Peace be with you! Peace, I leave you, my peace I give to you.
Do not be afraid, but trust in me.
Amen, I say to you: happy are those who believe and have not seen.
For surely, "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and the evidence of things not seen".
And with Peace like a River; sweet peace of God, flow over me.

I open my heart to you Lord
As you poured out your heart for me
Fill me with your wisdom and love
And bind my will to thee
So that, here today, I can say:
"I am truly free!"

You have shown us, Oh Lord, the power of your judgement and the greatness of your mercy. The prayers of the faithful and the just will not go unheard. Their cries do not fall on deaf ears. The Lord has spared me from his wrath. He has delivered me from danger. Your blessings and mercies are new each day and great is your faithfulness as the sun will rise once more.

Bless my mind Lord and the thoughts that I think
Bless my lips Lord and the words that I speak
Bless my throat Lord and the songs that I sing
Bless my heart Lord and the love that I give
Bless my life Lord and the way that I live.
Amen

Lord, help me be open so that I can receive Your Will
Help me be silent so that I can hear Your Will
Grant me courage Lord so that I can do Your Will.
Amen

Cloud of witnesses, champions of the faith
Warriors of prayer on our behalf
As we are sitting in the most holy walls
The song of salvation echoes in these halls
Such wonder I can hardly take it in
And now I stop so You can truly begin

Oh Mother Most Holy, Oh Mother Divine
To my prayers and petitions thine ear incline
Strengthen me in my weakness
In my darkness shine your light
In your graces ever flowing
Grant a heart of peaceful knowing
Though I am small, I need not be afraid
For great is the work they hands have made
Who am I that my Lord would choose me
So that I might become his blessed sanctuary

Lift high the Cross of Christ: your sword
Gird your waist with the shield of faith
Bind the devil with Heaven's holy cord
The most holy Rosary, Mary's great grace

Wayfare angel,
Yonder the North Star shining beyond
A divine herald sent from the heavens above.

Oh, this night, a wondrous night unfolds,
A child is born from a pure and holy womb,
In a humble manger, the Saviour lies,
To all ye shepherds and wise men gathered here,
Follow this radiant star, and behold the light of the world.

Arise, ye who dwell in the realm of the living,
Come forth to witness this miraculous dawn,
For a child is born, the Christ,
The Lord of lords; oh, sweet infant,
Your birth and sacrifice hold profound meaning for our world.
Let us worship Him who has come to save us—
Christ, the Lord of lords.

"Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist; and the Eucharist, in turn, confirms our way of thinking". -- St. Irenaeus

Who can know the mind of God
Or plumb the depths of his wisdom?
What song can rise to Heaven's height
Or word can aptly describe Him?
Such mysteries plague the mind of man
No simple solution for this searching soul
It slips away like water through the hand
And loathe are we to relinquish control
We look upon the Eucharist with grateful thanksgiving
And offer graciously our petition and praise
For the purest act of love: life-giving
This source of food and drink in the form of bread and wine
Transcends and crosses through both mortal and divine
In this life-giving and purely creative force
I find my own creative imagination's source

There is a golden chain of love
That ties us all together
It unites us in one spirit and heart
Joined as sister and brother
Across the land, the sky, and sea
There is a chain by which we're bound
The world's most wondrous mystery
Is this love so deep and so frofound
Do to others what you would
Want to have done to you
This was the old law and fair
Now we take this command to new heights
When we love one another
As we have first been loved:
With a total, radical, sacrificial
Eternal, unconditional, unwavering
LOVE
Make peace, not war. Make love, not hate.
Be kind, not callus. Be genuine, not fake.
This love that binds us breaks the chains
We wrap ourselves in of sin and shame
Though our differences seem great
They really become quite small
When we stop and think and wonder
At the love God has for us all
So, live your lives in this tapestry of gold
And reject not a proffered hand to hold
For we are all a link in this great chain of love
Connected to each other and God up above

What are the keys to holiness and perfection? Practice, patience, time, and integrity. Like any good thing, it takes work and lots of it. You don't become Van Gogh, or Mozart, Michael Jordan or Mother Theresa overnight. Granted, some of these people have certain gifts and talents that make it easier, but it still took practice and consistent work. Patience is also necessary. There may be setbacks or failures, mistakes and sleepless nights, but one must be patient and endure, because if you keep going, things are going to look up and trials will strengthen and give us the tools we need for the future. Time is something we all have and never seem to have enough of. Make good use of your time and fill it with good and wholesome things. Do not hurry or rush perfection or holiness or any good thing. Nothing good comes to those who hurry and rush and do not wait. Finally, and perhaps most importantly is integrity. To be holy and strive for perfection, one must have true integrity. As Shakespeare said once "... above all else: To thine own self be true". Be true to who you are and who you were made to be. Do not try to live someone else's life or be someone else. You aren't. You are you and that is that. Be the best you that you can be. For, as Mother Theresa is quoted as saying: "in the final analysis it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway".

God bless us all on our path to holiness and perfection. Amen