A Soldier's Prayer

Soldiers face many battles and not just the kind fought with guns and bullets. Everyday, they are exposed to atrocities, injustice and the dilemma that can only be experienced by people who can decide between life and death. Soldiers are trained to be brave but they are all but human. For every soldier out there who wishes for spiritual strength and grace, here are a few prayers you can turn to for comfort in times of war and especially in times of peace:

Prayers for Soldiers

Everyday, our soldiers put themselves in harm's way for love of God and country. If you have a loved one, a friend, a neighbor or an acquaintance who is on active duty in the military, here are two short prayers that can be invoked everyday to ask for their safety and well-being:

Almighty and eternal God,

those who take refuge in you will be glad

and forever will shout for joy.

Protect these soldiers as they discharge their duties.

Protect them with the shield of your strength

and keep them safe from all evil and harm.

May the power of your love enable them to return home

in safety, that with all who love them,

they may ever praise you for your loving care.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

O God, we know you care about each of your children, around the globe. 

We praise your loving kindness, your merciful grace. 

This day we lift to you our troops. 

So far from home and family, they do their best to serve with faithfulness and honor. 

Hold them tightly, Holy One. Give them courage. 

As they endure harsh conditions, loneliness and great danger, let them know your nearness. 

Help them feel your love, and comfort the families left behind. 

Also, we pray for the end of war. 

We pray for your strength, your wisdom and your reconciliation. 

That the serving men and women of every nation might be at home, 

wrapped in their families, 

we seek your peace, here on earth, as in heaven. 

Creator, bless us all as we pray in your holy name. 

Amen.

All Souls Novena

This prayer is meant to be said in remembrance of those who have already passed away. It is often prayed once a day beginning on October 24 until November 1, or on the eve of All Soul's Day. This posting is a bit late but for anyone looking for this prayer, I hope this helps.

O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,

grant to the souls of Thy servants and handmaid departed

the remission of all their sins;

that through pious supplications

they may obtain the pardon they have always desired.

Who livest and reignest with God the Father

in the unity of the Holy Ghost,

God, world without end.

Amen.

Do Novenas Really Work?

I am sure that you know someone who would swear by a particular novena, that a petition was granted because of the very powerful intercession of a saint or a blessed person. This is well and good and if it has strengthened the faith of that individual, then the purpose of the prayer has been served.

However, it is rather strange to see how prayer and superstition can easily mix. In the Philippines where I live, novenas are not merely prayed on their own - many are said with specific rituals, usually after the series was completed or the request granted. Please remember that the novena is still subject to God's will and that prayers, no matter how fervently said, may be answered in due time - not always within the time period we ask for. God does answer prayers but the answer is not always yes.

As disappointing as that may be, I believe it is a blessing still. I have said many prayers that have not been answered but I have also asked for things that have been graciously given to me. Recently, I prayed for help to resolve a specific issue and the prayer was indeed granted - just not the way I expected.

What I expected was a magic spell of sorts, something that will solve my problem in the wink of an eye. That was not what I was given. My prayer had been granted but it wasn't to such a degree that I did not need to do my part anymore. I still have to, but what I asked for was given to me when I needed it most.

The Origin of the Novena

The novena plays a key role in the lives of many Christians, bringing hope, peace and reconciliation. Have you ever wondered what the novena means and how it started? I did. With some research, this is what I found out and I would like to share it with you:

The term novena comes from the Latin word novem, which means 'nine'.  This explains why prayer devotions are usually prayed over a period of nine consecutive days, with the exception of a few. The St. Andrew Christmas Novena, for example, is prayed for about 4 weeks beginning on his feast day (Nov. 30) and ending on Christmas Day. Some novenas are also performed several times a day over a period of nine days. The nine-hour novena, for example, is prayed every hour for nine consecutive hours.

There are 4 categories of the novena - mourning, petition, indulgence and preparation for a feast or an important religious event.

Origin
The novena is a prolonged prayer but it is not specifically discussed in the Holy Scriptures. Like many elements in the Catholic Christian tradition, the novena has a pagan past. It was influenced by the Greeks and the Romans who spent nine consecutive days for mourning the loss of a loved one. They then broke the period of mourning with a feast.

During the Middle Ages, people in France and Spain offered prayers for nine consecutive days before Christmas to represent the nine months Jesus was carried in the womb of his blessed mother, Mary. Christmas celebrations during this time were festive yet solemn and praying the novena helped people prepare spiritually.

Novena to St. Rita of Cascia

Patron saint of the impossible

Also intercedes on behalf of abuse victims and people suffering from difficult marriages

 Before she was a Catholic saint, Rita of Cascia was a simple young girl who lived with her parents in the village of Rocco Porenna in Umbria, Italy. Born in 1381 to well-to-do farmers Antonio Lotti and Amata Ferri, Rita had a good start at learning generosity at a young age. Although her family had a comfortable life, they were not rich but that did not stop her parents from giving to the poor and the needy.

The young Rita, an only child, had wanted to become a nun, inspired by the faith and humility she saw in her parents but her dream had to wait. She was promised in marriage to Paolo Mancini, who took her as a child bride when she was just 12 years old (in some stories, she was 15). Rita married a rich man but he was cruel and abusive, the kind who made many enemies. Paolo was also unkind to his wife and was unfaithful many times. In spite of these challenges, she bore him two sons, Giangiacomo Antonio and Paulo Maria.

With her boundless love and patience, Rita managed to change Paolo for the better but his past still caught up with him and he was murdered. Embittered by their father's violent end, Giangiacomo and Paulo plotted revenge and were only prevented from carrying out the deed by Rita's fervent prayers. The boys later died of natural causes and were never able to carry out their revenge (known as la Vendetta in Italy), an event that Rita believed was a sign that they had been saved from doing evil.

Now alone, the 36-year-old Rita finally fulfilled her dream to join the St. Mary Magdalene monastery at Cascia to serve Christ. She then devoted her life to prayer and charity work. When she was about 60 years old, she received the stigmata during meditation in front of an image of the crucified Christ. She bore this painful, odorous wound for the rest of her life without complaining.

Rita of the rose
As she grew older, Rita became more frail and suffered ill health and had to be confined in bed. And yet, she remained patient, optimistic and even joyful. When a relative came to visit her, Rita asked for one favor and that was for the relative to bring her a rose from her parents' old garden. At any other time of the year this would not have been difficult but in January, it was impossible to find a rose bush that had a single bloom. Nevertheless, this was exactly what the relative found when she went to Rocca Porenna to fulfill her promise. She then brought the single rose to Rita and it has been associated with the saint thereafter.

The fig is also an important symbol for the saint; in some stories, she asked the relative to bring her both a rose and a fig in January, two items that were not in season but were nevertheless found and given to Rita.

Rita completed her journey home on May 22, 1457. She was 76 years old.

She was beatified in 1627 by Pope Urban VIII and canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII.

Rita remains undefiled by death

St. Rita of Cascia is one of the incorruptibles - saints whose bodies have remained intact many years after death.  Her body is encased in glass and can be found in the Basilica of St. Rita in her hometown of Cascia, Italy.

Interesting note: some accounts claim that her body has changed positions inside the glass and that her eyes have opened and closed on their own.

Prayer and novena to St. Rita of Cascia follows...