Mary Sullivan

“Jesus said in reply,

‘Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?’
Then he said to him, ‘Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.’”

(Luke 17:17-19)

Ten were cleansed, were they not?

Yet You were thanked by only one,

Dear Lord, give us hearts more thankful,

Than the nine, who left on the run.

Lord Jesus, we have been so blessed,

And we have failed, it’s true,

To thank You. So often when You’ve blessed us,

We quickly ask for things anew.

Give to us contented hearts,

Hearts that see how richly we’ve been blessed.

If we but took the time for thanks,

Perhaps we’d not be so depressed.

Our loved ones have so many gifts.

The Giver they ignore.

Heal their now unthankful hearts.

May they thank You ever more.

Ten lepers begged for pity.

We beg for pity too.

We thank You in advance,

For the healing You will do.

Heal the hearts of all our loved ones.

May it be You Whom they adore.

Take from them their stony hearts.

Give them hearts thankful and pure.

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

(Luke 18:1-8)

Dear Father, the unjust judge, had not fear or honest vision.
Yet the widow of the town would come to ask for a decision.
For some time, he was unwilling.  An unjust judge was he.
But at last, he changed his mind.  This widow would not let him be.

Dear Father of compassion, and Father of love,
You are so rich in mercy, unlike the unjust judge.
Secure the help we need—we who only want what’s right.
Deliver those we love.  We cry to You day and night.

Make haste, Father, to answer.  Help our loved ones to their senses.
Draw them to the truth.  Heal their harmful defenses.
Bless us all with faith.  Help those see, who are now blind.
When You at last return to earth, may faith on earth You find.

“The saints did not all begin well; but they all ended well.” (St. John Vianney)

One need not be a perfect soul, to one day be a saint.
Many saintly souls once had lives of little self-restraint.
Forgive us, Lord, for the times we acted as if blind;
For the times when we offended You, left sanctity behind.

Put us on the narrow path, which leads to life abundant.
Keep our feet upon this path, our minds off sins redundant.
May all we say, and all we think, and all the things we do,
Be said and thought and done, in a way that pleases You.

Some of our sons and daughters now march as if abducted,
Along a path of willful sin, where pure love becomes destructed.
In sync with fallen culture, its depraved, degrading drum,
Of sin they seem oblivious.  To sin, they now seem numb.

The enemy has launched on those we love a dangerous attack.
Lord, mine the demons from their souls.  Hold the devils back.
Send holy saints to help them, from every saintly region.
Send angels and archangels, send multitudes of angel Legions!

Make haste, send aid, dear loving Lord, to this earthly land of sorrow,
We beg Thee, Lord, do this today.  Tarry not until tomorrow.
Make the devils powerless.  Let confusion be dispelled.
Dispatch the devils from this land.  Send them back to hell.

May we now, with those we love, lift our crosses with You,
To be victor in this battle, there are things we need to do.
May we don our Godly armor, bravely stand our royal ground.
In every word we speak henceforth, may truth alone be found.

Let no one steal the truth from us, thus leaving us debased.
May truth be buckled firmly, and secure around our waists.
May righteousness protect our hearts from every evil and all greed.
Righteousness is the breastplate, of which we are in need.

With feet now, forever shod, in the Scriptures of peace,
May arguments, hostilities in our lives now cease.
May we live the faith.  May faith we humbly acclaim.
May our holy shield of faith extinguish every evil flame.

May pondering our last end, inspire penance and oblation.
The helmet which protects our minds, is the truth of our salvation.
May love of Thy Holy Word, be our heartfelt goal.
Thy Word is the sword, which plunged forth, can pierce the hardened soul.

O Lord, we are imperfect.  Yet we strive to lift this cross.
We beg You, Lord, for mercy.  Save loved ones who, about on waves, are tossed.
Receive our sacrifices.  We offer them without complaint.
One day, may we greet loved ones, in paradise, as fellow saints.

Amen+

At Fatima we were asked to sacrifice for others,
This request to save souls came from our Blessed Mother.
If we make sacrifices, pray for sinners as she asked,
If we embrace her daily rosary and her devotional tasks,

If we seek to love God with all our hearts and minds and souls,
If we place our lives in His hands; give to Him control,
If we perform works of mercy, and offer mercy too,
If we humbly ask the Lord to work through everything we do,

If we turn to Mother Mary, beg her prayerful intercession,
If we repent of all our sins, at first-Saturday confession.
If we give to God our suffering, all the ways that we’ve been hurt,
If we pray that by the grace of God, Russia will convert.

If we offer God our heartfelt love, and hopes now dead or lost,
If we give to Christ our sorrows, unite them with His cross,
If before the Lord we seek to be quiet and be still,
If we try to see Him in all souls, seek to do His Holy will.

If we lift our hearts to heaven, pray for souls who’ve strayed,
Can’t we have faith He’ll hear our pleas that loved ones might be saved?
If we pray can’t we believe that one day they’ll be whole?
That our dear Lord will hear our prayers, have mercy on their souls?

The heavens may be waging war.  There may be a brutal fight.
But the Lord can take our loved ones out of darkness into light.
Dear Lady, at Fatima, God worked the miracle of the Sun.
Beg God for His mercy, that His perfect will be done.

Our Lady of Fatima, make haste, do not delay,
Our Lady of Fatima, for us, make haste, do pray.