July | 2018 | Blogger Priest

Novena for St. Ann

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Father Joe

The Feast Day for Saints Joachim & Ann is July 26

St. Ann, Mother of the Immaculate Conception

GOD OUR FATHER, the beauty and the order of your creation was willfully damaged by those who rejected your friendship. Undeterred by this ingratitude, your Son entered our world on a mission of mercy and healing. He walked among us as a divine physician seeking the lost and the strayed, curing the sick and the handicapped, mending broken hearts and restoring broken friendships, comforting the distressed and bringing peace of mind to the victims of sin. With the exception of sin, he too was the victim of suffering and anxiety. He knew fatigue and hunger and loneliness. In taking flesh and blood from the children of Eve, he honored Mary and Ann as mother and grandmother. From them he inherited eyes which behold the ills of man and hands which constantly reach out to bring healing to mind and body. In this novena of prayer, dedicated to Saint Ann, the friend of the sick, we ask her intercession to strengthen our faith that miracles of healing may continue to testify that the compassionate Jesus still walks among us. We ask him to bless us, today and forever. Amen.—Bishop Raymond J. Boland (1978)

DAY 1 – Wednesday, July 18 – Embrace me as a brother to your grandson, Jesus.

Glorious Saint Ann, by the special bond of affection uniting you still with your child, our blessed Mother, and with her divine Son, we call on your powerful aid to meet today’s pressing needs. We freely acknowledge our own sinfulness and unworthiness, and yet we count on your help, and promise ever to be grateful to you and faithful to God’s will for us. Amen.

DAY 2 – Thursday, July 19 – Teach me the value of prayer.

Dearest Saint Ann, teach me the value of prayer. When I pray humbly, earnestly, God’s hand stretches out to me; it takes hold of my hand, my mind, my will and helps me up the steep path that leads me to the goal he has set before me. Amen.

DAY 3 – Friday, July 20 – Show me the light of Christ so as to find my way.

Saint Ann, when I lose my way and lose sight of my Lord, show me how I can find him again; tell me where he wishes me to walk through life; help me discover in Christ’s teaching the light that will reveal to me the Father’s will, which is made manifest through his commandments, through my duties toward him and toward my neighbor and through the various circumstances in which I am called to work out my destiny. Amen.

DAY 4 – Saturday, July 21 – Obtain for me strength and courage over all temptations.

Saint Ann, when I lose heart before the hardships of life and the constant obstacles that I have to overcome, when I feel helpless before my bad inclinations, before my repeated struggles against the evil one and against a world that is constantly pulling me away from you, obtain for me from God, who is the source of all strength, the courage to remain faithful to him, never to pull my hand out of his hand and to overcome the countless temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. Amen.

DAY 5 – Sunday, July 22 – Grant me a consuming love for God and neighbor.

Saint Ann, first of all, let me always keep burning in my heart the eternal flame of God’s love; let the unquenchable fire of God’s love for me forever keep alive in me a consuming love for the Lord and for my neighbor. Amen.

DAY 6 – Monday, July 23 – Help me to prize heavenly joy over earthly consolation.

Dearest Saint Ann, whenever I am unhappy, inspire me to pray for happiness, for my share in the happiness of this earth; but, first of all, for the endless happiness that God has prepared for those who serve him with loving and prayerful hearts. Amen.

DAY 7 – Tuesday, July 24 – Draw me deeper into the mind and heart of Christ.

Each passing day is a step forward on our earthly pilgrimage. Saint Ann, let each new day bring us deeper into the Lord’s knowledge and love. This is the goal of all Christian life on earth: that every passing day and every passing year should show us better the dazzling face of our God and urge us toward him in more faithful service. Amen.

DAY 8 – Wednesday, July 25 – Teach me how to bear suffering as God’s will.

Saint Ann, the afflictions that befall our persons, families, cities and nations will be unbearable, unless you teach us how God’s merciful designs for man are attained through suffering. Keep reminding us that the only way that leads man to God and happiness is the way of the cross. Amen.

DAY 9 – Thursday, July 26 – Teach me how to desire equity and justice for all.

Saint Ann, teach us how to love one another. Love alone can do away with the evils of disputes, riots and wars. Love alone can inspire men with a sense of equity and justice. It will tear down the barriers that divide men according to languages, colors and creeds, and will inspire mankind to live in mutual understanding. Amen.

Prayer of Consecration to Saint Ann

Blessed Saint Ann, who did give birth to the Mother of God: illustrious Grandmother of Jesus Christ, I choose you this day for my Patron and my Mother. I offer and consecrate myself entirely to you and I recommend to your eternal solicitude and your holy protection my body and my soul, the necessities and vicissitudes of my existence, my life and my death. I am determined, and I promise, to serve you and to honor you for love of Mary, your most holy Daughter, and to propagate according to my powers devotion to you. / On your part, O my sweet Mother, O my holy Patron, deign to receive me into the number of your servants and children. Obtain for me the grace to imitate so perfectly the virtues which have made you pleasing in the sight of God that I may merit the favor of Jesus and Mary. Obtain for me a happy death and at my last hour receive my soul into the arms of your love. Help me during my life by the sufferings, by the merits and mercies of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to obtain such perfect remission of my sins that my soul on leaving its body may go quickly to join you in eternal rest. Amen.

NOTATIONS:

Two-side Parish Bulletin Insert, click HERE.

The version of the devotion is here somewhat abridged. For a pdf file of the complete booklet, click HERE.

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Jerry Coniker, Rest in Peace

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Father Joe

153089093862327923 Dear Friends of the AFC,

The Apostolate for Family Consecration’s beloved founder, my father, Jerome Francis Coniker (“Jerry”) passed into eternal life on July 4, 2018. At his death, he was surrounded by so much love and many prayers, and by many family members and loved ones who were with him in his daughter Maureen’s home. No doubt he is overjoyed to be reunited with my mother, Gwen, the love of his life, as well as his daughter Angelica, and his parents and brother.

My father was a man truly driven to make a difference in the world. The salvation of souls and the protection of families through consecration were his passion. He desired the laity to know and embrace their call to holiness, to be saints, because he was convinced that ordinary fathers, mothers, and children can help to bring about the kingdom of God on earth when they make their daily family life an offering to God.

This is the message of hope, inspired by the Fatima message, that he and my mother spread through the Apostolate for Family Consecration® and by the example of their life. At a time when there were not many lay ministries in the Church, my father overcame many obstacles and made many sacrifices, never wavering in his conviction that God had called him to this mission. Thousands of lives have been touched because he said yes to the Holy Spirit and chose to found the AFC with the help of my mother. I am filled with joy and gratitude that the fruits of his labors, as well as my mother’s, will live on in this ministry.

Thank you for supporting this mission through your prayers and sacrifices.

I invite you to join us in celebrating my dad’s legacy. Visitation will be from 4:00–9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 11, with a vigil service at 8:00 p.m. in St. John Vianney Chapel at Catholic Familyland®, and from 9:30–10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 12 in St. Joseph Auditorium.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 12, in St. Joseph Auditorium. Following the Mass, he will be laid to rest in the crypt of St. John Vianney Chapel, next to my mother, Gwen. A lunch celebration will be held immediately after the burial. If you plan to attend the luncheon, please RSVP through this form.

RSVP to Funeral Luncheon

I ask your prayers for the repose of my dad’s soul, for my family, and for the AFC during this time. Thank you and may God bless you!

In the Holy Family,

Theresa Coniker Schmitz

Executive Vice President

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