Prayer Petitions, January 2019

A blessed and happy new year, my sisters in Christ. January gets it’s name from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings--interesting! The Romans had gods for this and gods for that! Aren’t we blessed to have just one God for everything! On the first we celebrate our Holy Mother Mary, then we celebrate Sts. Basil and Gregory on the 2nd. St. Basil studied the monastic foundations of the east and founded the basis of rule that St. Benedict would later draw on to form the Benedictine order. Basil and Gregory were key figures in defending the faith against the 4th century Arian heresy.

St Elizabeth Ann Seton is celebrated on the 4th. Born in 1774, she was originally Episcopalian. When her husband William Seton died she struggled to provide for her five small children. She accepted an invitation from Sulpician priests to found a school in Baltimore. There she became “Mother Seton” to the sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.

St. John Neuman’s Mass is on the 5th.

January 6 is the Epiphany of our Lord--the day the three wise men visited baby Jesus with gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh. Next we celebrate St. Anthony of Egypt on the 17th.

Of the other saints we celebrate in January, I see St. Thomas Aquinas on the 28th. I think of him writing “O Salutaris Hostia” and “Tantum Ergo Sacramentum” when we sing at Eucharistic Adoration. He was a Doctor of the church and wrote the Summa Theologica and much more-- for example he wrote in depth of the 9 choirs of angels. I truly believe he was genius in his works totally visited by the Holy Spirit! Thank you St. Thomas (he liked his pasta).

My dear sisters we need to pray for our country. Boy, do we need to pray. Dear God we need an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our leaders to bring us together in vital issues. Please give them the gifts of knowledge, wisdom and understanding--in fact, please, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We pray for our sick, for their caretakers, for the addicted, for their families, for those making important decisions, for family members away from the church. We pray for families torn apart by divorce. We lift up those who have died, and on a personal note, Jan. 7 marks the fourth anniversary of the passing to our Lord of my daughter Charlene. We are grateful that she watches over us each day.

We lift up families having serious communication problems. We pray for those in rehabs struggling to get well. Let us remember the elderly, stuck at home alone. The emotionally and mentally ill need prayers as well. Let’s not forget those in the service, overseas who miss their families. Lord keep them safe. Lord Jesus provide jobs and careers for those in need. Jesus hear the prayers of those praying for patience and other virtues that will increase their spirituality. Let us not ever forget our church. Pray for our faithful and hardworking priests. We are in a crisis, to say the least. Lord bring healing to the abused and bless the Holy Father with gifts of the Holy Spirit so he can bring us to where you want us. Amen. May God bless you all with a healthy and fruitful and joyous new year.

Love, Marge Leonser.

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