Prayers & Poems

Please Pray... 

for all Ukrainian Soldiers who have died seeking freedom and liberty, and all civilians who have died in the name of their nation.

 

Dear God,

It’s Your name that is honored from generation to generation. You alone are worthy of all glory and praise.

And You are not shocked by the state of the world right now. Your ways are not our ways, and You are not at a loss about what to do. Nothing is impossible for You.

So today, we are proclaiming that You will be glorified through this pandemic. That Your name will be known and praised throughout the earth.

Pierce the darkness with Your light. Shine brighter than the fear of death, economic ruin, or a long quarantine.

When we look back on this moment in history, would we be filled with joy as we remember the revival, hope, and peace that came out of this season.

Continue to draw this hurting world back to You.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

May we who are merely inconvenienced - remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors - remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home - remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close - remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips - remember those that have no place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market - remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home - remember those who have no home.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.

Spiritual Communion is the reserve of Eucharistic Life and Love always available for lovers of the Eucharistic Jesus. By means of Spiritual Communion the loving desires are satisfied of the soul that wants to be united with Jesus, its dear Bridegroom. Spiritual Communion is a union of love between the soul and Jesus in the Host. This union is spiritual but none-the-less real, more real than the union between the soul and the body, "because the soul lives more where it loves than where it lives," says St. John of the Cross.

Faith, Love and Desire

As is evident, Spiritual Communion assumes that we have faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle. It implies that we would like Sacramental Communion, and it demands a gratitude for Jesus' gift of this Sacrament. All this is expressed simply and briefly in the formula of St. Alphonsus:

"My Jesus, I believe that You are really present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love Thee above all things, and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. --- (pause) I embrace Thee as being already there and unite myself wholly to Thee. Never, never permit me to be separated from Thee. Amen."
 
Spiritual Communion, as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Alphonsus Liguori teach, produces effects similar to Sacramental Communion, according to the dispositions with which it is made, the greater or less earnestness with which Jesus is desired, and the greater or less love with which Jesus is welcomed and given due attention.
 
A special advantage of Spiritual Communion is that we can make it as often as we like --- even hundreds of times a day --- when we like --- even late at night --- and wherever we like --- even in a desert, or up in an airplane.

It is fitting to make a Spiritual Communion especially when we are attending Holy Mass and cannot receive Our Lord sacramentally. While the priest is receiving his Holy Communion, our soul should share in it by inviting Jesus into our heart. In this way every Holy Mass we hear is a complete one, with the Offertory, the sacrificial Consecration, and Holy Communion.

To pray the Rosary, begin with: 

1. Sign of the Cross & the Apostle's Creed
2. The Our Father
3. Three Hail Mary's
4. The Glory Be
5. Then the following Decades, with 10 Hail Mary's each:

1st Decade: For the protection of the first responders, doctors, and nurses who care for those made critically ill by coronavirus. For wisdom and guidance on those scientists, researchers, and those seeking vaccines and rapid testing platforms. Our Lady, Help of Christians, intercede for us.

2nd Decade: For a full and speedy recovery for those suffering from the coronavirus. For protection of their family members and all those who are at risk of getting or transmitting the virus. Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.

3rd Decade: For God's abundant mercy on the souls of those who have died from coronavirus. For strength and consolation for their grieving families. Our Lady, Help of Christians, intercede for us.

4th Decade: For protection on those who are most vulnerable to coronavirus: the elderly, those with compromised immune systems, those who have been traveling abroad, those who are in quarantine. Our Lady, Help of Christians, intercede for us.

5th Decade: For an expedient halt to the spread of the virus. For churches and schools to be reopened, and for the people to be able to return to their normal daily activities with a deepened faith and love for God. Our Lady, Help of Christians, intercede for us.
 

Pope Francis' prayer to our Lady to end the pandemic:
 

"O Mary, you always shine on our path as a sign of salvation and of hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of all the sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus' Pain, keeping your faith firm, You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need, and we are sure you will provide so that as in Cana, of Galilee, we may return to joy and to feasting after this time of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform to the will of the Father and to do as we are told by Jesus, who has taken upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows to lead us to the cross, to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.

Written by Kitty O'Meara after the potato famine in Ireland in 1860.

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply.

Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows.

And the people began to think differently. And the people healed.

And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

A PRAYER FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

God our Father, Giver of life,

we entrust the United States of America to Your loving care.

You are the rock on which this nation was founded.

You alone are the true source of our cherished rights

to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Reclaim this land for Your glory and dwell among Your people.

Send Your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation's leaders.

Open their minds to the great worth of human life

and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.

Remind Your people that true happiness

is rooted in seeking and doing Your will.

Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, Patroness of our land,

grant us the courage to reject the "culture of death."

Lead us into a new millennium of life.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer source: Archdiocese of Boston

“In memory of those who have lost their lives to violence in Baltimore City recently, may God grant them peace, and bring healing to their loved ones and to the City of Baltimore, we pray.”

A Prayer For Animals

Hear our humble prayer,
O God,
for our friends, the animals,
especially for those who are suffering;
for any that are lost or deserted
or frightened or hungry.

We entreat for them all
Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them,
we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.

Make us, ourselves,
to be true friends to animals
and so to share
the blessings
of the merciful.

~Albert Schweitzer


The Canticle of the Creatures
St. Francis

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;
and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather
through which You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.
 

He Weeps for You

Jesus, tears come without warning. I understand they are not a sign of weakness, but a demonstration of the depth of love I have for this person. The thought that You weep with me is beautiful, for Your tears are a demonstration of Your love for me. Thank You so much for that beautiful gift in this time of sorrow. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. (by Suzanne Eller)

A Prayer for God to Fill the Emptiness

I find myself crying out to you day and night. You calm my soul even as I turn my heart to you. May I long for you as the deer longs for streams of water. May I thirst for you even as the tears flood my face (Psalm 42:1-3).

I know you are my refuge and strength and that you always stand ready to help in times just like this. I will choose not to fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble. Let the oceans roar and foam and the mountains tremble as the waters surge! (Psalm 46:1-3) And as the world chaotically moves around me, I will rest in you. I will choose to be still and know that you are God (Psalm 46:10).

Father, I am empty. But you are my rescuer, my cup-filler. You are the joy of my heart, my only hope. I come to you asking for more—more of your power, more of your strength, more of your renewal. Take my heartaches and pains. Take my grief and my exhaustion. Take it and renew me. Amen. (by Dena Johnson)

This Basket Of Burdens

© Debbie

My Basket of burdens
Is filled with the grief of my loss
It is so heavy to carry
Although this road I must cross.

This pathway through life
Feels unbearable at times
And I don't have the strength
For this mountain I climb.

The Basket's filled with sorrow
Oh, how I miss my love
At first, It's impossible to carry,
Where is my help from above?

It's draining my strength
I can't do anymore
This pain goes so deep
Right down to my core.

As I carry this Basket
I'll learn to manage the weight
Each step of the way
Will become easier they say. 

But how do they know,
Have they been here before?
If so, where's their Basket
They're responsible for?

This Basket of burdens
You can't see and can't touch
I carry it inside me
This pain is too much.

Patience is needed to carry
This loss that I feel
A shoulder to lean on
So, someday I will heal.

God sent my family
My friends and spirits unknown
So, I won't carry this Basket
For-ever alone

Someday, I'll lay down my Basket
With burdens' no more
My pain will be gone
When, I cross through that door

Then I'll know reason
For my Basket of Burdens
How God showed me His grace
When I couldn't cope with the season 

Love and support that He gave
When His presence felt unknown
He was with me each step
When I felt so alone

Published by Family Friend Poems on 03/14/2010
Source: familyfriendpoems.com/poem/30097

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