We continue to pray for the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death. (www.9daysforlife.com.)

Please pray this prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of Life and Patroness of all the Americas.

Virgin of Guadalupe,

Patroness of unborn children,

we implore your intercession

for every child at risk of abortion.

Help expectant parents to welcome from God

the priceless gift of their child’s life.

Console parents who have lost that gift

through abortion,

and lead them to forgiveness and healing

through the Divine Mercy of your Son.

Teach us to cherish

and to care for family and friends

until God calls them home.

Help us never to see others as burdens.

Guide our public officials

to defend each and every human life

through just laws.

Inspire us all to bring our faith into public life,

to speak for those who have no voice.

We ask this in the name of your Son,

Jesus Christ, who is Love and Mercy itself.

Amen.

From the 2010 Respect Life Liturgy Guide, USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.

Join the Sacred Heart Book Club!

https://sacredheartofcamden.com/adult-faith-formation

The January book is "One Great Act of Fidelity: Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist" by Father Ron Rolheiser, ofm. This is a great read in this time of Eucharistic Revival.

You do not have to go on a mission trip to encounter poverty. There are homeless in your own community. 

Please pray this prayer for the homeless.

Lord Jesus, I pray today for those who have no place to call a home. I pray for men and women who wander the streets, sleep in bus and train stations, and for those who find temporary warmth in a homeless shelter. 

Bless them, dear Lord, and bless those who perform works of mercy as they shelter and feed the poor.   

Keep them safe, dear Lord, and help them to end their cycle of homelessness and to find a permanent home. Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Come to their aid. Amen.

On this date in the year 1916, the desert hermit Blessed Charles de Foucauld was martyred in a remote region of Algeria. After living a life in the world, he converted and wrote: “As soon as I believed that there was a God, I understood that I could not do anything other than live for Him.”

The famous prayer of Blessed Charles is called the Prayer of Abandonment. I love this prayer. 

Print this prayer and make it a part of your prayer routine.

The Prayer of Abandonment

Father, I abandon myself into your hands;

do with me what you will,

whatever you do I thank you:

I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,

and in all your creatures –

I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul:

I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,

for I love you Lord, and so need to give myself,

to surrender myself into your hands without reserve

and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father. 

The Angelus is a wonderful prayer to begin each day, especially during this Season of Advent. Pray the Angelus today and try to make this prayer a part of you daily prayer life. Tradition has us praying the Angelus 3 times a day: in the morning when you awake, at noon, and at 6:00 p.m.

The Angelus:

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. (Hail Mary full of grace….)

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

R. Be it done to me according to your word. (Hail Mary full of grace….)

V. And the Word was made flesh.

R. And dwelt among us. (Hail Mary full of grace….)

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

A litany is a form of prayer with a common response to each petition or supplication. In this Litany for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, the response after each petition is: Jesus, have mercy! O Jesus, you suffered and died that all mankind might be saved and brought to eternal happiness. Hear our pleas for further mercy on the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Response: Jesus, have mercy!

For my dear parents and grand­parents,

My brothers and sisters and other near relatives,

My godparents and sponsors of confirmation,

My spiritual and temporal benefactors,

My friends and neighbors,

All for whom love or duty calls me to pray,

Those who have suffered disadvantages or harm through me,

Those who are especially beloved by you,

Those whose release is near at hand,

Those who desire most to be united with you,

Those who endure the greatest sufferings,

Those who are least remembered,

Those whose release is most remote,

Those who are most deserving because of their services to the Church,

The rich, who now are the most destitute,

The mighty, who now are powerless,

The once spiritually blind, who now see their folly,

The frivolous, who spent their time in idleness,

The poor who did not seek the treasures of heaven,

The tepid, who devoted little time to prayer,

The indolent, who neglected to perform good works,

Those of little faith, who neglected the fre­quent reception of the sacraments,

The habitual sinners, who owe their salvation to a miracle of grace,

Parents who failed to watch over their children,

Superiors who were not solicitous for the salvation of those entrusted to them,

Those who strove for worldly riches and pleasures,

The worldly-minded, who failed to use their wealth and talents in the service of God,

 Those who witnessed the death of others, but would not think of their own,

Those who did not provide for the life here­after,

Those whose sentence is severe because of the great things entrusted to them,

The popes, kings, and rulers,

The bishops and their counselors,

My teachers and spiritual advisers,

The priests and religious of the Catholic Church,

The defenders of the holy faith,

Those who died on the battlefield,

Those who fought for their country,

Those who were buried in the sea,

Those who died of strokes,

Those who died of heart attacks,

Those who suffered and died of cancer or AIDS,

Those who died suddenly in accidents,

Those who died without the last rites of the Church,

Those who shall die within the next 24 hours,

My own poor soul when I shall have to appear before your judgment seat.

Closing Prayers 

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. Let perpetual light shine upon them forever more with your saints in heaven because you are so gracious.

LEADER: The Lord be with you.

RESPONSE: And with your Spirit.

May the prayer of your suppliant people, we beseech you, O Lord, benefit the souls of your departed servants and handmaids. Deliver them from all their sins and make them partakers of your redemption. Amen.

+JMJ+

Lord God, from your every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.

Father, you are Love and Life.

Grant that your grace may guide the thoughts and actions of husbands and wives for the good of their families and of all the families in the world.

Grant that the young may find in the family solid support for their human dignity and for their growth in truth and love.

Grant that love, strengthened by the grace of the sacrament of marriage, may prove mightier than all the weakness and trials through which our families sometimes pass.

Through the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that the Church may fruitfully carry out her worldwide mission in the family and through the family.

Through Christ our Lord, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life forever and ever. Amen