Upper Room Spiritual Center

03/19/2023

St. Joseph reminds us of what it means to truly trust in God and to follow him wherever he leads. Happy feast day!

https://youtu.be/unuARptSP50

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03/17/2023

Here's another one...

St. Patrick's "Breastplate," on his Feast Day!

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation

03/17/2023

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick’s Breastplate prayer:

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

01/16/2023

01/08/2023

Happy Feast of the Epiphany. This is from the Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Blessing of the Home and Household on Epiphany

The traditional date of Epiphany is January 6, but in the United States it is celebrated on the Sunday between January 2 and January 8.
When all have gathered, a suitable song may be sung. The leader makes the sign of the cross, and all reply, “Amen.”
The leader greets those present in the following words:
Let us praise God, who fills our hearts and homes with peace. Blessed be God forever.
R/. Blessed be God forever.
In the following or similar words, the leader prepares those present for the blessing:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling place among us. It is Christ who enlightens our hearts and homes with his love. May all who enter this home find Christ’s light and love.
One of those present or the leader reads a text of sacred Scripture, for example, Luke 19:1-9:
Listen to the words of the holy Gospel according to Luke:
Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.> When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.”
The intercessions are then said:
Leader: The Son of God made his home among us. With thanks and praise let us call upon him. R/. Stay with us, Lord.
Leader: Lord Jesus Christ, with Mary and Joseph you formed the Holy Family: remain in our home, that we may know you as our guest and honor you as our Head.
We pray:
R/. Stay with us, Lord.
Leader: Lord Jesus Christ, you had no place to lay your head, but in the spirit of poverty accepted the hospitality of your friends: grant that through our help the homeless may obtain proper housing.

We pray:
R/. Stay with us, Lord.
Leader:Lord Jesus Christ, the three kings presented their gifts to you in praise and adoration: grant that those living in this house may use their talents and abilities to your greater glory. We pray:
R/. Stay with us, Lord.
After the intercessions the leader invites all present to say the Lord’s Prayer. The leader says the prayer of blessing with hands joined:
Lord God of heaven and earth,
you revealed your only-begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star.
Bless this house
and all who inhabit it.
Fill them (us) with the light of Christ,
that their (our) concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R/. Amen.
The leader concludes the rite by signing himself or herself with the sign of the cross and saying:
May Christ Jesus dwell with us, keep us from all harm,
and make us one in mind and heart, now and forever.
R/. Amen.
It is preferable to end the celebration with a suitable song, for example, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” or “We Three Kings.”
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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12/31/2022

Dear Friends,

We had a wonderful Liturgy of Thanksgiving and reception on December 11th with many of our friends. We celebrated with joy and gratitude the 45 years of the Upper Room Spiritual Center. Thank you for being with us in person or in spirit.

Although we complete our ministry as of December 31st, we will be at the Upper Room during the months of January, February and March. We will be cleaning out files and finding new homes for books, equipment and artwork that might be useful to other places of ministry. Thank you for your prayerful support during these months.

We wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year! Please know you are in our hearts and prayers now and always.

"We thank our God every time we remember you,
constantly praying with joy
in every one of our prayers for all of you
because of your sharing in the Gospel
from the first day until now."
(Phil. 1:3-5)

With grateful hearts,

Trudy Ahern, SSJ
Maureen Christensen, RSM
Maureen Conroy, RSM

11/02/2022

On this Feast of All Souls Day, may you experience your deceased loved ones surrounding you with God's abundant love and healing light. The quote below by Karl Rahner, SJ, conveys how close they are to us:

The great and sad mistake of many people...is to imagine that those whom death has taken, leave us. They do not leave us. They remain! Where are they? In darkness? Oh, no! It is we who are in darkness. We do not see them, but they see us. Their eyes radiant with glory, are fixed upon our eyes..Oh, infinite consolation! Though invisible to us, our dead are not absent...They are living near us, transfigured...into light, into power, into love." (Karl Rahner, SJ)

With gratitude and prayers,
The Upper Room Staff

11/01/2022

So grateful for the Saints, living and dead, who have blessed my life.

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒' 𝐃𝐀𝐘

We mark All Saints' Day today, 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐. We remember all the saints and martyrs in Heaven who continue to be examples for us in our faith as a society. 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.

May you and your loved ones enjoy a day filled with peace and joy on this special holiday. 💙

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬' 𝐃𝐚𝐲! 🕊




𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯
𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘳

10/14/2022

Tomorrow is the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. Here is an introduction to this beautiful saint who reminds us to be Christ's hands and feet to others.

Teresa of Ávila, OCD (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada; 28 March 1515 – 4 or 15 October 1582),[a] also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish noblewoman who was called to convent life in the Catholic Church. A Carmelite nun, prominent Spanish mystic, religious reformer, author, the...

10/05/2022

Don't forget to sign up for:
The Healing Power of
Spiritual Experience
Thursday, October 6, 2022

Click the link below to learn more, and explore the other offerings on the website, too.

The Healing Power of Spiritual Experience In-Person or Zoom Spiritual experience opens us more fully to God’s abundant love and fosters deep healing of spirit, body, mind and heart. Come learn about and enter into the healing power of spiritual experience. Some topics include: Four manifestations ...

09/09/2022

Let's pray for educators and students during these challenging times:

Lord our God,

in your wisdom and love

you surround us with the mysteries of the universe.

In times long past you sent us your prophets

to teach your laws

and to bear witness to your undying love.

You sent us your Son

to teach us by word and example

that true wisdom comes from you alone.

Send your Spirit upon these students and their teachers

and fill them with your wisdom and blessings.

Grant that during this academic year

they may devote themselves to their studies

and share what they have learned from others.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

—Book of Blessings