Prayers
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Consecration to the Holy Family
Prayers of the Holy Family Institute
Popular prayers and novenas from the EWTN website.
Prayer For the Intercession Of POPE JOHN PAUL II
O Holy Trinity, we thank you for having given to the Church Pope John Paul II, and for having made him shine with your fatherly tenderness, the glory of the Cross of Christ and the splendor of the Spirit of love.
He, trusting completely in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, has shown himself in the likeness of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has pointed out to us holiness as the path to reach eternal communion with You.
Grant us, through his intercession, according to your will, the grace that we implore, in the hope that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.
Prayer for Hurricane Season (June through November)
O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude; you are still the Master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control: the Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster.
During this hurricane season we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem where a stormless eternity awaits us. Amen.
Blessing of Homeschools (and Associations)
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, you commanded your apostles to pray that peace might come to whatever house they entered. Sanctify, we implore you, the homes and homeschool associations meant for the education of our youth. Pour into them the richness of your blessing and of your peace. May salvation come to the home schools as it came to the house of Zaccheus when you entered it. Command your Angels to guard each home and to drive away from it all the power of the enemy. Fill the teachers with the spirit of knowledge, wisdom and fear of You. Strengthen the students with heavenly grace, so that they may grasp with their minds, treasure in their hearts, and carry out in their deeds all the teachings that lead to salvation. And may all in the homes please you by practicing every virtue, so that they may one day be welcomed into your eternal home in heaven.
Through you, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, who live and reign, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer adapted from an old school blessing found in the Collectio Rituum of The1964 English Ritual; given by Father Keenan Brown at the Catholic Homeschool Conference in Lafayette, July 2002
Corinthians 13 for Mothers
I can read bedtime stories till the cow jumps over the moon and sing "Ten Little Monkeys" until I want to call the doctor but if I don't have love, I'm as annoying as a ringing phone.
I can chase a naked toddler through the house while cooking dinner and listening to voice mail, I can fix the best cookies and Kool-Aid in the neighborhood, and I can tell a sick child's temperature with one touch of my finger, but if I don't have love, I am nothing.
Love is patient while watching and praying by the front window when it's 30 minutes past curfew.
Love is kind when my teen says, "I hate you!"
It does not envy the neighbors' swimming pool or their brand-new mini van, but trusts the Lord to provide every need.
Love does not brag when other parents share their disappointments and insecurities, and love rejoices when other families succeed.
It doesn't boast, even when I've multi-tasked all day long and my husband can't do more than one thing at a time.
Love is not rude when my spouse innocently asks, "What have you done today?"
It does not immediately seek after glory when we see talent in our children, but encourages them to get training and make wise choices.
It is not easily angered, even when my 15-year-old acts like the world revolves around him/her.
It does not delight in evil (is not self-righteous) when I remind my 17-year-old that he's going 83 in a 55-mph zone, but rejoices in the truth.
Love does not give up hope. It always protects our children's self-esteem and spirit, even while doling out discipline.
It always trusts God to protect our children when we cannot.
It always perseveres, through blue nail polish, burps and other bodily functions, rolled eyes and crossed arms, messy rooms and sleep-overs.
Love never fails. But where there are memories of thousands of diaper changes and painful labor(s), they will fade away.
Where there is talking back, it will (eventually) cease. (Please, Lord?)
Where there is a teenager who thinks she knows everything, there will one day be an adult who knows you did your best.
For we know we fail our children, and we pray they don't end up in therapy, but when we get to heaven, our imperfect parenting will disappear. (Thank you, God!)
When we were children, we needed a parent to love and protect us. Now that we're parents ourselves, we have a heavenly Father who adores, shelters us and holds us when we need to cry.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
A Mother’s Prayer
Help me give my children the best – not of trappings or toys, but of myself, cherishing them on good days and bad, theirs and mine.
Teach me to accept them for who they are, not for what they do; to listen to what they say, if only so they will listen to me; to encourage their goals, not mine; and please, let me laugh with them and be silly.
Let me give them a home where respect is the cornerstone, integrity the foundation, and there is enough happiness to raise the roof.
May I give them the courage to be true to themselves; the independence to take care of themselves and the faith to believe in God, a power much greater than their own.
See that I discipline my children without demeaning them, demand good manners without forgetting my own and let them know they have limitless love, no matter what they do.
Let me feed them properly, clothe them adequately and have enough to give them small allowances – not for work they do, but for the pleasure they bring – and let me be moderate in all these things, so the joy of getting will help them discover the joy of giving.
See that their responsibilities are real, but not burdensome; that my expectations are high, but not overwhelming; and that my thanks and praise are thoughtful and given when they’re due.
Help me teach that excellence is work’s real reward, and not the glory it brings. But when it comes – and it will – let me revel in each honor, however small, without once pretending that it’s mine; my children are glories enough.
Above all, let me ground these children so well that I can dare to let them go. And may they be so blessed.