​Today’s Blessing Prayer: Friday greetings and blessings to on this last day of 2021. I hope your day has started well and I hope and pray you are continuing to navigate through these stressful days with faith and a hopefulness for the future.
 
Once again, I offer you Pope Francis’ Prayer…
 
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, and the Health of the Sick.
At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,
with steadfast faith.
You, Salvation of All People, know what we need.
We are certain that you will provide, so that,
as you did at Cana of Galilee,
joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the Father’s will
and to do what Jesus tells us:
He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us,
through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
 
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
(Prayer Composed by Pope Francis)
 
I begin this day thankful for all the blessings of year that has passed, and yes, there were blessings! But I am also happy the year is ending and I am excited to bring in a New Year and put 2021 and all its challenges and struggles behind me. I pray all of you are where you need and want to be and that you will get a chance to celebrate in some way the passing on one year and the beginning of a new one, tonight. If you need to travel, please travel safe. If you are going to be out and about at, around or after midnight, please be safe!
 
I offer a simple blessing on this last day of 2021 - O Loving God, hear our prayers today as we pray in thanksgiving for the year that has just past and with hope for the year we are about to begin. Bless us with the strength, grace and wisdom that we have gathered over this last year and help us during the coming year to soften the hearts of all so that we may always know your friendship. Grant peace and prosperity to your people bless each of us today and always with your love. Amen! May all of us encounter God’s mercy, peace, hope and many new dreams in 2022. See you next year! Peace in Christ’s Passion...Fr. Paul

Today’s Prayer: I thought Thomas Merton’s prayer would be a good end of the year prayer for all of us today –
 
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thomas Merton - Thoughts in Solitude)
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​Today’s Blessing Prayer: Thursday greetings and blessings to all. I hope and pray you are continuing to navigate through these Christmas days with faith and a hopefulness for the future.
 
Once again, I offer you Pope Francis’ Prayer…
 
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, and the Health of the Sick.
At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,
with steadfast faith.
You, Salvation of All People, know what we need.
We are certain that you will provide, so that,
as you did at Cana of Galilee,
joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the Father’s will
and to do what Jesus tells us:
He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us,
through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
 
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
(Prayer Composed by Pope Francis)
 
As we come closer to the end of 2021 my prayer of blessing is a simple one…May God bless all of us today with the peace and consolation of his grace and love as we journey through this day and life. May we all find the mercy, comfort, support, joy, hope and love we need to be the gift that God has created us to be this day and always! Have a great Thursday everyone. God’s blessings to all. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

​Today’s Prayer: O God, grant us the grace and a portion of your Holy Spirit of Trust that we may so live as to give others cause to be thankful today and always. Thankful because we have not forgotten how to hope, how to laugh, how to say, “I am sorry,” how to forgive, how to bind wounds, how to dream, how to cry, how to pray, how to love when it is hard, and how to love when it is dangerous.
 
Open us with freedom’s songs, O God, that from us – praise may flow more easily than wants, thanks more readily than complaints, trust more abundantly than anxiety.
 
Praise be to you, God of life, praise be to you for another chance to live with gratitude this day and always! Amen.

​Today’s Blessing Prayer: Wednesday greetings and blessings to all. I hope and pray you are continuing to navigate through these Christmas days with faith and a hopefulness for the future.
 
Once again, I offer you Pope Francis’ Prayer…
 
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, and the Health of the Sick.
At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,
with steadfast faith.
You, Salvation of All People, know what we need.
We are certain that you will provide, so that,
as you did at Cana of Galilee,
joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the Father’s will
and to do what Jesus tells us:
He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us,
through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
 
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
(Prayer Composed by Pope Francis)
 
My blessing prayer today is that God will bless us all with a calm, peaceful and productive day as we prepare to bring in a New Year Friday night. May God bless our encounters, our projects, our busyness, our living of this day. May God help us to enjoy these closing days of 2021 and look ahead with hope and joy to 2022. May God bless this day with a place of warmth with many smiles, the gift of laughter and people whom we love! Have a great Wednesday everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Today’s Prayer: Grant, O Loving God, that we may never fall away in success or in failure; that we may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let us rejoice only in what unites us and be sorrowful only in what separates us. May we strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except You. May we always see the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May we shun any joy that is without You and never seek any that is beside You. O God, may we delight in any work we do for You and tire of any rest that is apart from You. Let us direct our hearts towards You, and in our failings, always repent with a purpose of amendment. – Amen! (Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P.)
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​Today’s Blessing Prayer: Tuesday greetings and blessings to all. I hope and pray you are continuing to navigate through these Christmas Season days with faith and a hopefulness for the future.
 
Once again, I offer you Pope Francis’ Prayer…
 
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, and the Health of the Sick.
At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,
with steadfast faith.
You, Salvation of All People, know what we need.
We are certain that you will provide, so that,
as you did at Cana of Galilee,
joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the Father’s will
and to do what Jesus tells us:
He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us,
through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
 
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
(Prayer Composed by Pope Francis)
 
Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents and so our focus is on children. May our blessings today not only be upon us but also upon all children especially those who are most vulnerable, those just conceived, those in their mother’s womb and those who have just come into the world…Loving Jesus, through the spirits of the Holy Innocents, we ask your blessing upon us and upon all your children especially those in most need of your blessing this day.
 
You once embraced the little children who came to you, and said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these!" Look now with loving eyes on the innocence of all your children and those who love them, and bless us all this day that we may never forget the gift of life, the gift of children and their closeness to you.
 
Jesus in your grace and goodness let us live life continually, longing for you and loving you. Then we will surely come to our eternal home, through you, our Savior. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen! Blessings upon all children, upon all mothers and fathers and upon all of us today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion as seen in the suffering of Children today and always…Fr. Paul

​Today’s Prayer: Loving Jesus, you once said unless we become like children we cannot enter your Kingdom. So, we pause in prayer today to honor your most Holy Innocents and we call upon you through the intercession of these loving spirits to help us on our journey of life to the Kingdom and so we pray – Angels of God, our guardians so dear, to whom God's love entrusts us here; ever this day, be at our sides to light, to guard to rule and guide. Amen!

Today’s Blessing Prayer: Monday greetings and blessings to all. I hope and pray you are continuing to navigate through these Christmas Season days with faith and a hopefulness for the future.
 
Once again, I offer you Pope Francis’ Prayer…
 
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, and the Health of the Sick.
At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,
with steadfast faith.
You, Salvation of All People, know what we need.
We are certain that you will provide, so that,
as you did at Cana of Galilee,
joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the Father’s will
and to do what Jesus tells us:
He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us,
through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
 
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
(Prayer Composed by Pope Francis)
 
We find ourselves in the midst of the Octave of Christmas which means at least in a liturgical sense today is Christmas once again. So, in the spirit of Christmas I offer you my prayers and a blessing today – May the spirit of Christmas bring us peace – The joy and gladness of Christmas give us hope – May the warmth of Christmas grant us love. Christmas blessings to all today and in the spirit of St. John may our feet be swift today, so we can get through this day quickly and safely! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

​Today’s Prayer: Loving God, may your love make us what we have been called to be this day – your beloved. Amen!