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

May 30, 2012

Psalm 23

"Look at the sweetness of the tender fruit, the spotless Lamb, the seed sown in Mary as in a lovely field!...Our rational will has been made even stronger by God's union with humanity. I beg you in Christ gentle Jesus to lift your love, your affection, your desire up high. Take hold of the tree of the most holy cross and let it be planted in the garden of your soul, because this is a tree laden with fruits, the true solid virtues. For you see very well that beyond God's union with his creature, he has joined himself to the most holy cross. And he wills, he insists, that we too join ourselves to this sweet tree in love and desire. Then our garden cannot help producing sweet and tender fruit."
Saint Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church



Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

It's so important to continually acknowledge God's presence and pray because He restores our souls. He guides us in the paths of righteousness for His glory, so that we will lead others to Him too.

We were created to be living souls for God.
We cannot let the "ways of this world" cause distress in our souls. We must learn to reach out to the Lord, and let Him restore us. He will help us to see beyond all the problems around us and to see His glory. When our hearts and souls ache, we need to reach out to God. Only God can restore our souls. Let us place our trust in Him. He wouldn't make us this way, if He didn't want us this way. When we feel threatened, or we stumble or fall, God is always there to help us. God is always there to restore our souls but we must want Him to do it, and allow Him to do it. God can and does make a difference in our lives so that we can make a difference in our world.

Jesus, You are our Comforter and Counselor. We trust in You. Blessed Mother Mary, we entrust all our prayer intentions into your loving care.

May 28, 2012

We remember our fallen heroes

We remember all those who gave their life to protect our freedoms on this day, Memorial Day. Our purpose today is to pray for the dead. In the Creed, we pray for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.



As we look at the images in this video, we pray for the families of our fallen heroes, all those left behind. In a special way today, we pray for their children. We consecrate them to Jesus through Mary.

The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I want. In verdant pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. He guides me along right paths for the sake of his name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. You set a table before me in front of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days. Psalm 23

May 27, 2012

Pentecost Sunday

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." John 20:19-22



They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke of the great things God had done, alleluia. Acts 2:4,11

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now Your Spirit over all the names we have received. Let the Holy Spirit live in their hearts. May Our Blessed Virgin Mary be our Advocate. God of Spirit and Truth, today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Like the Apostles and Mary in the Upper Room, we are at times afraid and need to be assured that You are with us. As Your Spirit enlightened them, may Your Spirit give us the gifts we so desire. Like the Apostles and Mary, may we go out into the world to proclaim Your words.

In the musical treasure of Gregorian chant, there are some compositions that stand out for their exceptional beauty. The Sequence for Pentecost Sunday, Veni Sancte Spiritus, a prayer to the Holy Spirit, is a melody of unusual beauty. The words and melody blend together so well that it is a fine example of Saint Augustine's observation that one prays twice through song. The melody reflects supplication to the Holy Spirit, revealing a desire for His Love to fill us. Alleluias are not always joyous acclamations, but are often humble interior prayers as is this one. It has become the customary prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit. Come through Mary.

May 25, 2012

Prayers to Mary

Prayer to Mary, Help of the Helpless
Holy Mary, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, pray for the people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God; may all who keep your sacred commemoration experience the might of your assistance.

Prayer of St. Aloysius to the Blessed Virgin Mary
O Holy Mary, my Mistress, into Thy blessed trust and special keeping, into the bosom of Thy tender mercy, this day, every day of my life and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body; to Thee I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that through Thy most holy intercession and thy merits, all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to Thy will and that of Thy Divine Son. Amen.



To Spend the Day Well
My dear and sweet Mother Mary, Co-redemptrix of the human race, keep me in Your holy protection. Guard my mind, my heart and my senses, that I be not stained by sin. Sanctify my thoughts, desires, words, and actions, that I may please You and Your Jesus, my God, and gain paradise with You. Jesus and Mary, give me Your most holy blessing. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen

May 23, 2012

Mary's Garden

"You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride, an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed. Arise, north wind! Come, south wind! Blow upon my garden that its perfumes may spread abroad." Song of Solomon 4:12,16

Mary's Garden is a garden, filled with flowers, plants and trees named for Mary and Jesus. It is designed to be a place of beauty that reminds us of our Lord and Our Lady, to experience God's creation, and to invite prayer and contemplation.



During the Middle Ages, people saw reminders of Mary, the Mother of God, in the flowers and herbs growing around them. Violets were symbols of her humility, lilies her purity and roses her glory. They called her “Flower of Flowers,” and named plants after her. Marigolds were Mary’s Gold, clematis was the Virgin’s Bower and lavender was Our Lady’s Drying Plant.

Devoted to Mary, people decorated her altars with flowers on her feast days. Poets and popes praised her in hymns, as in this 15th-century Ave Maria:

Heil be thou, Marie, that aff flour of all
As roose in eerbir so reed.


In the last century, people also honored Mary with flowers. May crownings were the tradition in Catholic schools during Mary’s month of May, and makeshift home altars bearing an image of Mary were decorated with the choicest home-grown blossoms. Those traditions have almost disappeared, but the medieval custom of finding reminders of Mary’s attributes, glory and sorrows in flowers and herbs has left a legacy that can enrich our lives in this millennium. In medieval times, legends about flowers and herbs, some of them dating from the first century, were used to instruct people, as well as entertain them. Those legends, as well as the Mary names of flowers, can still inform and delight us.

Reflecting on the flower names, we can honor Mary and find relevance for our own lives. We model Mary’s humility as we gaze upon the humble violet, sing her praises with petunias and share her sorrows as we behold the purple blossoms and sword-like leaves of the blue flag iris. Flower and herb legends tell us about important moments in Mary’s life. The Madonna Lily was carried by the Angel Gabriel when he visited Mary to tell her God had chosen her to be the mother of the Savior. Our Lady’s Bedstraw, Holy Hay and other herbs became radiant in the humble manger where Mary gave birth to Jesus. Carnations and the Christmas Rose bloomed on that night.

More than 30 flowers and herbs bear legends about Mary’s life. Many of the plants can be easily grown in your own Mary Garden, a garden dedicated to Mary and containing her image and plants associated with her by name or legend. They are found in Mary Gardens throughout the world, should you want to make a pilgrimage in Mary’s honor. The legends and reflections which follow can take us, in spirit and in our hearts, on a virtual journey with Mary.

Lily of the Valley Convalleria majalis Mary’s Tears.
It was said that when Mary wept at the foot of the Cross, her tears fell to the ground and turned into the tiny fragrant blossoms of this early spring plant. In England it had the name “Our Lady’s Tears” because when viewed from a distance the white flowerets gave the appearance of teardrops falling. The lily of the valley was a symbol of the Virgin Mary because of its pure white flowers, sweet smell and humble appearance. It symbolized Mary’s Immaculate Conception and represented the purity of body and soul by which Mary found favor with God.

Reflection The sacred text does not speak of your tears, Mary, as our legend does. It tells us instead that you stood by the cross and you were not alone. Other women and John were also there. We wonder at the sorrow, the bitterness, the pain of this little community standing by. Fragrant tiny white lily-bells, a thousand quiet tears bowing before the still-cold winter winds, teach me of springtime and the Resurrection just beyond the stone-cold tomb.
Excerpt from Mary's Flowers by Vincenzina Krymow and M. Jean Frisk, illustrations by A. Joseph Barrish, S.M.

O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Heavens, Queen of the May. Make our hearts a garden of prayers for these little ones and their families.

May 19, 2012

Consecration Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Our Blessed Mother Mary

O Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore your intercession with Jesus, your Beloved Son. Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you:

The John 10:10 Prayer Ministry 

We consecrate and entrust all the names we have received and all the names we will receive and into your gentle, motherly care.  We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask you for prayer. We ask for your intercession for these babies and little ones and those who love them. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever. Amen.



O Mary, Our Queen, Our Lady and Our Mother, we implore you to take our cause into your hands and grant it good success.  Amen  Fr. Dermot Roache, SMA

May 13, 2012

I am the Lady of the Rosary.


Our Lady of the Rosary appeared in Fatima, Portugal between May 13th and October 13th, 1917 to three shepherd children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. Mary, the Mother of God, told the children that God had sent her with a message for every man, woman and child. At the time, there was war and violence in many parts of the world, much as it is today. Mary told the children to pray the rosary daily. The Blessed Mother appealed to all to pray hard so that the war would cease. On many occasions, the children were asked to tell the people to pray the rosary daily for personal conversion and world peace. Mary warned that people would suffer the consequences of war, hunger and persecution of the Church if they disobeyed God's Will.

The saintly Pope Pius XII, on July 7, 1952, consecrated Russia to the Blessed Virgin. Pope John Paul II consecrated the entire world to the Virgin Mary in 1984, a year after the assassination attempt on him. John Paul II believed that he was saved because of the protection of Our Lady of Fatima. Thus, after consecrating the world to her Immaculate Heart, the Pope placed the bullet that hit him on the crown of Our Lady.

Let us pray to Our Lady of Fatima and ask her intercession to unite our families in love and to heal our relationships. Let us entrust our nation and the whole world to Our Blessed Mother's care and guidance. Her message at Fatima is that of world peace and reconciliation to God. May all men and women heed the call of love and peace of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our Lady wants us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart, a consecration in which we make a complete surrender of self to our Mother, promising her that we will: Say her Rosary every day. Offer the little daily sacrifices that come our way for the conversion of sinners. Make the five Communions of Reparation on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months. In the last apparition at Fatima Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, holding the Scapular in her outstretched hand. The Scapular is the sign of our consecration to Mary's Immaculate Heart. Daily it should remind us of the promise we have made to Mary.



"I am the Lady of the Rosary."
In this manner did the Mother of God identify herself to the shepherd children of Fatima. Repeatedly during Our Lady's series of apparitions to the children, she exhorted the praying of the daily Rosary. And even more, "to pray the Rosary well," with meditation on the mysteries. The Queen of Heaven held out the Rosary to mankind as a means of obtaining the salvation of souls, the conversion of sinners, true world peace, and the conversion of Russia. Let us, as devout Christians and faithful disciples of Jesus and Mary use this spiritual treasure.

Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, we entrust all the names we receive to your loving care.

May 10, 2012

A mother's love

"In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him." 1 John4:9-16

Mother's Day is this Sunday. A young mother describes her experience as the mother of Christian, a baby born with severe disabilities, including no eyes. Christian's Mom deflects cruel taunts with love. This video shows the love she has for her child, her miracle. Christian and his Mom are love.



"Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:18

Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of the Angels, we entrust to you all these special Moms and their precious little ones.

May 07, 2012

Our Lady of Fatima

Prayer to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Fatima
Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Mother. we come to you this day as little children in prayer. We beg to make this offering of our hearts as simple and childlike as we can. The three little ones of Fatima have taught us what pleases your maternal heart. We earnestly desire that all the people of the world be brought back to a humble knowledge and love of the Sacred Heart of your dear Son. We pray, dear Mother, that the indescribable beauty and the white purity of your own Immaculate Heart may so captivate our souls that we will detest all sin and dedicate our lives to the honor and glory of the God who created us. Heavenly Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, we give you our hearts and place our trust entirely in you. We crown you with blossoms and we entrust all these little ones to you.



O Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, we ask for your powerful intercession for all those for whom we pray.

May 04, 2012

In my Father's House

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way. Thomas said to him, Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:1-3



Come, let us go to the Father. He has prepared a place for us in His Heart. Let us enter into His presence today. Let us give Him all the intentions of this baby prayer ministry. He has prepared a place for us in eternal life. Let us cling to Our Lady. From abundant life to eternal life.

May 02, 2012

Memorare

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has looked with favor on His lowly servant. Luke 1:46-48

Mary will comfort you in your discouragements, solace you in your fatigues, raise you after your falls, reward you for your successes. She will show you her Son, your God and your all. When your spirit within you is excited, or relaxed, or depressed, when it loses its balance, when it is restless and wayward, when it is sick of what it has, and hankers after what it has not, when your eye is solicited with evil and your mortal frame trembles under the shadow of the Tempter, what will bring you to yourselves, to peace and to health, but the cool breath of the Immaculate and the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon.
Blessed John Henry Newman



I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley. As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among women. As an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. I delight to rest in his shadow, and his fruit is sweet to my mouth. He brings me into the banquet hall and his emblem over me is love. Strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. His left hand is under my head and his right arm embraces me. Song of Solomon 2:1-6

O Most Gracious Virgin Mary, hear and answer us. We entrust these babies, little ones and their families to you.

May 01, 2012

John 10:10 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

We consecrate this baby prayer ministry to Our Lady of the Rosary. We honor Our Blessed Mother Mary on this first day of her month of May.

"The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer."
Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II Rosarium Virginis Mariae (the Rosary of the Virgin Mary)

"There is no surer means of calling down God's blessings upon the family...than the daily recitation of the Rosary."
Pope Pius XII

"Good and devout souls, who walk in the light of the Holy Spirit: I do not think you will mind my giving you this mystical rose tree which comes straight from heaven and which is to be planted in the garden of your soul. This mystical rose tree is Jesus and Mary, in life, death and eternity."
St. Louis Marie de Montfort

This prayer ministry began two years ago today, but the prayers actually began in May 2006, praying for an unborn baby, Lily Grace. There were medical problems with the baby and we began praying the novena to Saint Anne that "Lily Grace would have abundant life." Through the intercession of Saint Anne, mother of Our Blessed Mother and grandmother of Jesus, Lily Grace was born in November 2006. We give thanks for all the prayers for this precious little baby.

Over these years, as we pray each day, we have received other names to include in our novena prayers to Saint Anne. We have hundreds of names to pray for now. We pray for unborn babies and for children who are healthy, sick or disabled. We pray for pregnant women, couples who are trying to become pregnant, couples who want to adopt, mothers who have had miscarriages. We pray for parents who have suffered the death of a baby or a child. We pray for grandparents and their grandchildren. We pray for mothers and fathers who have had an abortion or considered having one. We pray for parents who are struggling to accept their disabled child, as well as parents who embrace their disabled child and see, in that child, the beauty that was created by God.

We invite you to send prayer requests. If you would like to be a prayer partner of the John 10:10 Prayer Ministry, pray the Memorare every day for all the names we have received and all the names we will receive.

SWEET VIDEO



Our Lady of the Rosary, we entrust all the names we have received to your most loving care.