Join Us In Prayer

The current economic situation has found many people struggling to meet their needs and obligations. They struggle to feed their families, to keep their homes, and to pay their bills. Many have seen their jobs disappear, not just for a time, but gone for good.

The politicians in this country, and around the world have shown repeatedly that they do not know how to handle this economic mess they have gotten us in to. They have done more to create it, than they have to alleviate it. They seem only capable of digging us into a deeper hole. A hole in which we are in danger of not being able to climb out of for a long time.

The politicans for all their bravado and endlessly empty rhetoric (how they love to talk, especially in front of the television cameras and all those microphones) are either incapable or unwilling to fix the problems they have created.

They may not be able to do anything, but you and I know someone who can.

God.

God alone is in charge, and everything is under His control, and His control alone. No president, no earthly king, no earthly prince, no chairman, no bank, no one of this world can help us, can save us, can give us true salvation, and true freedom in these times and for all eternity, like God can. Our so-called leaders may think they are in charge, may believe they are in charge, and no doubt have people who have faith in them, when we all know that the only One we should have faith in, and believe in, to do all things is God.

Therefore, I ask the readers of "Faith of the Fathers" blogs, and the readers and owners of other Catholic blogs, to join us in praying to God for the spiritual and economic salvation of our country and for the whole world.

Let us begin this period of prayers to our most merciful and loving Heavenly Father, with a Novena to Saint Jude the Apostle, the patron saint of desperate situations. I ask all of you, to include your prayer intentions in this novena.

For non-catholics who visit these blogs, a novena is defined as follows : "Nine days of public or private prayer for some special occasion or intention. Its origin goes back to the nine days that the Disciples and Mary spent together in prayer between Ascension and Pentecost Sunday. Over the centuries many novenas have been highly indulgenced by the Church. In modern times the one before Pentecost was prescribed for parochial churches." (Etym. Latin novem, nine.) (From The Pocket Catholic Dictionary, by Father John A. Hardon, S.J., page 287)

The novena is below.

Your brother in Christ,

Steve Smith

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

Novena to Saint Jude

Come to my aid, O God.

O Lord, make haste to help me.

Almighty God, Father of mercies

and giver of all good gifts,

I come before you to honor you in your saints,

and ask their help in my many needs.

You promised that those who ask, would receive,

those who seek, would find, those who knock,

would have doors opened to them.

Hear the prayers of your church, grant my requests,

and pardon my sins.

Amen

Good St. Jude, chose by Jesus as a messenger of His kingdom,

and bearer of God's power,

I entrust myself to your care

and place in your hands this request of mine (make your request)

You are a witness that nothing is impossible with God and

that all will be well by God's grace.

Pray that I may have a simple faith

and strong hope to believe and trust in God,

my Master, who makes all things possible

and brings all things to good.

Amen

Day 1

Lord Jesus Christ,

you promised that mountains would move for someone with faith

the size of a mustard seed. Plant the seed of faith in my

heart and help me believe in the power of your promises.

Amen

Day 2

Lord Jesus Christ,

You taught that God who cares for the lilies of the field

and the birds of the air, also cares for those of little faith.

Lord, come and care for me.

Amen

Day 3

Lord Jesus Christ,

In the storm at sea you told your disciples not to fear

but to believe in your power to calm the winds and the sea.

Speak to my troubled spirit, and calm my fears.

Amen

Day 4

Lord Jesus Christ,

no one comes to you, even those desperate and poor,

whom you do not welcome and refresh,

I come tired and burdened, make my spirit light.

Amen

Day 5

Lord Jesus Christ,

you listen to our prayers, and grant what we ask.

Hear my prayers and listen to my voice,

for I am in need.

Amen

Day 6

Lord Jesus Christ,

in the Garden of Gethsemane you prayed in fear and sorrow.

Turn to me when I am afraid, and give me strength to bear

my cross.

Amen

Day 7

Lord Jesus Christ,

when you died on the cross, all seemed lost and gone,

yet you came to life again.

When all seems lost for me, bring me life again,

O Lord.

Amen

Day 8

Lord Jesus Christ,

you rose from the dead and brought life to all creation.

I hope in your promise of life.

Bring me the joy of your resurrection.

Amen

Day 9

Lord Jesus Christ,

you prepare a place for us in your heavenly kingdom.

Grant me a place at your side and bring us all safely home.

Amen

To conclude this novena, say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

Our Father

Our Father

Who art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done.

On earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

Amen

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of Grace

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women

And Blessed is the Fruit of thy Womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

Pray for us sinners,

Now, and at the hour of our death

Amen

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now,

And ever shall be.

World without end.

Amen

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FOXNews.com - GOP Lawmaker Blasts White House for $23M Spent on Kenya Constitution Vote

FOXNews.com - GOP Lawmaker Blasts White House for $23M Spent on Kenya Constitution Vote

What did I tell you? See article below or by clicking here.


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From Pope Benedict XVI

'It is inconceivable', as Benedict XVI remarked, 'that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves - their faith - in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one's rights. The rights associated with religion are all the more in need of protection if they are considered to clash with a prevailing secular ideology or with majority religious positions of an exclusive nature'".


Read more here

Some Explanations and Other Stuff

As many long time readers and followers already know, when these blogs began almost five years ago (Faith of the Fathers blogs will celebrate our five year anniversary on July 31), there was a total of four contributors to these blogs.

As time has passed, only I remain. One contributor, Marie in fact, became very ill, and was forced to cut back on many activities for the sake of her health. I hope all of you will keep her in your prayers. The other two contributors have had many other pressing obligations that have prohibited them from being able to participate on these blogs as before.

So, I alone remain, and let me tell you, it is quite a job for me to try to keep 24 blogs going, and I am afraid that my best is not good enough. I have been primarily concentrating on Saint Quote of the Day, Daily Mass Readings, and Pope Benedict XVI.

I have attempted to post to the others as time permits, and to be frank, I do not have the insight, knowledge and wisdom of Marie when it comes to such topics as Spirituality and Mysticism, Spiritual Warfare, or Saints of the Faith. She wrote her posts with a lively style and insight that I could never hope to equal or remotely imitate. At least that’s my opinion.

Ginny always had a way of "speaking" to the younger generation...her generation... that is far beyond my meager abilities. She also knew how to talk with, and "explain" our Faith to kids, and that is why she was the one who undertook the "Kids Corner" blogs (five of those) for our younger readers. She did such a great job, that one young lady (I think she was about 8 or 9 years old) wrote a comment about a year back in which she said, among other things, "I love your sight". That was a compliment that belonged entirely to Ginny and her efforts.

Lastly, Emmy had a way of finding many prayers from various saints, to Our Lady, and more that made me want to learn more of these prayers and include them in my prayer life. She also provided some very good articles on Approved Apparitions.

All in all, I have some very big shoes to try to fill, and I find myself lacking. I will try to do better, as time and my job permit.

Now, let me address one thing here also. There have been a few questions about some of the advertisements and items that have been placed on "Faith of the Fathers" blogs sidebars.

I have placed these items there in order to attempt to earn a little extra to help pay for my internet access and other expenses related to research materials, and some hard to find traditional materials related to the Church and our faith. With the economy as it is, I am very blessed to still have a job. However my hours have been cut, but my bills have not. I know I am not the only one in this boat and I am not complaining.

There are book offerings on various Catholic topics from Barnes & Noble for example. Some of those sidebar ads show particular books that are relative to the blog on which they are displayed. It is not an attempt to get you to buy those particular books, but a suggestion as to the types of books that are available on that particular topic. I  hope to be able to offer books and items from the husband and wife author team of Bob and Penny Lord very soon.

I also created an e-book called "My Daily Saint Quotations" for $1.99 that is in PDF format. I worked hard on this little 30-page offering,. So far, the people who have purchased it have been pleased with it.

Lastly, I created a free toolbar that can be downloaded and installed in your browser if you have Internet Explorer (versions 6 and above) or Mozilla Firefox (versions 1 and above). I make a few cents from it when you download, install, and use it. The search box in it is Google Search (by default), it has a menu with shortcuts to Faith of the Fathers blogs, a news ticker, a radio player (Catholic radio stations such as EWTN, and Catholic podcasts by default), and some other functions you might find useful or entertaining. I also joined the Conduit (creators of free toolbars) Affiliate program that enables me to earn some cash for those who create toolbars for their blogs or web sites. You can create your own toolbar by a Click Here.

I just wanted to explain to everyone what is going on and why I have taken the steps that I have. I hope to make this blog as good as it once was, and with your continued readership, and most especially, your prayers, I know that I can.

Thnak you, and God Bless you all!