Holy Face of Jesus Feast, February 17th, 2026.
“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
I took the liberty of compiling prayers before and after meals, from monastic life, that can be used by anyone throughout the liturgical year. I have included all the seasons and provided an English/Latin translation from a wonderful site I found some years ago, to add to our rule. I have provided the PDF for free below to be used digitally, or if you want a hard copy, we sell it on Lulu Press (see link below digital version). I do apologize that some of the pages have a smaller font or appear somewhat blurry! I tried to fix and work with what I had, but I do hope this helps some for those who desire to use these prayers for lunch and dinner, and what a perfect way to start for Lent:
PS. I was dead wrong. I recommend TWO books for Lent. Jesus the Bridegroom AND Adam’s Deep Sleep (both available on audible), as BOTH have intimate ties to the Crucifixion and when we see the suffering through the divine lens of THE BRIDEGROOM, suffering becomes more bearable when we see ourselves as His bride:
To be sure, most Christians are familiar with the apostle Paul’s teaching that Christ is the ‘Bridegroom’ and the Church is the ‘Bride’. But what does this really mean? And what would ever possess Paul to compare the death of Christ to the love of a husband for his wife? If you would have been at the Crucifixion, with Jesus hanging there dying, is that how you would have described it? How could a first-century Jew like Paul, who knew how brutal Roman crucifixions were, have ever compared the execution of Jesus to a wedding? And why does he refer to this as the “great mystery” (Ephesians 5:32)?
Carmelite Sister Martyrs 