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

February 23, 2014

Mary Seat of Wisdom

Wisdom is a gift from God that helps us understand what God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Wisdom is a gift that needs to be cultivated so that the soil of our hearts can hear God’s voice, as Mary did. Mary’s parents helped her to use her gift of wisdom so that she was ready to understand God’s plan and purpose for her life when the angel came to announce it. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus, too, “grew in wisdom, age and grace” so that He came to understand what God wanted of Him. Wisdom is our gift.

Sirach 51:12 cd-20
I thank the LORD and I praise him; I bless the name of the LORD. When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer. I prayed for her before the temple, and I will seek her until the end, and she flourished as a grape soon ripe. My heart delighted in her, My feet kept to the level path because from earliest youth I was familiar with her. In the short time I paid heed, I met with great instruction. Since in this way I have profited, I will give my teacher grateful praise. I became resolutely devoted to her, the good I persistently strove for. My soul was tormented in seeking her, My hand opened her gate and I came to know her secrets. I directed my soul to her, and in cleanness I attained to her.

Mary, Seat of Wisdom (also known as Our Lady of the Chair or the Latin name Sedes Sapientiae), is a very old title for Mary.  As with all of Mary’s titles, it highlights one specific aspect of her life and experience, specifically, her role as the one who gave birth to Christ.  Artistic representations of Mary, Seat of Wisdom often show her seated on a throne, holding the Christ child on her lap and offering him for adoration.  Many early Christians saw Christ as Wisdom incarnate; therefore, by holding him on her lap, Mary becomes the “seat” of wisdom.  On another, deeper level, the title also refers to the fact that Mary “held” wisdom inside her by carrying Christ in her womb.

O Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us and for all the names we receive through this prayer ministry.

February 21, 2014

On earth as it is in heaven

Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and listen to his teachings, always remembering that He made us for eternal life with Him.



The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Amen.

Song of Songs 8:6,7
"Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. Many waters cannot quench love nor will rivers overflow it."

Blessed Mother Mary, we ask you to keep us as a seal in your Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Help us to love as you love. Protect all those for whom we pray through this ministry dedicated to you. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

February 17, 2014

30 Day Novena to Saint Joseph

The Feast Day of Saint Joseph is March 19th. If you begin this 30 Days of Prayer today, this novena will end the day before Saint Joseph's Feast Day. This is a powerful novena. Ask Saint Joseph to intercede for your intentions.

Thirty Days Prayer to St. Joseph
In honor of the 30 years he spent with Jesus and Mary

Ever blessed and glorious Joseph, kind and loving father, and helpful friend of all in sorrow! You are the good father and protector of orphans, the defender of the defenseless, the patron of those in need and sorrow. Look kindly on my request. My sins have drawn down on me the just displeasure of my God, and so I am surrounded with unhappiness. To you, loving guardian of the Family of Nazareth, do I go for help and protection.

Listen, then, I beg you, with fatherly concern, to my earnest prayers, and obtain for me the favors I ask.

I ask it by the infinite mercy of the eternal Son of God, which moved Him to take our nature and to be born into this world of sorrow.

I ask it by the weariness and suffering you endured when you found no shelter at the inn of Bethlehem for the holy Virgin, nor a house where the Son of God could be born. Then, being everywhere refused, you had to allow the Queen of Heaven to give birth to the world's Redeemer in a cave.

I ask it by the loveliness and power of that sacred Name, Jesus, which you conferred on the adorable Infant.

I ask it by that painful torture you felt at the prophecy of holy Simeon, which declared the Child Jesus and His holy Mother future victims of our sins and of their great love for us.

I ask it through your sorrow and pain of soul when the angel declared to you that the life of the Child Jesus was sought by His enemies. From their evil plan you had to flee with Him and His Blessed Mother to Egypt. I ask it by all the suffering, weariness, and labors of that long and dangerous journey.

I ask it by all your care to protect the Sacred Child and His Immaculate Mother during your second journey, when you were ordered to return to your own country. I ask it by your peaceful life in Nazareth where you met with so many joys and sorrows.

I ask it by your great distress when the adorable Child was lost to you and His Mother for three days. I ask it by your joy at finding Him in the Temple, and by the comfort you found at Nazareth, while living in the company of the Child Jesus. I ask it by the wonderful submission He showed in His obedience to you.

I ask it by the perfect love and conformity you showed in accepting the Divine order to depart from this life, and from the company of Jesus and Mary. I ask it by the joy which filled your soul, when the Redeemer of the world, triumphant over death and hell, entered into the possession of His kingdom and led you into it with special honors.

I ask it through Mary's glorious Assumption, and through that endless happiness you have with her in the presence of God. O good father! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows, and joys, to hear me and obtain for me what I ask: (Here name your petitions or think of them.)

Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Finally, my dear patron and father, be with me and all who are dear to me in our last moments, that we may eternally sing the praises of:

JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH
"A blameless life, St. Joseph, may we lead, by your kind patronage from danger freed."

February 14, 2014

Reflection: Ephphatha...be opened!

God is love.  Today is Saint Valentine's Day, a day that celebrates romantic love. A great love, a romantic love is good and it brings blessings! Romantic love, eros, has a place and a purpose in God’s plan. Romantic love, eros, has a dignity and it's purpose is to draw man and woman toward marriage, family and ultimately toward God. The deep desire that man and woman have for each other is a sign of the ultimate desire of the human heart for deep union with God. There is an even greater love, agape love. Agape love is loving God above ourselves, above all things and above all people.

Today we live in a world that has lost its way.  Right is wrong. Wrong is right. Everything in our culture has been turned upside down.  We have turned away from the Lord in so many ways.  The culture of death is all around us.  Hearts and minds are closed to the beauty and truth that all life is sacred.

“My people heard not my voice, and Israel obeyed me not; So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts; they walked according to their own counsels.” Psalm 81:12-13 Today's Psalm

Jesus will heal our hardened hearts when we turn to Him.  He will heal, even when we are not seeking Him. In today's Gospel of Mark, the people brought a deaf and mute man to Jesus, begging that He heal him.  The man did not come to Jesus on his own.  He was brought to Jesus and Jesus laid His compassionate hands on the man and immediately, the man was healed. "Ephphatha...be opened."  Beautiful words of love, hope and healing!

“And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, 'Ephphatha!' (that is, 'Be opened!') And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.” Mark 7:32-35

Jesus is calling each one of us to come to Him.  Come away with Him to Eucharistic Adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation where He can pour His love, sanctifying grace and mercy into our hearts. Come to Him in the Holy Mass where we can hear His Word and receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.  When we receive the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, He heals us and gives us strength and grace to do His Will.  

Once we are filled with His grace and healing love, Jesus calls us to bring others to Him.  To Him, we bring those who have ears but can not hear; mouths but can not speak truth; minds but can not understand reason; eyes but can not see beauty. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He makes the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, the paralytic walk and He frees those who are chained by demons and sin.  

Let us go out today, in love, bringing the love of Jesus to those we meet.  Through prayer and fasting and offering little sacrifices, Jesus will change hearts.  Pope Francis calls us to an encounter with Jesus.  When He comes to us, we can not help sharing His love with others.  

"Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature."  Mark 16:15   

February 08, 2014

Mary Undoer of Knots

How this devotion started?
To show us the mission granted to the Virgin Mary by Her Son, an artist painted Mary Undoer of Knots with great grace. Since 1700, his painting has been venerated in the Church of St. Peter in Perlack, Germany. It was originally inspired by a meditation of Saint Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyon and martyred in 202) based on the parallel made by Saint Paul between Adam and Christ. Saint Irenaeus, in turn, made a comparison between Eve and Mary, saying:

“Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it”.

But what are these knots?
They are the problems and struggles we face for which we do not see any solution. knots of discord in your family, lack of understanding between parents and children, disrespect, violence, the knots of deep hurts between husband and wife, the absence of peace and joy at home. There are also the knots of anguish and despair of separated couples, the dissolution of the family, the knots of a drug addict son or daughter, sick or separated from home or God, knots of alcoholism, the practice of abortion, depression, unemployment, fear, solitude, the knots of our life! How they suffocate the soul, beat us down and betray the heart’s joy and separate us from God.

This devotion is a favorite of Pope Francis.  The devotion to Mary Undoer of Knots is more than 300 years old and is becoming more and more known in many different countries. The Novena has been printed in 19 languages, as well as in Braille. Pilgrims travel from all over the world to the Sanctuary of Mary Undoer of Knots.  Day after day, people kneel to pray to Mary, the Mother of the Fair Love. Many families have become reconciled! Many diseases have been healed! Many spouses have returned to the Church! Many jobs have been given! Many conversions have taken place! Many Catholics have been on their knees praying and giving thanks for graces received from our sweet Mother.

We are living in difficult times where the problems, the knots, the temptations, the lack of peace and the evils are all around us. Like a roaring lion your adversary, the devil, prowls around, looking for someone to devour.  1 Peter 5, 8

For that reason, Mary who undoes the knots, who was chosen by God to crush the evil with Her feet, comes to us to reveal Herself. She comes to provide jobs, good health, to reconcile families, because She wants to undo the knots of our sins which dominate our lives, so that as sons and daughters of the King, we can receive the promises reserved for us from eternity. She comes with promises of victory, peace, blessings and reconciliation.

Then, free from our knots, filled with happiness, we can be a testimony of the Divine Power in this world, like pieces of God’s heart or small bottles of perfume exhaling mercy and love to our neighbor. Like ambassador of Jesus Christ and the Virgin of the fair love, we can rescue those who cry without any consolation, those who are lonely, tied with knots, who have no God, no Father nor Mother.

Mother of the Rising Sun, Immaculate, our Advocate, Helper in moments of affliction, Mother of God and made by Him our Mother, this is how Mary, Undoer of Knots is presented. Above all, She comes as the Queen of Mercy, the one who knows all about us, who has compassion for us and hurries to rescue us, praying for each one of us to Her beloved Jesus.

Our Lady, Undoer of knots, pray for us and all the intentions we receive through this ministry.

February 06, 2014

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us!


Prayer to Our Blessed Mother Mary for assistance in the Spiritual Battle From a book of prayers called "The Lion Roars, Prayers for the Remnant" by Dave VanVickle.

"O Mary, conceived without sin! O Woman clothed with the Sun! Come now and intercede for us in this battle against evil. You who are despised and feared by the father of lies, help us powerfully. You whose beauty is so bright, so pure that devils tremble in fear, help us powerfully. You who strike at the head of the old serpent, the devil, help us powerfully. O Mary whose name is so sweet, come and cover us with your protective mantle and protect us in this battle with evil. O humble Woman, vanquish the evil one. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.  Ephesians 6:12  

O Mary, our Lady of the Rosary, you are our most powerful intercessor.  Protect our families from evil.  Let us pray the rosary daily and let the heel of our Mother fall.

I will put enmities between you (satan) and the woman, and your seed and her seed; she shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for her heel.  Genesis 3:15