,
and pray for me, my husband, and my children,
that we may all one day rejoice in your blessed company.

Sts. N. and N…., pray for us.

+ + +

This is going up on my bathroom mirror.  I think it's not too long to be done "quickly and briefly."