Come to my aid, O Lord....

Psalm 40

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

⁴ Blessed is the one
    who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
    to those who turn aside to false gods.
⁵ Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.

⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire�
    but my ears you have opened�
    burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
⁷ Then I said, �Here I am, I have come�
    it is written about me in the scroll.
⁸ I desire to do your will, my God;
    your law is within my heart.�

⁹ I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
    I do not seal my lips, Lord,
    as you know.
¹⁰ I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
    I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
    from the great assembly.

¹¹ Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
    may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
¹² For troubles without number surround me;
    my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
    and my heart fails within me.
¹³ Be pleased to save me, Lord;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

¹⁴ May all who want to take my life
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.
¹⁵ May those who say to me, �Aha! Aha!�
    be appalled at their own shame.
¹⁶ But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    �The Lord is great!�

¹⁷ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    you are my God, do not delay.

Prayer for Families

Father of love and mercy send the precious blood of your son Jesus to cover our hearts and bestow upon us your grace and love. Strengthen our minds and hearts that in our daily work we may imitate your son Jesus who by his passion, death and resurrection has brought salvation to all mankind. We ask for the powerful intercession of all the holy angels and saints through Jesus Christ our king and merciful Saviour. 

Amen.

You say .... GOD Says

You say: "It's impossible"
God says: "What is impossible with men is possible with God." (Luke 18:27)

You say: "I'm too tired"
God says: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

You say: "It's impossible"
God says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, (John 3:16)

You say: "I can't go on"
God says: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

You say: "I can't figure things out"
God says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (Proverbs 3:5)

You say: "I can't do it"
God says: I can do everything through HIM who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

You say: "I'm not able"
God says: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8)

You say: "It's not worth it"
God says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Roman 8:28)

You say: "I can't forgive myself"
God says: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

You say: "I can't manage"
God says: God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

You say: "I'm afraid"
God says: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"
God says: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

You say: "I'm not smart enough"
God says: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God�that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.(1 Corinthians 1:30)

You say: "I feel all alone"
God says: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; (Hebrews 13:5)

Praying for Spouses for Each Other

Lord Jesus, grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust. Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with one another's weaknesses and grow from each other's strengths. Help us to forgive one another's failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness and the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self.

May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection.

Amen.

Prayer for a Good Husband or Wife

O Jesus, lover of the young, the dearest Friend I have, in all confidence I open my heart to You to beg Your light and assistance in the important task of planning my future. Give me the light of Your grace, that I may decide wisely concerning the person who is to be my partner through life. Dearest Jesus, send me such a one whom in Your divine wisdom You judge best suited to be united with me in marriage. May her/his character reflect some of the traits of Your own Sacred Heart. May s/he be upright, loyal, pure, sincere and noble, so that with united efforts and with pure and unselfish love we both may strive to perfect ourselves in soul and body, as well as the children it may please You to entrust to our care. Bless our friendship before marriage, that sin may have no part in it. May our mutual love bind us so closely, that our future home may ever be most like Your own at Nazareth.

O Mary Immaculate, sweet Mother of the young, to your special care I entrust the decision I am to make as to my future wife/husband. You are my guiding Star! Direct me to the person with whom I can best cooperate in doing God's Holy Will, with whom I can live in peace, love and harmony in this life, and attain to eternal joys in the next.
Amen.

Hoping for Something More

�Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.

�At present we are on the outside� the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the pleasures we see. But all the pages of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get �in�� We will put on glory� that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch.

We do not want to merely �see� beauty�though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words�to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.

C.S.Lewis

Hope when in Crisis

Psalm 27:4-5
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

Mark 5:35-36
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. �Your daughter is dead,� they said. �Why bother the teacher anymore?�
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, �Don�t be afraid; just believe.�