Be with us,
Lord, tonight.
Stay to adore and praise,
and give thanks for us while we sleep;
to draw down mercy and grace upon the world;
to give strength to the suffering souls
in purgatory in their long night of waiting.
"When I left Peru to go to the Philippines, I wondered what I'd find there," observed Marisol Rojas, a former Columban Lay Missionary. Perhaps the last thing she expected to fi nd was a husband. This is a true love story, played out against the background of Columban mission, and one in which I am proud to have played a "bit" part.
Holy Immaculate Mary,
help all who are in trouble.
Give courage to the faint-hearted,
console the sad,
heal the infirm,
pray for the people,
intercede for the clergy,
have a special care for nuns;
may all feel,
all enjoy your kind and powerful assistance,
all render you honor,
and will offer you their petitions.
Hear my voice,
for I speak for the multitudes
in every country and in every period of history
who do not want war
and are ready to walk the road of peace.
Hear my voice
and grant insight and strength
so that we may always respond
to hatred with love,
to injustice with total dedication to justice,
to need with the sharing of self,
O Good Shepherd,
stay with Your sheep,
Secure them against the perils that beset them.
Stay, above all,
with the suffering and dying.
Grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Be our merciful Shepherd to the last,
that without fear we may appear before You as our Judge.
As we celebrate the Columban Mission Society's centennial, Columban lay missionary Haiti Muller refl ects on her journey in the prison ministry where she gets inspiration from the work of Columban Fr. Francis Chapman.
Where there is heart there is love; where there is love there is joy; where there is joy there is God.
Dear Scholar and Martyr,
it was not the King of England
but you who were the true Defender of the Faith.
Like Christ unjustly condemned,
neither promises nor threats could make you accept a civil ruler
as head of the Christian Church.
Perfect in your honesty and love of truth,
grant that lawyers and judges may imitate you
Jesus, we know You are calling us to follow
You just as You called Your first disciples.
You need us. You want us to be Your hands,
Your feet and Your welcoming smile.
We tell You that we are too young,
too inexperienced. That won’t work.
You want us to imitate Your Mother
who, while young and inexperienced,
said “Your will be done.”
May you walk with God this summer
In whatever you do,
Wherever you go.
Walking with honesty and with courage,
Walking with love and respect
And concern for the feelings of others.
May you talk to God this summer
And every day
And in every situation.
Let me love You, my Lord and my God,
and see myself as I really am:
a pilgrim in this world,
a Christian called to respect and love
all whose lives I touch,
those in authority over me
or those under my authority,
my friends and my enemies.