“My son, when you are ill, do not delay,
but pray to God, for it is he who heals.”
(Sirach 38:9)
The COVID-19 crisis continues. If only we would learn the divine lessons, then these dark clouds provide a silver lining. What are those lessons?
* That despite all of our technological advances, we are not gods. Despite all our worldly wealth and capabilities, a microscopic virus can bring us tumbling down. This should cut down our pride and bring us to our knees in humility.
* Those who are locked down or in community quarantine can no longer go out to dine, drink and dance. If we realize that we do not really need these fleeting and trivial pleasures, then a good lesson has been learned. And if we put the lockdown time to good use, especially in prayer and study of the word, then all the better.
* And who are we locked down with? The family! If we realize how we have somehow neglected the family, if we have now been discovering quality time with the members of our family, if we have become closer not just to each other but to the Christ who is at the center of our home, then we have become better off.
God had to allow a pandemic to bring us to our senses. Now if only we have learned our divine lessons (homeschooled by the way!), then God can move on to make our lives better.
Let us go the way of the authentic Christian.
* Faith not fear.
* Churches open, not locked down.
* Christ not crisis.
So let us pray
I know our MFC brethren are constantly praying, as individuals, as families, as community groups. I would like to build on what is already happening. Let us as MFC do non-stop, 24/7, worldwide prayer. I ask our MFC brethren throughout the world to commit to one hour of prayer every day, until this pandemic passes. Let us do this at the same hour in our respective time zones, from 8pm to 9pm (your local time). This way, the holy warriors of MFC will be praying through all the hours of all the days throughout this whole time of COVID-19.
Let our basic intentions be:
* For this COVID-19 scourge to pass.
* For people to repent of sin and turn back to God.
* For our churches to be opened and our Masses to be restored.
* For there to be renewal and revival in our Church.
* For the furtherance of our MFC life and mission.
Aside from your own individual and family prayers, the suggested prayers are below.
Let the worldwide MFC prayer start now. God bless you all.
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MISSIONARY FAMILIES OF CHRIST
WORLDWIDE INTERCESSORY PRAYERS
MFC PRAYER
“Oh God, deliver us from COVID-19.
Let the authorities find a cure for this disease.
But let us see the deeper spiritual implications of this scourge.
Bring your people to repentance.
Renew and revive your Church.
Give us in MFC the boldness to go forth and continue to do your work.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
PSALM 91
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust.
He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare, from the destroying plague,
he will shelter you with his pinions, and under his wings you may take refuge;
his faithfulness is a protecting shield.
You shall not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that roams in darkness, nor the plague that ravages at noon.
Though a thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,
near you it shall not come. You need simply watch;
the punishment of the wicked you will see.
Because you have the Lord for your refuge
and have made the Most High your stronghold,
no evil shall befall you, no affliction come near your tent.
For he commands his angels with regard to you, to guard you wherever you go.
With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You can tread upon the asp and the viper, trample the lion and the dragon.
Because he clings to me I will deliver him;
because he knows my name I will set him on high.
He will call upon me and I will answer;
I will be with him in distress; I will deliver him and give him honor.
With length of days I will satisfy him, and fill him with my saving power.
HOLY ROSARY
NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF MONTE BERICO
O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of God and my Mother Mary,
I thank you that you have deigned to appear on Monte Berico
and I thank you for all the graces you grant here to those who turn to you.
Nobody every prayed to you in vain. I, too, resort to you and beg you
for the Passion and Death of Jesus and for your pains:
welcome me, O merciful Mother, under your mantle, which is a maternal mantle;
grant me the particular grace that I ask of you (your petition here)
and protect me from all evil and especially from sin which is the greatest evil.
Oh make, oh Mary, my Mother, that I always enjoy your loving protection in life
and even more in death and then come to see you in heaven
and to thank and bless you forever. Amen.
Madonna of Monte Berico, pray for us.
O sweet Virgin, pious mother of love,
Like this Ave rising from the heart.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria.
O Virgin, shine as a star in the sky,
Motherly defend your faithful children.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria.
PRAYER OF POPE FRANCIS
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick.
At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain, with steadfast faith.
You, Salvation of the Roman people, know what we need.
We are certain that you will provide, so that, as you did at Cana of Galilee,
joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the Father’s will
and to do what Jesus tells us.
He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us,
through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our pleas—we who are put to the test—
and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
ORATIO IMPERATA
God our Father, we come to you in our need
to ask your protection against the 2019 N-Corona Virus,
that has claimed lives and has affected many.
We pray for your grace for the people tasked
with studying the nature and cause of this virus and its disease
and of stemming the tide of its transmission.
Guide the hands and minds of medical experts
that they may minister to the sick with competence and compassion,
and of those governments and private agencies
that must find cure and solution to this epidemic.
We pray for those afflicted. May they be restored to health soon.
Grant us the grace to work for the good of all and to help those in need.
Grant this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST ROCH
O Blessed Saint Roch, Patron of the sick,
have pity on those who lie upon a bed of suffering.
Your power was so great when you were in this world,
that by the sign of the Cross, many were healed of their diseases.
Now that you are in heaven, your power is not less.
Offer, then, to God our sighs and tears
and obtain for us that health we seek,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST ROSALIE
O God, our Father, mercifully look upon Your people who come to You
and grant through the intercession of St Rosalie,
who turned away from earthly delights to the joys of contemplation,
that we may be delivered from all harm here on earth
and one day be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven.
St Rosalie, confessor and virgin, we pray to God for our families and friends.
Through your powerful prayers, may we obtain health, life and eternal salvation.
Amen.
PRAYER TO ST MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
St Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle,
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
ENDING PRAYERS
Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
St Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.
St Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
St Roch, pray for us.
St Rosalie, pray for us.
St Anthony the Great, pray for us.
St Edmund the Martyr, pray for us.
The Fourteen Holy Helpers, pray for us.
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