On this feast of the Holy Family, we might take a moment to pray for all families, and for Christian families in particular. This prayer is a consecration prayer from the Sanctuary of Loreto in Italy, where the Holy House of Nazareth, transported by Crusader knights from the Holy Land as the Muslims were invading, is venerated. You might take a moment to say this prayer with me.
O Holy Family of Nazareth,
model of every family,
we bless and venerate you with joyful hearts
and consecrate ourselves to you
in order that our home be
the dwelling place of the presence of God,
in mutual and generous love.
O Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
who from the Loreto hills irradiate on the world
the light of faith and the power of love,
and guide it day by day
on the path of the Gospel
and of the Beatitudes.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, O Holy Family, bless our families.
On this holy day you might like to check out a few links. Pope Benedict dedicated his Audience on Wednesday to prayer in the Holy Family, see here for the text of his wonderful talk. The website for the Sanctuary of Loreto is very good and has the story of the translation of the Holy House and information on the life of the Shrine. Here is another good website, of a new association founded by one of the members of our Fraternity, to pray for our children. It is well worth a visit and joining - all you need do is offer one holy hour in the week for our children.
Happy feast day!
Thanks for your support with our Pray for Children work.
ReplyDeleteGod bless and have a wonderful and peaceful new year.