Prayer Requests

St. Faustina Kowalska

O God, how generously your mercy is spread everywhere, and you have done all this for us. How much you must love us, since your love is so active on our behalf. O my Creator and Lord, I see on all sides the trace of your hand and the seal of your mercy, which embraces all created things. O compassionate Creator, I want to give you worship on behalf of all creatures and all inanimate creation; I call on the whole universe to glorify your mercy. How great is your goodness, O God. Amen.

Received: September 17, 2021

Anonymous

At today's daily Mass, on September 15th (Our Lady of Sorrows' day) Monsignor Kevin shared his insights about the 7 Sorrows of Mary, (which I also looked up online and prayed a Scriptural/pictorial form of), and this is the basic list here (I kinda elaborated on it a little) if anyone wants to contemplate it with 7 Hail Mary's or something:

1. Mary and Joseph contemplate the prophecy of Simeon to Mary: “You yourself shall be pierced with a sword — so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare.” (Luke 2:35)

2. Mary & Joseph's flight into Egypt: “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.” (Joseph's dream: Mt. 2:13)

3. Mary & Joseph had to question the Child Jesus about why He let them go through all that worry by staying behind in the temple: “You see that Your father and I have been searching for You in sorrow!!” 🙁 (Luke 2:48)

4. Mary encounters Jesus on His way to Calvary. (Think of the "Passion of Christ" movie when Jesus falls -- she runs to Him, recollecting when she did the same thing when He fell as a child -- Mama Mary is always there for Him!)

5. Mary mourns her only son, at the foot of the Cross: “Near the Cross of Jesus there stood his mother,” (John 19:25); "Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother," (John 19:27)... and she witnessed "...one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water," (John 19:34).

6. Jesus being taken down from the Cross. (Remember Michelangelo's Pieta, with Our Lady holding Him after death). 🙁

7. At the burial of Christ. "They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom" (John 19:40).

Every sorrow still has a hint of joy in it because Mary is there, and Our Lady of Sorrows is also the Cause of our Joy because she brought us Jesus the first time and she keeps bringing us to Him by her heavenly prayers and biblical example...

Received: September 16, 2021

Anonymous

Today's Sunday reading was inspiring to reach out to others with merciful deeds... I wish it could always be possible (and there's so many corporal works of mercy available!)... sometimes it's a little easier to aim for the spiritual works of mercy... at the very least we can pray for someone we wish we could help -- and maybe the prayer will help us to help them or help someone else to help them or help them find help. And today I was inspired to do something similar to St. Faustina's idea to crochet-4-souls -- I worked on a puzzle for souls! 🙂 I felt kinda lame just sitting there having fun by myself, not doing anyone else a bit of good. So I turned it into a prayer game... praying/offering up seeking out puzzle pieces on behalf of missionaries out there seeking to bring souls together into the One Flock! 😀

Received: September 13, 2021

Anonymous

~BELIEVE~ in the Gospel, in God's goodness & Love!

~BELONG~ in our Church Family here at St. Joe's! 😀

~BECOME~ more like Jesus! 🙂 (Who became like us!)

That is my summary of Msgr. Kevin's motto for the school year. 😀

It was in a lesson 2 the school children; + we're all children of God.

The principal asked us: to please pray for the students' health also.

Received: September 7, 2021

Anonymous

Passing on prayer request for my Aunt Joyce as emailed from my Aunt Bonnie: "Stable on the vent. Her kidneys are starting to have some trouble so they might be adding dialysis soon to help out. Vitals are all still stable."

Received: September 2, 2021

Anonymous

Snippets of the devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (for anyone who misses the weekly in-person prayer group, or felt left out when you saw the little group praying it Wednesdays... and you wanted to join in but felt shy/ or had to go after Mass, here you go, you can still pray it!)

~To be open to God's Word --

"...ALL: Mother of Perpetual Help, * you continually sought the meaning of God’s words and actions in

your life. * As we listen to God’s Word, * may the Holy Spirit enlighten our understanding * and

give us the courage * to put his Word into practice in our daily lives..."

~For ongoing issues --

"...ALL: Mother of Perpetual Help, * with the greatest confidence we kneel before you. * We implore

your help in the problems of our daily lives. * Trials and sorrows often depress us; *misfortunes

and privations bring misery into our lives; * everywhere we meet the cross. * Comforter of the

Afflicted * beg your Son, Jesus, * to strengthen us as we bear our burdens * and to free us from

our sufferings. * Or if it be the will of God * that we should suffer still longer, * help us endure

all with love and patience. * May we follow the example of your Son, * and through him, * with

him, * and in him, * commend ourselves to the care of our heavenly Father..."

~For the sick of the parish/ our loved ones --

"... Please kneel as we pray for the sick:

ALL: Lord, look upon your servants * laboring under bodily weakness. * Cherish and revive the souls

* which you have created * so that, purified by their sufferings * they may soon find

themselves healed by your mercy. * We ask this through Christ the Lord. Amen.

LEADER: May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you that he may defend you, within you that he may sustain

you, before you that he may lead you, behind you that he may protect you, above you that he

may bless you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

ALL: Amen.

~Simple entrustment to our Mother of Perpetual Help --

LEADER: Let us renew our confidence in Mary as a perpetual help.

ALL: Mother of Perpetual Help, * you have been blessed and favored by God. * You became not

only the Mother of the Redeemer, * but the Mother of the redeemed as well. * We come to

you today as your loving children. * Watch over us and take care of us. * As you held the child

Jesus in your loving arms, *so take us in your arms. * Be a mother ready at every moment to

help us. * For God who is mighty * has done great things for you, * and his mercy is from age to

age * on those who love him. * Our greatest fear is * that in time of temptation, * we may fail

to call out to you, * and become lost children. * Intercede for us, dear Mother, * in obtaining

pardon for our sins, * love for Jesus, * final perseverance, * and the grace always to call upon

you, * Mother of Perpetual Help..."

~Sing of Mary --

"...Perpetual Help Hymn

1. Come let us follow

Where God Himself led.

Unto the image of her

Who has said:

I am your own Perpetual Help.

I am your own Perpetual Help.

2. Come, sick and troubled

With stories untold.

This is your mother,

Look up and behold,

She is your own Perpetual Help.

She is your own Perpetual Help."

[Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion on a "Holy Family" webpage... prayer request doesn't allow HTML... but it can be found online different places and on vides]

Received: August 26, 2021

Anonymous

Thank you for praying away the crick in my neck! 😀 I think I'm going to heal completely. 😀 God is so good! 🙂

Received: August 25, 2021

Anonymous

Prayers are being answers for the person with the crick in the neck: slowly but surely I'm getting better... I can do hobbies and light housework, simple stretches, walk/kneel/stand etc. so can go to Mass Sunday (PTL!)... still having trouble getting up after laying down though -- keep praying 🙂

Received: August 20, 2021

Anonymous

This is a prayer I pray every day in a prayerbook I have, and I think anyone would benefit from praying it for whatever type of suffering they're going through, too...

"My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice of suffering pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. If you do not will it to pass, then I accept to drink of it with love, obedient to Your will, and uniting it to the redemptive sufferings of Your Son, Jesus.

Mary, please help me in this my suffering. Intercede with your Spouse, the Consoler, that he may be close to me, giving me strength to bear my cross with love. Merciful Mother, I offer you all the merits of my suffering. I give you permission to use them in whatever way you will. May they be for God's greatest possible glory and the salvation of souls. Also, I ask you to remember my family and friends and the intentions I hold in the silence of my heart. (Pause to recall your intentions)..."

Received: August 19, 2021

Anonymous

Mark 4:20 says: "But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

I printed out 30 copies of page 9 of the Aug. 15th bulletin, to pass out the flyer for FOOD FROM THE HEART to pass out (on neighborly porches by my house and maybe along the way to our parish too -- as long as there's not a "no solicitor" sign so that they won't be mad at us). I'm hoping that others might print out additional copies to pass out to their neighbors (or even mail it to family/friends you haven't seen at church in a while ... maybe they will be called back by kindness!) Together we can reach that "hundredfold!" 😀 (Remember to tape up a flyer to remind yourself that they're collecting all the food for Catholic Charities at St. Josephs -- next Saturday: Aug. 21st (1-6 pm), and Sunday, Aug. 22nd (8 am-12 noon).

I only share this to inspire you to action: today after I heard the announcement from Fr. Kevin, I went to the grocery store right after Mass -- I don't usually shop on Sundays, but this was to do a good deed -- and bought a big bag of raisin bran, a bag of rice, oatmeal, and a big bag of trail mix. It's not much, but if more people donate what they can, it adds up! 😀 Our families are so blessed with more than enough food, let's share with those who are in need right now. (Let's aim for low-sodium, low-sugar, healthy foods too).

" ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” ~Jesus (Matthew 25:40)

Received: August 15, 2021