O patriarch Joseph, help me to work
with a pure intention
and with detachment from ourselves,
having always before my eyes
the hour of death
and the accounting
which I must then render
of time ill-spent,
of talents unemployed,
of good undone
and of empty pride in success,
which is so fatal to the work of God.
Receive, O most sweet Mother,
our humble supplications,
and above all obtain for us that,
one day, happy with you,
we may repeat before your throne that hymn
which today is sung on earth around your altars:
You are all-beautiful, O Mary!
You are the glory,
you are the joy,
you are the honor of our people!
Amen.
Blessed St. Joseph, guardian of the Holy Family,
be with us in our trials.
May your prayers obtain for us
the strength to flee from error
and wrestle with the powers of corruption
so that in life we may grow in holiness
and in death rejoice in the crown of victory.
Amen.
Glorious Mother, you are the Immaculate One,
through you there shines the fullness of grace.
Here, then, are your children, gathered before you
at the dawn of the new millennium.
The Church today, through the voice of the Successor of Peter,
seeks refuge in your motherly protection
and trustingly begs your intercession
Grant us, O Lord, that through the spiritual renewal of Lent,
we may grow in our understanding of the mystery of Christ.
This we ask of you through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.
In 2010, Kevin Sheerin was working in Dublin for the high profile computer software giant Microsoft, earning a good salary and living a comfortable life. That was the year he decided to do something about a thought which had been niggling away at him – he wanted to have a lay mission experience. Faith had always been part of his life, but he wanted to be something more than a "Sunday Catholic."
Almighty Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You have revealed the beauty of your power
by exalting the lowly virgin of Nazareth
and making her the mother of our Savior.
May the prayers of this woman
bring Jesus to the waiting world
and fill the void of incompletion
with the presence of her child,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit
Dearly beloved, let us,
having such a cloud of witnesses over us,
put away every encumbrance and sin entangling us,
and run with patience to the fight set before us;
looking towards the author and finisher of faith,
Jesus, who for the joy set before him,
endured a cross, despising shame,
and sit at the right hand of the throne of God.
O well-beloved of God,
hear the ardent cry
which rises up from every heart.
Bend tenderly over our aching wounds.
Convert the wicked,
dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed,
comfort the poor and humble,
quench hatreds, sweeten hardness,
safeguard the flower of purity in youth,
protect the holy church,
Favor this dwelling, Lord, with your presence.
Far from it repulse all the wiles of Satan.
Your holy angels, let them live here,
to keep us in peace.
And may your blessing remain always upon us.
This we ask of you through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.