Thursday, July 26, 2007

PRAYER FOR THE FAMILY by MOTHER TERESA


Heavenly Father,
you have given us the model of life
in the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Help us, O Loving Father, to make our family another Nazareth where love, peace and joy reign.

May it be deeply contemplative,
intensely eucharistic, revived with joy.

Help us to stay together in joy and sorrow in family prayer.

Teach us to see Jesus in the members of our families, especially in their distressing disguise.


May the eucharistic heart of Jesus make our hearts humble like his and help us to carry out our family duties in a holy way.

May we love one another as God loves each one of us, more and more each day, and forgive each other's faults as you forgive our sins.

Help us, O Loving Father, to take whatever you give and give whatever you take with a big smile.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, cause of our joy, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Holy Guardian Angels, be always with us,
guide and protect us.

Amen.

THE EVERYDAY FAMILY PRAYER


(Shared by Raoul and his wife Thelma who are members of the Couples for Christ Worldwide Movement)

Father, we Adore You. We praise You for Your Goodness. Blessed be Your Holy Name. Your Will be done in everything.

We ask You to bless our family, our friends, relatives, me and especially those who need your blessing and protection right now. Show all of us, O Lord, a new revelation of Your Power and Glory.

Direct our minds today, so that what we think, say or do would only be to affirm Your Love for us, and the love we need to give You back by being men and women for others. And whether or not we are aware of it, lead us to fulfill the purposes for which You have created us and placed us precisely where we are.

Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to us at this very moment --

· Where we have pain, help us find meaning in it and give us Your Peace.

· Where we are sick, heal us.

· Where we have destructive addictions or dependencies, wean us away from them.

· Where we are aggrieved, give us the will to forgive.

· Where we are torn by guilt or regret, help us forgive ourselves and give us

Your Mercy.

· Where some people want to do us harm, protect us.

· Where we do things that are really bad for us, move us to the right path and let Your Angels be our guides.

· Where we are immobilized by self-doubt, renew our self-confidence.

· Where we labor under fear, give us courage.

· Where we face uncertainty, give us trust in Your Providence.

· Where we have needs, fulfill them.

On the other hand, O Lord, if there is any noble stirring within us, nurture it and enable us in time to realize it, so that our fellowmen may benefit from its good fruits.

And always bless our homes, finances, investments, our health, our work and those who give us livelihood. Bless the institutions we work for, and the men and women who help us do our job or help us in our business. Bless the people with whom we associate, so that we may lead one another toward becoming the persons we were meant to be. Bless our comings and goings the whole day through, and at night when we sleep.

And we ask all these in the precious name of Jesus through whose passion, death and resurrection we have been restored as Your Children and call You Father. Amen

-------------------------------------------------