PRAYER
✥ INTENTIONS
Prayers of the Week
Sunday, May 4 – The Universal Prayer
Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith. I trust in you: strengthen my trust. I love you: let me love you more and more. I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow. I worship you as my first beginning, I long for you as my last end, I praise you as my constant helper, and call on you as my loving protector. Guide me by your wisdom, correct me with your justice, comfort me with your mercy, protect me with your power. I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you; My words: to have you for their theme; My actions: to reflect my love for you; My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory. I want to do what you ask of me: In the way you ask, for as long as you ask, because you ask it. Lord, enlighten my understanding, strengthen my will, purify my heart, and make me holy. Help me to repent of my past sins and to resist temptation in the future. Help me to rise above my human weaknesses and to grow stronger as a Christian. Let me love you, my Lord and my God, and see myself as I really am: A pilgrim in this world, a Christian called to respect and love all whose lives I touch, those under my authority, my friends and my enemies. Help me to conquer anger with gentleness, greed by generosity, apathy by fervor. Help me to forget myself and reach out toward others. Make me prudent in planning, courageous in taking risks. Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity. Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer, temperate in food and drink, diligent in my work, firm in my good intentions. Let my conscience be clear, my conduct without fault, my speech blameless, my life well-ordered. Put me on guard against my human weaknesses. Let me cherish your love for me, keep your law, and come at last to your salvation. Teach me to realize that this world is passing, that my true future is the happiness of heaven, that life on earth is short, and the life to come eternal. Help me to prepare for death with a proper fear of judgment, but a greater trust in your goodness. Lead me safely through death to the endless joy of heaven. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (attributed to Pope Clement Xi)
Monday, May 5 – Padre Nuestro – Our Father (Lord’s Prayer)
Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu Nombre; venga tu reino; hágase tu voluntad, así en la tierra como en el cielo; danos hoy el pan nuestro de cada día; perdona nuestras ofensas, así como nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden;no nos dejes caer en la tentación y líbranos de mal. Amén.
Tuesday, May 6 – Nurse’s Prayer
Dear Lord, please give me strength, To face the day ahead. Dear Lord, please give me courage, As I approach each hurting bed. Dear Lord, please give me wisdom With every word I speak. Dear Lord, please give me patience, As I comfort the sick and weak. Dear Lord, Please give me assurance, As the day slips into night. That I have done the best I can, That I have done what’s right.
Wednesday, May 7 – Blessing of a New House
O heavenly Father, Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to bless and sanctify this house and all who dwell therein and everything else in it, and do Thou vouchsafe to fill it with all good things; grant to them, O Lord, the abundance of heavenly blessings and from the richness of the earth every substance necessary for life, and finally direct their desires to the fruits of Thy mercy. At our entrance, therefore, deign to bless and sanctify this house as Thou didst deign to bless the house of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and may the angels of Thy light, dwelling within the walk of this house, protect it and those who dwell therein. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thursday, May 8 – St. Augustine’s Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.
Friday, May 9 – Prayer for Travelers
O Almighty and merciful God, who hast commissioned Thy angels to guide and protect us, command them to be our assiduous companions from our setting out until our return; to clothe us with their invisible protection; to keep from us all danger of collision, of fire, of explosion, of fall and bruises, and finally, having preserved us from all evil, and especially from sin, to guide us to our heavenly home. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Saturday, May 10 – Prayer to St. Gabriel, for Others
O loving messenger of the Incarnation, descend upon all those for whom I wish peace and happiness. Spread your wings over the cradles of the new-born babes, O thou who didst announce the coming of the Infant Jesus. Give to the young a lily petal from the virginal scepter in your hand. Cause the Ave Maria to re-echo in all hearts that they may find grace and joy through Mary. Finally, recall the sublime words spoken on the day of the Annunciation– “Nothing is impossible with God,” and repeat them in hours of trial–to all I love–that their confidence in Our Lord may be reanimated, when all human help fails. Amen.
Sunday, May 11 – Prayer of Praise and Thanks
Blessed are you, Lord God: Blessed are you for ever. Holy is your name: Blessed are you for ever. Great is your mercy for your people: Blessed are you for ever. Amen!Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, We praise you and give you glory: We bless you for calling us to be your holy people. Remain in our hearts, And guide us in our love and service. Help us to let our light shine before others And lead them to the way of faith. Holy Trinity of love, We praise you now and for ever. Amen!We praise you, Father of all; We thank you for calling us to be your people, And for choosing us to give you glory. In a special way we thank you for… State your intention here. Cleanse our hearts and our lives With your holy word And make our prayer pleasing to you. Guide us by your Spirit As we follow in the paths of Jesus our brother. All glory and praise are yours, Father, For ever and ever. Amen!Let us give glory to the Father Through the Son In the Holy Spirit, ForGod has made us his people, his Church, And calls us to sing his praises. All honour and glory and thanks are his, And praise and worship belong to him. To God be glory in his Church For ever and ever! Amen!Thanks for a beautiful day: On a beautiful day, we may thank God and praise him for his many gifts. Father of Jesus, We praise you and give you glory For the wonderful things you do for us; For life and health, for friends and family, for this splendid day. For these reasons, we pray as Jesus taught us: Our Father… Recite the ‘Our Father’ here.
Monday, May 12 – Help Against Spiritual Enemies
Glorious St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly hosts, who standest always ready to give assistance to the people of God; who didst fight with the dragon, the old serpent, and didst cast him out of heaven, and now valiantly defendest the Church of God that the gates of hell may never prevail against her, I earnestly entreat thee to assist me also, in the painful and dangerous conflict which I have to sustain against the same formidible foe. Be with me, O mighty Prince! that I may courageously fight and wholly vanquish that proud spirit, whom thou hast by the Divine Power, so gloriously overthrown, and whom our powerful King, Jesus Christ, has, in our nature, so completely overcome; to the end that having triumphed over the enemy of my salvation, I may with thee and the holy angels, praise the clemency of God who, having refused mercy to the rebellious angels after their fall, has granted repentance and forgiveness to fallen man. Amen.
INTENTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS ~ MAY 2025
Let us pray that through work, each person might find fulfillment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized.
A Prayer For All Mothers
GOD, Please bless all mothers with the wisdom, courage, patience, and – above all – love that they need to perform the holy work of raising children, and being a source of love and support for them in adulthood as well.
Please welcome into Your Heavenly Kingdom those mothers who have passed, and grant them everlasting joy, rest and serenity. Amen
Praying to Mary in the Month of May
In the month of May, we show our gratitude to mothers for all that they mean to us. For mothers who have gone to be with the Lord, we pray for their souls and thank God for their influence on our lives.
Gratefully we pray with St. Faustina:
O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer You my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in Your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with Your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body. Defend me with Your power against all enemies, and especially against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue. O lovely lily! You are for me a mirror, O my Mother!
– Diary, 79
APRIL DEVOTION IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The month of April is dedicated both to devotion to the Eucharist and devotion to the Holy Spirit.
This tradition has developed because Easter Sunday often falls in April, and when it does fall in March, the Easter season continues on through all of April. In essence, April is a month of Easter, and during the Easter celebration we remember the Eucharistic sacrifice Christ gave us and the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which would come after Jesus’s resurrection.
COME HOLY SPIRIT
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High, O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God’s hand we own; Thou, promise of the Father, Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts o’erflow with love; with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead; so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know; and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be glory given, with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.
PRAYER ABOUT SAINT PATRICK
God our Father,
you sent Saint Patrick to preach
your glory to the people of Ireland.
By the help of his prayers,
may all Christians proclaim your love to all men.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
The month of MARCH is dedicated to St. Joseph.The entire month falls during the liturgical season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart.
ST. JOSEPH PRAYER
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen
February Month of the HOLY FAMILY
The month of February is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Family. Between the events which marked Christmas and the beginning of Christ’s public life the Church has seen fit to recall the example of the Holy Family for the emulation of the Christian family.
The Feast of the Presentation (February 2) or Candlemas forms a fitting transition from Christmas to Easter. The small Christ-Child is still in His Mother’s arms, but already she is offering Him in sacrifice. February 21, Shrove Tuesday, will find us preparing for Ash Wednesday. The middle of the month will find us on Ash Wednesday accepting the ashes that remind us of our mortality and our need for penance.
“The Light of Revelation” shines more brightly with each successive Sunday of Ordinary Time, until its magnificence–exposing our sinfulness and need for conversion–propels us into the penitential Season of Lent. We prepare to accept the cross of blessed ashes on Ash Wednesday (February 22) and plunge ourselves into anticipating the major exercises of Lent–fasting, prayer, almsgiving–laying our thoughts and prayers on the heart of our Mother Mary. She, who offered her Son in the temple and on the Cross, will teach us how to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow after her Son.
