How do you "publish" a prayer?

[lynnehelen]

I am praying a novena to St. Jude for my life situation and also the “Prayer to the Virgin Mary never known to fail” ("O beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven…) for my immediate predicament (sick and needy in a motel in an unfamiliar place);

Both need to be “publilshed.” I don’t know what this means.

I am already finding bountiful benefit from these prayers. Recovery can be painful.

Would this be considered “publication?”

 

[louisak]

I am not familiar with the notion that a prayer needs to be “published”. Where did you hear this?

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Some of these St. Jude chain letters will say: “Publication must be promised” or some terrible things will happen. Catholics should disregard them. St. Jude’s intercession and God’s answer to our prayers does not depend on purchasing advertising.

 

[lynnehelen]

The thread here, “Prayer to the Virgin Mary which has never failed,” says the same thing, that’s why I’m asking.

 

[louisak]

The thread here, “Prayer to the Virgin Mary which has never failed,” says the same thing, that’s why I’m asking.

I am suspicious of things saying “prayer which has never failed” or “this novena has never been known to fail”. The problem is the implication of the word “fail” in this context, it is implied that if you pray this prayer or novena, you will automatically get what you want. That makes it seem like God, the Blessed Virgin, and the other saints are like a vending machine - put in a certain amount of money and the desired product will pop out.

The observation has often been made that God always answers our prayers, but sometimes the answer is “No”. The reason simply is that God knows everything, whereas we don’t. It may be that the thing we are praying for so urgently might actually be harmful to us, or to others. Just as good parents doesn’t always give young children everything they ask for, if they know those things would actually not be good for them.