Baby Formula Shortage — A Prayer to Saint Brigid of Kildare

Saint Brigid of Kildare is venerated as a patroness of babies, among other things. Here is a prayer from an unknown author:

”Brigid, You were a woman of peace. You brought harmony where there was conflict. You brought light to the darkness. You brought hope to the downcast. May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious, and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world. Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made. Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary. Strengthen what is weak within us. Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens. May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit. Amen.

Acknowledgements

St. Joseph Catholic Church [Macon, GA]. Stbrigid. File:Stbrigid.jpg. Uploaded: 2006-01-31 00:22:56. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid_of_Kildare#/media/File:Stbrigid.jpg.

Text from irishchaplaincy.org.uk

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Patron Saint of ’Hopeless Cases’

Well Saint Jude the Apostle has been known for a long time as the ”patron saint of hopeless cases.” If anyone’s looking for a special prayer in these difficult times, I can heartily recommend a devotion to him. I can attest to him having come through for me, albeit in unexpected ways.

There are a number of prayers and devotions available, but here is a simple prayer for anyone interested:

O Holy St. Jude, help me when I feel hopeless and alone. Come to my aid in this great need, and ask God to assist me in my troubles and sufferings, particularly for (here state your request). Amen.

Peace,

-Dan

Acknowledgement

Jastrow. Statue of St. Jude in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Lorenzo Ottoni. File:Thaddeus San Giovanni in Laterano 2006-09-07.jpg. Created: 7 September 2006. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_the_Apostle#/media/File:Thaddeus_San_Giovanni_in_Laterano_2006-09-07.jpg

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Sept. 23: A Short Prayer of Saint Padre Pio

May your heart always be

the temple of the Holy Spirit.

May Jesus always be the helmsman

of your little spiritual ship.

May Mary be the star

which shines on your path

and may she show you the safe way

to reach the Heavenly Father.

Amen.

Acknowledgements

Itto Ogami. The restored body of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo. File:71013 San Giovanni Rotondo, Province of Foggia, Italy – panoramio (6).jpg. Created: 17 August 2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padre_Pio#/media/File:71013_San_Giovanni_Rotondo,Province_of_Foggia,_Italy–panoramio(6).jpg

Text from Padre Pio Devotions: https://padrepiodevotions.org/prayers-of-padre-pio/

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FaceTiming With Jesus

EWTN is offering live Eucharistic Adoration, every day from 9 AM to 6 PM ET.

For the link to the video from England’s Tyburn Convent, click here.

Acknowledgement

By Juan de Juanes – [2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23065137

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Bishop Barron on Coronavirus as Opportunity…

 

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Hymn for Corpus Christi

“Behold the Bread of Angels,
For us pilgrims food, and token
Of the promise by Christ spoken,
Children’s meat, to dogs denied.
Shewn in Isaac’s dedication,
In the manna’s preparation;
In the Paschal immolation,
In old types pre-signified.
Jesu, shepherd of the sheep:
Thou thy flock in safety keep,
Living bread, thy life supply:
Strengthen us, or else we die,
Fill us with celestial grace.
Thou, who feedest us below:
Source of all we have or know:
Grant that with Thy Saints above,
Sitting at the feast of love,
We may see Thee face to face.
Amen.  Alleluia.”

-From St. Thomas Aquinas’ “Lauda Sion”

Acknowledgement

Melchior2008.  “Eucharistic_Adoration.jpg.”  4 Mar. 2009.  Wikipedia.  https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eucharistic_Adoration.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

 

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April 25 — Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist

O Glorious St. Mark, through the grace of God our Father, you became a great Evangelist, preaching the Good News of Christ.  May you help us to know Him well, so that we may faithfully live our lives as followers of Christ.  Amen.

Acknowledgement

de Sacchis, Giovanni Antonio.  Il Pordenone — San Marco.  26 Aug. 2010.  Wikipedia.  https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Il_Pordenone_-_San_Marco_-_Budapest.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

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A Prayer For St. Patrick’s Day

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

(. . .)

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

(. . .)

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

– From the “Breastplate of St. Patrick” (text from New Advent)

Acknowledgements

Borchert, Andreas F.  “Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and St. Patrick, Goleen, County Cork, Ireland.”  10 Sept. 2009.  Wikipedia.  https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goleen_Church_of_Our_Lady,_Star_of_the_Sea,_and_St._Patrick_North_Wall_Fourth_Window_Saint_Patrick_Detail_2009_09_10.jpg#mw-jump-to-license’;

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Video: ‘You’re so smart! How could you be Catholic?’

This is a video featuring one of my former professors, Dr. Brent Robbins (and please keep in mind that I attended a secular college).

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this on Into the Dance, but I was what you would call a garden-variety “cafeteria Catholic” up until age 22.

At that point in my life, questions about the ultimate claims of my faith kept bothering me; and try as I might, I could not push them off.

Knowing that Dr. Robbins was Catholic, but also knowing him to be a thoughtful intellectual and supposing that he would, not doubt, be able to help me get past the psychological roadblocks that were causing me to regard matters of organized religion with undue seriousness, I asked if I could come to him for one-on-one counseling sessions.

He agreed.  And contrary to my expectations, subsequent conversations with Dr. Robbins were instrumental in my re-embracing the Faith.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  At no point during our discussions did I get the sense that he was trying to “convert” me.

Rather, he listened attentively to my concerns, encouraged me (as a psychologist, not as a spiritual director) to face the issues that were bothering me head-on rather than trying to suppress them, and shared with humility his own love of the Faith while at the same time expressing genuine, experience-based sympathy with my struggles.

Anyway, in this video for The Coming Home Network International, Dr. Robbins shares the rather moving story of his own reversion to the Faith.

(Just one quick hundred-dollar-word alert: “Hermeneutics” (pronounced her-men-oo-tics) means the science of interpretation — in other words, what “lens” we use to understand certain things)

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Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

Oh ever immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Comfortess of the Afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings. Look upon me with mercy. When you appeared in the grotto of Lourdes, you made it a privileged sanctuary where you dispense your favors, and where many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal. I come, therefore, with unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. My loving Mother, obtain my request. I will try to imitate your virtues so that I may one day share your company and bless you in eternity. Amen.

Acknowledgement

Dennis Jarvis. Source France-002009 – Our Lady of Lourdes. 28 June 2014.

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