Saint Brother André Brings UsTo Saint Joseph

Today is the feast of Saint Brother André, who is powerful in many ways and the patron of family caregivers. This is no coincidence since Brother André was a faithful supplicant of Saint Joseph, asking for many favors of help and healing for the people who came to see the priest in Quebec, Canada around a century ago. Saint Joseph is the ultimate caregiver for his participation in the Holy Family.

Saint Brother André said: “When you invoke Saint Joseph, you don’t have to speak much. You know your Father in Heaven knows what you need; well, so does His friend Saint Joseph...Tell him, ‘If you were in my place, Saint Joseph, what would you do? Well, pray for this in my behalf.’”

Prayer that honors good Saint Joseph: 

Good Saint Joseph, guide for the spiritual life, you accept Brother André’s prayers with affection. Animated by the blessing of God our Father, in heartfelt union, may the friendship between you last for an eternity of gladness. Greet us, your friends also, with that same affection, and keep us under your protection. With Jesus and Mary as our companions, lead us in the footsteps of Brother André in the ways of the Kingdom. Amen. 

Read more about Saint Brother André from Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from where this prayer was printed.

Feast of Saint Anthony, June 13

Today is a great day -- Saint Anthony of Padua's feast day. Read about him here. He is powerful -- pray this prayer to him.

Request:
Admirable Anthony, so glorious for your miracles and for the favor that Jesus showed on you by coming in the guise of the Divine Child to rest in your arms, obtain from His goodness the grace I long for within my heart. You, so compassionate toward poor sinners, pay no attention to my defects, but to the glory of God which will once again be exalted by you and to my eternal salvation, not separated from the request I am now earnestly making.

(Say the grace that lies in your heart)

Let my love and charity towards the poor be a token of my gratitude. May I be given the grace to enter heaven with them through your intercession by the grace of Jesus the Redeemer.
Amen.

Thanksgiving:
Glorious Wonder Worker, father of the poor, you who miraculously discovered the heart of a miser inside a gold coffer, the great gift of your heart always turned to the poor and downtrodden; you who offered to the Lord my pleas which, through your intercession, have always been answered, please accept as a token of my gratitude the offer which I place at your feet.

Help those who are suffering like me; hasten to aid those who need support in their earthly and especially their spiritual needs, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Unite With Mary

Our Blessed Mother Mary often communicated with Saint Faustina, her diary tells us. We must imitate Mary for our prayers to have real, fuller power. Jesus listens to Mary. Let her intercede for you. Prayer to the Immaculate Conception.

In the evening, when I was praying, the Mother of God told me, Your lives must be like Mine: quiet and hidden, in unceasing union with God, pleading for humanity and preparing the world for the second coming of God. (Diary entry 625)

Saint Kateri, Pray for Us!

Today, Kateri Tekakwitha, was canonized a saint -- the first Native American to receive the title. Kateri, known as the "Lily of the Mohawks," was born in 1656. She was the daughter of a pagan Iroquois father and an Algonquin Christian mother who lived in what is today known as upstate New York. Her parents and only brother died when she was four during a smallpox epidemic. She, too, suffered from smallpox, resulting in bad scarring on her face and impaired eyesight. Kateri was adopted by her uncle, a Mohawk, and baptized Catholic by Jesuit missionaries. But she was ostracized and persecuted for her faith. Because of increasing hostility and because she wanted to devote her life to working for God, in 1677 Kateri left her village and fled more than 200 miles to the Catholic mission of St. Francis Xavier at Sault Saint-Louis, near Montreal.

On March 25, 1679, Kateri made a vow of perpetual virginity, meaning that she would remain unmarried and totally devoted to Christ for the rest of her life. Kateri's health rapidly deteriorated due in part to the penances she inflicted on herself. Kateri died at age 24. Her last words were, "Jesus, I love You."

Ask for her powerful love and intercession in this prayer:

Saint Kateri, Star of Native People and Bright Light for all! We thank God for your heroic courage, constant perseverance and deep love of the Cross.

Pray for us, that our love for Christ may deepen. And may we imitate you in following God's will even when difficulties arise. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.