The Day of Joy and Sadness
He [God] has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. (Luke 1:50-51)
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” As Roman Catholics in the US specially, this is the day of joy and sadness. We are filled joy because Mary, the Mother of God, was taken up body and soul into heaven where She became a sign of sure hope and comfort for all believers, the pilgrim Church, for you and me. We are also filled with sadness and pain because of the grand jury report released yesterday in Pennsylvania which details sexual abuse sandal by priests. No doubt! Our hearts are overwhelmed with disappointment, hurt, mistrust, and betrayal… In the midst of a turbulent time of our Church like this, we are called to reach out to the wisdom of Apostle Paul when he addressed to the Corinthians, “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13) God’s mercy endures forever for those who fear Him. Like Mary, despite the horror and devastation of seeing her innocent Son suffer so much on the Cross, she wouldn’t leave His side. Let’s us imitate Her in steadfast prayers for the healing of both victims and offenders. May the love God of fill our mind and heart with peace and comfort during this difficult time.
Prayer for Healing Victims of Abuse
God of endless love, ever caring, ever strong, always present, always just: You gave your only Son to save us by the blood of his cross. Gentle Jesus, shepherd of peace, join to your own suffering the pain of all who have been hurt in body, mind, and spirit by those who betrayed the trust placed in them. Hear our cries as we agonize over the harm done to our brothers and sisters. Breathe wisdom into our prayers, soothe restless hearts with hope, steady shaken spirits with faith: Show us the way to justice and wholeness, enlightened by truth and enfolded in your mercy. Holy Spirit, comforter of hearts, heal your people’s wounds and transform our brokenness. Grant us courage and wisdom, humility and grace, so that we may act with justice and find peace in you. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. (USCCB)
Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests; / for your unfaithful and tepid priests; / for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; / for your tempted priests; / for your lonely and desolate priests; / for your young priests; / for your dying priests; / for the souls of your priests in purgatory. But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me: / the priest who baptized me; / the priests who absolved me from my sins; / the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; / the priests who taught and instructed me; / all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way (especially …). O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.
Hail Mary full of grace…
Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Mary, Mother of Priests, pray for us.
Peace in Christ,
Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen