One prayer

Two Sundays in August and one in September, Fr. Frank, chaplain at Christus Spohn on Shoreline Drive, celebrated Mass with us during our parish priest’s absence.  Steven and I first met Father some years back at an all day pre-Cana class, so we delighted in his presence all over again not only because of his effervescent personality, but also because of his spiritual messages from the ambo.

One request

Fr. Frank’s prayers of the faithful touched my mind, heart, and soul.

Lord God, my life is in your hands.

We pray for any of us who are mentally or physically suffering, or spiritually suffering, that we may take the opportunity to see the face of God in each other, to find healing within our own families and within him, our Lord.  We pray to the Lord.

Lord God, my life is in your hands.

I’m sure you have a lot of prayers, so let’s beg God for one prayer right now in this church.  That one prayer that you want to beg God to hear, let’s have it in our thoughts and prayers at this time in silence.  (Quiet pause.)  We pray to the Lord.

Lord God, my life is in your hands.

Almighty God and Father, we ask that you continue to hear all our concerns through Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Heartfelt concerns

One name was all that I visualized and, within moments, I was so overcome with emotion that I burst into tears and couldn’t stop sobbing.  We’d just been down to Brownsville the day before, and my heart was heavy with longing for peace and harmony within our family. So, of course, Father’s one prayer addressed my heartfelt concerns.

Five days later, changes began to take place through unexpected, last-minute events that required our being in Brownsville three Saturdays in a row.

By focusing on just one prayer, we now have hope— real hope— despite the seemingly overwhelming setbacks; and, amazingly, we’re experiencing peace of mind as the drama unfolds in God’s perfect time, without our assistance or our impatience.

Prayer of abandonment by Ven. Charles de Foucauld

Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures— I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul: I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.

Psalm 121: The Lord, my guardian

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.  From where will my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

God will not allow your foot to slip; your guardian does not sleep.  Truly, the guardian of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps.  The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.  By day the sun cannot harm you, nor the moon by night.  The Lord will guard you from all evil, will always guard your life.  The Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever.

September 23, 2011

Virginia shared these two promises from Ezequiel 34:

The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal [but the sleek and the strong I will destroy], shepherding them rightly (16). I will place them about my hill, sending rain in due season, rains that shall be a blessing to them (26).

August 17, 2012

“Pray for the grace” is an excerpt from The Ignatian Adventure (Kevin O’Brien, SJ; E-Magis).

Ignatian spirituality taps into our deepest desires. In them we can discern God’s noble desires for us.

Thus, at the beginning of each prayer period, Ignatius advises that we pray for a certain grace, or gift from God: “Ask God our Lord for what I want and desire” (SE 48).  Simply naming what we deeply desire opens us to receive the gift God wants to give us.  Moreover, praying for a grace helps us to notice when we actually receive that gift later on.  In this way, we realize that the grace is not of our own making but is the result of God’s generosity to us.  Finally, praying out of our desires grounds us in the present, keeping our prayer real.

June 5, 2013

Father, rather than asking, “Why me?” I want to thank you for your greatness and majesty today.  I want to entrust my burdens to your care, knowing that you have a perfect plan for my life (the Word among us, June 2013, p. 25).

October 4, 2014

“My longing for truth was a single prayer” (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; Edith Stein).

May 27, 2015

Divine hope is not like earthly hope.  The latter is subject to disappointment, for however strong our se­curity, it can either be realized or not realized.  Who is the fortunate person who has seen all his hopes fulfilled in this world?  But the theological virtue of hope is not subject to disappointment; it gives us the holy, invincible certainty that we shall obtain what God has promised (Luis M. Martinez in When God is silent).

June 5, 2015

When praying to God, we can only ask for God, since he is everything; and in giving himself, he gives us all.  In asking for him, we ask for all.  When we possess him, we can wish and ask for nothing more (Dom Augustin Guillerand in The Prayer of the Presence of God).

July 28, 2015

“It is our part to seek, his to grant what we ask; ours to make a beginning, his to bring it to completion; ours to offer what we can, his to finish what we cannot” (St. Jerome).

August 12, 2015

“Surrender yourself completely to the care and the everlasting love God has for you” (St. Jane Frances de Chantal).

September 18, 2015

God answers every prayer, but sometimes the answer is no.  And, if it is no, we’re better off— if we love God.  That’s why Jesus wants us to say, “Thy will be done” in the Our Father.  That is the sure way to happiness— the will of God (Fr. T. G. Morrow in Overcoming Sinful Anger).

January 29, 2016

When we’re anxious or distressed we question where Jesus is, even though we know he watches over us.  We want an immediate response, but we should take comfort in his lack of urgency.  That’s the surest sign that the situation isn’t as bad as it seems.  Calm my fears, Lord, and help me to trust in your protection (Patricia Russell).

February 28, 2017

Let nothing disturb you, nothing cause you fear.  All things pass; God is unchanging.  Patience obtains all.  Whoever has God needs nothing else; God alone suffices (St. Theresa of Avila in Saintly Solutions to Life’s Common Problems).

March 11, 2017

“Pray as if all depended on God; work as if all depended on self” (St. Ignatius of Loyola).

Dominican St. Jude Shrine – St. Pius V Church – Chicago

Links of interest… Answer to prayers…  Come, pray the rosary (virtual: English & Spanish)…  Don’t give in to discouragement: Finding hope in the trials of life…  Ignatian adventure…  Luis M. Martinez: about (more) / books (titles) / hope that banishes fear / When God is silent…  Martha & Mary: Learning not to worry…  Miracle prayer (Fr. Peter Mary Rookey; YT)…  Prayers: for the sick / gratitude / twelve prayers to help you receive all the gifts God has for you…  Praying when you are at a loss for words…  Santos y vidas ejemplares…  Scriptural stations of the Cross (audio)…  Seeking signs…  Surrender novena: Let Jesus take care of everything…  Thomas Aquinas says these four things will ensure your prayer is answered…  Treasure of 4,128 prayers…  USCCB daily reflections (videos)…  St. Charles de Foucauld: about (video) / biography / Dec. 1 / Little Brother Charles of Jesus / prayer of abandonment (about)/ spirituality…

WP post… Bearing one’s crosses…  Forever grateful…  St. Jude novena (Dominican)…  St. Jude shrine: Chicago & Corpus Christi…  Undeniable familiarity