Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us,
Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, hear us, Christ, graciously hear us,
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us,
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us,
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us,
Holy Mary, Pray for us
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, servant of God, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, victim of the merciful love of God, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, spouse of Jesus, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, gift of Heaven, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, remarkable in childhood, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, an example of obedience, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, resigned to the Divine Will of God, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, lover of peace, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, lover of patience, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, lover of gentleness, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, heroic in sacrifices, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, generous in forgiving, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, benefactress of the needy, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, lover of Jesus, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, devoted to the Holy Face, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, consumed with Divine love of God, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, advocate of extreme cases, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, persevering in prayer, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, a powerful advocate with God, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, showering roses, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, doing good upon earth, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, answering all prayers, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, lover of Holy Chastity, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, lover of voluntary poverty, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, lover of obedience, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, burning with zeal for God’s glory, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, inflamed with the Spirit of Love, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, child of benediction, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, perfect in simplicity, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, so remarkable for trust in God, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, gifted with unusual intelligence, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, never invoked without some answer, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, teaching us the sure way, Pray for us
Little Thérèse, victim of Divine Love, Pray for us
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, spare us,
O Lord Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us,
O Lord Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Little Flower of Jesus, pray for us.

Let us Pray: O God, Who didst inflame with Thy Spirit of Love the soul of Thy Servant Therese of the Child Jesus, grant that we also may love Thee and make Thee much loved. Amen.

Let Your goodness Lord appear to us, that we
made in your image, conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength
we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder
nor is it fitting for us to try.
But Your mercy reaches from the heavens
through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child,
but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts,
the gift of eternal love
Caress us with Your tiny hands,
embrace us with Your tiny arms
and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.

HT: Catholic Key Blog

Read how one military wife did.

And then, whatever prayers you said yesterday for our veterans and their families, say some more today.

Heavenly Father, on this holiday weekend we give thanks to you for the gift and blessing of the freedom we enjoy in our great nation.  We praise you, Lord, for inspiring and guiding our founding fathers as they struggled to build our country and create a new way of living with the goal of freedom and justice for all.
We thank you, Lord, for the courageous self-sacrifice and generous spirit of countless people who have given their life’s blood in the defense of freedom and for the pursuit of justice.  Keep us faithful to the tradition and example we have inherited; may we leave for the next generation a better world, prepared for the dawning of the Kingdom of Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

I’ll steal some age-perspective from my birthday buddy Rachel (who is a whole 3 days older than I am) and tell you that so far, 37 feels an awful lot like 36. And that’s a very good thing.

Since it is my birthday, I am going to be bold and make a request of you, my dear sweet readers who have stuck with this DB.com spot through the years and many changes …

Today, my 6-year-old niece is entering the hospital to begin a regimen that we all hope and pray will resolve a serious medical issue she’s suffered from since she was a baby.

This hospitalization and ongoing treatment will be a great trial for her and her family, but we all do hope and pray that it is the answer we’ve so long sought.

Will you say a prayer for B. today?

Please pray these beautiful words from The Blessing of a Sick Child from the Collectio Rituum (1954):

O God, by Whose help all things grow to maturity and, once grown, are kept strong, stretch out Thy hand over this, Thy young servant, B., in her sickness, that she, having regained her health and strength, may grow up to full womanhood, and unfailingly offer Thee a loyal and pleasing service all the days of her life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thank you.

Prayer for Our President

God of power and might, wisdom and justice,
through You authority is rightly administered,
laws are enacted, and judgment is decreed.
Assist with your spirit of counsel and fortitude
the President and other government leaders of these United States.

May they always seek
the ways of righteousness, justice and mercy.
Grant that they may be enabled by your powerful protection
to lead our country with honesty and integrity.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

O Lord our God, St. Thomas More, patron of statesmen, lived a life of prayer and penance, zeal for justice and integrity in his political service as Lord Chancellor of England. He was guided by the light of the Gospel in his family life. This led him on the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Guide President Barack H. Obama and Vice-President Joseph R. Biden so that they may be courageous and effective in leading and guiding the United States. Inspire them to promote the dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus, who is Christ the Lord.
Amen.

May God bless our servicemen and women and their families. And may God bless America!

1. Pray for your child to know his/her vocation and to be open to the will of God.

2. Pray for your children’s future spouses. Don’t wait until the engagement to start praying for your future sons and daughter-in-laws. You might not know them yet, but you can start praying right now that the people whom your children will marry will avoid bad influences and seek to know, love, and serve God. Pray for their moral safety and right judgment. Ask Mary to keep them close to her heart and ask their guardian angels to protect them from harm and help them grow in virtue.

We can’t control our children’s futures, but we can beg God’s grace for them and their futures every day — starting now.

photo credit

O God, the father of mankind,
Who has given me these, my children,
And committed them to my charge to bring them up for You,
And to prepare them for life everlasting;
Assist me with Your heavenly grace,
That I may be able to fulfill my sacred duty and stewardship.
Teach me both what to give and what to withhold,
When to reprove and when to praise.
Make me gentle, yet firm, considerate and watchful,
And deliver me equally from the weakness of indulgence
And the excess of severity.
Grant that both by work and example,
I may be careful to lead them in the way of wisdom
And true piety; so that at last I may,
With them, be admitted to the joys of our true home in heaven.
Amen.
(Catholic.org)

Tornado Warning.

Very funny, I thought. Would someone please alert the local weatherman to the fact that this is New Hampshire? We endure suffocating winters that bring weaker humans to their breaking points. Come springtime, we drown in mud, fend off black flies, and battle bears in our garbage. All summer long, we refrain from blinking for fear of missing the entire season if we do. We do these things quite cheerfully in exchange for one simple guarantee: No tornadoes. Not in this state. Impossible.

Well, apparently not. The kids and I gathered flashlights and stayed away from the windows while Dan cleared access to the crawl space. We have no tornado cellar, you see, because we live in New Hampshire. Someone tell that to the weatherman, I thought again. And while you’re at it, tell it to the rain that is blowing sideways outside our front window.

Please God, I prayed as I considered the dingy darkness below. Not there. Do not make us go into the crawl space today.

And God is good. He did not make us go into the crawl space. After only about an hour of thunder, lightning, and torrential downpour, He extended His almighty hand and calmed the storm. He smiled down upon our humble state and brought back the sunshine.

And so now I return to email, to laundry, to dishes, and to taking for granted all that is sweetness and light.