O holy angel, at my side,
Go to church for me,
Kneel in my place at Holy Mass
Where I desire to be.
At Offertory, in my stead,
Take all I am and own,
And place it as a sacrifice
Upon the Alter Throne.
At Holy Consecrations bell,
Adore with Seraph's love.
My Jesus hidden in the Host,
Come down from Heaven above.
As the first decade of the new millennium drew to a close, the Missionary Society of Saint Columban was fast approaching its centennial anniversary.
O God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Word came into the church that a homeless man was sleeping rough under Sotohori Bridge, in Japan. The local Church group looking after the homeless went to visit him. Yes, he was there living in an exquisite homemade cardboard style of a home. He would slide in and out of it like a drawer.
Hail Mary!
Daughter of God the Father.
Hail Mary!
Mother of God the Son.
Hail Mary!
Spouse of God the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary!
Temple of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Hail Mary!
Pure Lily of the Effulgent Trinity, God.
Hail Mary!
Celestial Rose of the ineffable Love of God.
Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace.
Your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which You have prepared in the sight of every people.
A light to reveal You to the nations
and the glory of Your people Israel.
Amen.
In late January 2017, Columban Fr. Pat Colgan (General Councillor with responsibility for Myanmar) and Columban Fr. Jovito Dales (the Society's Bursar General) visited boarding houses and internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps which the Columbans support in Myanmar.
O Lord, heal Your servant
from the afflictions that they are now suffering.
Strengthen our faith like that of the Roman Centurion,
so that we may ask for this healing with the same faith,
trust, and hope that Your servant
will be healed in the same manner
that the Centurions servant was restored to health.
O Holy physician of our souls and bodies,
O My God,
in order that I may be a living act of perfect love,
I offer myself as a whole burnt offering
to your tender love.
Consume me continually,
letting my soul overflow
with the floods of infinite tenderness
that are found in you,
so that I may become a martyr
of your love.
I beg you, Lord,
let the fiery, gentle power of your love
take possession of my soul,
and snatch it away
from everything under heaven,
that I may die for love of your love
as you saw fit to die for love of mine.
Amen.