Pray for Marriages (Hugging your Cross)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

No matter how good a marital relationship is, it is not without its crosses, for marriage itself commands self-denial. As if that isn’t challenging enough, responsibilities never fall into equal halves as one spouse will always carry more or less of their fair share in any given category. But rather than complain, perhaps you should rejoice that you are imitating Christ, for He always carries the heaviest load.

Lent is a time to draw closer to Christ by hugging our crosses.  In walking with Him, we will learn that He is our Rock, refuge, shield, shelter, protection, guard, support, Light, shade, comforter, peace, help, and salvation.

If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

Contemplate what aspect of your marriage that you struggle with the most.  Humble yourself, hug that cross, and walk with Christ throughout Lent. Offer it as a sacrifice of praise to the Father.  Plead for greater faith.

Let us join our prayer on behalf of all marriages and may all glory and praise be to Him who blesses us with crosses that lead us to Love.

Who in Sheol can glorify the Most High in place of the living who offer their praise? Sirach 17:27

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Crosses are the bridge to eternal happiness. Pass it on!  

Pray for Families (Blindness of Judgement)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Self-reflection can be very revealing.  Sometimes I find that going astray begins with very good intent. In trying to help someone or perhaps a larger community, what begins as a goal for good, can quickly derail. Perhaps it is because a weakness is often a strength in overdrive.  Thus, we become blind to the fact that we may no longer be achieving good for others let alone ourselves.

What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Now if [I] do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:15-20

• Have you ever performed a kindness for someone only to see your joy turn into resentment when they didn’t respond in the manner expected?
• Have you ever volunteered your time for a project that ended up being a source of your unattractive pride and ego gratification?
• Have you ever offered someone assistance, and later justified the “questionable path” to your goal by the good of your intent?
• If we break the law to do what we feel is “good”, is it still good?

On a larger scale, consider the saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” On the surface both are good, but one enables dependence, while the other empowers one to be independent. Which is the greater good?

Lord, shine your light upon us and restore our “sight” by giving us wisdom.  Remove the scales from our eyes. Purge us of our pride, and clothe us with your humility. As we seek to serve you, we ask not only that you show us the right path, but that you be our guardrails.  Fill our hearts with charity so that all will know we are Yours, for evangelization speaks loudest through our actions. May our families come to know you better as they experience and witness our good.  Lord, in your loving kindness, may your draw our family members close to your Sacred Heart.

Scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Acts 9:18

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Share your goodness and kindness of heart. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (It's More Than a Phase)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Each stage of marriage has its rewards… and challenges. Let me take a shot at defining them.

The  Phases:

• Honeymoon
• Discovery
• Adjustment
• Parenthood
• OMG Help me
• The I’m not liking who I’ve become
• I’m not liking who my spouse has become
• Settled
• Old, tired, reflective

A couple doesn’t get from beginning to end without abundant grace, a gift from God we must accept and open ourselves to.  While the Lord spends years molding and refining us in the fire of His love, we don’t usually see it as a gift.  Yet in the later years of marriage, we see the beauty of His gift and its effect on our life.

Although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Pray for married couples, perhaps focusing on a phase that was most difficult for you.  May your prayers multiply the grace for them and for yourself!

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy.  Isaiah 35:10

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer is a gift to be shared. Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Keeping the Faith)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Everyone wants the best for their family members, which can mean different things to different people. However, for one who has faith and a relationship with the Lord, they also want their families to have that same joy, comfort, peace, love, and all the richness of that relationship. More importantly though, in this era of constant “noise” that competes with the Truth, we want to know that our loved ones stay grounded in He who is Truth and Life. We want them to know true Love.

I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32

Humble, sincere prayer has a power beyond our understanding. Ground yourself in the Word. Persevere in prayer, and your prayer will clothe your family with grace. 

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer is the one thing you can control. So go on a prayer binge! Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Free Choice)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

God in the beginning created human beings and made them subject to their own free choice.

Love is a daily choice.

If you choose, you can keep the commandments; loyalty is doing the will of God.

Lord, we need your grace to choose what’s right. Free us from being seduced my our disordered desires.

Set before you are fire and water; to whatever you choose, stretch out your hand.

Lord, make us cognizant that each decision we make will be a step toward Life or away from Life.

Before everyone are life and death, whichever they choose will be given them.  Sirach 15:14-17

Choose Life!

Lord, without you we are without hope. What we want to do and actually do are often opposed to each other. Send your Spirit upon us that we may be filled with your love.  Help us surrender to your will. Help us to be patient, kind, and loving spouses.  Bless and heal those marriages which we hold in prayer, as well as those marriages struggling in silence.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer can change hearts, including your own. Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Faith in Him)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

One must smile when they consider that God gave us only 10 commandments to follow. How hard could that be to follow, right? Then later, Jesus distilled the commandments into two:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 

“I only have to love?” you chuckle to yourself, muttering, “That’s easy”.

• We tell ourselves that we are good (well at least better than most).
• We are kind to our neighbors (when it’s convenient)
• We don’t lie (well only when it’s necessary)
• We don’t really gossip (it’s information exchange)
• Envy? Greed? Everybody wants needs more things, don’t they?

No matter how we much we slip into sin, a voice inside says, “That wasn’t really a sin, was it? No one got hurt. Isn’t sin a thing of the past?” Denial is very powerful. But without prayer and the sacraments, are we any less vulnerable than Eve to the soft, alluring voice of the Evil One?

But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! Genesis 3:4 

Pray that you will not be deceived. Remain in conversation with God so that you will know his voice. Stay close to the Truth, and He will set you free. Strengthen your perseverance by partaking of the sacraments.

When he saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” 

Luke 5:20

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Keep the faith, pray for your family and pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Healing Waters, Healing Graces)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

We know the Lord is a mystery, but I am in constant awe of His Mystery. His ways often make no sense, yet then He unexpectedly reveals Himself.

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.* Lourdes, a town in the foothills of the Pyrenees in France, is known for its healing waters. It was here that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a poor, young girl, named Bernadette in 1858.  After several appearances near a grotto, she asked the young girl to scrape away the soil nearby and miraculously water began to trickle out, eventually becoming a spring.  The waters of Lourdes soon became known as “healing waters", and today the site is frequently visited by those seeking healing of body or soul.

Ironically, my wedding anniversary is on this feast day. It is through unanticipated healing waters of grace that I am able to say that I have been married 35 years.

"I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the other." 
Blessed Virgin Mother to Bernadette. 

Happiness is good, but holiness is more important.  May we seek not just happiness in our marriages, but holiness. The Blessed Mother asked a few things of Bernadette: Pray the rosary†, do penance (make sacrifices), and pray for the conversion of sinners. Let us become bolder in our prayer and offer any crosses which we carry for the conversion of sinners.

Lord, we ask you for the healing of body, heart, mind, and soul. May any hurtful memories be washed away, may the blessings in our marriages be magnified, and may hope be restored, especially to those who have lost it. Lord, please continue to renew our prayer life!

For the Lamb. will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Revelation 7:17

I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5

Jesus, we trust in you. Thank you for all the times throughout history you have sent your Blessed Mother to gently remind us of your commands.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

If you love one another, the need for prayer never ends. Pass it on! 

* History of Our Lady of Lourdes

† How to pray the rosary