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Pray to St. Joseph for protection from evil

raphael

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January 1, 2020

Pray to St. Joseph for protection from evil

Pope Leo XIII invoked St. Joseph as a powerful defender in our daily spiritual battles.

St. Joseph was chosen by God to be the defender of the Holy Family, the one who would protect the Virgin Mary and Christ Child from earthly enemies. He was warned by an angel to take his family and flee to Egypt, thus ensuring the Messiah would live until adulthood.

In a similar way, St. Joseph is invoked by many as a spiritual defender, a powerful intercessor against spiritual evils. Just as St. Joseph protected the Holy Family, so too can he protect us on our earthly pilgrimage to Heaven.

Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical on St. Joseph, and at the end of it composed a prayer to St. Joseph for protection from evil. The prayer reassures us that we are not alone in this daily battle and that St. Joseph is at our side, ready to help us defeat our spiritual enemies.

To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection.
Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen.

Prayer to the Holy Innocents for courage and strength

raphael

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January 1, 2020

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Prayer to the Holy Innocents for courage and strength

Ask the little children who died a martyr’s death for courage to live a virtuous life.

Even though the Holy Innocents, who died at the command of Herod, had a short life on earth, their example can still inspire us to offer our own lives as a living sacrifice to God.

Furthermore, they are now united with the Christ Child in Heaven and are powerful intercessors, able to call down God’s many graces upon us.

One grace in particular we should pray for is the courage and strength to live out our Christian life in a virtuous manner, willing to do all that it takes to be united with God. Here is a short prayer from a 19th-century prayer book that asks these little children for help as we daily labor on earth with the hope of one day being united with them in Heaven.

The innocent and sinless are not to be without their penance in this world, upon which falls the deep shadow of sin. I see it is Thy holy will, who wiliest all things well.

I, then, will at least deny myself some little pleasure each day for love of Thee.

I will not always seek and choose the easy and the flowery path.Teach me to give up daily my own will with gladness for Thy dear sake.

Ye holy Innocents, blest Babes, earliest martyrs of Jesus Christ, the King of martyrs, how bright a life was won by that sharp death!

Beautiful little martyrs of the holy Child, your eyes soon closed upon the dull mists of earth, to open upon untold glories.

Bitter and short the passage, but Oh, Low passing sweet the end!

How sweet to have died for Him who came to give His life for you!

Pray for me, ye stainless ones, before the Throne, that I too, unworthy and wayward as I am, may come to be with those who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.

Most Holy Child Jesus, save Thy children.

Looking for hope in the New Year? Entrust it to Mary, Star of Hope

raphael

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December 31, 2019

1

Looking for hope in the New Year? Entrust it to Mary, Star of Hope

Pope Benedict XVI always ended his “Te Deum” addresses placing all his hopes and expectations in Mary’s arms.

During his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI always looked forward to the New Year by entrusting it to Mary, frequently using her title of “Star of Hope.” He believed she provided a “key” to unlocking a peace-filled year.

He ended his homily in 2007 praying, “Dear brothers and sisters of the Church of Rome, let us ask the Lord to make each one of us authentic leaven of hope in our various milieus, so that it will be possible to build a better future for the whole city. This is my wish for everyone on the eve of a New Year, a wish that I entrust to the motherly intercession of Mary, Mother of God and Star of Hope. Amen!”

Then in 2008 Pope Benedict reiterated how we should entrust our New Year to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially during times of crisis.

In our times, marked by uncertainty and concern for the future, it is necessary to experience the living presence of Christ. It is Mary, Star of Hope, who leads us to him ….This evening the motherly presence of Mary assures us that God never abandons us if we entrust ourselves to him and follow his teachings. Therefore, while we take our leave of 2008 and prepare to welcome 2009, let us present to Mary our expectations and hopes, as well as our fears and the difficulties that dwell in our hearts, with filial affection and trust. She, the Virgin Mother, offers us the Child who lies in the manger as our sure hope. Full of trust, we shall then be able to sing at the end of the Te Deum: “In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum — In you, Lord, is our hope: and we shall never hope in vain.” Yes, Lord, in you we hope, today and for ever; you are our hope. Amen!

Again in 2009 Pope Benedict looked to the Virgin Mary for her loving protection over the coming year.

As we take our leave of the year that is ending and set out towards the new one, today’s Liturgy ushers us into the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. The Blessed Virgin is Mother of the Church and Mother of each one of her members, that is, Mother of each of us, in Christ. Let us ask her to accompany us with her caring protection, today and for ever, so that Christ may one day welcome into his glory, into the assembly of the Saints: Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari. Alleluia! Amen!

The Church begins the calendar year on January 1 with a special feast in honor of Mary, the Mother of God, and so openly urges us to turn to her in our time of need and ask for her intercession.

Let us look forward to the New Year with hope, entrusting it to Mary, a “star” who can lead us through the darkness of our lives and into the light of life.

A prayer for the family, from the Sisters of Life

raphael

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December 26, 2019

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A prayer for the family, from the Sisters of Life

May our home be another Nazareth, so that our family may be a place where Your peace and love abides.

This prayer was included with the Christmas card from the Sisters of Life this year:~Prayer for the FamilyHeavenly Father, we ask You to bless our family.Open our hearts to receive Your love. May our home be another Nazareth,so that our family may be a place where Your peace and love abides.Open our eyes to recognize the gift and beauty of life,so that we may find joy in Your presence among us.Grant us pure hearts seeking holiness, generous hearts full of Your love,merciful hearts ready to forgive and tender hearts full of kindness.May our family be a sanctuary of life and love,a beacon of hopedrawing others to your Son, Jesus Christ.Amen.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Holy Family of Nazareth, pray for us.

Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer for peace on Christmas Day

Prayers

raphael

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December 26, 2019

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Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer for peace on Christmas Day

The world is always in need of peace!

Christmas and peace always seem to go together. It is a special time of the year, both in the Church and secular world, where peace is heralded as the supreme virtue. Quarrels are put on pause and for a few days, peace is allowed to penetrate our hearts.

Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this reality at Midnight Mass in 2005, adding his own prayer for peace that we can pray together, hoping that it will be made into reality.

Among Christians, the word “peace” has taken on a very particular meaning: it has become a word to designate communion in the Eucharist. There Christ’s peace is present. In all the places where the Eucharist is celebrated, a great network of peace spreads through the world. The communities gathered around the Eucharist make up a kingdom of peace as wide as the world itself. When we celebrate the Eucharist we find ourselves in Bethlehem, in the “house of bread”. Christ gives himself to us and, in doing so, gives us his peace. He gives it to us so that we can carry the light of peace within and give it to others. He gives it to us so that we can become peacemakers and builders of peace in the world.
And so we pray: Lord, fulfil your promise! Where there is conflict, give birth to peace! Where there is hatred, make love spring up! Where darkness prevails, let light shine! Make us heralds of your peace! Amen.

The Byzantine liturgy suggests we should feel proud at Christmas: Here’s why

raphael

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December 23, 2019

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The Byzantine liturgy suggests we should feel proud at Christmas: Here’s why

Pray this little prayer before the crib and rejoice in the Mother we’ve been given!

In his last Advent homily of this year, the preacher of the pontifical household, Father Raniero Cantalamessa, cited the Byzantine liturgy of vespers on Christmas Eve.

The prayer invites us to feel a “holy pride,” because we get to claim Mary as our own, a fellow human like us, and our mother!

Let us make the prayer our own in front of the crib this year.

What can we offer you as a gift, O Christ our God, for having appeared on earth taking on our own humanity? Each of the creatures shaped by your hands offers you something to give you thanks: the angels offer you their song, the heavens the star, the magi their gifts, the shepherds their wonder, the earth a cave, the desert a manger. But we offer you a virgin Mother!

A prayer to Mary, Mother of Advent from St. John Paul II

Prayers

raphael

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December 23, 2019

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A prayer to Mary, Mother of Advent from St. John Paul II

As we approach Christmas, here is a short prayer from a pope who deeply loved the Blessed Mother.

Advent is a special time in the Church’s calendar, one that is especially connected to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope John Paul II, who had a deep devotion to Our Lady, said in an Angelus address in 2003, “In this journey of expectation and hope that is Advent, the Ecclesial Community is identified more closely than ever with the Most Holy Virgin. May it be she, the Virgin of expectation, who helps us to open our hearts to the One who, by his coming among us, brings the priceless gift of peace to all humanity.”

Each Advent John Paul II made it a point to pray to the Blessed Mother and offered special prayers to her, that she may adequately prepare our hearts for Christmas Day.

Below are two prayers, combined from addresses he gave in 1999 and 2004. Together they make a beautiful prayer for Advent, invoking the Blessed Mother’s intercession in these final days before we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the mystery of the Incarnation.

May the Virgin Mary help us to open the doors of our hearts to Christ, Redeemer of man and of history; may she teach us to be humble, because God looks upon the lowly; may she enable us to grow in understanding the value of prayer, of inner silence, of listening to God’s Word; may she spur us to seek God’s will deeply and sincerely, even when this upsets our plans; may she encourage us while we wait for the Lord, sharing our time and energies with those in need.

Mother of God, Virgin of expectation, grant that the God-who-comes will find us ready to receive the abundance of his mercy.

May Mary Most Holy, “Woman of the Eucharist” and Virgin of Advent, prepare us all to joyfully welcome Christ’s coming and to celebrate worthily his sacramental presence in the mystery of the Eucharist.

The saintly pontiff prayed, “May the radiance of your birth light up the night of the world.”

The Advent and Christmas seasons provide a special time of the year to humble ourselves in front of the Child Jesus. There exist many different prayers that reflect this holy humility and invoke the Child Jesus’ intercession.

One of those is written by St. John Paul II, delivered during a homily for Midnight Mass. It is a beautiful prayer, one that reflects the many spiritual dimensions of Christmas and can help us enter into a deeper experience of the celebration.

O Child, who willed to have for your crib a manger; O Creator of the universe, who stripped yourself of divine glory; O Redeemer, who offered your vulnerable body in sacrifice for the salvation of humanity!

May the radiance of your birth light up the night of the world. May the power of your message of love thwart the proud snares of the evil one. May the gift of your life make us understand ever more clearly the worth of the life of each human being.

Too much blood is still being shed on the earth! Too much violence and too many conflicts trouble the peaceful coexistence of nations!

You come to bring us peace. You are our peace! You alone can make of us “a people purified” and belonging to you for ever, a people “zealous for good deeds” (Tit 2:14).

For to us a Child is born, to us a son is given! What an unfathomable mystery is hidden in the humility of this Child! We would like to touch him; we would like to embrace him.

You, Mary, who keep watch over your all-powerful Son, grant us your eyes to contemplate him with faith; grant us your heart to worship him with love.

In his simplicity, the Child of Bethlehem teaches us to rediscover the real meaning of our existence; he teaches us “to live sober, upright and godly lives in this world” (Tit 2:12).

O Holy Night, so long awaited, which has united God and man for ever! You rekindle our hope. You fill us with ecstatic wonder. You assure us of the triumph of love over hatred, of life over death.

For this reason we remain absorbed in prayer.

In the luminous silence of your Nativity, you, Emmanuel, continue to speak to us. And we are ready to listen to you. Amen!

St. John Paul II’s Prayer for the Family to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Kenneth C. Alimba

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December 21, 2019

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St. John Paul II’s Prayer for the Family to Our Lady of Guadalupe

This is such a beautiful prayer!

St. John Paul II visited Mexico the first year of his pontificate in 1979. He visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and recited the prayer below.

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe by St. John Paul II

O Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas,
grant to our homes the grace of loving and respecting life in its beginnings,
with the same love with which you conceived in your womb the life of the Son of God.

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Fair love,
protect our families so that they may always be united
and bless the upbringing of our children.

Our hope, look upon us with pity,
teach us to go continually to Jesus,
and if we fall, help us to rise again
and return to him through the confession of our faults and our sins
in the sacrament of penance, which gives peace to the soul.

We beg you to grant us a great love of all the holy sacraments,
which are, as it were, the signs that your Son left us on earth.

Thus, Most Holy Mother,
with the peace of God in our consciences,
with our hearts free from evil and hatred,
we will be able to bring to all others true joy and true peace,
which come to us from your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen.

Feeling Discouraged? Try Mother Angelica’s Prayer for Strength Through Heavy Burdens

raphael

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December 21, 2019

1

Feeling Discouraged? Try Mother Angelica’s Prayer for Strength Through Heavy Burdens

We are so grateful for Mother Angelica!

The beautiful prayer below is an excerpt from EWTN Founder Mother Angelica’s book, Ad Lib with the Lord. It is especially helpful when you’re having a bad day!

Check it out below:

Prayer in Times of Discouragement

“O God, my mind whirls around in confusion and my soul seems destitute of all consolation. It is as if all the world and all my life wore telescoped into one moment and I carry the burden of it all. I cannot see any future except tomorrow being another today.

“All my yesterdays crowd around me, some accusing and some regret filled. It is like a prison with a thousand voices shouting for attention.

“Divine Jailor, You have the key to release my soul from the prison of discouragement. Unlock the doors and let me roam freely into the regions of Your love. Deliver me from the tyranny of my own will.

“Surely You take no pleasure in my soul disquieted within me, for then I am wrapped in myself: Do I hear You whisper, “Unlock the door for the key is within. I wait ready to enter and comfort you.”

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Pope Leo XIII invoked St. Joseph as a powerful defender in our daily spiritual battles.

Ask the little children who died a martyr’s death for courage to live a virtuous life.

Pope Benedict XVI always ended his “Te Deum” addresses placing all his hopes and expectations in Mary’s arms.

May our home be another Nazareth, so that our family may be a place where Your peace and love abides.

The world is always in need of peace!

Pray this little prayer before the crib and rejoice in the Mother we’ve been given!

As we approach Christmas, here is a short prayer from a pope who deeply loved the Blessed Mother.

Read More

The saintly pontiff prayed, “May the radiance of your birth light up the night of the world.”

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe by St. John Paul II

Prayer in Times of Discouragement

Jesus, I trust in you!

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