Daily Prayers for July 2011

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 19, 2011

I thank You, Lord, for the beauty and order I see everywhere in creation. I believe that You created all things, and that everything You created is good. Help me to appreciate the goodness all around me and especially the goodness in others. Amen.

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 20, 2011

Lord, open my heart to the pain and suffering of others. Help me to quiet my own complaints so that I can hear the pleas for help that occur around me. Empty me from self-seeking behaviors and help me to follow You in the service of others. Amen

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 21, 2011

Heavenly Father, the poor of the world teach us so much about human dignity, about justice and about loving our neighbor. When the stresses of everyday life overwhelm me, help me to remember these people who struggle daily for survival. Help me to take advantage of opportunities to help them by sharing generously my blessings. Amen

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 22, 2011

Merciful God, You are slow to anger and rich in mercy. I pray today that I can follow in Your footsteps. Help me to set aside rivalry and competition so that I can work in harmony with all our brothers and sisters. Amen

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 23, 2011

God the Creator, You have entrusted us with the stewardship of Your creation. Give me the wisdom to treasure the gifts of this world and help me to keep sacred the precious gift of life itself. Amen

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 24, 2011

O Jesus, help me to remember that forgiveness is the beginning of the end of the cycle of violence. In our world, people often resort to violence rather than forgiveness to solve their problems. Give us, Lord, the humility that it takes to forgive those who have hurt us. Amen

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 25, 2011 - Saint James

Saint James, we remember you on this special day of your feast. Through your heavenly intercession we pray that we may be willing to leave everything to follow Jesus as you did. Help us to become special friends of Jesus as you were. Amen.

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 26, 2011 - Saints Joachim and Anne

Heavenly Father, today we recognize the important role that Joachim and Anne played in the Virgin Mary’s life. Guide all parents to provide the loving home and faithful teaching that these dedicated parents provided for Mary, their daughter. Amen.

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 27, 2011

Dearest Savior, help me to recognize the cries for help from my family and friends, neighbors and strangers. Give me the sensitivity to hear the pain and see the suffering of others. And give me the strength to reach out to those who are hurting. Amen.

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 28, 2011 - Healing and Hope within Mental Illness

All of us are unhappy or angry or confused at one time or another. But for some these normal, even healthy feelings can become something deeper and more painful. When sadness does not lift or when anger persists, it colors our whole lives. An emotional difficulty can affect our relationships with loved ones and with God.

Emotional difficulties, like physical infirmities, can reach the point where they are no longer redemptive, but harmful. In the midst of emotional difficulties we can find it hard to forgive, or to love. Such a pain is particularly troublesome because it may make us unable to pray even for ourselves.

God has given us our lives to enjoy, our world to be happy in. Emotional difficulties
can cause us to enjoy God’s gifts less fully than we could.

Therefore it is especially important that we pray for all those with emotional difficulties.
Even though at times we may find it hard to love those closest to us, we must answer their anger and sadness and misunderstanding with unconditional love, in the hope that all may fully enjoy God’s gift of life.

Prayer

I pray today, Lord, for the emotional difficulties I have. I also pray for all those who suffer from emotional pain. Some suffer in silence, alone. Some feel ashamed and don’t know how to ask for help. Some lash out, and their pain affects those around them. Some despair, their hopelessness so deep that they hurt themselves. Be with each of us, Lord. Open our eyes to one another’s hurt, that we may treat each other as You treated the broken ones who came to You. Give us hope for another day. Amen.

Join us in prayer during the Annual Healing and Hope Novena, July 28 – August 5:

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 29, 2011 - Healing and Hope Within Family Relationships

Though families take many different shapes, everybody belongs to one. Family life is a universal part of the human experience. To live and to move in the world necessitates belonging to some group or other – we might think of “family” as a household, one’s immediate relatives or parents and siblings, but family has broader meanings. People with whom we share a workplace, a church or a neighborhood can also constitute a family.

In any family, relationships change as people change. A wife and husband become a mother and father. A child becomes an adolescent, and an adolescent becomes a young adult. A daughter becomes a mother, and a grandmother. Each instance of change brings new joys – and new challenges.

We pray for our families. We pray in gratitude for all that our families give us. When the challenge of change has strained our family connections, we pray as well for healing in our families.

Prayer

Lord, heal my family. Help those in my family who are torn by misunderstandings to bond through communication and forgiveness. Help family members who have drifted apart to reunite. Show each of us the value of investing ourselves in our families, giving more of our time than our treasure. Let children bring joy to our family life. Let the elderly and the young alike share a sense of belonging. Let us value one another for who we are – sons and daughters of God. Help us, God, to love one another. Amen.

Join us in prayer during the Annual Healing and Hope Novena, July 28 – August 5:

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 30, 2011 - Healing and Hope Within Physical Infirmities

Everybody is physically unwell at one time or another, whether from a common cold, a broken bone or a more serious condition that requires a hospital stay. Some of us must live with a chronic illness, causing constant inconvenience and pain.

It is often difficult for us to see any purpose for our suffering, or to believe that anything good can come of it. Sickness slows us down, throws into disarray all our well-laid plans.

We ask God, in prayer, for healing. In some of us, a physical healing takes place, to the greater glory of God. Others are granted a well-disguised blessing: the physical affliction remains. But this result is not because of wrongdoing or a lack of faith. Instead, when afflicted, we have an opportunity, through our suffering, to become more compassionate to the suffering of others, even knowing, in some small way, what Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus, too, wanted desperately to be freed from His suffering. He was human; He could sweat and bleed and die. But He wanted always to do God’s will. His prayer led Him to accept His suffering and give it meaning. Our prayers can help us seek physical healing. But they also can bring us to accept whatever God wills, a peace that is no less miraculous than the lame walking or the blind seeing.

Prayer

Lord, I pray that I might be made whole again. I pray for health so I can walk freely upon Your earth, so I can breathe deeply of the air that sustains me, so I can see clearly the beauty of all creation. I pray for the soothing of my pains, less for my own comfort than for Your glory, that I might accomplish with my life good work in Your name. Yet if the suffering will not pass, grant me the courage to make peace with my afflictions, that I might seek always to serve You. Amen.

Join us in prayer during the Annual Healing and Hope Novena, July 28 – August 5:

oblatesusa.org

 

[goforgoal]

Daily Prayer for July 31, 2011 - Healing and Hope Within Financial Stresses

Almost everyone struggles in some way, at some time, with financial stress. For most people these days, financial stress has become part of everyday life. Retirement investments decrease in value, credit card debt becomes nearly insurmountable, the cost of prescription drugs increases and families are losing their homes. Some of us simply have less than we need, and suffer from a lack of basic necessities. Others have enough, but still worry that we will one day fall short. Still others are blessed with more than we need, and must decide how best to use our abundant gifts.

Our financial resources are great blessings, gifts to share in doing God’s work. But they also can be obstacles, burdening us, separating us from others, as in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.

Today, in the global village, our buying and selling have far-reaching effects. We have access to goods from around the world as never before – but at what cost? We must ask in every financial decision, will this transaction harm another? Is a more just choice available to me?

We pray for all who do not have enough for their basic needs, though the earth is filled with plenty. We pray for fair dealings between employers and employees, between buyers and sellers, between the developed and the developing nations. We pray that we may be inspired with the wisdom to use our resources well.

Prayer

Lord, at this time many of Your people are facing financial stresses unlike any we have ever known. Anxiety over finances can burden us to the point of despair, unless we remain focused on the things that really matter: the assurance of Your presence in our lives, the knowledge that our loved ones are a far greater treasure than material wealth, and the hope that we all, with Your help, will endure our present financial hardships. Lord, help me to place my trust not in my possessions but in You, the only lasting Source of my security. Amen.

Join us in prayer during the Annual Healing and Hope Novena, July 28 – August 5

oblatesusa.org

 

[Bernadette173]

Daily Prayer for July 1, 2011 - The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, filled with unending love, we praise and thank You
for your many blessings this day and every day. May I be drawn closer to
Your Sacred Heart each day while I learn Your blessed way. Amen.

oblatesusa.org

Praying with you…
God Bless,
Bernadette173