This image of Saint Andrew was first published in AIM Magazine, World Library, Chicago, Illinois, 2018.
Saint Andrew died on the cross, tilted into an X. He is the patron of rope makers, he left his net to follow Christ. He is illuminated by the story of Christ Jesus. His eyes fell upon the Master. His life reveals to us the story of Jesus within the gospels. The sea was his home but that was nothing compared to the eternal shore of heaven. The lily reveals his glory with God and his hope for us who remain on earth.
For a new awakening among leaders of faith. May we wipe the sleep from our eyes to see the hungry, the lost, the homeless, and the weary. May Advent bring us joy in praying and serving.
We pray to the Lord.
For people who wait in darkness. May the grief-stricken find consolation and the lonely discover a new heart of peace.
We pray to the Lord.
For people torn apart in war. May every country find peace in this new season of grace. May orphans and widows entrust their lives to our support and care. May we be embraced in God’s love to end all violence.
We pray to the Lord.
For families in this Advent season. May we be awake in our care for one another. May we listen attentively to the quiet voices of loved ones who feel they do not belong in family life.
We pray to the Lord.
For a new hope among migrants. May people discover lands of peace where they can raise children and sustain employment. May hope fill the hearts of people who search for home.
We pray to the Lord.
For a new awareness of our neighbors. May Advent bring us new eyes to see the dignity and worth of people who suffer on the streets, for people nestled in nursing homes, for our children who have been abused.
We pray to the Lord.
For the release of all hostages and the freedom of every person. May Advent open new doors to our well-being and hope for people who ache for new life.
We pray to the Lord.
For people who are ill and in need of healing. May the lives and hearts of our loved ones be freed from sickness, disease and heartache. May Advent hope be made real in people who are in anguish.
We pray to the Lord.
For our beloved dead this Advent. May our faithful loved ones now find home in the face of Christ Jesus.
The cleansed leper understood how his pain separated him from himself and people he loved. The recipient of healing turned to Jesus with tears of unbounded gratitude. The encounter with Jesus freed him.
I beg God for such unalterable joy because I/we:
Look back with blinders. I see hollow choices and bad decisions. From such myopia, I view how I wish life would have been. Help me turn to you, to reframe what has happened in the past.
Weave illusive stories. As I gaze over my shoulder, I continue to tell stories that made me look good, even at the expensive of others. Help me gaze into your eyes, the only story of gratitude that is real.
Thrive on my unkind words. My words still compare and condemn. Words pierce like arrows and harshness becomes a sling hurling rock. Help me turn with words that set me free, words from our prayerful encounters.
Build a home with regret. Shame protects me like a stack of bricks. That house of darkness does not have windows. Let me bask in the light of your presence, the ways in which you desire to heal me.
Cling to what should be. Help me surrender to your desire for me. Help me turn back to you and not into my own mirror. In you, I find full-faced gratitude and inner joy.
Feast only on bitter remarks. Help me turn to you with praise and thanks ever upon my lips. Help me sit down at altar tables with others who share such a feast of love.
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
For Francis, our Pope, and __, our Bishop. May a new vision of justice prevail in people who lead us. May we learn to see people with new eyes, the prisoner, the hungry person on the road, and the disabled man who lives alone.
We pray to the Lord.
For the end to wars among nations. May Christ, our King, bring solace to people in poverty, in the chaos of conflict and killings. May hope become food for our children and the desire of leaders in every nation under heaven.
We pray to the Lord.
For a new kindness in our daily lives. May we not hoard our love, our yearning for connection, our hope for a better world. May we seek the Good Shepherd and lay down our lives for our sisters and brothers.
We pray to the Lord.
For the thirsty, the hungry, the widow, the orphan, the prisoner, the lost, and those in mental anguish. May we run toward people who show us the beauty and love of God. May we seek to serve even beyond our expertise.
We pray to the Lord.
For a grateful end to our liturgical year. May our lives be filled with gracious serving, with hope for our future, with only gratitude for what has been in our world.
We pray to the Lord.
For a new awareness of the dignity of life. May we lay down our guns and knives in hope for peace on our streets. May we hear the cries of our infants and the surrender of our elderly in their loneliness. May hope fill every heart.
We pray to the Lord.
For a rich compassion and generous heart in our youth. May we help the next generation to follow their dreams of service to people marginalized by life. May the next generation use their every talent and skill for justice and peace in our world.
We pray to the Lord.
For our friends and relatives who are confined by illness and disease. May our loved ones find healing within their souls to work through pain, suffering and aloneness. May they be guided by the Good Shepherd into rich valleys of the soul.
We pray to the Lord.
For our loved ones who have gone before us in death. May our loved ones find the rich presence of Christ Jesus. May they be comforted by only love for all eternity.
Brother Columba O’Neill, CSC died one hundred years ago today. He is buried in our community cemetery at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. His life is being examined for the possibility of being named a saint. His devotion to the Sacred Heart already names him a believer. His desire for people to be healed in God’s tender heart already names him a compassionate man.
Brother Columba was physically disabled, suffering from clubfoot. Ironically, he became a cobbler for our community. He had a fourth-grade education, and yet he joined a religious community known for education and lived his vocation on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. He lived a simple life of faith and service. However, 14,000 letters in the community archives tell the stories of people requesting healing from his intercession and prayer. He did not take credit for any healing even though 1,400 letters contain physical healings and favors received from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Last week, I visited his grave. Even after all these years in the Holy Cross community, I was not aware of Brother Columba’s devotion to the Sacred Heart which led him to be known as a healer. I touched the ground where he is buried because for years after his death, people scooped up small amounts of topsoil from his gravesite believing Brother Columba would still intercede for their needs and ailing bodies.
Brother Columba’s devotion to the Sacred Heart speaks to me. As a Holy Cross religious, the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains at the center of my faith. In our very complex world, we need to touch the mystery of love. When wars rage and divisions become our way of life, God’s healing love is available to us. When we argue over the correct way to live our faith, we need to discover God’s compassion, integrity and consolation. When we think ministry is about what we do, we need to come back to our essential relationship with Jesus Christ. When the very earth we live upon is at risk, we need to touch the soil of those who believed in God’s wisdom, healing and compassion.
Brother Columba said, “If you trust in the Sacred Heart, the Sacred Heart will cure you.”
I presided at Saint Mary’s College yesterday. I had not presided there for over twenty years. How beautiful it was to see so many people I have known throughout my formation and priesthood. I am so grateful.
For all who lead our Church. May we move toward love and not condemnation, hope and not despair, concern for others and not self-protection.
We pray to the Lord.
For all who seek Christ Jesus in prayer. May Christian unity offer hope for our world. May justice be our common ground and love be our daily work.
We pray to the Lord.
For all who live in anguish. May people who live outside find healthy shelter. May people who suffer in body and soul discover the healing miracles of Christ Jesus.
We pray to the Lord.
For a new road to peace across the globe. May wars end and light be shed upon every land and nation. May hope for people’s future be restored and nourished.
We pray to the Lord.
For people who expand our imaginations about life. For artists, musicians, and authors, that creativity may become grace for our common good and nutrition for our souls.
We pray to the Lord.
For people who live with mental illness or emotional decline. May fear be eased and love be a source of healing for our loved ones who suffer with dementia or mental illness.
We pray to the Lord.
For all healthcare workers and those who ease people’s pain. May love be among those who support the welfare of our loved ones. May hope feed those who stay up all night in hospitals and nursing homes.
We pray to the Lord.
For ill members of our families and friends. May God’s compassion become hope for people facing loss of health and mobility.
We pray to the Lord.
For our beloved dead. May our November remembrance of our loved ones bring us all closer to our heavenly home. May love and gratefulness be counted among our departed.
Broken But Not Divided 