Helpful Prayers

A healthy prayer life begins with setting time aside daily for conversing with God, both alone and with family. Prayer should become for each of us, a habit and a joy. It helps us to focus more on God and relinquish our attachment to the world and to sin.

"When you come to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for trials.
Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
undisturbed in times of adversity.
Cling to Him, forsake Him not;
thus, will your future be great.
Accept what befalls you;
in crushing misfortune be patient.
For, in fire gold is tested and worthy men
in the crucible of humiliation.
Trust God and He will help you.
Make straight your ways and hope in Him.
You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy.
Turn not away, lest you fall."
- Sirach 2:1-7

CHAPLETS NEW!

Fr. Andrew Apostoli's Daily Prayer to our Blessed Mother

Be Humble before the Lord

Morning Offering (I)

Morning Offering (II)

Lord Jesus, by Your loving grace, please make the imperfect prayers of me, a sinner, pleasing, wholesome and acceptable to you. Amen

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in thanksgiving for Your favors, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends and, in particular, for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen

Lord Jesus, to You I offer all of my work and all of my joy, as well as all of the pain and frustration of this day. Please grant me the strength to bear them in silence, humility obedience and love, just as You bore them for me that day on Calvary. Amen

A Prayer to Redeem Lost Time (by St. Teresa of Avila)	A Prayer for Help from a Weakened Soul	Wash me, O Lord
O my God! Source of all Mercy! I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen.	Dear Lord, my smallness and weakness are perfectly known to You. Have pity on me. Pull me out of the mud of self, so that I may not be stuck in it forever. Consider the labors and trials of my daily life. Please stand by me in my efforts. Strengthen me in my resolutions. I have often failed because I depended on myself alone. Now, however, I shall seek advice and direction as often as I need it. Only in this way can I hope to make progress in true and solid virtue. Make me wise and honest in my daily efforts, so that I may no longer waste valuable time. I hope to become at least the kind of person You want me to be. Without You I can do nothing. Lord, help me! Amen	O Lord my God, In your mercy, wash me. In your Love, heal me. In your Divinity, strengthen me. In Your Majesty, command me to do your Holy Will. Amen

Act of Contrition	A Plea to God	A Prayer to St. Joseph
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all of my sins because of Your just punishment, but most of all, because they offend Thee, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen.	Dear Lord, Please help me. Time and again I give in to temptation and evil, the sins of lust. Time and again I offend You, my Savior, deepening Your already painful and bloody wounds. In this misery, I give my yes, my will to satan, while to You, my loving God, I turn my back. Time and again I find myself face down in the mud, crushed under the weight of my vileness and sins, while the force of my own destruction bears down on my soul. Please forgive me, Lord, and help me to do better. I am so weak that I feel helpless and defenseless, unable to stand, unworthy of Your love and support. Cleanse me of self-loathing that I may see Your presence always within me and the countenance of Your loving Face in those whom I have desecrated, offended or injured. Cleanse me of the spirit of addiction that I may take back control of myself, and please, once and for all, loosen the grasp that sin and satan have over me. Be victorious over my enemies, O Lord, for I alone cannot defeat them. Grant me the grace and strength of self-control, so that my spirit holds dominion over my weak and selfish flesh unto my dying breath. Help me, O Lord, to discipline myself through prayer and fasting. Let me never lose sight of You – for You, my God, are all that I truly seek. I pray that in my weakness, Your strength, love and mercy may be shown to all, and I pray that somewhere, somehow, someday, I may come to give You glory by my life. Amen.	St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family and earthly guardian of our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, through the power of your special intercession, for God to grant me the strength, guidance, insight and discernment to always be the best husband/wife that I can be, the best father/mother that I can be, the best son/daughter that I can be, the best worker that I can be, the purest soul that I can be, so that all of my labors, all of my thoughts, words and deeds may ceaselessly give glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen

Memorare	We Fly to Your Patronage	For Peace and Reconciliation
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother; to you I come, before you I kneel, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen	We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but always deliver us from danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin. Amen. O Mary, conceived without sin, Pray for us who have recourse to You!	Lord Jesus, We pray, through the special intercession of our Blessed Mother, the Queen of Peace, that all peoples be reconciled with God and with one another, especially among families and among nations. This we ask in Your healing name. Amen

Prayer with a Remorseful Heart	For Families in Pain (to Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey)	Anima Christi (by St. Ignatius Loyola)
Lord Jesus, before you I kneel, a sinful wretch, outcast and apart from You at no one's hand but mine, guilty by my own admission, in misery, humiliated, ashamed and sorrowful. In sincere repentance, I beg You, Lord Jesus, turn not Your Glorious Face from me in the hideousness of my sins, but grant me the fullness of Your infinite mercy, Your unfathomable love, that I may draw from You all of the healing graces that I need to overcome my failings and vanquish the demons that torment me. Channel Your strength to me, O Lord, so that, through You, I may defeat my own desires, imperfections and weaknesses, confront and conquer my tormentors, make worthy restitution to You for my sins and offenses, and give You glory by my life. Amen.	Father Solanus Casey, We pray, through the help of your intercession, for the healing of all suffering children and families in the world, especially those victims of illness, tragedy, violence, family strife, neglect and abuse, as well as all who are suffering from layoffs and financial woes. We pray most fervently for the instigators and innocent victims of war and, in particular, for those young women contemplating or succumbing to abortion, including the many doctors, nurses and politicians who use their skills and talents, not to heal, but to kill. Please bring God's graces of conversion, reconciliation and salvation to the perpetrators of these unconscionable acts of evil. And, to the victims, please bestow all the peace, mercy, comfort, compassion, consolation and tender loving kindness of our Lord Jesus and His Holy Family, which these people so desperately need in their hour of pain, grief and confusion. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen (Ven. Fr. Solanus Casey, during his lifetime, demonstrated extraordinary ability to counsel, heal and reconcile family problems of all sorts.) Please see the website for his Cause for Sainthood: http://www.solanuscasey.org/	Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O Good Jesus, hear me. Within Your wounds, hide me. Permit me not to be separated from You. From the malignant enemy defend me. In the hour of death, call me and bid me come to You, that with Your saints I may praise you for ever and ever. Amen

Prayer for a Soul Mate	Prayer for Seeking a Marriage Mate	Prayer for the Wise Choice of a Marriage Partner	Prayer for Help in Finding a Future Spouse
Dear Jesus, I know many single Christians who are in search of that special someone. Please teach each of us to learn from you and listen to your messengers, so that we will be able to recognize the one you have in mind for us. Thank you for being patient when we choose a different path. Sometimes we think we know better and take a little more time to come around to your way of thinking. Help us wash away our fears and break those old bad habits that have been getting us into trouble, preventing us from having healthy relationships. Show us how to manage our time better in our busy lives so that we can make new friends. As you know friendship is a good way to get to know a person before entering into a romance. And Lord, give us Your guidance to become people of good character and prepare us to meet our new soul mate. We ask this in your precious name. Amen. (Prayer by Chuck)	Lord, You said that it is not good for us to be alone. You made us for each other. But Lord, I find it so hard to find that mate who would be a good spouse. Help me, Lord, to put this yearning for marriage in its proper place. Lead me, Lord, to the one whom You choose for my spouse. While I wait for You to reveal Your Will in this matter, help me to know myself better. Help me to address those areas of my life which are disordered and which would interfere with my having a successful marriage. When my desire to find a spouse becomes all consuming, help me to relax and practice patience. Help me to invest in wholesome friendships which bring me closer to You and which will assist me in making such an important decision. It is so natural, Lord, to seek love. Teach me to seek You first and to learn to give love before I try to receive it. Help me to remember that whatever journey this life leads me on, You are always present, always offering companionship, and always filling my deepest need. I offer You, Lord, my loneliness and my longing for marriage. I wait for You to lead me to Your perfect Will for me in this and all things. Amen. (Prayer by Chuck)	Glorious Saint Raphael, Patron and lover of the young, I feel the need of calling to you and of pleading for your help. In all confidence I open my heart to you to beg your guidance and assistance in the important task of planning my future. Obtain for me through your intercession the light of God's grace so that I may decide wisely concerning the person who is to be my partner through life. Angel of Happy Meetings, lead us by the hand to find each other. May all our movements be guided by your light and transfigured by your joy. As you led the young Tobias to Sara and opened up a new life of happiness with her to holy marriage, lead me to such a one whom in your angelic wisdom you judge best suited to be united with me in marriage. St. Raphael, loving patron of those seeking a marriage partner, help me in this supreme decision of my life. Find for me as a helpmate in life the person whose character may reflect some of the traits of Jesus and Mary. May he (she) be upright, loyal, pure, sincere and noble, so that with united efforts and with chaste and unselfish love we both may strive to perfect ourselves in soul and body, as well as the children it may please God to entrust to our care. St. Raphael, angel of chaste courtship, bless our friendship and our love that sin may have no part in it. May our mutual love bind us so closely that our future home may ever be most like the home of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Offer your prayers to God for the both of us and obtain the blessing of God upon our marriage, as you were the herald of blessing for the marriage of Tobiah and Sarah. St. Raphael, friend of the young, be my friend, for I shall always be yours. I desire ever to invoke you in my needs. To your special care I entrust the decision I am to make as to my future husband/wife. Direct me to the person with whom I can best cooperate in doing God's Holy Will, with whom I can live in peace, love and harmony in this life, and attain to eternal joy in the next. Amen. In honor of St. Raphael: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . *(Prayer by Chuck)*	Dear Heavenly Father, Who said, "It is not good that the man should be alone," I come to you asking for help to find my life partner. I pray to You for guidance, for I am Your child, and You are my loving and heavenly Father. As I seek to assume my place in life and fulfill my mission, I long to share my love with another, to establish a home and to raise a family. In Your tender mercy direct me to a companion who will appreciate me and requite my love. I do not want to be alone, but would prefer to share my joys and sorrows with a beloved mate - one of my faith and my way of life. Hear my prayer for the sake of Him who blessed marriage by His presence during His ministry on earth. Amen. *(Prayer by Chuck)*
		Prayer to Live a Chaste Life	Psalm 51 - Acknowledgement of Sin
		Lord God, we live in an age when sexuality is trivialized and when covenants are broken routinely. We are bombarded with cultural insensitivity for the sacredness of life and what was once considered perverted is now common place and accepted. Please help me increase my sensitivity to the Truth of Your commandments and show me where I need to amend my attitudes and my actions. Forgive me my failures in this area and strengthen me to live a chaste life. Free me from the bondage of my passions and make me the master of my inclinations. Heal me of past hurts and the impact of erroneous instruction and guide my relationships in purity, fidelity and love. Amen. *(Prayer by Frank)*	"Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, I have sinned through sex addiction in many ways. I ask for your forgiveness, cleansing, guidance, strength, protection and healing for every step along this journey. Father, please create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. I commit myself to serving you from this point on in my life, and ask that you will accomplish Your will in my life and not my own. You are my King and I am Your servant. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. Teach me Your ways, that I may walk in them for the rest of my life. Thank You, Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." *(Prayer by Brian G.)*