Almighty and Everlasting God,
You have given the human race
Jesus Christ our Savior as a model of humility.
He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man
And giving His life on the Cross.
Help us to bear witness to You
By following His example of suffering
And make us worthy to share in His Resurrection.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Imprint, O Lady, your wounds upon my heart,
that I may read therein sorrow and love;
sorrow, to endure every sorrow for you;
love, to despise every love for you.
Amen.
O almighty and eternal God,
In Saint Frances of Rome
You have given us a model of holiness,
in married life and of monastic conversion.
By Your hand-maid’s aid,
may we know, love and serve You
with all perseverance and fortitude,
so that in all circumstances,
we may fix our gaze upon You alone,
follow Your Only-begotten Son,
Razia is a Pakistani woman of small stature and big heart. She has known the Columbans since about 1985, and from that time, has been involved in bringing education to the women and children of brick kiln workers in the villages around her home in Jiunpura, Sheikhupura, Punjab Province. This is her story in her own words.
Saint John of God,
heavenly Patron of the Sick,
I come to you in prayer to seek your help in my present sickness.
Through the love which Jesus had for you
in choosing you for the sublime vocation of serving the sick,
and through the tender affection
with which the Blessed Virgin Mary placed upon your head
a crown of thorns as a symbol of the sufferings
O what consolation,
what sweetness,
what confidence,
what emotion fill my soul
when I pronounce your sacred name,
or even only think of you.
I thank God for having given you,
for my good, so sweet,
so powerful, so lovely a name.
O Heavenly Father,
I commend my children to You.
Be their God and Father;
and mercifully supply whatever is wanting in me
through frailty or negligence.
Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world,
to resist all solicitations to evil,
whether from within or without;
and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy.
God, teach me to be patient,
teach me to go slow,
Teach me how to wait on You
when my way I do not know.
Teach me sweet forbearance
when things do not go right
so I remain unruffled
when others grow uptight.
Teach me how to quiet my racing, rising heart
so I might hear the answer
You are trying to impart.
Preserve us, we ask You, O Lord,
from all dangers to soul and body,
and by the intercession of the Blessed
and Glorious Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God,
of St. Joseph, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
of St. Casimir and all the Saints,
in Your mercy, grant us health and peace,
that after all adversity and error is removed,
Ever Loving God,
You called St. Katharine Drexel to teach the message of the Gospel
and to bring the life of the Eucharist
to Black and Native American peoples.
By her prayers and example,
enable us to work for justice among the poor and the oppressed.
Draw us all into the Eucharistic community of your Church
that we may be one in you.