so Many Things to Pray for!(November 1 2019) SO MANY THINGS TO PRAY FOR!This message will be posted, on the ONRC website, for the month of November. November is a month of many prayers. During this cold, dark, winter-is-coming month we Catholics dedicate special days for prayer for our deceased loved ones and for all the saints who have gone before us, for those who are well known and those who are not. We also have Remembrance Day, World Day of the Poor, and the Feast of Christ the King. All of these call us to prayer, as does every celebration of Eucharist. Vincentians are, first of all, people of faith. We pray constantly for those who need us and for each other. We pray that our beloved Society will continue to grow and to serve with love, respect, justice and joy. Every conference and council in Ontario has been asked to use A PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS TO THE VINCENTIAN FAMILY at our meetings: 
Praying Hands by Albrecht Dürer, abt 1508
Lord, we ask you to bless our Society by continuing to call men and women to serve you as full members of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. We remember that many years before Vatican II called forth the vocation of the laity, Blessed Frederic and his companions recognized their vocation and so became our founders and our examples. We pray for an increase in membership for our conferences. Help us to seek and find those you have called. Help us to encourage them and invite them to join us in serving you in the poor with love, respect, justice and joy. We ask this through Jesus our brother. Amen Prayer is wonderful. Jesus assured his followers that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. (Matt. 17:20) But more is required. I believe in prayer. I also believe that God expects me to do what I can. A famous advocate for civil rights in the USA, Fannie Lou Hamer, said: You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something,
Prayer alone isn't enough. We must do something, whatever we can and whenever we can.
God is not going to put it in your lap.
Faith without works is dead. (James 2:17)
The PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS asks God to help us seek and find those God calls to serve. So I must ask myself:
Please pray for me during November. I will pray for you too! Denise |
