Prayer for Good Humor

We love Pope Francis and his timely wisdom.

Grant me, O Lord, good digestion,
and also something to digest.
Grant me a healthy body, and
the necessary good humor to maintain it.
Grant me a simple soul that knows to
treasure all that is good and that
doesn't frighten easily at the sight of evil,
but rather finds the means to put things
back in their place.
Give me a soul that knows not boredom,
grumblings, sighs and laments,
nor excess of stress, because of that
obstructing thing called "I."
Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor.
Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke
to discover in life a bit of joy,
and to be able to share it with others.

-St. Thomas More, Chancellor of King Henry VIII

St. Monica, pray for us!

Great St. Monica, patroness of fathers and mothers, please take Number One Son, under your protection. Beg him to always remain faithful to his baptismal vows. Give him strength to walk always in the ways of the Lord, despite the temptations and false values he finds in the world today. Grant that he may share with you in the joys of eternal life in God.

Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for me so that I may learn to draw my children to God. Teach me how to remain close to my children, even the prodigal son who has sadly gone astray. Amen.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor Hasten to help the Philippines

Litany of Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.

Mother of the Infant Jesus, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of all who invoke you with confidence, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of all who are devout toward the Infant Jesus, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining a lively faith, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for sustaining the hope of Christians, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining and persevering in charity, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for observing the law of God, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for observing perseverance in virtue and good works, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every spiritual necessity, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the revolt of self-will, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the occasion of sin, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every temptation, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the evil spirit, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining contrition, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of those wishing to re-enter the path of salvation, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for the conversion of sinners, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every temporal necessity, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every affliction, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of afflicted families, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of the sick and the poor, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against contagious diseases and epidemics, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every accident, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against destruction by fire, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against lightning and tempest, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against destruction by flood, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of travelers, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of navigators, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of the shipwrecked, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the enemies of our country, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in time of war, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of those aspiring to the holy priesthood and the religious life, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of laborers in the Lord's vineyard, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of missionaries who spread the faith, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of our Holy Father the Pope, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for those searching for the faith, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the enemies of the Church, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor at the hour of death, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for the deliverance of the Souls in Purgatory, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V: Our Lady of Prompt Succor, pray for us.
R: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O Almighty and Eternal God, Who sees us surrounded by so many dangers and miseries, grant in Thine infinite goodness that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Thy Divine Son, may defend us from the evil spirit and protect us against all adversities, that always and with prompt succor she may deliver us from every evil of soul and body, and safely guide us to the kingdom of Heaven, through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

August Queen of Heaven

I saved this more than a month ago to post this month. I really should have prayed this beautiful prayer yesterday before heading to Republic Square for the Stand4Life prayer service. The "orange shirts" were yelling and promoting a particularly disturbing message. The kids were angry and protective, it is hard for them, especially Number One Daughter, to pray for those who are fallen. I don't always respond to her anger in a way that fosters change. I am working on that, some days are better than others. I pray for more good days than bad and beams of joy amidst the struggles.


August Queen of Heaven, Sovereign Mistress of Angels, you who at the beginning received from God
the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan,
we beseech you humbly, send your holy legions so that,
on your orders and by your power, they will track down demons,
fight them everywhere, curb their audacity and plunge them into the abyss.

Who is like God?

Oh good and tender Mother,
you will always be our love and our hope.
Oh divine Mother, send the Holy Angels and Archangels to defend me
and to keep the cruel enemy far from me.

Holy Angels and Archangels defend us, protect us. Amen.

St. Adjutor, Patron Saint of Swimmers

Today was the first swim meet of the season. Number One Son and Number One Daughter are both on the swim team this year, but only Number One Son swam in the meet today. Number One Daughter wants more practice before competing.
It is so very hard to watch a child with so much drive and determination get lapped and finish last in almost all of his events. Last year, the coaches put together relay teams and he got a few ribbons after a year long dry spell. Fewer middle and high schoolers participate in swim team than elementary-aged kids, his competition is dwindling.

St. Adjutor, pray for us!

You've probably never heard of St. Adjutor. He is one of the thousands of local saints who never achieved the international fame of St. Anthony of Padua or St. Therese the Little Flower. But as the only patron saint for swimmers, he deserves a wider reputation.
Adjutor was born to a family of knights in Vernon, Normandy. When Pope Urban II came to France in 1095 to launch the First Crusade to liberate the Holy Land from the Saracens, Adjutor took the cross and with a company of 200 fighting men set out for Jerusalem.
The Crusade stalled for a time at Antioch where the Saracens besieged the city. One day Adjutor led a small party of knights outside the city walls on a scouting expedition. When they were far from Antioch, 1,500 Saracens ambushed them. Adjutor and his men put up a desperate defense, but it seemed hopeless. In the thick of the battle, as he cut and slashed at Saracens on every side, Adjutor called upon his favorite saint, Mary Magdalen. Through her intercession a violent storm broke over the battlefield. The terrified Saracens threw down their arms and fled.
Once the siege at Antioch was lifted Adjutor and his men joined the rest of the Crusaders in the conquest of Jerusalem, where he remained for 17 years as part of the Holy City's garrison. While on patrol outside Jerusalem Adjutor fell into another ambush, but this time he was captured. The Saracens dragged him off to one of their strongholds off the coast of Palestine where they locked the knight in a dark, dank cell and loaded down his wrists and ankles with heavy chains. From time to time his jailers took him from his cell to torture him, but Adjutor never lost his faith or his courage. He prayed once again to St. Mary Magdalen and once again she came to his help, breaking his chains and showing him a way to escape. Once he was outside the castle walls, he dove into the sea and swam for the shore, then walked to Crusader territory. He returned to his old comrades still wearing the broken chains from his prison.
Soon thereafter Adjutor returned home to Normandy where he built a chapel in honor of St. Mary Magdalen and became a Benedictine monk. The stretch of River Seine that flowed near Adjutor's abbey was troubled by a whirlpool that had taken the lives of many boatmen who had been caught in its current. At Adjutor's invitation, the local bishop came to the abbey to say Mass. Together the two men climbed into a boat and sailed toward the whirlpool. The bishop brought along holy water. Adjutor brought along the chain that had once bound his legs. At the edge of the whirlpool the bishop sprinkled holy water and gave his blessing. Then Adjutor took a link from his chain and cast it into the water saying, "It is as easy for God to free people from this whirlpool as it was for him to free me from my chains." Immediately the whirlpool became calm.
When St. Adjutor died he was buried in the chapel he had built for St. Mary Magdalen. He is still venerated by the people of Vernon as a favorite local saint and the guardian of swimmers and boatmen.
Craughwell is the author of Saints for Every Occasion (Stampley Enterprises, 2001) and Patron Saints Catholic Cardlinks (Our Sunday Visitor, 2004).
(c) Copyright 2007 by Arlington Catholic Herald

http://www.catholicherald.com/stories/A-Patron-Saint-for-Swimmers,563

Save the Church of The Holy Innocents

I just signed the petition "Cardinal Timothy Dolan: Keep the Church of Holy Innocents Opened!" on Change.org.

It's important. The Shrine of the Unborn was a Godsend when our little babies were born to Heaven. New York City needs this church, with this name with this charism.

Will you sign it too? Here's the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/cardinal-timothy-dolan-keep-the-church-of-holy-innocents-opened?recruiter=14364565&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

Brownies

¾ cup cocoa

½ teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup oil (divided 1/3 + 1/3)

½ cup boiling water

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cup flour*

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

Stir cocoa and baking soda in a mixing bowl, add 1/3 cup of the oil and boiling water. Stir until thickened. Add sugar, the additional 1/3 cup oil and eggs, stir until smooth. Add vanilla, salt and flour, stir until combined. Pour into 13” x 9” pan sprayed with cooking oil, bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes.

*When I make these with garbanzo bean flour (1 1/3 cup), people eat them up, so I don’t tell them they are wheat and dairy free!

I Don't Fit In

My Mommy heart broke today when I heard those familiar words from Number One Son. I've felt that way my entire life. There have been times when I feel like I am included and appreciated but other times, I feel like a complete outsider. I hope that my words relating to him were helpful and we can get through these growing pains together. I wish I knew what part of our ADD brains makes us feel this way. Maybe our ADD behaviors push people away? We are in the middle of the Divine Mercy Novena so the first thought that came into my head was to tell him to trust Jesus and not worry. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy changed my life, it gave me peace that I had never had before. I pray that my children grow up with the Peace of Jesus.

Litany of Humility

From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus. (repeat after each line)
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. (repeat after each
line)
That others may be esteemed more than I ,
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may
become as holy as I should. Amen.

Invisible

My Mom worried about me when I was a little girl, she saw me as a follower and thought I might end up in the wrong crowd. I think she somehow saw that I was invisible to others. I am not the first person people call with news, given "just because" gifts or the one that is praised for things that I do. We are not part of most birthday parties and special occasion gatherings. We have a small group of friends with fairly large families. Adding families is more exponential than just a couple more gift bags. It is easy to exclude us. Social gatherings are mostly centered around food. Our food allergies and vegetarian diet exclude us from just about every party food. Feeding my food allergic children is a constant struggle. My children's feelings are hurt when we gather with our friends and everyone but our family have partied together. My children ask, "Why didn't we go to the party?" The truthful answer is, "We didn't get invited."
My entire life, I have encountered, "I didn't think you liked me," or "You didn't seem interested." So many people have imposed on my parents over the years that I bend over backwards to not impose on others. The honest truth is that I just learned to deal with the disappointment of having only friendly acquaintances and few close friends. I am grateful for my long-time close friends, but Hubby is my very best friend. I have become an increasingly private person. We have had so much suffering and stress in the past few years that I don't want to only talk about negative or bad things but that has been my life for years. I'm in a constant state of stress, it is getting to me and no one seems to notice. I'm feeling invisible.

Nobody Told Me There Would Be Days (or weeks!) Like These...

There are days when I am certain that I would get along better with my kids if they were away from me for 8-10 hours like most other children their age. The biggest challenge, outside of the financial strain of living on one income, has been disrespect and disobedience. My husband and I are nice and respectful to each other, we say please and thank you and do not yell or scream at each other. I am rendered speechless at how naughty our kids behave. They just ignore me. I sometimes think it might be my perspective, but that is all I have. I certainly do not expect perfection, but I do expect respect. We have tried all kinds of consequences (time outs, loss of privileges, time out of toys, extra chores). Why don't they just do what we say?
I was thinking today that this might be why parents over schedule their kids and give them free reign to video games. Less interaction time must lead to fewer naughty interactions.
I have worked 7 of the last 14 days, even when I am gone for just a few hours, our lives are disrupted. I shudder to think how my kids would behave at home if they were in boring, monotonous traditional school all day.
I have no solution outside of prayer.
O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires O Saint Joseph, assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers. O Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. Amen

Mother Mary, help me

My 9 year old daughter's behavior has been a challenge to manage for some time. From her birth until now, she was very particular. There comes a point where she needs to just do what I say, when I say it because it is best for her and the family. I am so tired of the conflict. It is depressing. Her behaviors escalate when she eats a sensitive or allergic food and she has been on a roll this past week. I just do not understand, I would have never spoken to my parents the way she does. I do not ignore her words or actions, there are consequences, but those consequences seem to punish me with incessant repetitious wining and the behaviors continue. She can be so cold and outright mean. We, as a family, avoid situations where we know she will have a fit. It is just not with the fight. It is better to stay at home rather than to be embarrassed (or absolutely mortified).
This week I mentioned to a friend how sick our usually healthy family had been. She asked what I had been doing to aggravate the devil. I have no idea! If anything, I have fallen.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.