Pray for a Miracle!

This is a message sent to us from the Poor Clare Colettine Nuns in Wales, thank you for your prayers and intercession.  If you are going to Mass or Adoration today please keep this little boy and his family in your prayers.  

Dear Little hearts,

Please join us in prayer to pray for this little boy.... and the heroic family who already lost a child a few years ago to cancer, all things are possible to God. 

This family has been a light of faith for so many, bless you all. 

Lovingly all your sisters

For all of you praying for Anthony S. and wanting an update, here it is (I've gotten permission to share this by Doug, Anthony's dad): Anthony remains in the ICU at "..." Hospital.  He is in critical condition as a result of a tragic accident while playing with a necktie by himself in his room. He got it tied... too tightly around his neck and couldn't loosen it before he passed out. He was discovered shortly afterwards but had by that time already stopped breathing and his heart had stopped beating. Doug and Kristen began CPR until the ambulance arrived and the EMT's took over. In the past 18 hours an amazing medical team have been stabilizing Anthony and also trying to ascertain the level of brain activity present, which is not altogether clear because of medications. But the medical team has indicated that there are signs that Anthony has suffered significant trauma. The next 24 hours are critical for showing signs of improvement in brain activity. They are also needing to repair a tear in Anthony's trachea that likely occured while intubating him.

Friday ~ Recipe of Comfort and a Prayer

Instead of opening a can of soup today, think of making something warm and comforting on days where you just want to cuddle up and let your worries be lifted with a recipe of comfort.  Our kitchen and the table that we set our meal, should become a place of feasting and bringing nourishing comfort to you and those you love.  Hope you will join me in making a delicious pot of soup.  I'm going to try the vegetable soup today.  

Let us know what you chose to make and maybe share how God is blessing your life today as you take time to comfort yourself and those you love.

Soup Recipes to Comfort

LET GO WITH GOD

Still, God hasn’t promised any of us a “Rose Garden” in this life. Sometimes we feel more like we’re in the Garden of Gethsemane where Our Lord prayed in deep agony the night before His Passion. Remember though that when misfortunes or tragedies hit us, we can withstand them better with God’s help. And with day-to day problems, Catholic prayers can help turn mountains back into molehills.

Our Lord taught us to pray “lead us not into temptation,” so that we can resist temptations against His will when they hit us. Through prayer we are better able to resist the every day temptations such as envy, hatred, bearing grudges, greed, lust, and selfishness. These negative emotions don’t bring us any real joy or peace of mind.

For those people in your life who continually rub you the wrong way (and we all have them! Bosses, co-workers, family members, etc.), prayer can give you the grace to deal with them better.

Also, as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Pray for those who persecute and slander you” (Matthew 5:44). God wants us to pray for others, however we may feel about them (or even if we don't personally know them). Such prayers remind us that one way or another, we are all in this journey towards holiness together. Your prayers can do a world of good for others, just as their prayers can help you!

Resource: 

http://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/

Elisabeth Leseur Servant of God ~ Novena/Prayer

Prayer asking for the Intercession 

of 

Elisabeth Leseur Servant of God

God, our Father, you fortified Your servant Elisabeth with admirable prudence and a profound interior life, so that she could bear witness to Christ before her husband and in the unbelieving world that surrounded her. You gave her great meekness, making her capable of accepting her sufferings as an agreeable prayer to you.

We thank you, Father, for the gifts that You gave her, for the example she has given to the women of today, and for the benefits obtained in our family through her intercession.

We confidently beseech you that through her intercession you grant us the grace of... (Ask for the grace desired.)

We also ask that, if it be Your will, the Church may recognize the holiness of Elisabeth's life, for the glory of the Holy Trinity.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

* With ecclesiastical approval

Please contact The Cause of Elisabeth Leseur, Defensa 422 (1065) Buenos Ares, Argentina or Fr. Vito Gomez-Garcia,O.P., Postulator Generalis, if you receive special graces through Elisabeth's intercession.

 

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary

and Convent of Saint Dominic - Late S. XVIII

c/o Order of Friars Preachers

422 Defense  C1065AAH- Buenos Aires

Phone: 

4331-1668 / 343-5009 

Jurisdiction Parish: St. Ignatius of Loyola 

belongs: Order of Friars Preachers

Email Form:  http://www.curiosamonserrat.com.ar/formulario.html

http://www.curiosamonserrat.com.ar/iglesia/domingo.html

OR

Fr. Vito Gomez - Garcia, O.P.

Postulator Generalis

Curia Generalizia dei Padri Domenicani

Convento Santa Sabina (Aventino)

Piazza Pietro d'Illiria, 100153 Roma (Italia)

Telephone: (39) 6 57 941

Fax: (39) 6 57 50 675

e-mail: postulatore@curia.op.org

Saint Alphonsus de Liguori - Only One Thing is Necessary

ONLY ONE THING IS NECESSARY

A Prayer of Saint Alphonsus Liguori

0 my God, help me to remember - That time is short, eternity is long.  What good is all the greatness of this world at the hour of death?  To love You, my God, and save my soul is the one thing necessary.  Without You, there is no peace, no joy.  My God, I need fear nothing but sin.  For to lose You, my God, is to lose all.      


0 my God, help me to remember - That to gain all I must leave all, That in loving You I have all good things: the infinite riches of Christ and His Church, the motherly protection of Mary, peace beyond understanding, joy unspeakable!


Eternal Father, your Son has promised that whatever we ask in His Name will be given to us. In His Name I pray: give me a burning faith, a joyful hope, a holy love for Jesus Christ. Give me the grace of perseverance in doing Your will in all things. Do with me what You will. I repent of having offended You. Grant, O Lord, that I may love You always and never let me be separated from You.  O my God and my All, make me a saint!  AMEN






Resource: http://feastofsaints.com/prayersofsaints.htm

Mondays with Elisabeth

While reading Elisabeth's journal you will find  a prayer that she wrote for the virtue of hope.  Something that we all need to hold on to in our daily lives, if you take time each day to truly see that God Our Father has truly given us many gifts to get us through our challenges each and every day, we just need to ask for them!

"Prayer to Ask of God the Virtue of Hope"

My God, who has allowed us human hope,

but who alone obtains Christian and 

supernatural hope, grant, I beseech You, by 

Your grace, this virtue to my soul, to the souls 

of all I love, and to all Christian souls.  Let it 

enlighten and transform our lives, our suffering, and 

even our death, and let it uphold in us, through

the disappointment and sadness of each day, an

inner strength and unalterable serenity.

~ Elisabeth Leseur ~ 

(revised)

Thursdays ~ Prayer for a Son

Hannah prayed for a child at the foot of the altar, and G-d heard the cry of her heart, sending her a son (Samuel) who would become a Jewish high-priest... Let us also remember our beloved priests today; knowing that one day we may have a son at the altar offering sacrifice for you and me.  

Thursdays are a day to remember our priests, I bet we could make a habit of this don't you agree?

Prayer for Priests

by St. Therese of Lisieux

O Jesus, eternal Priest, 

keep your priests within 

the shelter of Your Sacred Heart, 

where none may touch them. 

Keep unstained their anointed hands, 

which daily touch Your Sacred Body. 

Keep unsullied their lips, 

daily purpled with your Precious Blood. 

Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, 

sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood. 

Let Your holy love surround them and 

shield them from the world's contagion. 

Bless their labors with abundant fruit and 

may the souls to whom they minister be their 

joy and consolation here and in heaven their 

beautiful and everlasting crown. 

Amen.

My Nothingness is My All

Do you ever wake up with nothing to give?  Are you feeling empty and helpless?  Then you have everything to give Our Lord in your emptiness. This emptiness actually becomes our all.  So, today I choose to give my nothingness which will become everything when given to Our Lord with our heart, mind, and soul.  

I pray that you will join me in the efforts to give what I do not have to give as St. Therese will also share; this is where I am today.  

Let us unite our emptiness to Jesus and Mary at the foot of the cross with our yes to God the Father and ask that all married couples will be blessed with much grace today as they carry their cross with Christ.  I will be praying my chaplet of Hannah's Tears today uniting myself to Jesus that all of you will be filled with the hope you need to get through today.

Blessings,

Therese

• "Do you feel worthless sometimes? Does your life seem meaningless? Prayers to St. Therese of Lisieux, (who is affectionately known as the “Little Flower”) can help remind you that in God’s eyes your nothingness” is really something, as long as you give Him your best each day!"

O Glorious St. Therese, whom Almighty God has raised up to aid and inspire the human family, I implore your Miraculous Intercession. You are so powerful in obtaining every need of body and spirit from the Heart of God. Holy Mother Church proclaims you 'Prodigy of Miracles... the Greatest Saint of Modern Times.' Now I fervently beseech you to answer my petition (mention here) and to carry out your promises of spending Heaven doing good on earth...of letting fall from Heaven a Shower of Roses. Little Flower, give me your childlike faith, to see the Face of God in the people and experiences of my life, and to love God with full confidence. St. Therese, my Carmelite Sister, I will fulfill your plea 'to be made known everywhere' and I will continue to lead others to Jesus through you. Amen

• Resource

Professional Prayer Warriors

Christians frequently ask each other for prayers, particularly in difficult situations.  Consider the Catholic cloistered nuns who dedicate themselves to prayer for the entire world.  They are definitely professional prayer warriors!  One particular order of Poor Clare nuns outside of Phoenix, AZ, has made themselves especially available to pray for anyone and everything.  You can go to this link, leave a petition, and know that the nuns will pray for you.  Since most of us don't live near their convent, the online petition is the next best thing.  Besides, infertility and its many crosses definitely need prayer support.  Let these holy professionals pray for you!!

Chaplet of Hannah's Tears

The Chaplet of Hannah's Tears

click the link above for a copy of the H.T. prayer

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeartFeltRosaries

This chaplet has been approved by Bishop Frederick F. Campbell, Columbus, OH, June 27, 2008.  If you are interested in a copy please write prayer@hannahstears.org subject line "Chaplet" along with your request.

The Bishops of the following Dioceses have given their blessing to promote the chaplet of Hannah's Tears, it is always a virtue to ask your Bishop or Pastor before having this used for organized prayer, we generally recommend this chaplet as a private devotion:

• Columbus, Ohio
•  South Bend - Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Malta Europe 

 Thank you,

 Hannah's Tears Ministry 

St. Mary Di Rosa ~ saint of the day...

Saint Mary Di Rosa

Founded a home dedicated to the spiritual needs of young girls, and a school for deaf children. In 1840 she became the superior of the Handmaids of Charity, nuns who cared for the sick, and she took the name Mary Crucifixa.

Paola Di Rosa, whose religious name was Maria Crocifissa Di Rosa (1813 - 1855), was one of those rare figures, who in reaching out to others, seemed to have an angelic quality about her. Born in Brescia in 1813 to a well-off family, very early in her adolescence Paola had to come to terms with the death of her young mother due to a terminal illness. This situation made her realize that life cannot be considered a pleasure for rich people and a Calvary for the poor, but a trial for everyone, to face and to take account of . It is quite possible, that this understanding of Paola’s at such a young age was the beginning of the process which would evetually culminate in the great fruits of the Charity hospitals. Thousands of patients in hospital wards, thousands of children in schools, thousands of young girls saved from the streets, thousands of young people brought up and educated and old people cared for, recognize and are grateful to the Handmaids of Charity who have followed the loving example of their founder. Paola was the daughter of an industrialist from Brescia, who was very good at business, although he was not overly preoccupied with money. Paola's mother died when she was 11 and she was sent to a boarding school run by the Visitation sisters.

When she was 19, Paola became the manager of the spinning mill in Acquafredda and there she befriended the girls who lived away from home from Monday to Saturday. Her father began to realize that his daughter’s strong personality would never accept the ties and restrictions of family life.

With the cholera outbreak in Brescia in 1836, Paola became a nurse and assisted the sick women of the town, with constant love and devotion. She soon discovered that goodness in itself had a value far greater than any company or firm, her father could ever offer her. While taking care of the women in the old people's home "Casa d'industria" as well as devoting attention to the young girls in moral danger, she founded two schools for deaf and dumb people. At last the "Pia unione" began to take on a definite form, it would later become the very large congregation of the Handmaids of Charity. But where did this frail and weak woman find the time and the strength for so many activities? Her weak health would result in her death at the early age of 42. She would get up 2 hours before dawn and immerse herself in mental prayer. She would attend Mass in the Cathedral, in the company of her maid. She would then spend a further two hours in an intense dialogue with God. In this way her morning illuminated the day that lay ahead. The first Handmaids were nurses and they joyfully followed Paola, providing prolonged medical assistance to the sick.

The charitable association of the Pia Unione, which at the beginning was so small as to be almost invisible, had its most important test during the war for Independence (1848) and in the "Ten days of Brescia", during which Brescia resisted the Austrian invader and became known as the "Lioness of Italy". Love remained the most important feature of the Pia Unione, that later became the Congregation of the Handmaids with the three vows, thanks to its prompt ratification by Pope Pius IX. The new congregation spread to various towns throughout Italy. More and more places providing sanitary services were founded in Italy and abroad. With her religious profession, Paola took the name of Maria Crocifissa. Her frail health brought her to a premature death in December 1855. However, the congregation, still exists, fruit of a love that is eternal, just as God is.

Extracts from F. Mollinari, Maria Crocifissa Di Rosa a Saint for Others

In Her Footsteps:

Mary di Rosa would go out at a moment's notice if she felt that someone needed her help. The next time someone you know needs your aid, don't put off helping and make excuses. Drop what you are doing and give them what they need.

Prayer:

Saint Mary Di Rosa, you weren't afraid to take new opportunities. It's frightening when we are asked to do something that is different or new. We would rather stay in our safe and comfortable routines. Help us to embrace each obstacle in our path as a new opportunity to serve God. Amen

Saint Ambrose

Prayer of St. Ambrose

Lord, teach me to seek You, and reveal Yourself to me when

I seek You. For I cannot seek You unless You first teach me,

nor find You, unless You first reveal Yourself to me.

Let me seek You in longing, and long for You in seeking.
Let me find You in love, and love You in finding.

Amen.

Saint Nicholas of Myra Novena and Prayers

Novena begins

November 28 - December 6, 2009

Feast Day December 6

Novena to St. Nicholas
Say once a day for 9 days

All-praised and all-honored hierarch, great wonderworker, Saint of Christ, Father Nicholas, man of God and faithful servant, man of love, chosen vessel, strong pillar of the Church, most-brilliant lamp, star that illumines and enlightens the whole world. Thou art a righteous man that did flourish like a palm tree planted in the courts of the Lord; dwelling in Myra thou hast diffused the fragrance of myrrh, and thou pourest out the ever-flowing myrrh of the grace of god. 

By thy presence most-holy Father, the sea was sanctified when your most-miraculous relics were carried to the city of Bari, from the East to the West to praise the name of the Lord. 

O most-superb and most-marvellous wonderworker, speedy helper, fervent intercessor, good shepherd that saveth the rational flock from all dangers, we glorify and magnify thee as the hope of all Christians, a fountain of miracles, a defender of the faithful, a most wise teacher, a feeder of the hungry, the gladness of those that mourn, clothing of the naked, healer of the sick, pilot of those that sail the sea, liberator of prisoners, nourisher and protector of widows and orphans, guardian of chastity, gentle tutor of children, support of the aged, guide of fasters, rest of those that labor, abundant riches of the poor and needy. 

Hearken unto us that pray unto thee and flee to thy protection. Show thy mediation on our behalf with the Most High, and obtain through thy God-pleasing intercessions all that is useful for the salvation of our souls and bodies. Keep this holy habitation, every city and town, and every Christian country, and the people that dwell therein, from all oppression through thy help, for we know that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much for good; and after the most-blessed Virgin Mary, we have thee as a righteous mediator with the All-Merciful God, and to thy fervent intercession and protection we humbly hasten. 

Do thou, as a watchful and good shepherd, keep us from all enemies and pestilence, earthquake and hail, famine, flood and fire, the sword and invasions, and, in all our misfortunes and affliction, do thou give us a helping hand and open the doors of God’s compassion; for we are unworthy to look upon the height of Heaven because of the multitude of our sins. We are bound by the bonds of sin and have not done the will of our Creator nor kept His commandments.

Wherefore, we bow the knees of our broken and humble heart to our Maker, and we ask thy fatherly intercession with Him lest we perish with our sins. Deliver us from all evil, and from every adverse thing. Direct our minds and strengthen our hearts in the orthodox Faith, which, through thy mediation and intercession, neither wounds, nor threats, nor plague, nor the wrath of our Creator shall lessen. But vouchsafe that we may live a peaceful life here and see the good things in the land of the living, glorifying the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God glorified and worshipped in Trinity, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

click titles below for prayers

St. Nicholas Rosary Meditations

St. Nicholas Chaplet

Feast of the Guardian Angels

Guardian Angels

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God´s love commits me here; ever this day (or noght) be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule and to guide. Amen.

O most Holy Angel of God, appointed by Him to be my guardian, I give you thanks for all the benefits which you have bestowed on me in body and in soul. I praise and glorify you that you did condescend to assist me with such patient fidelity, and to defend me against all the assaults of my enemies. Blessed be the hour in which you were assigned to me as my guardian, my defender, and my patron. In acknowledgement and return of all your loving ministries to me since my youth, I offer you the infinitely precious and noble Heart of Jesus, and firmly resolve to obey you henceforth, and most faithfully to serve my God. Amen.

(St Gertrude)

O thou who speedest through all space

More swiftly than the lightnings fly,

Go very often in my place

To those I love most tenderly.

With thy soft touch, Oh, dry their tears,

Tell them the Cross is sweet to bear,

Speak my name softly in their ears,

And Jesus' Name supremely fair!

(St Therese of Lisieux)