Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Our Lady holding Jesus as He accepts flowers from the shepherd child

Welcome to our intercessory prayer ministry for families, babies, little ones and those who love them.

In our prayers for families, we pray for the sanctity of all life and for vocations to marriage, the priesthood and consecrated life, which are born and nurtured in families.

The
Prayer of Entrustment to Mary was prayed for this ministry at the icon of the Madonna Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the Roman People, Our Lady of Good Health) in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica of Mary Major) in Rome, Italy, in Nossa Senhora do Rosario da Fatima (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary) in Fatima, Portugal, in Eglise du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Parish Church), the site of St. Bernadette's baptismal font, in Lourdes, France and at The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts at the Shrine of the Holy Innocents before Our Lady of Guadalupe and at Basilica Papale de San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City) at the Tomb of St. John Paul II in Rome, Italy and at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe) in Mexico City, Mexico.

This ministry is consecrated to Jesus Christ, Wisdom Incarnate, through the hands of Mary and dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. In our prayers to Mary, we honor and worship her Son Jesus. When He was on the Cross, He gave His Mother to John and she became our Mother as well. "Behold, your Mother." John 19:27

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
For the greater glory of God

August 28, 2010

Saint Augustine

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Augustine. Through trust and persistent prayer of Saint Monica, his mother, Augustine converted and became one of the most influential thinkers of the Church. Saint Monica's life can never be separated from that of her son, the great Saint Augustine, convert, bishop, and doctor of the Church. What we know of her, for the most part, is the account that Augustine gives of her in his Confessions.

Monica's almsgiving and her habits of prayer annoyed her husband, but he treated her with a sort of reverence. By Monica’s sweetness and patience, she began a successful apostolate among the wives and mothers of her native town. They knew that she suffered, as they did, and her words and example had a proportionate effect. All Monica's anxiety centered on her son Augustine. He was wayward and lazy. Monica prayed constantly to God for the soul of her son. She went tearfully to the bishop to ask him to help and he responded famously,

"the child of those tears shall never perish."

The story of Augustine's life, up until his conversion, is written in the autobiographical Confessions, the most intimate and well-known glimpse into an individual's soul ever written, as well as a fascinating philosophical, theological, mystical, poetic and literary work.

He went to Rome and then Milan in 386. Monica followed him and they met Saint Ambrose, who was able to see the conversion of her son and his baptism after Monica's 17 years of tears and prayer. Saint Ambrose, the bishop and Doctor of the Church, gave sermons that inspired Augustine to look for the truth he had always sought in the faith he had rejected. He received baptism and soon after, his mother, Saint Monica, died with the knowledge that all she had hoped for in this world had been fulfilled.

On a visit to Hippo, he was proclaimed priest and then bishop against his will. He later accepted it as the will of God and spent the rest of his life as the pastor of the North African town, from where he spent much time refuting the writings of heretics. Saint Augustine grew to become one the most significant and influential thinkers in the history of the Catholic Church. Augustine was a great seeker of truth. His teachings were the foundation of Christian doctrine for a millennium.

Words of Pope Benedict XVI
"Saint Augustine understood that it was not he who had found Truth, but that Truth itself, which is God, pursued found him," the Pontiff reflected. Referring to a passage from Augustine's "Confessions," in which the saint is with his mother and both "for a moment touch the heart of God in the silence of creatures," the Holy Father said: "creatures must be silent so that there will be a silence in which God can speak. This is also true in our time: Sometimes there is a sort of fear of silence, of recollection, of reflecting on one's acts, on the profound meaning of one's life. There is fear of seeking the Truth, or perhaps there is fear that the Truth will find us, will grip us and change our life, as happened to St. Augustine."

"Dear brothers and sisters," the Pope concluded, "I would like to say to all, also to those in a difficult moment in their faith journey, those who do not participate much in the life of the Church, or those who live 'as if God did not exist' that they not be afraid of the Truth, that they never interrupt their journey toward it, that they never cease to seek the profound truth about themselves and about things with the internal eyes of the heart. God will not fail to give Light so that one can see," he said, "and Warmth to feel the heart that loves us and that wants to be loved."

From the Confessions of Saint Augustine
"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new; late have I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you, they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace."

August 27, 2010

Saint Monica

Next to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Monica is one of the best examples of Christian motherhood. Today we celebrate her Feast Day. For years, she prayed for the conversion of her only son. Her persistence was answered with abundant grace. Her son, Augustine, became a saint and a Doctor of the Church.

Saint Monica faced a culture in which Christianity had not yet fully taken hold. We live in a culture in which Christianity is increasingly marginalized and children are pulled from the Faith. This prayer for her intercession, therefore, is particularly appropriate today.

Prayer to Saint Monica for Mothers

Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats, but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray.

Saint Monica, pray for us.

August 15, 2010

The Assumption of Mary



A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Revelation 12:1

Today is the Feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother Mary. This day has always been loved by the children of Mary who try to live each day in the School of Mary. It is a sign to us that someday, through God's grace and our efforts, we too may join the Blessed Mother in giving glory to God. The Assumption is a source of great hope for us because it points the way for all followers of Christ who imitate her fidelity and obedience to God's Holy Will. Where she now is, we are meant eventually to be, and may hope to be through Divine grace. Mary was taken to heaven, body and soul, after her life on earth was ended because of her Immaculate nature, uniquely protected by God's grace from personal sin. May we seek to imitate her self-sacrificing love, her indestructible faith and her perfect obedience. Mary chose, with the God’s grace, to preserve her God-given purity throughout the whole of her life. It is fitting that she who knew no sin should know no decay and no delay in enjoying the full fruits of her Son’s work. It is fitting that she who stood by Christ under the Cross should stand by him bodily at the right hand of the Father.

The Queen stands at your right hand, in gold of Ophir. Psalm 45

Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory.

Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us.

August 12, 2010

O Jesus Living in Mary

Excerpt from Saint Louis de Montfort's Prayer to Jesus

With St. John the Evangelist at the foot of the Cross, I have taken her a thousand times for my own and as many times have given myself to her; but if I have not yet done it as Thou, dear Jesus, dost wish, I now renew this offering as Thou dost desire me to renew it. And if Thou seest in my soul or my body anything that does not belong to this august princess, I pray Thee to take it and cast it far from me, for whatever in me does not belong to Mary is unworthy of Thee.

O Holy Spirit, grant me all these graces. Plant in my soul the Tree of true Life, which is Mary; cultivate it and tend it so that it may grow and blossom and bring forth the fruit of life in abundance. O Holy Spirit, give me great devotion to Mary, Thy faithful spouse; give me great confidence in her maternal heart and an abiding refuge in her mercy, so that by her Thou mayest truly form in me Jesus Christ, great and mighty, unto the fullness of His perfect age. Amen.

O Jesus Living in Mary

O Jesus living in Mary,
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries;
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.

August 11, 2010

Saint Clare of Assisi

The Contemplative Life

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Clare. When Clare heard Saint Francis of Assisi preach his Lenten homilies at the Church of San Giorgo, she felt a fire stir within her soul and became determined to live the Gospel in a radical way. On the evening of Palm Sunday, at the age of 18, she secretly left her home with her cousin Pacifica, never to return. In the middle of the night, Clare met Francis and his friars at the Portiuncola, the little chapel of ‘Mary of the Angels’. Francis cut her long blond hair and Clare laid aside her fine clothes, clothing herself in a simple dress of sackcloth and a thick veil. She vowed from that moment on to give herself totally to God, her eternal spouse.

Clare was placed by Francis temporarily with the Benedictine nuns until Francis built with his own hands a cloister for her and her community, the Order of Poor Ladies, later known as the Poor Clares. The Poor Ladies lived apart from the world and supported Francis and his followers through their hidden life of prayer and sacrifice.

Lover of the Eucharist

Clare loved to come before the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. She looked to the Lord in the Eucharist as her dearest Love. She received Jesus in Holy Communion as often as she was permitted. One day after she had received Holy Communion, the Child Jesus came to visit her. He lay in her arms and covered her with kisses.

In speaking of Eucharistic Adoration, Saint Clare said,

"Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him."

And, imitate Him she did. Due to her great zeal and deep devotion for the Holy Eucharist, Clare came to resemble that which she consumed and gazed upon so frequently during her life. Pope John Paul II said of Saint Clare: "her whole life was a Eucharist because from her cloister she raised up a continual thanksgiving to God in her prayer, praise, supplication, intercession, weeping, offering and sacrifice. She accepted everything from the Father in union with His only begotten Son."

“Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! And transform your entire being into the image of the Godhead Itself through contemplation." Saint Clare

August 07, 2010

The Faith of Mary

Habakkuk 2:1-4
I will stand at my guard post, and station myself upon the rampart, And keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint. Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.

Today's reading from the prophet Habukkuk speaks of faith. His words remind us to watch, wait and persevere in prayer. In tomorrow's reading, Saint Paul reveals the meaning of faith. Brothers and sisters, Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 It was by faith that Mary became the Mother of God. Mary's faith was a living faith with the Holy Trinity. She is the handmaid of the Lord. Through the power of love and life in the Holy Spirit, Jesus, the Son of God, was born. Mary had no knowledge of the mystery of what was unfolding in her life, she simply trusted in God through faith.

Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
John 15:15

August 05, 2010

Holy Mary Mother of God



The Council of Ephesus in 431 proclaimed Mary, Mother of Jesus as Mother of God. Pope Sixtus III erected a basilica in Rome to honor the Holy Mother of God. Today is the Feast of the Dedication of Saint Mary Major, honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

August 04, 2010

Saint John Vianney

Today is the Feast Day of Saint John Vianney, patron of parish priests. He was known as the "Cure of Ars." Saint John Mary Vianney was ordained a priest in 1815. Three years later he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his reputation as a confessor and director of souls made him known throughout the Christian world.

He studied for the priesthood at the age of twenty, but was drafted into the army while he was studying. He left the army and went to the Lyons seminary in France in 1813. Primarily because of his notable holiness he was ordained a priest, but he lacked in his knowledge of religious studies. He was assigned to a church at Ecully. In 1818, he became the pastor of the Catholic Church in Ars, France.

At his parish in Ars he used the Confessional as a primary means of converting souls, spending 16 to 18 hours a day, hearing confessions and absolving sinners all year around including in the very, hot summers without air conditioning and in the cold winters with insufficient heat. He fasted constantly, eating small morsels of rotten potatoes for his sustenance. Ten of thousands of souls were converted to Christ through his heroic efforts. Because he was converting so many souls, the demons were constantly attacking him, and on one occasion they set his bed on fire. He received spiritual gifts from God, including the discernment of souls and visions. This great mystic had the gift of tremendous patience. He was called a wonderworker who was loved by the crowds, but he retained a childlike simplicity, He remains to this day the living image of the priest after the heart of Christ.

Saint John Vianney had a great devotion to Saint Philomena. He regarded her as his guardian and erected a chapel and shrine in honour of the saint. During May 1843, he fell so ill he thought that his life was coming to its end. He asked Saint Philomena to cure him and promised to say 100 Masses at her shrine. Twelve days later, he was cured and he attributed his cure to her. He promoted devotion to Saint Philomena, a saint who was martyred for Jesus at the age of thirteen by the Roman government. His life was filled with works of charity and love. It is recorded that even the staunchest of sinners were converted at his mere word. He died August 4, 1859, and was canonized May 31, 1925.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER: Let us ask Saint John Vianney to give us the grace to go to confession often during our life on this earth so that our love for Jesus will be very pure.

August 03, 2010

The Secret of Mary

True Devotion to Our Blessed Lady

If we would go up to God, and be united with Him, we must use the same means He used to come down to us to be made Man and to impart His graces to us. This means is a true devotion to our Blessed Lady. There are several true devotions to our Lady: here I do not speak of those which are false.

The first consists in fulfilling our Christian duties, avoiding mortal sin, acting more out of love than with fear, praying to our Lady now and then, honoring her as the Mother of God, yet without having any special devotion to her.

The second consists in entertaining for our Lady more perfect feelings of esteem and love, of confidence and veneration. It leads us to join the Confraternities of the Holy Rosary and of the Scapular, to recite the five or fifteen decades of the Holy Rosary, to honor Mary’s images and altars, to publish her praises and to enroll ourselves in sodalities. This devotion is good, holy and praiseworthy if we keep ourselves free from sin. But it is not so perfect as the next, nor so efficient in severing our soul from creatures, in detaching ourselves in order to be united with Jesus Christ.

The third devotion to our Lady, known and practiced by very few persons, is this I am about to disclose to you, predestinate soul. It consists of giving one’s self entirely and as a slave to Mary, and to Jesus through Mary, and after that, to do all that we do, through Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary. We should choose a special feast day on which we give, consecrate and sacrifice to Mary, voluntarily, lovingly and without constraint, entirely and withoutreserve: our body and soul, our exterior property, such as house, family and income, and also our interior and spiritual possessions:
Namely, our merits, graces, virtues and satisfactions.

Day 21 of Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary
Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

August 02, 2010

Our Lady Queen of the Angels

Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady Queen of Angels dating back to before the days of Saint Francis. There was a chapel in Assisi, Italy called “Our Lady of the Angels” because of the belief angels had appeared there. By the time Saint Francis arrived in 1207, the church had fallen into disrepair. Jesus appeared to Francis there and asked him to repair his church. Francis thought the Lord meant the physical building which he immediately began to do. Only later did Francis realize the Lord meant that he was to repair the Church as a Community of believers. In this little chapel known as the Portiuncula or little portion, Francis received his vocation to follow Christ and it was here in 1208 that he founded his order of Franciscans and then later the Poor Clares and here he held several chapters or meetings of the community. In 1226 he died in an adjoining room to the chapel.

Excerpt from the Major Life of St. Francis by Saint Bonaventure
"The Portiuncula was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God which was abandoned. Francis had great devotion to the Queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly in order to repair it. He heard that the Angels often visited it, so that it was called Saint Mary of the Angels, and he decided to stay there permanently out of reverence for the angels and love for the Mother of Christ.

He loved this spot more than any other in the world. It was here he began his religious life in a very small way; it is here he came to a happy end. When he was dying, he commended this spot above all others to the friars, because it was most dear to the Blessed Virgin.

This was the place where Saint Francis founded his Order by divine inspiration and it was divine providence which led him to repair three churches before he founded the Order and began to preach the Gospel.

This meant that he progressed from material things to more spiritual achievements, from lesser to greater, in due order, and it gave a prophetic indication of what he would accomplish later.

As he was living there by the church of Our Lady, Francis prayed to her who had conceived the Word, full of grace and truth, begging her insistently and with tears to become his advocate. Then he was granted the true spirit of the Gospel by the intercession of the Mother of mercy and he brought it to fruition.

He embraced the Mother of Our Lord Jesus with indescribable love because, as he said, it was she who made the Lord of majesty our brother, and through her we found mercy. After Christ, he put all his trust in her and took her as his patroness for himself and his friars."

Our Lady Queen of the Angels, pray for us.