St. Paul, great Apostle of the Gentiles,
intercede for us to God for our priests.
You are God's special vessel of election.
Through your intercession
we hope to receive from Him this special grace:
God, you have instructed many nations
through the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
Let the power of his intercession with You help us
Most Holy Mary Virgin Mother of God,
I am unworthy to be your servant.
Yet moved by your motherly care for me
and longing to serve you,
I choose you this day to be my Queen,
my Advocate, and my Mother.
I firmly resolve ever
to be devoted to you
and to do what I can to encourage others
to be devoted to you.
My loving Mother,
Lord, sometimes I think Your heart
is one big room of lost and found,
holding dear the timeless treasures
that I’ve lost through selfishness.
Let me look into Your heart, Lord
Is my care for hurting ones there?
Is my thanks for life and beauty there?
Is the faith I felt so keenly there?
Is my deep hunger for You waiting there?
Eternal Father,
it is Your will that all should be saved.
Great is Your mercy.
Your Son, Jesus Christ died for all.
Teach all people to recognize You and love You.
With deep faith in Christ's death
and resurrection we pray:
'Send Forth, O Lord, laborers into Your vineyard
and spare Your people.'
Eternal Word, Redeemer of all creation,
Let us gain courage for our own battle
by honoring the martyrdom of the glorious virgin Agnes.
St. Agnes, vessel of honor,
flower of unfading fragrance,
beloved of the choirs of Angels,
you are an example to the worth of virtue and chastity.
O you who wear a Martyr's palm
and a virgin's wreath,
pray for us that,
One day, words on the poster at a local charity shop caught my attention. “…Can you donate two hours of your time to raise funds for people who are blind or vision impaired?” I am not only interested in people with disabilities, but this phrase, people who are blind or vision impaired, reminded me of my lovely kids at the center where I work in Payatas.
Dear Commander at the Roman Emperor's court,
you chose to be also a soldier of Christ
and dared to spread faith in the King of Kings,
for which you were condemned to die.
Your body, however, proved athletically strong
and the executing arrows extremely weak.
So another means to kill you was chosen
and you gave your life to the Lord.
Lord, Your light gives us strength
and shows us the way to God.
Remove our blindness that we may see
the light of goodness, truth, peace and love
within ourselves and others.
Lord, You commanded us to love God,
ourselves, and our neighbors.
Help me to let go of my fear of love.
Show me how to set my heart free
to love as You did.
O blessed Saint Anthony,
I place my studies under your powerful protection.
Through your intercession,
may the Holy Spirit fill me with light, strength, intelligence and humility.
I implore the creator of all things
to grant me the ability to grasp things correctly,
and the talent of exact in my explanations.
Amen.