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alicegunther
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| Posted: Sept 03 2005 at 9:29pm | IP Logged
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Dear Friends,
Earlier today, I noticed two beautiful holy cards that I did not recognize sticking out of my pocketbook. One had a prayer to St. Agatha and the other a prayer of Jesus Christ the King. I questioned the children, but they did not know how the cards came to be there. My guess is the baby or three year old found them somewhere in the basement and stuck them into my bag. Still, my eldest daughter suggested that maybe St. Agatha wanted us to pray to her! This made sense to me, and, as I read the two prayers, I realized they were very relevant to some concerns that have been troubling me greatly about the chaos down in New Orleans and the unrest and division in our world. I decided to post the two prayers here in case any of you would like to join me in saying them.
Prayer to St. Agatha:
Oh St. Agatha, who withstood the unwelcome advances from unwanted suitors, and suffered pain and torture for her devotion to our Lord, we celebrate your faith, dignity, and martyrdom.
Protect us against rape and other violations, guard us against breast cancer and other afflictions of women, and inspire us to overcome adversity.
Oh St. Agatha, virgin and martyr, mercifully grant that we who venerate your sacrifice, may receive your intercession. Amen.
Jesus Christ the King:
Almighty everlasting God, who in Thy beloved Son, King of the whole world, hast willed to restore all things anew; grant in Thy mercy that all the families of nations, rent asunder by the wound of sin, may be sujected to His most gentle rule. Who with Thee liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen. (Roman Missal)
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Love, Alice
mother of seven!
      
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Meredith
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Alice, I read this on Saturday and did'nt get a chance to post. These prayers are so beautiful and isn't it ironic that they just *showed up* at this tumoultous time in our history. I always look to these findings as divine intervention. I love both prayers and want to incorporate them into our family rosary time, but I do have one question:
Do you use this prayer with family due to the nature of the words *as is* or do you soften it? My kids are 9 and under and clearly do not know about rape yet. 
Appreciate your input and thanks so much for sharing these both!
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Sept 05 2005 at 5:16pm | IP Logged
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I do soften the words a bit, Meredith, changing the line, "Protect us against rape and other violations" to say "Protect us against impurity." Like you, mine are not ready to handle the prayer as it is.
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Love, Alice
mother of seven!
Cottage Blessings
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Meredith
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| Posted: Sept 06 2005 at 9:35am | IP Logged
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Thank you Alice. I realized after I posted yesterday that it was sort of a dumb post, I know you have young ones too, I hope it didn't sound wierd. Anyway, we'll definately soften it and thank you for your suggestion, it's perfect 
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Meredith
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Sept 06 2005 at 10:22pm | IP Logged
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happyheartsmom wrote:
| Thank you Alice. I realized after I posted yesterday that it was sort of a dumb post, I know you have young ones too, I hope it didn't sound wierd. |
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Not in the least! Actually, when the St. Agatha card first surfaced, two of my daughters wanted to say it aloud immediately. I scanned it and noticed the content and covered it up, saying we shouldn't say the prayer right away, but should wait until later. They were confused, to say the least!
The beautiful thing about the prayer is that I'd been very troubled about reports of assaults on women, including girls, down in New Orleans after Katrina. As I was thinking about this and grieving over it, the prayer just seemed to "surface" giving me a great deal of consolation and hope. I'm so glad to be able to pass it along during these uncertain times.
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Love, Alice
mother of seven!
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Angie Mc
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Thank you for sharing, Alice. Do you mind if I share a bit of my experience?...where I struggled in the past?...how I'm tempted to "understand why this is happening to women and children?" which will lead me to despair if left to run rampant?
My heart has always been attracted to the special concerns of women and children. In my young adulthood (while I was a lukewarm Catholic at best,) I worked in shelter programs for women affected by domestic violence, homelessness, pregnant and parenting teens, and other women and children focused services. I was trying to answer the question, how can we respect women and provide safety for them? While working in the field of "women's issues" often the "answer to problems" was to shift or equalize gender power. I bought it...for awhile (oh how I grieve this.) After awhile, I realized, however well intended, it missed the mark badly. My work experience convinced me that focusing on power would not solve problems. But what would?
Fast forward. You guessed it...Love is the only solution. To be specific, Christ's suffering servant love as shared through His Church. I thank God everyday for this grace of faithful understanding. I can only find peace, and less need for superficial intellectual understanding, in Christ. I can feel purposeful in prayer, united with the communion of Saints. I can cry and beg and mourn and know I'm heard. All of this keeps me from despair and gives me energy to channel my efforts of help and service in right ways.
I didn't find a prayer card in my bag, yet, but this morning I read Apologetics or Apologies? by Mark Shea. In it he writes beautifully and succinctly about the difference between power and love. This article validates my experience, gives my brain something to work on, while directing me back to Him which, as you wrote, gives me "a great deal of consolation and hope."
Thanks for letting me blab, friend ,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Sept 07 2005 at 4:39pm | IP Logged
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Angie Mc wrote:
My work experience convinced me that focusing on power would not solve problems. But what would?
Fast forward. You guessed it...Love is the only solution. To be specific, Christ's suffering servant love as shared through His Church. I thank God everyday for this grace of faithful understanding. I can only find peace, and less need for superficial intellectual understanding, in Christ. I can feel purposeful in prayer, united with the communion of Saints. I can cry and beg and mourn and know I'm heard. |
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This is beautiful, Angie, and so true.
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Love, Alice
mother of seven!
Cottage Blessings
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4Real Forums : We Pray to the Lord
Topic: Prayer to St. Agatha
