Mary Sullivan

Into your hands I commend my spirit, is what Christ Himself had cried,
The last words that He spoke, right before He died.
As we hang upon our cross in life, when too great seem the demands,
May we cry out to You Father, I commend my spirit into Your hands.

When what happens in this world, we can no longer understand.
When we are feeling sad, and life seems less than grand,
When shattered dreams lay all around us, we feel like sojourners, in a foreign land,
With Christ we can cry out, I commend my spirit into Your hands.

When life is going haywire, not at all as we had planned.
When the enemy encircles us, and we feel quite outmanned.
When we doubt our strength to persevere, have not the legs to stand,
May we call to You, dear Father, I commend my spirit into Your hands.

As we call out to You, Father, as You hear our embattled cry,
May we give all we have to You, may we to ourselves then die.
In dying to ourselves, we enjoin our crucifixion,
May this death to self, lead us to a glory resurrection.

May the tears which we now shed; each dark night lived as black as pitch.
Be the hoe which tills the watered soil, the nutrient which makes it rich.
And one day yet to come at one of our tomorrows,
May flowers bloom from today’s grief. May life spring forth from sorrow.

This brutal winter, all is barren. But flowers bloom whence comes the spring.
May our springtime of flowers, one day conversions bring.
May loved ones feeling crucified, call upon the Father, too,
I commend my spirit into Your hands, I give everything to You.

From all this suffering and sorrow, dear Father, in Your mercy bring,
Fields full of conversions, in us all, whence comes the spring.

“O soul, whoever you may be in this world even if your sins were black as night.
Do not fear God, weak child that you are for great is the power of God’s mercy.” [Diary of Saint Faustina (1652)]

Sometimes our sin can feel black as the dark of night.
As if sin dwelt beyond God’s love, lived in condemning sight.
As if we lived with no hope, no chance of reconciliation.
As if we’d thrown away our lives, were destined for damnation.

Father, sometimes we feel our sins You can’t forgive,
We ponder them over again. Our failings, we relive.
Dwelling on our errors, can keep us from Your light.
We tell ourselves there’s just no way, at last to set things right.

This beating ourselves up is living Satan’s sneaky lie.
Christ came to suffer for us.  For us, He came to die.
He came to free us from our sins, that from sin we might fly.
This unforgiveness feeling is forgiveness gone awry.

May we recognize Christ’s suffering, lest He died in vain.
Know His scourging and His agony, and all of His pain.
By suffering we’ve been redeemed, and salvation gained.
It is only through Christ’s suffering; eternal life has been obtained.

May we trust You, Lord, as a child trusts his loving Father, and draws near.
May we reach for You, with open arms, abandon thoughts of fear.
Lord, help our loved ones know, help them now to see,
Their sins can be washed away.  From sin, they can be free.

There is no sin or pain Lord and no darkness of the night,
That is beyond Your healing hand, when brought into Your light.
Those made weak and frail by sin, may approach You without fear.
In Your mercy is great power, Your heart of mercy—always near.

Go to our loved ones now, Lord.  Help them at last to know,
That sins, though they be scarlet, can be made as white as snow.

Saint Augustine, you who lived a wretched sinner’s life,

Turned back to the Lord, away from sin and strife.

Pray that we be filled with God—not place Him on some shelf.

You said if we are filled with love, we are filled with God Himself.

Let us now fill ourselves with God; and fill ourselves with love.

That grace may flow into our souls, from heaven above.

When we feel unloved; start making a big fuss.

May we know God loves each of us, as if there be but one of us.

Saint Augustine, in your mercy, pray for loved ones lost.

As Christ, Himself, for us all has hung upon the cross.

No matter what lost souls have done, no matter where they’ve been,

Pray we may love the sinner, while we hate the sin.

May we be granted patience, with the good Lord as our guide,

To listen to their story, to hear the other side.

Saint Augustine, pray loved ones, will now truly see,

Our hearts will be so restless, until they rest in Thee.

Saint Augustine, we beg of thee, on this grace-filled day,

Pray for all our loved ones.  St. Augustine do pray.

“O soul, whoever you may be in this world even if your sins were black as night.
Do not fear God, weak child that you are for great is the power of God’s mercy.” [Diary of Saint Faustina (1652)]

Sometimes our sin can feel, as black as the dark of night.
As if sin dwelt beyond God’s love, lived in condemning sight.
As if we lived with no hope, no chance of reconciliation.
As if we’d thrown away our lives, were destined for damnation.

Father, sometimes we feel our sins You can’t forgive,
We ponder them over again. Our failings, we relive.
Dwelling on our errors, can keep us from Your light.
We tell ourselves there’s just no way, at last to set things right.

This beating ourselves up is living Satan’s sneaky lie.
Christ came to suffer for us.  For us, He came to die.
He came to free us from our sins, that from sin we might fly.
This unforgiveness feeling is forgiveness gone awry.

May we recognize Christ’s suffering, lest He died in vain.
Know His scourging and His agony, and all of His pain.
By suffering we’ve been redeemed, and salvation gained.
It is only through Christ’s suffering; eternal life has been obtained.

May we trust You, Lord, as a child trusts his loving Father, and draws near.
May we reach for You, with open arms, abandon thoughts of fear.
Lord, help our loved ones know, help them now to see,
Their sins can be washed away.  From sin, they can be free.

There is no sin or pain Lord and no darkness of the night,
That is beyond Your healing hand, when brought into Your light.
Those made weak and frail by sin, may approach You without fear.
In Your mercy is great power, Your heart of mercy—always near.

Go to our loved ones now, Lord.  Help them at last to know,
That sins, though they be scarlet, can be made as white as snow.