30 days Novena Prayer to our Lady for Lent and for Fridays

This is a prayer in honour of Our Lady to be said for 30 days. By its recital we hope, with her intercession, to be granted the request asked. It is recommended as a prayer in Lent and every Friday. 

Marian Prayer for Lent 

O glorious and blessed Mary, Mother of mercy and hope, Comforter of the despondent, through the sorrow you felt when your only Son Jesus Christ Our Lord suffered humiliation and death on the Cross and through your Son’s love for you, take pity on me, have compassion on all my worries and cares and help and comfort me in all my sickness and suffering. 

You are the Mother of mercy, Refuge of the needy and orphaned, of the desolate and the afflicted. Look with pity on me and hear my prayer.

Because of my sins my spirit is overburdened, where can I find comfort other than from your maternal protection? 

Listen with pity and compassion, I implore you, to my humble request. I ask it through the infinite mercy of your Son who humbled Himself to assume our nature and was born into this world. 

I ask it through His Agony in the garden when He prayed to His Father, that, if possible, the bitter chalice of His forthcoming Passion could be removed. 

I ask it through His suffering as He was bound and scourged and stripped of His garments. 

I ask it through His patience bearing the jeers, insults, false accusations and unjust sentence by which He was condemned to death. 

I ask it through His tears and resignation, His sadness and grief.

I ask it through His bleeding head crowned with thorns, through the anguish of being nailed to the Cross, through His intense thirst and bitter potion offered of vinegar and oil.

I ask it through His commendation of His spirit to the Father and through His Blood mixed with Water from His side.

I ask it through His immaculate life, cruel Passion and shameful death on the Cross. 

I ask it through His glorious victory over death when He rose again on the third day and through His appearance over forty days and the joy it must have given you, His Blessed Mother.

I ask it by the grace of the Holy Spirit present in tongues of fire which inspired the Apostles to preach the Gospel to the world. 

I ask it through the appearance of Your Son at the Last Day when He shall judge the living and the dead.

I ask it through His compassion for you and your indescribable joy at your Assumption into Heaven. 

O Blessed Mother Mary comfort me in my trouble (mention your request), implore your Son, who loves you, intercede for me. 

Obtain for me from your Son, Our Lord, a lively faith, hope and charity, true contrition, contempt of the world and the resignation to accept the trials of this life.

Obtain for me the gift of receiving the Last Sacraments at my death and live everlasting for all my relatives and those who are close, living and dead.

Amen.

Never Give Up

No matter how yucky or depressed you may feel on a particular day, you must (not "should", but "must")...

GET UP - No hitting the snooze alarm; you will only feel worse. Set your alarm for a later time if you want more sleep and get up immediately when it goes off.

DRESS UP - Even if you work from home, which includes moms of young children, get out of your PJs or workout clothes and dress like a million bucks. That shows you mean business and it WILL affect your attitude and productivity. Dressing up also shows respect for those around you, as well as yourself.

SHOW UP - Hey, you've got other people depending on you, whether it's your children or clients. They need you to show up and be your best.

NEVER GIVE UP - Duh! Just... keep... going. You've got this! (Philippians 4:13)

source: FB friend

Pray for those infected by the Corona virus (COVID-19) epidemic

We pray for Your healing on those infected and diagnosed by the Corona virus ((COVID-19)) epidemic and miraculous wonder in finding a cure for this new serious illness which has cause many deaths especially in the epicentre Wuhan, China. We pray that those being treated in countries around the world of this illness will get better by Your merciful grace. It is all in Your hands Lord and if it is Your will, let them be totally heal. We make this pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

GOD is BIGGER than any problem.

No disease is greater than our GOD.

Prayer is the best medicine.

GOD is the BEST Doctor.

Pope Francis have asked the faithful “to pray for our Chinese brothers and sisters” who are affected by the “cruel” corona virus epidemic.

Pray - For Those in Financial Difficulty

Lord God, I remember and pray for all those suffering severe financial problems; the unemployed, the homeless, the bankrupt, the hungry, and those in desperate fear of such problems; people who are deep in debt, not to be able to pay bills, who are losing or have lost possessions to foreclosure, or who have to watch their dependants go without things they need. I open my heart to them. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will be with them, that they find comfort in utter trust and faith in You, and that their anxieties be alleviated by certainty of Your love. And if it is Your will, I pray that they can find a way out of their difficulties, into financial stability. 

And finally, I pray that I not close my eyes to them; and that I not judge those in pain, however they might have acted; but instead, that I might love them as You have loved me, despite my faults. And if it is Your will, that I might do what I can to ease their pain. In the name of Christ, who loved us so perfectly, I pray, Amen.

Tell them how much the Lord has done for you

Do you ever feel driven by forces beyond your strength?

A man driven mad by the evil force of a legion found refuge in the one person who could set him free. A legion is no small force - but an army more than 5,000 strong! For the people in the time of Jesus' ministry, hemmed in by occupied forces, a legion, whether spiritual or human, struck terror! Legions at their wildest committed unmentionable atrocities.Our age has also witnessed untold crimes and mass destruction at the hands of possessed rulers and their armies. 

Jesus has power to free us from every evil spirit of oppression

What is more remarkable - the destructive force of this driven and possessed man - or the bended knee at Jesus' feet imploring mercy and release? God's word reminds us that no destructive force can keep anyone from the peace and safety which God offers to those who seek his help. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. ..Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation (Psalm 91:7,9).

Jesus took pity on the man who was overtaken by a legion of evil spirits. The destructive force of these demons is evident for all who can see as they flee and destroy a herd of swine. After Jesus freed the demoniac the whole city came out to meet him. No one had demonstrated such power and authority against the forces of Satan as Jesus did. They feared Jesus as a result and begged him to leave them. Why would they not want Jesus to stay? Perhaps the price for such liberation from the power of evil and sin was more than they wanted to pay. Jesus is ready and willing to free us from anything that binds us and that keeps us from the love of God. Are you willing to part with anything that might keep you from his love and healing power?

"Lord Jesus, unbind me that I may love you wholly and walk in the freedom of your way of life and holiness. May there be nothing which keeps me from the joy of living in your presence."

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

Prayer for a Good Spouse (Husband or Wife)

O Jesus, lover of the young, the dearest Friend I have, in all confidence I open my heart to You to beg Your light and assistance in the important task of planning my future. Give me the light of Your grace, that I may decide wisely concerning the person who is to be my partner through life. Dearest Jesus, send me such a one whom in Your divine wisdom You judge best suited to be united with me in marriage. May her/his character reflect some of the traits of Your own Sacred Heart. May s/he be upright, loyal, pure, sincere and noble, so that with united efforts and with pure and unselfish love we both may strive to perfect ourselves in soul and body, as well as the children it may please You to entrust to our care. Bless our friendship before marriage, that sin may have no part in it. May our mutual love bind us so closely, that our future home may ever be most like Your own at Nazareth.

O Mary Immaculate, sweet Mother of the young, to your special care I entrust the decision I am to make as to my future wife/husband. You are my guiding Star! Direct me to the person with whom I can best cooperate in doing God's Holy Will, with whom I can live in peace, love and harmony in this life, and attain to eternal joys in the next.

Amen.

Prayer for Priests

O Jesus, Eternal Priest, keep Your priests within the shelter of Your Most Sacred Heart, where none can touch them. Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch Your Sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips daily tinged with Your Precious Blood. Keep pure and unworldly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood. 

Let Your Holy Love surround and protect them from the world’s contagion. Bless their labours with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here, and their everlasting crown in the hereafter. Amen.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

The woman who took heart in Jesus

Do you approach the Lord Jesus with expectant faith or with skeptical doubt?

People in desperate or helpless circumstances were not disappointed when they sought Jesus out. What drew them to Jesus? Was it hope for a miracle or a word of comfort in their affliction? What did the elderly woman who had suffered miserably for twelve years expect Jesus to do for her? And what did a grieving father expect Jesus to do for his beloved daughter who was at the point of death? Jesus gave hope where there seemed to be no human cause for it because his hope was directed to God. He spoke words of hope to the woman (Take heart, daughter!) to ignite the spark of faith in her (your faith has made you well!).

Expectant faith believes in Jesus' power to act in our lives today

Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD), an early church Scripture scholar and author of hymns and commentaries, reflected on the miracle of the woman who was healed of her flow of blood:

"Glory to you, hidden Son of God, because your healing power is proclaimed through the hidden suffering of the afflicted woman. Through this woman whom they could see, the witnesses were enabled to behold the divinity that cannot be seen. Through the Son's own healing power his divinity became known. Through the afflicted women's being healed her faith was made manifest. She caused him to be proclaimed, and indeed was honoured with him. For truth was being proclaimed together with its heralds. If she was a witness to his divinity, he in turn was a witness to her faith... He saw through to her hidden faith, and gave her a visible healing."

The Lord Jesus will touch each of us with his healing hands of love and mercy

Jesus also gave supernatural hope to a father who had just lost a beloved child. It took considerable courage and risk for the ruler of a synagogue to openly go to Jesus and to invite the scorn of his neighbours and kin. Even the hired mourners laughed scornfully at Jesus. Their grief was devoid of any hope. Nonetheless, Jesus took the girl by the hand and delivered her from the grasp of death. Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD), an early church father who was renowned for his preaching at Ravena, comments on this miracle:

"This man was a ruler of the synagogue, and versed in the law. He had surely read that while God created all other things by his word, man had been created by the hand of God. He trusted therefore in God that his daughter would be recreated, and restored to life by that same hand which, he knew, had created her... He [Jesus] who laid hands on her to form her from nothing, once more lays hands upon her to reform her from what had perished."

In both instances we see Jesus' personal concern for the needs of others and his readiness to heal and restore life. In Jesus we see the infinite love of God extending to each and every individual as he gives freely and wholly of himself to each person he meets. Do you approach the Lord with confident expectation that he will hear your request and act?

"Lord Jesus, you love each of us individually with a unique and personal love. Touch my life with your saving power, heal and restore me to fullness of life. Help me to give wholly of myself in loving service to others."

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East