Tag Archives: prayer

Prayer for Our Family (by Bl. Teresa of Calcutta)

Heavenly Father, You have given us a model of life in the Holy Family of Nazareth.  Help us, O loving Father, to make our family another Nazareth where love, peace, and joy reign.  May it be deeply contemplative, intensely Eucharistic, and vibrant with joy.  Help us to stay together in joy and sorrow through family prayer.  Teach us to see Jesus in the members of our family, especially in His distressing disguises.  May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus make our hearts meek and humble like His and help us to carry out our family duties in a holy way.  May we love one another as God loves each of us, more and more each day, and forgive each other’s faults as You forgive our sins.  Help us, O loving Father, to take whatever You give and to give whatever You take with a big smile.  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cause of our joy, pray for us.  Saint Joseph, pray for us.  Holy Guardian Angels be always with us, guide and protect us.

Amen.

Peace

“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God.” ~ a gift from my sister

The baby sleeps;
the kids play with ease;
they imagine monsters,
forget which of them is in charge,
and create a land with milk and honey flowing.

Peace is easy.

The clashing comes with tears
pouring and screams
piercing.  They pull, butt heads,
reach for leadership
and keep on screeching.

Peace is invisible.

The prayers do not cease;
we give thanks even for these moments,
it taking every fiber of our being,
but we find peace beneath the peel
of our arrogance, in the pith of our purpose.

Peace is God’s.

Christ in Love; Christ in All Things

“Through [Christ]…let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.  Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.”  ~Hebrews 13: 15-16

My babies have been scooting

little cars and trucks over the furniture,

have been twirling themselves over the soft fuzz of carpet in the living room;

I sit at the top of my mat giving thanks and praise to God

for my life, family, prayer, and practice;

I cross myself in the name of our triune God,

hop to my feet, fold and roll my mat, and

my babies run, skip, and giggle toward me

holding out the purple velcro strap they know

I use at the very end.

 

My babies snuggle down to the bottom edge of their pillow,

pull the blankets to the bottom edge of their ear

and wait in their bed for a kiss.

I bend, lean, and reach over

tracing the cross on their forehead,

“God bless you, for ever and ever and always,” I whisper.

They pull my face close, small hands on my cheeks,

“God bless you, for ever and ever and always,” they whisper

in soft, tired voices.  They reach out their arms

for the hug they know comes at the very end.