St. Monica, Pray for us!

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Snugglebugmom said:
Please pray for my husband. He is so full of hostility towards the Church, he says he doesn’t mind our girls being baptized and raised Catholic but he questions any and all of the Church’s doctrine. It has me feeling absolutely hopeless. Please pray that the Lord will soften his heart and open his eyes. Dear Saint Monica, pray for my husband.
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That sounds like how my DH used to be. Don’t fear, God can do anything! Pray confidently and never, never stop praying! You’ll be included in my prayers. :hug1:

PRAYER TO ST. MONICA

Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

the intentions of all on this thread

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

:crossrc: :grouphug:
 
Hello to All!
I just signed up with CAF today, 8/10/09 and found this thread very applicable to my family life. My husband is anti-catholic as is his mother and sister, my oldest son of 27, unbaptized and of no faith at all. I have a nearly 6 yr. old son, who has been baptized in the Catholic Church and I’m doing my best to raise in this wonderful faith. My mother-in-law was raised Catholic but fell away from the Church. My husband frequently speaks against the Catholic Church usually related to finances or the recent years publicity of the law suits against the Church. I try not to feed into these remarks because they are fruitless. But it does hurt my heart and I hope for him to change. St. Monica has been on my mind much in these past couple years. She has been a great inspiration to me and I admire her resolve to never grow weary of praying while under great distress. O Lord please give me the persistence of St. Monica and use me to bring the Lord Jesus into the hearts of my family. Amen.
Please pray for my family as I will pray for yours.
 
Joanne_Zerull said:
Hello to All!
I just signed up with CAF today, 8/10/09 and found this thread very applicable to my family life. My husband is anti-catholic as is his mother and sister, my oldest son of 27, unbaptized and of no faith at all. I have a nearly 6 yr. old son, who has been baptized in the Catholic Church and I’m doing my best to raise in this wonderful faith. My mother-in-law was raised Catholic but fell away from the Church. My husband frequently speaks against the Catholic Church usually related to finances or the recent years publicity of the law suits against the Church. I try not to feed into these remarks because they are fruitless. But it does hurt my heart and I hope for him to change. St. Monica has been on my mind much in these past couple years. She has been a great inspiration to me and I admire her resolve to never grow weary of praying while under great distress. O Lord please give me the persistence of St. Monica and use me to bring the Lord Jesus into the hearts of my family. Amen.
Please pray for my family as I will pray for yours.
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Welcome Joanne. 🙂 We’re sorry you’re here but we’re glad you’re here. You’ll be included in my prayers and everyone else’s too I’m sure. Keep praying – God does hear us, and He wants our loved ones to find Him and accept Him even more than we do. Don’t give up – stay close to Jesus in the sacraments (He will strengthen you through them) and keep praying. :hug1:

PRAYER TO ST. MONICA

Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

the intentions of all on this thread

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

:crossrc: :grouphug:
 
Welcome to those who are new to this thread. We are praying for you. For those praying for husbands, my husband was an agnostic until we’d been married for a few years. It took prayers, tears, and anguish before he finally agreed to attend church with us. When I converted to Catholicism, there were more prayers, but praise God he was received into the Holy Church the same day I was! God is truly a God of miracles! Now my DH is even more devout than I am! And a much greater apologist for the Church.
We are now praying for two of our grown sons who have rejected the God of their youth. St. Monica is such a blessing and comfort to us. I pray to her daily for my sons, and I know one day they will return to the Lord.
 
Hello St. M thread! It’s been a while so I decided to check in here instead of my facebook page. I wish I had the right words to describe where my marriage is at right now. I honestly don’t know myself. If I’d posted here last week I would have had glowing comments and gleeful hope for our future. However today, hubby shows up on lunch break sullen, tight jawed and uncommunicative. Tried to get him to open up and he kept insisting there is nothing wrong. I finally pointed out to him, the man standing before me today is not the same man who stood before me a week ago, and left it at that. I need to find a way to not get down in the dumps and all crabby and unhappy when he gets like this, so pray for me to find this in myself as well as for my husband and our marriage.

I want to reply to the poster who said her husband is anti-Catholic and openly bashes the Catholic church questioning doctrine, etc. My good friend and her husband, both of whom are Catholic finally left the church after he badgered and belittled her and the church. They currently go to an Episcopal church and she proclaims he is finally happy and going to church. She poured her heart out to me over the years of the pain caused by her husbands disdain for the church and we prayed for him. I shared my past with her and we rejoiced when my husband finally started going to church. My response to the poster is never ever sacrifice your faith or be bullied into something you don’t want just because it’s not what you husband wants. Faith is something you cannot make sacrifices or compromises for. Stand up for it, and represent it by living it! You need to have a frank conversation with your spouse and tell him this. Explain you will not badger him about attending Mass with you and you expect him to cease and desist his negative attitude and comments about the Catholic church. Believe me, I know from experience bugging your spouse about going to church is a losing proposition. Agree to disagree for now, but never ever stop praying for his conversion.

On a good note, I am a grandma again! My newest granddaughter was born a month ago is healthy and beautiful! Her big sister loves her so much and I feel so blest to be living in the same town so I can enjoy my grands anytime :).

All of your prayers are so greatly appreciated and I often wonder where we would be without them? What would the alternative be without my faith and without wonderful people praying for me?

In return, I assure you I pray for St. M’s spouses and their families on a regular basis.
 
Hi Debbie! :hug1: Sorry about the bad day with your husband, I hope it’ll turn around for the better. I’m glad to hear that things were good last week – perhaps he was just having a bad day today? (I hope)

Congrats on your newest granddaughter! What a blessing that you are so close and can spend time with them! 🙂

Praying for you, your friend and her husband, and all represented in this thread right now:

PRAYER TO ST. MONICA

Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

the intentions of all on this thread

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

:crossrc: :grouphug:
 
My husband is also an anti-Catholic … to a point. While he does say that Catholics are Christians, he refuses to let me convert. He feels that it would be best to wait until my kids are grown, but my youngest is only four. I’m not sure if the Lord wants me to put Him on hold for another fourteen years. 😦 So, I’m torn between obediance to my Saviour and obediance to my husband.

I’m praying for everyone here, ladies. Thank you.
 
HarmonyServant said:
My husband is also an anti-Catholic … to a point. While he does say that Catholics are Christians, he refuses to let me convert. He feels that it would be best to wait until my kids are grown, but my youngest is only four. I’m not sure if the Lord wants me to put Him on hold for another fourteen years. 😦 So, I’m torn between obediance to my Saviour and obediance to my husband.

I’m praying for everyone here, ladies. Thank you.
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Welcome HarmonyServant :hug1:

It troubles me that you wrote “he refuses to **let **me convert.” (He sounds very controlling.😦 )He can’t stop you from converting, though admittedly it would be difficult if he is against it. Nonetheless, if you believe God is calling you home to the Catholic Church, do all that you can to get there, especially since you have kids! Bring them with you into the fullness of the church. :yup:

I know it won’t be easy, but do not, as you say, put the Lord “on hold” for 14 years. You don’t know if you have 14 years or 14 minutes left – none of us do.

As for who to put first, we should always put our Savior first, then our spouses, then our children. This is often very difficult to do!

Praying for you and for all in this thread…

PRAYER TO ST. MONICA

Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

the intentions of all on this thread

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

:crossrc: :grouphug:
 
Belle, thank you so much for your kind words. Yes, my husband can be on the stubborn side, and we’ve been arguing over this for a good three years. It’s been a lot of prayer recently.
 
HarmonyServant, I think anyone who wants to learn more about the Catholic faith can enroll in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation) classes – I don’t think you have to enroll with the definite intention of converting. (If this is incorrect, someone correct me please!) Perhaps you and your husband could take classes together so that he can learn that much of what he thinks he knows about the Catholic faith is actually untrue (and he can learn the truth!). Just an idea…maybe having someone other than you explaining doctrine, etc. would be helpful, you know? 🙂

Check with your local Catholic church about classes. 👍
 
Belle10 said:
HarmonyServant, I think anyone who wants to learn more about the Catholic faith can enroll in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation) classes – I don’t think you have to enroll with the definite intention of converting. (If this is incorrect, someone correct me please!) Perhaps you and your husband could take classes together so that he can learn that much of what he thinks he knows about the Catholic faith is actually untrue (and he can learn the truth!). Just an idea…maybe having someone other than you explaining doctrine, etc. would be helpful, you know? 🙂

Check with your local Catholic church about classes. 👍
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Belle, you are right about the RCIA. Many churches also offer a program like the one at our church called “Inquiry”. It’s like a stepping stone into RCIA. However, many join RCIA with the desire to learn about the Catholic church and bypass the Inquiry classes.
 
Lamb_Serenade said:
Belle, you are right about the RCIA. Many churches also offer a program like the one at our church called “Inquiry”. It’s like a stepping stone into RCIA. However, many join RCIA with the desire to learn about the Catholic church and bypass the Inquiry classes.
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Thank you for clarifying. 😃

How are you Debbie? :hug1:
 
Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

(all who have posted in this thread and their families)

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

Amen
 
Hi everyone 👋

Just wanted to share some good news: we’re expecting another baby! 😃

Still praying for everyone… 🙂

PRAYER TO ST. MONICA

Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

the intentions of all on this thread

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

:crossrc: :grouphug:
 
Aww … What a blessing, Belle! :grouphug:

And thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. 🙂 Still praying for those here and their families.
 
Dear Harmonyservant, I’m a cradle Catholic and stop practicing my faith for about 20 years. My second son was born nearly 6 years ago, and my husband agreed with me to have our son baptized, but he wasn’t in favor of the Catholic faith (he’s anti-catholic), so I agreed to check with a non-denominational Christian church, but they refused to baptize infants. So we agreed to baptize our son Catholic (thank you Lord). During our son’s christening we had to promise, aloud, to raise our son Catholic. I realized I didn’t know enough about my own faith to do the job. So I went through RCIA to complete my confirmation. It was an amazing and spirit filled experience. I learned way beyond my expectations, I had thought I knew all that I needed to know…boy was I wrong. The instructors are educated to be qualified to instruct adults in the Catholic faith, they’re Catechumens. In my diocese they start the RCIA formation some time in September, because everyone going through RCIA wishing to convert or be baptized Catholic does so at the Easter Vigil, Saturday before Easter Sunday. I really don’t have the right words to describe the whole experience…great joy for all of us baptized and confirmed that night. Gods Holy Spirit was upon us. My faith today is stronger than ever, because I obeyed the Lords call at my sons Christening. My “yes” helped the Holy Spirit to lead me to the RCIA. I used to resent going to Mass, now I can’t wait to go. I dreaded going to reconciliation, now I feel blessed to be able to reconcile with God and my burdens are always lifted from. I can only imagine what a beautiful marriage and family you can become if both you and your husband went through RCIA together, both learning and discovering the Holy Trinity together. Try out a couple different Catholic churches in your area and feel for yourself which one is right for you. The Catholic Church is different today from the 60’s, 70’s and even the 80’s, it is more caring and more personable. In my RCIA experience I met Baptists, a Mormon and a women who was an atheist who converted to Catholicism. I am cheering for you Harmonyservant, to run the good race, and all believers will agree that Jesus will run the race along side you, he will never leave you, you can feel his gentle hand in yours as you across the finish line to victory. Jesus is your victory, say ‘yes’ to his call.
Sincerely in His Name,
Joanne
 
Joanne_Zerull said:
Dear Harmonyservant, I’m a cradle Catholic and stop practicing my faith for about 20 years. My second son was born nearly 6 years ago, and my husband agreed with me to have our son baptized, but he wasn’t in favor of the Catholic faith (he’s anti-catholic), so I agreed to check with a non-denominational Christian church, but they refused to baptize infants. So we agreed to baptize our son Catholic (thank you Lord). During our son’s christening we had to promise, aloud, to raise our son Catholic. I realized I didn’t know enough about my own faith to do the job. So I went through RCIA to complete my confirmation. It was an amazing and spirit filled experience. I learned way beyond my expectations, I had thought I knew all that I needed to know…boy was I wrong. The instructors are educated to be qualified to instruct adults in the Catholic faith, they’re Catechumens. In my diocese they start the RCIA formation some time in September, because everyone going through RCIA wishing to convert or be baptized Catholic does so at the Easter Vigil, Saturday before Easter Sunday. I really don’t have the right words to describe the whole experience…great joy for all of us baptized and confirmed that night. Gods Holy Spirit was upon us. My faith today is stronger than ever, because I obeyed the Lords call at my sons Christening. My “yes” helped the Holy Spirit to lead me to the RCIA. I used to resent going to Mass, now I can’t wait to go. I dreaded going to reconciliation, now I feel blessed to be able to reconcile with God and my burdens are always lifted from. I can only imagine what a beautiful marriage and family you can become if both you and your husband went through RCIA together, both learning and discovering the Holy Trinity together. Try out a couple different Catholic churches in your area and feel for yourself which one is right for you. The Catholic Church is different today from the 60’s, 70’s and even the 80’s, it is more caring and more personable. In my RCIA experience I met Baptists, a Mormon and a women who was an atheist who converted to Catholicism. I am cheering for you Harmonyservant, to run the good race, and all believers will agree that Jesus will run the race along side you, he will never leave you, you can feel his gentle hand in yours as you across the finish line to victory. Jesus is your victory, say ‘yes’ to his call.
Sincerely in His Name,
Joanne
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Welcome to CAF Joanne! What a beautiful story – thank you for sharing with us how the Holy Spirit brought you home! I’m sure your words of encouragement are worth more than you know. :hug1:

PRAYER TO ST. MONICA

Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

the intentions of all on this thread

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

:crossrc: :grouphug:
 
Congrats Belle and best wishes for an easy pregnancy.:extrahappy: :gopray2: :hug1:
 
I’ve been lurking on this thread, but I’m Bev. I’m returning to the church after a long absence. I had holy communion as a child but was not confirmed.

I’ve inquired into RCIA, however, I married a non-Catholic, and we will have to have our marriage blessed by the church before I can be in full fellowship. He is not a supporter of Catholicism and has some negative attitudes towards it, some of which come from his church, some of which come from his experiences growing up, and some of which come from his life in Latin America - he was born in Honduras and came to the States when he was 15.

Anyway, as long as I’ve been alive I have been interested in religion, always studying, learning, and changing. I’ve tried multiple communities and had many spiritual experiences. However, we had our first child, after TEN years of marriage, just this past February, and she has brought such grace and joy into my life. It has changed my whole world. I began to think more about family, my roots, and I decided to attend Mass again. Now, I am feeling at home, and I feel I need the Church to raise my daughter well, to give her faith, a love for others, gratitude for her blessings, and a way to follow God. I want to have her baptized but my husband wants to raise her in his church.

So, my husband is not thrilled about this development in my spiritual life. He prefers it when I participate in his church, or when I feel uncommitted to anything, just open and spiritual. If I proceed down this path I have some fear. While I definitely do not think he’d ever reject me over religion - he has assured me of this in the past, I still worry about tension and strife between us.

Anyway, that is where I stand. Thanks for starting this thread, and I will pray for all of you.
 
Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

the intentions of all on this thread

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
 
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