On-Line with God: Prayer in Time of Illness

September 8, 2015

Prayer in Time of Illness

How long Lord?

Will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look upon me, answer me, Lord, my God!

Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death,lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him"; lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

Though I trusted in your mercy. Let my heart rejoice in your salvation. Let me sing of the Lord, “He has been good to me.”

Pericope:
PRAYER IN TIME OF ILLNESS - Psalm 13:1-6

God's Message

The LORD will build up Zion, he will appear in his glory; he will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their supplication. Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD. (Psalm 102:17-19)

Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth.

But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man" (Luke 21: 34 - 36).

It is necessary, too, that we shun the occasions which have been the cause of sin. We must have recourse to fervent prayer, receive frequently and worthily the sacraments. He who does this will be sure to persevere (St John Vianney).

God Speaks to you

Read some chapter of a devout book....It is very easy and most necessary, for just as you speak to God when at prayer, God speaks to you when you read. -- St. Vincent de Paul

Help yourself during this troubled period by reading holy books. This reading provides excellent food for the soul and conduces to great progress along the path of perfection. By no means is it inferior to what we obtain through prayer and holy meditation. In prayer and meditation it is ourselves who speak to the Lord, while in holy reading it is God who speaks to us. Before beginning to read, raise your mind to the Lord and implore Him to guide your mind Himself, to speak to your heart and move your will. -- Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

The field of battle between God and Satan is the human soul. It is in the soul that the battle rages every moment of life. The soul must give free access to the Lord so that it may be fortified by Him in every repect and with all kinds of weapons; that His light may enlighten it to combat the darkness of error; that it may be clothed with Jesus Christ. To be clothed with Jesus Christ it is necessary to die to oneself. That which comes from Satan begins with calmness and ends in storm, indifference, and apathy. In the spiritual life he who does not advance goes backward. It happens as with a boat which always must go ahead. If it stands still the wind blows it back. Fix the time, the length of your meditation, and do not rise from your place until you have finished even at the cost of being crucified. -- Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

Quotes

What prayer could be more true before God the Father than that which the Son, who is Truth, uttered with His own lips? (St. John Chrysostom)

He causes his prayers to be of more avail to himself, who offers them also for others (Pope St. Gregory the Great)

We should not bear it with bad grace if the answer to our prayer is long delayed. Rather let us because of this show great patience and resignation. For He delays for this reason: that we may offer Him a fitting occasion of honoring us through His divine providence. Whether, therefore, we receive what we ask for, or do not recieve it, let us still continue steadfast in prayer. For to fail in obtaining the desires of our heart, when God so wills it, is not worse than to receive it ; for we know not as He does, what is profitable to us (St. John Chrysostom).

The air which we breathe, the bread which we eat, the heart which throbs in our bosoms, are not more necessary for man that he may live as a human being, than is prayer for the Christian that he may live as a Christian (St. John Eudes).

The most astonishing thing was that there were actually saints there, even ones who were beatified, who were passing through Purgatory. St. Severinus, Archbishop of Cologne, appeared to one of his friends a long time after his death and told him that he had been in Purgatory for having deferred to the evening the prayers he should have said in the morning. Oh! What years of Purgatory will there be for those Christians who have no difficulty at all in deferring their prayers to another time on the excuse of having to do some pressing work! If we really desired the happiness of possessing God, we should avoid the little faults as well as the big ones, since separation from God is so frightful a torment to all these poor souls! (Sermon on Purgatory by Saint John Vianney).

We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people, and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the Spirit of God (St Vincent de Paul).

You go to pray; to become a bonfire, a living flame, giving light and heat ( St Josemaria Escriva).

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September 8, 2015

Prayer in Time of Illness