Your Intentions
Speaking with others, both Catholic and non-Catholic, it feels that this Lent may be a particularly difficult one for many.
Some are afflicted by illness or anxiety, by practical worries or spiritual troubles. Some are suffering financial hardships or family difficulties. Others experience growing concern for the state of the country or the world. Some are isolated physically or otherwise.
So there are many crosses being carried, those chosen and those given.
But in all things, we know Our Lord hears us, and in this, we hope eternally.
Perhaps we might support one another throughout this time of penance and purification?
May we pray for your needs and intentions during this season?
Please use the Comments section to indicate if there is anything you would like us to remember, and it will be done.
If you have words of encouragement or the desire to pray for others, share that also.
Users Today : 42
Total Users : 146268
Total views : 484633
Who's Online : 0
47 Replies to “Your Intentions”
1. That God may illumine the hearts and minds of fathers and leaders to do His Holy Will.
2. That the Lord may no longer be profaned in unconsecrated hands.
3. That the soul of Fr. Roberts may rest in peace.
Prayer that the Bishop and those responsible for this “uniting in heart” will wake up and see the damage that is being done to souls in the church. (That is if they care which it doesn’t look like)
Amen!
Is it bad that I’ve prayed fir the bishop to go elsewhere … along with the horrific VG?
Pray for their conversions and that God’s will be done.
I think we have to try to get through this without letting anger become the “unrighteous” kind or giving in to bitterness. I struggle with it. Pray for ourselves to keep humble, pray for each other not to fall in a snare, and pray for those making decisions over our parishes that they will make the ones God wants. Cover all of it with prayer.
Pray, yes! But also work! Work to frustrate and expose the machinations of a completely out-of-touch bishop and contemptable diocesan leadership (clergy and laity). Drain them of money. Let them beg from Caesar and godless corporate foundations to prop up their salaries. Send your tithe to some worthy place outside of this diocese. Warn others to avoid their humiliating protestant evangelization programs and start your own private catechism study & prayer group at home. Encourage men discerning priesthood to go someplace out of this diocese where their zeal and orthodoxy will be cherished rather than trashed.
Pray and work. You only have one life. Let it be lived in zealous defense of Holy Mother Church’s dignity. Some may only be able to defend the Church from the anonymous shadows of this site while others can be much more open. It doesn’t really matter where you are on the spectrum, as long as you’re in the fight.
These present troubles in our diocese have just a few short years left before the bishop must retire and the current tyrannical leadership is deposed by his successor. Pray for this successor bishop. He will have a lot of work to do to repair the damage and neglect wrought by his predecessor.
“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?”
I ask for prayers for more unity, more harmony and more love in the Church, in our government and in society as a whole. Online has been good to disseminate information but it has also led to many violations of the 8th Commandment and sowed seeds of disharmony and disruption. I pray that the Holy Spirit guide our Bishop and all Bishops and that Uniting in Heart, led by the Spirit, brings about the transformation our Diocese needs to grow the faith and save souls.
Note: It is very presumptuous to claim “Uniting in Heart” is being “led by the Spirit”. Where did you obtain this hotline to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity and how do I get one?
So, following this logic, disagreeing with a plan that is being “led by the Spirit” is technically out of bounds for a faithful Catholic, no? I mean, a good Catholic wouldn’t want to criticize a proven movement of the Holy Spirit, right? Nice try. The faithful will not be intimidated by this silencing tactic. It stems from a false premise the faithful do not accept and, instead, find insulting.
Also, you’re not going to win many souls to your side by accusing them of committing deadly sins. I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel very “pastoral” to me. It leaves one in a place “on the margins” and not feeling particularly “accompanied” by a “joyful missionary disciple”. A line from Sacred Scripture regarding splinters and beams comes to mind. You might want to look it up.
And our diocesan leadership wonders why all the numbers they care about are in the hole…
Come, Lord Jesus.
If you commit an online 8th Commandment sin, can you go to an online confession, or would a Zoom Confiteor suffice?
I agree. I’ve read through the Uniting in Heart plan on the website, read the comments here and have seen what is happening in our parish. I think these steps and changes are long overdue and am already pleased with the progress in our pastorate. Let’s face it, doing the same old thing for the last 30 or 40 years has lead to empty pews, lukewarm Catholics, huge drops in vocations, huge drops in Catholic getting sacraments and perhaps many lost souls. It is not Uniting in Heart or our Bishop that has caused these major shifts over the last several decades but rather perhaps those who want everything to remain the same in an ever changing world. What is that old saying about doing the same and expecting different results? Our church has always adapted and innovated to changes/shifts and will continue to do so. So many here without full knowledge and all the data want to attack and toss out snide and hurtful comments that only serve to divide. Be a builder not a destroyer! If you are upset that your priest was transferred or were yourself transferred, get over it. My goodness this is common in every other sector in the world and lack of change of personnel creates stagnation, group think and other damages. My pastorate is seeing increased giving, excitement and evangelization like I’ve not witnessed in a long time; all during a pandemic. I thank that Bishop and his team for having the courage to try something to address serious issues facing the Church here and everywhere.
Great slogan for Uniting in Heart: “Upset? Get Over It.”
Thanks for proving our collective critical points in a single post.
This. All of this.
Why is it that the second you complain about the dumpster fire of Uniting in Heart, they write you off as spoiled children throwing a tantrum about their pastors?
Do I think moving 99% of priests in the diocese in the middle of a global pandemic and unprecedented social unrest is a bad idea? Heck yes. Is that the only problem with this plan? Heck no.
Which parish? What specifically from Uniting in Heart can you link to increase d evangelization and excitement? Please describe these evangelical activities. Please describe how you are measuring excitement.
Well, I can’t speak for Anonymous, but at our AMAZING parish we put up posters next to our Uniting in Heart banners with the words “Excitement!”, “Engagement!”, and “Vibrancy!” emblazoned on them. We even have some AMAZING flyers to hand out, in full color, with those same words them. We were thinking about a line of AMAZING key chains and coffee mugs with those words too, but the collections of late have been a little low. We’re thinking people are just at home watching AMAZING TV-mass with checkbooks in hand and having a hard time deciding how much money to send to our key-chain & coffee mugs campaign. Put yourself in their shoes: I mean, should I send ten dollars? A hundred dollars? A thousand dollars? Six-million dollars? (headquarters really recommends that last one).
Anyway, I know those AMAZING flyers are really energizing our parish. After mass there was a whole bunch of them blowing around in the parking lot and getting stuck in trees and hitting people in the face. I just get AMAZING feelings knowing that, as I handed those out at the doors, and after people read those AMAZING words “Excitement!”, “Engagement!”, and “Vibrancy!”, they just threw the flyers up in the air for joy! AMAZING!
Who knew all you had to do rejuvenate your parish was to blanket your church with a bunch of positive-sounding words!
Oh, and if there is anyone that can recommend an AMAZING gutter-cleaning service, let me know. We’ve got a bit to much “Excitement!”, “Engagement!”, and “Vibrancy!” stuck up in the church’s gutters and blocking up the downspouts.
YES! Around the world so many people have left the church and families have watched children never come back shortly after going to college. Decades of poor leadership in our parishes combined with people who have lost their sense of purpose their why so to speak now want us to believe them and to continue down that path. I for one am glad that we have a bishop that is willing to focus on the why of the church while being flexible with the what in the how. Every initiative and every leader faces distractors. I pray our Bishop continues down this path and that the Holy Spirit continues to guide our diocese
*Is* there flexibility in “the how” though? It doesn’t feel that way to me, it feels like the “how” is supposed to be controlled everywhere, and this “how” is not appealing to everyone. If the diocese is sending consultants to get everyone to do basically the same method and programs and get rid of anyone who thinks outside that small box, how is that flexibility? Not trying to be antagonistic, I just see it unfolding differently where I am and it is a hardship to my family honestly to see things that kept our children and other young families engaged probably being tossed out as a direct or indirect result of Uih. But yes, we should continue to pray.
“So many here without full knowledge and all the data… ” then maybe it would have helped for diocese to share this full knowledge and data?
Sorry, pal. Transparency is not one of the pillars.
Please Robert, do share what amazing pastorate you are a part of that is being revitalized by United in Heart. I think you are full of it.
I agree. Smells like fake news to me.
And why don’t you share your name and start posting by name. Who is your pastor? What pastorate are you from? What are you so afraid of?
@Robert – I don’t want your name or your pastors name. I just asked what pastorate you are in that is seeing “increased giving, excitement and evangelization”. If that is true, tell us which pastorate this is. It should be easy for us to determine if what you say about your pastorate is truthful. Otherwise, it is clear you are lying.
My pastorate is the one with the Cathedral in Lafayette. It is run by Bishop Doherty, and our pastor is Fr. Rowland.
What I am afraid of is uniting in heart causing the demise of many parishes in the diocese, and a sharp drop in vocations to the priesthood. Among many other things.
Your move Robert…or Ben…or whatever you decide to call yourself next.
For my father who has cancer. Please pray for him to have the desire to receive the sacraments.
It sometimes feels as if I am a child who went off to school and returned home to find the house redecorated, new parents and the family dog is missing. The house is pretty, the parents are nice, and sometimes the family dog was a pest, but it was home. The UIH has upended everything I loved, and my home is gone. I do not know the new people, have nothing against any of them, but I cannot feel any connection to them at all. I believe everything I always did, just feel disconnected and hurt by this change in what was already a difficult time.
You feel disconnected because that’s exactly what the plan was designed to do: Separate clergy from the laity, destroy parish traditions, liquidate assets, fleece the baby-boomers one last time, and then try to remake the Church using the hottest fads from big-box, non-denominational, evangelical Protestantism.
In fact the plan’s title “Uniting in Heart” is a very unimaginative way of describing what the plan actually intends (if one only makes use of the antonyms of these words): “Separating” instead of “Uniting” and “Indifference” instead of “Heart” (or better translated “Affectionate Regard”).
Yes, “Separating in Indifference” is a more apt title for the plan, because the cold feelings those words engender are all the plan has wrought so far in any measurable sense. It’s as if an iron curtain has descended on our diocese and we’re on the wrong side of the wall.
I truly fear for the souls in charge that have unleashed this unfolding destruction. Have they not been preparing for their deaths? Have they no fear of God’s judgement? Do they really believe they will escape hell? Do they really believe they will obtain Heaven?
Do they even pray about these things anymore?
Sounds a lot like, “Solve et Coagula”.
Oh, the leadership has done a good job of breaking things apart. That’s easy. Rebuilding? That is impossible for destroyers.
Long, long ago when our parish only had two priests, two Saturday morning Masses were offered. Oh, Lord, how long must we wait for just one Saturday Mass, even though our parish now has four priests? One would almost think the clergy are now unionized. Pray I do not lose patience with our Bishop.
Please pray that I do not give up and just leave. Before this “uniting in heart” I used to go to Mass at least twice weekly, Adoration twice weekly. That was when they had Adoration once a week here and in a neighboring town everyday. Now we get once a month, if that, here. I hate this whack a mole priest division. You never know who is going to be at Mass or confession. I used to love going to Mass now it is a duty or obligation, not a love. If this is the way it is going to be I just don’t know.
I feel the same way … it’s really hurting my spirit
Going through a “Dark Night of the Soul” is a mysterious grace. Do not waste it. Our prayers will be sent your way through our Virgin Mother who loves you dearly.
I’m with you. Don’t worry. The hirelings currently in operational control of our local church are on borrowed time. They just don’t realize it yet. Your great love for our Blessed Lord (and especially His love for you) will outlast them. Besides, Satan cackles with glee when he drives another soul away from Holy Mother Church and Her sacraments. Don’t give him the pleasure. Apart from a sense of duty and a desire to get home to Heaven, staying in the Church – particularly when he gives you a million reasons to leave – drives Satan nuts.
Stick it to Satan: Stay in the Church.
Your warm feelings for the Church will eventually catch up with your will.
– Romans 8:39
Quitting or giving up will allow them to win. Attaining The 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit is where your focus needs to be. I am as frustrated and angry as anyone, but INEVER want to see any of my brothers and siters in the Church quit or go cold. I pray for you and all of us for these gifts, we need the prayers of one another. These people running our Church are at best a distraction of the Devil. Do NOT give in. GOD WINS ALWAYS! We need to prove our love for him daily, no matter the circumstance. We are being refined in the fire!!! God Bless you all!!!
Thanks for the boost!
For my mother and healing of her anxiety and depression accompanying dimentia; also for healing of her dimentia if it is in accord with God’s holy will.
Please pray for a restoration of my health, and, more importantly, that I will not lose my faith. I hope that when I can go back to church, I will still want to.
You will be in our prayers daily. Also please consider reaching out to your priests to visit you for confession and Eucharist if you have not done so. It can be done in most circumstances, and we should not hesitate to ask when we are in such need. May Our Lady, health of the sick, bind up your wounds of soul and body.
For all parents of prodigals, and for their prodigals. They know not what they do. It is a heartache with no acknowledgement and no closure. It is an empty limbo.
A humorous Lenten meditation in our pandemic-stressed times.
https://reformedhope.com/2021/02/16/masks/?fbclid=IwAR0TYhGbl4y4SS8tZ-wwjH4S58M58Uar_9n2TuE8DXjrDk8GeLNDP1awU18
For all those who have suffered loss, especially those longing to be parents.
For our Church. That priests, Bishops, archbishops, Cardinals, would you speak up in the defense of life of the unborn and condemn the current administration for their pro death platform.
Please pray for children who have fallen away from their faith and are leading a life of lies and embracing the culture of death. It saddens me greatly to see both their obstinance and their despair. Please Jesus call them back to your Sacred Heart and have mercy on them. Bring them a St. Ambrose (like St. Augustine had) that they might regain the flame of love for you.
Amen!
For my 89 year old mother, that she may not be forced by my siblings to receive the Emergency Use Authorization shot, and for the truth to come to light regarding the unknown long term effects of this experiment on the human population.
Yes indeed
I am trying to overcome a 10 week + sinus infection .
Determined slowness in healing even with antibiotics is due to RE infection while wearing a mask
Air exchange not adequate and yes masks are clean