Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe
O Virgin of Guadalupe,
Mother of the Americas,
grant to our homes the grace of loving
and respecting life in its beginnings,
with the same love with which
you conceived in your womb
the life of the Son of God.
Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Fair Love,
protect our families so that
they may always be united
and bless the upbringing of our children.
Our hope, look upon us with pity,
teach is to go continually to Jesus,
and if we fall, help us to rise again and return to Him
through the confession of our faults
and our sins in the Sacrament of penance,
which gives peace to the soul.
We beg you to grant us a great love
of all the holy Sacraments,
which are, as it were,
the signs that your Son left us on earth.
Thus, Most Holy Mother,
with the peace of God in our consciences,
with our hearts free from evil and hatred,
we will be able to bring to all others
true joy and peace,
which come to us from your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
lives and reigns for ever and ever.
— Pope John Paul II
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If Jesus Came to Your House
By Lois Blanchard Eades
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two
If He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you’d do.
Oh, I know you’d give your nicest room to such an honored
Guest, and all the food you’d serve Him would be the very best.
And you would keep assuring Him you’re glad to have Him
there, that serving Him in your home is joy beyond compare.
But, when you saw Him coming would you meet Him at the
door, or would you have to change your clothes before you
let Him in.
Or hide some magazines, and put the Bible where they’d been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn’t heard, and
wish you hadn’t uttered that last, loud, nasty word?
Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus walk right in, or would you rush about?
And I wonder, if the Savior spent a day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing the things you always do?
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?
Would your family conversation keep its usual pace, and
would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing, and read the
books you read, and et Him know the things on which your
mind and spirit feed?
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you’d planned to
go, or would you, maybe, change your plans for just a day or so?
Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest
friends, or would you hope they stay away until His visit ends?
Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on, or
would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do,
if Jesus came in person to spend some time with you.