Category Archives: Prayers

The grace of healing

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Healing comes in the most unexpected ways.

In the midst of writing about the trial of miscarriage and journeying out of my childbearing years…in the midst of praying…I was led here…to Hannah’s Tears. It is a wonderful ministry founded by a Secular Carmelite…formed to assist and intercede for those dealing with infertility, miscarriage, or loss of a child.

I reached out of my comfort zone and asked for prayers. I received a lovely email from the founder filled with soothing, healing words and an invitation…an invitation to become part of this ministry most especially by becoming a prayer intercessor. I took this invitation to heart and have been praying for these women in a special way , knowing and experiencing some of their pain and suffering. In the act of embracing them in prayer, I am beginning to experience inner peace.

“We are to be that voice crying out in the desert of sorrow and pain,” were the words written that struck me. And in the praying and the writing, healing takes place…moments of grace.

My name is Theresa and I am humbled and edified to be part of this ministry of praying for others, especially through the Hannah’s Tears Chaplet.  I am a wife and mother of four children as well as two in Heaven.  I am a Secular Carmelite and homeschooler to my youngest. I live out my many vocations in Pennsylvania.  You can find me at my desert heart.

 

For a Mom Suffering Loss

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Help in Time of Miscarriage

Saturday Book Pick: Karen Edmisten offers her experience and insights to hurting mothers.

by LETICIA VELASQUEZ
05/12/2012
When I lost my second child to miscarriage nearly 20 years ago, I searched Catholic bookstores in vain for a book on miscarriage.

I suffered interiorly for years, until my parish held a healing Mass on Feb. 2 (feast of the Presentation) for mothers who had lost a baby. It was an extraordinary evening of grace. We named our babies, writing their names on certificates which were laid upon the altar as we entrusted them to Christ.  continue here

 

For a Baptized Child

Lord of all gentleness, surround us with Your care and comfort us in our sorrow, for we grieve at the loss of this [little] child. As You washed (Name) in the waters of baptism and welcomed him/her into the life of heaven, so call us one day to be reunited with him/her and share forever in the joy of Your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.


For an Unbaptized Child

O Lord, Whose ways are beyong understanding, listen to the prayers of Your faithful people: that those weighed down by grief at the loss of this [little] child may find reassurance in Your infinite goodness. Amen.

 

For a Stillborn Child

Lord God, ever caring and gentle, we commit to Your love this little one, quickened to life for so short a time. Enfold him/her in eternal life. We pray for his/her parents who are saddened by the loss of their child. Give them courage and help them in their pain and grief. May they all meet one day in the joy and peace of Your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For the Deceased Child

To You, O Lord, we humbly entrust this child, so precious in Your sight. Take him/her into Your arms and welcome him/her into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping nor pain, but the fullness of peace and joy with Your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.


Prayer for Deceased Son or Daughter

O God, You gave us a son/daughter, and in Your wisdom and love have called him/her home to You before us. Please listen to our humble prayer: pardon his/her sins and faults, and grant that we may be reunited safely in Your Presence. Through Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, we beg this of You. Amen.

 

 

Mother’s Day Prayers for Conception, Adoption and Pregnancy…

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This prayer could be said as a novena by a wife trying to conceive a child.

A Prayer to St. Gerard for Motherhood

O glorious Saint Gerard, powerful intercessor before God, and wonder worker of our day, I call upon you and seek your help. You who always fulfilled God’s will on earth, help me to do God’s holy will. Intercede with the Giver of life, from whom all parenthood proceeds, that I may conceive and raise children who will please God in this life, and be heirs to the kingdom of heaven.  Amen.

 


More Prayers

for conception, pregnancy & adoption

 

Candlemas Day – The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

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Today’s first reading gives us an important insight to understand profoundly the mystery of the Lord’s Presentation in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, in accordance with the cannons of Mosaic Law. The text, taken from the Prophet Malachi says, ‘I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; and suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord who you seek’ (Mal 3:1). From all the Gospels, we know that it is the Precursor, St John the Baptist who was born 6 months before Jesus, that God sent to prepare His way. Putting these evangelical facts together, we can comprehend the words of the Prophet Malachi. The Lord God promised that He would send a Precursor to prepare His way. Since there is only 6 months between the birth of St John the Baptist and Jesus it is clear that the prophecy meant that suddenly after the Precursor, the Lord Himself will come. So, soon after the Baptist’s birth, God entered His temple. Jesus’ presentation signifies God’s entrance to His temple. God made man entered His temple, presenting Himself to those who were really searching for Him.

Today’s Gospel introduces us to different people and events that in themselves provide numerous lessons and themes for further reflection. First of all, Mary and Joseph respect the Mosaic Law by offering the sacrifice prescribed for the poor: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

Simeon and Anna were two venerable elderly people dedicated to prayer and fasting and so their strong religious spirit rendered them able to recognize the Messiah. In this sense we can see in the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple an extension of the ‘Pro OrantibusDay’ (For those who pray) that is celebrated on the feast of the Presentation of Mary (21 November). On this day, the Church demonstrates its gratitude to all those in the community that dedicate themselves in a privileged way to prayer, to those who have a particular religious vocation to the contemplative life. In the figure of the venerable Simeon, Jesus’ presentation in the temple, also reminds us that prayer and contemplation are not just a waste of time or an obstacle to charity. On the contrary, time could not be better spent than in prayer as true Christian charity is a consequence of a solid interior life. Only those who pray and offer penance, like Simeon and Anna, are open to the breath of the Spirit. They know how to recognize the Lord in the circumstances in which He manifests Himself because they possess an ample interior vision, and they have learned how to love with the heart of the One whose very name is Charity.

At the end of the Gospel Simeon’s prophecy of Mary’s sufferings is emphasized. Pope John Paul II taught that, ‘Simeon’s words seem like a second Annunciation to Mary, for they tell her of the actual historical situation in which the Son is to accomplish his mission, namely, in misunderstanding and sorrow.’ (Redemptoris Mater, n16) The archangel’s announcement was a fount of incredible joy because it pertained to Jesus’ messianic royalty and the supernatural character of His virginal conception. The announcement of the elderly in the temple instead spoke of the Lord’s work of redemption that He would complete associating Himself through suffering to His Mother. Therefore, there is a strong Marian dimension to this feast and so in the Liturgical Calendar of the Extraordinary Form it is called the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This refers to the other aspect of the presentation that consists of the ritual purification of Jewish women after they had given birth. In Mary’s case this purification was not necessary, but it indicates the renewal of her total offering of herself to God for the accomplishment of His Divine Plan.

Simeon’s prophecy also announces that Christ will be ‘a sign of contradiction’. St Cyril of Alexandria, in one of his homilies, interpreted the words ‘sign of contradiction’ like a noble cross, as St Paul wrote to the Corinthians ‘a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles’ (1 Cor 1:23) […] It is a sign of contradiction in the sense that those who loose appear as foolish while in those who recognise its power [the cross] reveals salvation and life’ (c.f PG 77, 1044-1049).

— Excerpted from Congregation for the Clergy

 

 

Things to Do:

  • Ask your parish priest to bless the candles that you will be using on your home altar this year.
  • Have a family Candlemas procession, found in the prayer links.    (see links below)
  • Read Luke 2:22-35, the account of the presentation including the Canticle of Simeon.
  • Meditate on the constant fiat of Our Lady of Sorrows, who embraced the will of God even as Simeon predicted that a sword would pierce her heart.
  • The Seven Sorrows Devotion

http://www.themostholyrosary.com/appendix1.htm

 

Daily Readings for:  February 02, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, we humbly implore your majesty that, just as your Only Begotten Son was presented on this day in the Temple in the substance of our flesh, so, by your grace, we may be presented to you with minds made pure. 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.

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

 

Resources:  

http://www.catholicculture.org

http://www.themostholy rosary.com

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Prayers Needed – Adoption Battle

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Adoption Battle Over 5-Year Old Boy Pits Missouri Couple Vs. Illegal Immigrant

 

By LAUREN GILGER,  (@brianross) and ANGELA M. HILL
Feb. 1, 2012

PHOTO: Encarnacion Bail Romero claims that her son, Carlos Bail Romero, was taken from her while she was being held in custody for an immigration-related crime, saying she was helpless to stop the adoption process.

Encarnacion Bail Romero claims that her son, Carlos Bail Romero, was taken from her while she was being held in custody for an immigration-related crime, saying she was helpless to stop the adoption process.

 

A tug-of-war over a five-year-old boy is at the center of a national debate over parental rights and immigration, and a sign of what critics say is a growing trend in which immigrants are being deemed unfit parents because they crossed the border illegally.

 

Seth and Melinda Moser of Carthage, Missouri say the boy they call Jamison is their son, and that returning him to his birth mother after five years will cause him untold harm.  continue

The Novena to St Colette begins today…

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Dear Little hearts,

The Novena to St Colette begins today- join us in spirit as we pray and sing the chaplet each day in preparation for her feast day Mass & Celebration here next Saturday. Place your intentions in Colette’s hands.

Lovingly all your sisters,

TMD Poor Clare Colettine Community

http://poorclarestmd.org/

 

The Chaplet

Blessed be the hour in which our Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man was born. Blessed be the Holy Spirit by whom he was conceived. Blessed be the glorious Virgin Mary of whom the Incarnate Word was born.      May the Lord hear our prayers through the intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary and in memory of that most sacred hour in which the Incarnate Word was born, that all our desires may be accomplished for your glory and our salvation.  O good Jesus! O Jesus our Redeemer, do not abandon us as our sins deserve, but hear our humble prayer and grant what we ask through the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary and for the glory of your Holy name. Amen.

 

As God pleases

As God wills (prayed ten times)

 

Let us praise the Father in his mercy and the Son by his passion and the Holy Spirit the fountain of peace and sweetness and love. Amen, amen without recall!

 

Soothe Our Sorrow

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I am feeling prompted by the Holy Spirit as the first reading at Mass this morning was Samuel hearing the voice of God calling out his name and Fr. Eli telling the child Samuel to let God know that his servant is listening.  So, as the day ends I want to share this special icon of “Our Lady Soothe My Sorrow” with you.  In the Orthodox Church her feast is recognized as January 25, so since this is just 10 days away it will give you a novena of days to say the prayer below.  God bless you and may Our Lady soothe your sorrows.

Prayer

O my All-gracious Queen Theotokos, my hope, who befriends orphans, and intercedes for strangers, Joy of those who sorrow, Protectress of those offended, look upon my troubles and see my sorrow: help me for I am weak, guide me for I am wandering: for you know my offense, resolve it as you will: for I have no other help than you, no other intercessor nor good comforter, only you, O Mother of God, may you keep and protect me, unto ages of ages.  Amen.

 

A SOLEMN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Most Holy Virgin Mary, tender Mother of men, to fulfill the desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the request of the Vicar of Your Son on earth, we consecrate ourselves and our families to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, O Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and we recommend to You, all the people of our country and all the world.

Please accept our consecration, dearest Mother, and use us as You wish to accomplish Your designs in the world.

O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of the World, rule over us, together with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Our King. Save us from the spreading flood of modern paganism; kindle in our hearts and homes the love of purity, the practice of a virtuous life, an ardent zeal for souls, and a desire to pray the Rosary more faithfully.

We come with confidence to You, O Throne of Grace and Mother of Fair Love. Inflame us with the same Divine Fire which has inflamed Your own Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Make our hearts and homes Your shrine, and through us, make the Heart of Jesus, together with your rule, triumph in every heart and home.  Amen.
-Venerable Pope Pius XII-

Resources: 

http://ikoncopies.com/

http://orthodoxwiki.org/

http://www.concordiaministries.net/