June 2019: Prayers and Reflections
Prayers and Reflections for June
Pope Francis’ Intention for June
Evangelisation: That priests, through the modesty and humility of their lives, commit themselves actively to a solidarity with those who are most poor.
A blessing for students taking exams
God loves us and sustains us. Let us ask for his blessing, praying that he will renew and support us with his strength.
Everlasting God, pour out your Spirit of wisdom on these students.
R/ Lord, give us your blessing.
Help them to remain calm and to attend carefully to the questions asked. R/
Help them to think clearly, to remember accurately, and to express themselves well. R/
May they reflect the best of the work they have done, and the best of the teaching they have received. R/
May your love be upon them O Lord, as they place all their trust in you. R/
Lord, let the effect of your blessing remain with your faithful people to give them new life and strength of spirit, so that the power of your love will enable them to accomplish what is right and good.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
From The Veritas Book of Blessings for All Occasions, 188-189
Journalism, sinners and saints …
May Jesus Christ be praised!
May what we do, may what we say and may what we write lead to praise of him who redeemed us, who brought the Good News of salvation to the whole world.
May Jesus Christ be praised!
May he be praised particularly in the pages of those publications which are known as Christian, because they reflect faith in Jesus, and as Catholic, because they reflect the universality of his love and of his dominion.
Contemporary journalism often seeks out the hidden sinners in society, so that their crimes may be revealed and so that society may be healed. This service can indeed be salutary. But I would also hope that contemporary Catholic journalism, in particular, might seek out the hidden saints – those humble men and women who teach the young, who care for the sick, who counsel the troubled – those hidden servants of God who truly live the Gospel. In their lives they praise Jesus Christ; a greater knowledge of their hidden, humble and heroic work could well lead others to praise Jesus Christ. In a world so often divided by conflict and by hatred and sο often marred by sin and selfishness, self-sacrifice and service of others in the name of Jesus are truly newsworthy ; they are facets of the good news of Christ which it is our privilege not only to proclaim but also to seek out and to make known so that others may be encouraged, inspired αηd even converted to faith or to fervour.
Pope St John Paul II to journalists, March 1985
The Irish Martyrs, 20 June
Father, we give you thanks and praise for all the martyrs of our history.
Mindful that the canonised and beatified are but an official sample,
we pray that we ourselves might be numbered
among those who have overcome fear and favour,
in order to be faithful to you and your Gospel.
When faith seems to be a lonely path,
may William Walsh, Cistercian Bishop of Meath, intercede for us.
By your grace, he died of infirmity in the loneliness of exile,
counting comfort and reputation as naught.
When we are swayed by a desire for respect,
may Dame Margaret Ball intercede for us.
Her steadfastness in faith led to betrayal by her son,
and to death in her subsequent imprisonment.
When we are called to account for our Christian faith,
may Matthew Lambert intercede for us.
Arraigned before magistrates, he declared his loyalty
to the faith given to him by his Mother, the Church.
When we feel diffident or afraid,
may Elizabeth Kearney intercede for us.
She bravely perished with many others,
during the siege of Cashel.
Surrounded, as we are, by a great cloud of witnesses,
may we be steadfast in witnessing to the Gospel in our own day.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen