The Church Suffering..

The feast of the Martyrs of Uganda is not until June 3, but with all of the suffering and struggles we are enduring, I thought it a blessing to find these great intercessors who endured with great courage for the true faith.  We must     also encourage one another, and truly pray like never before,  for the future of our Church and Her people.  I say this as it is very painful to think of Fr. Cor.api  unable to say a public Mass.  We should think of him as he is like someone without children, no flock to feed but spiritually… He is truly in the desert with Christ, and so we should also follow, during this season of Lent.  May God bless our suffering pr.iests and keep them hidden within His sacred wounds. 


Martyrs of Uganda, pray for the faith where it is in danger and for Christians who must suffer because of their faith. Give them the same courage, zeal, and joy you showed. And help those of us who live in places where Christianity is accepted to remain aware of the persecution in other parts of the world. Amen

NOVENA FOR FR. CORAPI

On Ash Wednesday, Fr. Corapi learned that a former employee sent a three-page letter to several bishops accusing him of everything from drug addiction to multiple sexual exploits with her and several other adult women. He has been placed on “administrative leave” as the result of this.

The resultant damage to Fr. Corapi and all falsely accused priests are immediate, irreparable, and serious, especially for someone like Fr. Corpai, who is so well known.

“All of the allegations in the complaint are false, and I ask you to pray for all concerned.” – Fr. John Corapi

(the above is taken from Fr. Corapi’s website: http://www.fathercorapi.com/default.aspx)

Per Fr. Corapi’s request to “pray for all concrerned”, There will be a Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to do just that. Please invite others to join in this most important Novena. Fr. Corapi and all those concerned need our prayers!


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NOVENA FOR FR. CORAPI – MARCH 25TH to APRIL 2
(Feast of the Annunciation to the Anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s passing)

SPREAD THE WORD!

Efficacious Novena To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus

(This novena prayer was recited every day by Padre Pio for all those who asked his prayers)

I. My Jesus, You have said, ‘Truly I say to you, ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.’ Through the intercession of Mary, Your holy Mother, I knock, I seek and ask that my prayer be granted. (here, mention your request) – that the truth prevails in regard to Fr. Corapi, and all falsely accused priests and that their accusers are brought to repentance.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father… 
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

II. O my Jesus, You have said, ‘Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, He will give it to you.’ 
Through the intercession of Mary, Your holy Mother, in Your Name I ask the Father that my prayer be granted.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father… 
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

III. O my Jesus, You have said, ‘Truly I say to you, heaven and earth
will pass away but my words will not pass away.’ Encouraged by
Your infallible words, through the intercession of Mary, Your
holy Mother I feel confident that my prayers will be answered. 
(mention your request)

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father… 
O Sacred , O Merciful, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us poor sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate heart of Mary, Your tender mother and ours.

Hail, Holy Queen… 

St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

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You can accompany this prayer with a Chaplet of Mercy or a decade of the Rosary. Also, pray it in front of the Blessed Sacrament, if at all possible. (in person or online – see links below)

http://savior.org/

http://www.justin.tv/marytown?

Pondering Saint Joseph

Video

How can we not ponder Saint Joseph’s dream on the feast of St. Joseph, husband and father (foster father of Jesus)?  What a truly hidden soul Joseph was in the life of Christ, as there is not much written about this beautiful man yet Mary and Jesus treasured and loved him as husband and father.  We must open our hearts to Jesus and Mary and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us as He did Saint Joseph.  May we all become that hidden, contemplative soul that the Holy Spirit is seeking in all of us.  

God bless and have a wonderful Sunday filled with peace, hope and joy during this Lenten Season.



File:Rembrandt van Rijn 195.jpg
Joseph’s dream,Rembrandt, c. 1645

Prayer of St Joseph, sung by Angelina


Healing Prayers For Noah

Noah is a healthy active and intelligent 6 year old boy. He plays in an indoor soccer league the York Region Shooters. Noah enjoys swimming and karate classes. He is a grade 1 student at St. Mary’s of the Angels School. He is the guardian and best friend of his little sister. He is kind hearted and loves to laugh. He is so energetic and full of life. He has an army of friends.


On January 9, 2011 Noah developed Idiopathic Refractory Epliepticus. What that means is Noah has generalised seizures (epliepticus) that are between 5 to 30 minutes in duration with a small break in between them 5 to 10 minutes. They are caused by an unknown origin(idiopathic), and believe me the doctors have tried to find an origin. Noah has had a spinal tap, cerebral angiogram, a few cat scans, multiple MRI, Pet Scan and even a brain biopsy. I can’t even count how many blood test and cultures have been taken. Noah’s condition is also resistant to drugs (refractory). He is currently on 6 no sorry 7 anticonvulsant medicines. They have also put him on a ketogenic diet.



So here we have my son Noah a healthy six year old boy who was laughing and joking around on January 8, 2011 he went to sleep happy. I read him a story tucked him in his bed and gave him a kiss goodnight. I found him in the morning non responsive and seizing. He has not woken up since. I am writing this on March 8 2011.






His mother is constantly at bed side and I am there as often as I can be. 


The good doctors at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto have told us that he is not likely to survive.


We remain hopeful and we pray and pray for Noah to heal. 


Please pray with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


There is strength in numbers and if we all pray together God will grant Noah the Miracle he needs.


May God Bless You. 



March 14


The doctors at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto have put a DNR in his file against our wishes. They refuse to give him a tracheotomy and they want to remove him from the ventilator that is assisting his breathing. 

We want Noah to live. We know that he has suffered severe brain damage and he will no longer be who he was. It should be our choice to keep him alive. Not the Doctors.


We are currently seeking a 2nd opinion. Legal advice and representation.


As Noah once anounced to his mom and me “I matter” We smiled with him and replied “more than you know” 




Resource:  Prayers for Noah
Life Site News Face Book
Save baby Joseph Facebook

Contraception Is Not the Solution to Abortion

Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.
— Chesterton, G.K. Illustrated London News. 23 Oct 1909.

The argument that contraception (or abortion) “reduces the number of unwanted children” is an empty one. The selfish wants of one’s parents has no bearing on one’s right to exist. Contraception and abortion are inextricable, yes, not because contraception is the solution to abortion, but because contraception is abortion’s close cousin, and likewise a grave evil. Contraception may not always be explicit murder (though it often is), but it teaches parents to see their children as “choices,” not “human beings,” which is the philosophy of abortion and murder. While it is unpopular to assert, the truth is pro-contraception arguments are poorly disguised pro-infanticide arguments.

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!!

Our Lady of Akita pray for us…

Eucharistic Prayer of Our Lady of Akita 

 

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist,

I consecrate my body and my soul to be entirely one with Your Heart

being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and

 giving praise to the Father, pleading for the coming of His Kingdom.

Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as You will 

for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.
Most holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Your 
Divine Son. Please defend and protect me as Your Special Child.

Amen. 
Please offer all of your sufferings, your infertility, your loses  and all the sufferings God has aloud within your family.  Unite them all to Jesus Christ Crucified, you will find peace only in Jesus.

The Bracelet

By Sue Elvis

We were anxious for Thomas to be baptised as soon as possible after his birth but the sacrament had to be delayed until he had been placed on a ventilator in the neonatal intensive care unit, and his condition had been assessed as stable. By this time, I had been moved to the maternity unit and it was Andy who arranged for the priest to come and baptise our son.
Father C placed a small white garment over our newborn baby, carefully avoiding all the wires and the tubes. And then with a sprinkle of holy water, together with the words, “I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, Thomas’ soul was filled with God’s life. He was given two Godmothers: my sister Vicky and my friend Cheri, and we all prayed that they’d be given the opportunity to guide and care for him here on earth. We all hoped his body would become as strong with life as his soul. But it was not to be. After a fleeting moment of life, just 28 hours after being born, Thomas left us and his Godparents, and joined God in Heaven.
Cheri was already the Godmother of our daughter Charlotte, who was two when Thomas died. We all realised Charlotte would grow up without any memories of her little brother. Thinking about this, Cheri decided to create a special bond between her two Godchildren, to hold them together despite the lack of memories. She wanted to give Charlotte something very special that would remind her that Thomas is alive in Heaven praying for his big sister.
When we went to the ‘viewing’ at the funeral home to see Thomas one last time before his funeral, Cheri brought along her gift for Charlotte. It was a delicate gold bracelet with a name engraved upon it. It was going to be Charlotte’s bracelet but the name on it was ‘Thomas’.
Cheri cradled Thomas in her arms, placed the bracelet on our son and we photographed Godmother and Godson for the first and last time.  Then she gave the bracelet to me for safekeeping: “Now Charlotte has a relic of her little brother which she can keep forever.”
The bracelet is not an everyday piece of jewellery. I keep it in my jewellery box and Charlotte wears it on very special occasions… like on her First Holy Communion Day when Thomas’ prayers joined ours as she received Our Lord for the first time.
Last September at the annual homeschooling camp, one of the fathers gave the girls a talk about relics. Mr D is well known for his interesting and stimulating talks on the faith, and I knew my girls would enjoy his class.
Charlotte came running up to me as soon as the class finished, eager to share what she’d learnt:  “We learnt all about relics today! We learnt how a relic can be a part of a saint like his hair or a bone or it can be something that belonged to and touched a saint like a habit… or it can be something that has been touched to a relic of a saint. And I told Mr D I have a relic of Thomas: Thomas’ bracelet that touched him and is now mine. Can I take it tomorrow and show everyone?” And so the precious bracelet was once again removed from my jewellery box and shared with the girls of Mr D’s class.
Charlotte is now 13. I guess I could give her the bracelet but she is quite content to leave it in my care. She knows she would be very upset if it ever got lost and she isn’t quite ready to take that risk upon herself. But one day the bracelet will be all hers.
The bracelet is treasured because it is associated with our child. It reminds us that Thomas is in the presence of God where he can intercede for us. Our son, our saint in Heaven, is praying for the special people in his life: his parents, his Godmothers, his sister Charlotte and all his family. And that is a real blessing.
Thank you Cheri, my dear friend. You used that short moment of time we had with Thomas to turn a bracelet into a relic, a precious bond between brother and sister.
Please share my stories at Sue Elvis Writes

Prayer is the light of the soul


The highest good is prayer and conversation with God, because it means that we are in God’s company and in union with him. When light enters our bodily eyes our eyesight is sharpened; when a soul is intent on God, God’s inextinguishable light shines into it and makes it bright and clear. I am talking, of course, of prayer that comes from the heart and not from routine: not the prayer that is assigned to particular days or particular moments in time, but the prayer that happens continuously by day and by night.

  Indeed the soul should not only turn to God at times of explicit prayer. Whatever we are engaged in, whether it is care for the poor, or some other duty, or some act of generosity, we should remember God and long for God. The love of God will be as salt is to food, making our actions into a perfect dish to set before the Lord of all things. Then it is right that we should receive the fruits of our labours, overflowing onto us through all eternity, if we have been offering them to him throughout our lives.

  Prayer is the light of the soul, true knowledge of God, a mediator between God and men. Prayer lifts the soul into the heavens where it hugs God in an indescribable embrace. The soul seeks the milk of God like a baby crying for the breast. It fulfils its own vows and receives in exchange gifts better than anything that can be seen or imagined.

  Prayer is a go-between linking us to God. It gives joy to the soul and calms its emotions. I warn you, though: do not imagine that prayer is simply words. Prayer is the desire for God, an indescribable devotion, not given by man but brought about by God’s grace. As St Paul says: For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself intercedes on our behalf in a way that could never be put into words.

  If God gives to someone the gift of such prayer, it is a gift of imperishable riches, a heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. Whoever tastes that food catches fire and his soul burns for ever with desire for the Lord.

  To begin on this path, start by adorning your house with modesty and humility. Make it shine brightly with the light of justice. Decorate it with the gold leaf of good works, with the jewels of faithfulness and greatness of heart. Finally, to make the house perfect, raise a gable above it all, a gable of prayer. Thus you will have prepared a pure and sparkling house for the Lord. Receive the Lord into this royal and splendid dwelling — in other words: receive, by his grace, his image into the temple of your soul.