Saint Adalbert, Patron and Guardian of parishes,
we entrust you with our needs, our hard work and our very souls.
Through your intercession,
may we obtain the necessary grace to lead faithful lives,
may we always be guided by love and a sense of justice,
and may we always remain confident in God’s goodness and his love.
Lord Jesus, in your own time and down through the centuries
You became known as someone who could cure people through the power of God.
We believe that you do much more than offer a physical cures.
More central to Your mission on earth is the strengthening of people’s faith in every age,
The fifth in the series of Columban Prayers for the World during this coronavirus pandemic, Columban Lay Missionaries Vida, Catherine and Kevin, working in Hong Kong give words of hope and encouragement during these difficult times.
O supreme and inaccessible Light,
O complete and blessed Truth,
how far You are from me,
even though I am so near to You!
How remote You are from my sight,
even though I am present to Yours!
You are everywhere in your entirety,
and yet I do not see You;
in You I move and have my being,
and yet I cannot approach You.
O God, let me know You
“How old are you?” is a question that I’m very often asked in Pakistan, and when I tell my age, 75, the response is something like, “You look very fresh,” or “You’re still young.” But then, when I travel by bus or train, people will often say, “Let the old man sit down,” or “Can I help you, Baba (grandfather)!” Also, when young people ask me my age and I tell them to guess, they often say, “80,
Merciful Lord, consoler of the faithful,
we beg of Your great mercy that at our humble entrance
You will visit Your servant, lying on a bed of pain,
just as You visited Simon's mother-in-law.
Kindly come to him (her) so that,
after receiving his (her) former health
he (she) may return thanks to You in Your Church,
O good and dearest Jesus,
I kneel before Your face.
I ask You to place in my heart
more faith, hope and charity.
Give me a true sorrow for my sins
and a strong will to do better.
With great sorrow and grief
I look upon your five wounds
and think about them.
Before my eyes are the words
that the prophet David said of You,
O good Jesus:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, listen to our prayer.
Give us your grace to be salt and light
at this time of pandemic:
Lead us on the path of courage and kindness.
Assist us to reach out to those in need
to share your Divine Grace
with all those near and dear to us.
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs,
accept the sincere homage of my affection.
Into your Heart, pierced by so many swords,
you welcome my poor soul.
Receive it as the companion of your sorrows
at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died
for the redemption of the world.
With you, O sorrowful Virgin,
I will gladly suffer all the trials,
With these reminders of a resurrection
all about us every day, help us remember
that death is not the end of things for us,
but the beginning.