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Our
hope is in His Mercy....that He will forgive ALL of our sins, and in His
promise to our Church, that the "gates of Hell shall not prevail
against it."
- Dawn Miller, Youth Minister, St. Peter, Libertytown
Hope
is where we find it!
Turn to the Holy Spirit with our petition;
Come Holy Spirit give us guidance and wisdom to weather the storm. We pray
for calm, peace and gladness throughout the entire world. Amen
-
Jim Schrader, Coordinator of Adult Faith Formation, St. Timothy,
Walkersville
Lord,
I know we'll never be a perfect church as we're not a perfect people.
Thank you that you have given us your Spirit to be with us always to call
upon for wisdom and guidance in making the right decisions, learning from
our mistakes, and knowing the way home.
May we never blame You for our mistakes but see You as someone
who always leaves the light on;
who wants to hold us in both our joys and sorrows;
who knows a life totally surrendered to You will see us through anything
and bring the greatest good
of the short span of time gifted to us.
I pray our lives, our Church and all its leaders be a fiat unto You. Amen.
- Jen Eberhardt, Youth Minister,
St. Ignatius, Ijamsville
As
a convert to Catholicism,
my heartbreak is that the Church's handling of sin within its ranks, and
the media's less than objective reporting, has sullied the witness of the
Church in our society to Christ's saving reality.
People
who are discerning a call to follow Christ, and specifically as Catholics,
now may turn back and go other directions because of what has
happened.
I
think that it is extremely important, especially now, that Catholics share
the enthusiasm and joy they have found in their faith with others, and ask
the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to counteract the untrustworthy
behavior many have seen and experienced with actions of love,
trustworthiness and continued proclamation of the grace and love found in
relationship with Jesus Christ, within the Catholic community of
faith.
- Amy Sorensen, DRE,
St. Michael, Poplar Springs
Lord,
we live steadfastly in the hope proclaimed by the gospel.
Allow
us to see the grandeur
of your presence always,
even in the midst of the
experience of the cross
that we presently are asked to carry.
We
are confident that our acceptance of death precedes a glorious
resurrection.
Keep
us faithful so that all we are and all we do, will be a reflection of your
humility, your forgiveness, your love in our world.
Sister Eileen Healey, DC, Pastoral Associate,
St. Joseph, Emmitsburg
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Jesus,
witness of love and life, is my source of hope. The Church--the Body of
Christ on earth--more than any other organized, human institution,
possesses the resources to offer healing, reconciliation, peace, prayer,
scholarship, and wisdom in this time of suffering and hurt.
- Sister Carol Czyzewski,
FSSJ, Pastoral Associate, St. Anthony/Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parishes,
Emmitsburg/Thurmont
We
must stop hanging our heads.
Have faith and hope that God will turn this darkness into ineffable light.
Remember, He told us, "Be Not Afraid, I Have Overcome the
World."
- Tom Abbott, Director of Adult Formation,
St. Bartholomew, Manchester
I
would like to give my appreciation to my Church for Her Complete Guidance
in my life through the help of the Holy Spirit!
The Church is the rock that has given us support throughout the ages in
all that we have dealt with as God's Children.
Knowing
this to be true, I have Faith that we will be led through this tragedy and
Good will come from these trials.
We are the Church. We are All members of One Body, the Body of Christ.
With this in mind we will have many blessings to come as we realize that
ALL of us need His help!
Let
us pray for the Holy Spirit to lead us so that we may truly be role models
of TRUTH and LOVE as Jesus has taught us.
Our Children depend on us
to do the right thing.
Let us accept the graces
that are here for us.
Let us forgive those who need forgiveness as we ask for forgiveness for
the wrongdoing that has been
a part of our lives.
Martha
Langdon, Regional Representative, Harcourt Religion Publishers
Source
of hope:
those times, folks, situations that we are surprised by the Spirit....and
the same Spirit uses us to help someone be more hope filled....much like
planting of a vine.....and watching how it grows and grows....
I
pray that I am able to be an
instrument of hope...
I pray that I can be a sign to others of hope.
I pray for all those families that continue God's creation as a hope.....
....a plant of the future.
I hope for this time to be a growing time, a time of pruning, for future
growth. I pray that this growth be faith-filled, giving hope in the
present and the future.
- Marian Cochran, DRE,
St. Joseph, Buckeystown
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