Please Pray For Me

There are days when we try to stand tall, and days when we simply cannot. Days when we pretend we are composed, and days when we know that the veil has slipped and all we can say, with trembling honesty, is this: Please pray for me because I'm a sinner. Not as a dramatic confession, not as a poetic moment, but as the most truthful line of our soul.

Many of us walk around carrying invisible burdens – regrets we have never shared, wounds we hope no one sees, failures we wish we could erase. Yet something within us stirs when we finally whisper, "I need help. I need prayer." It is not a collapse but a surrender into mercy. It is the moment the prodigal son turns toward home, the moment the tax collector beats his breast, the moment the lost sheep bleats faintly in the dark hoping the Shepherd is listening.

And so this week's reflection is more than a meditation. It is a petition – a humble plea from one sinner to another, from one pilgrim to another. I ask for your prayers, and in doing so, I pray that each of us discovers the freedom and the healing that can only unfold when we admit our need for grace.

"The King of Love My Shepherd Is" - Why I Have A Line From This Hymn On This Blog

"This particular hymn was suggested to me by Father when I attended confession and has ever since has become for me a serene melody with a comforting message."

How Would You Like Our Father, Son, Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother Mary and All the Angels and Saints to Rejoice for You? Wouldn't that be a great Christmas gift to you?

Some questions do not merely request an answer but invite a new direction, a gentle turning of the heart toward something deeper, holier, more life-giving.

This blog post's question is one of those.

It comes not to burden you, but to stir hope and possibility within you.

How would you like Our Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother Mary, and all the angels and saints to rejoice for you?

Pause for a moment and truly imagine the meaning of that question. Imagine heavenly joy rising because of you!

The 24/7 Catholic Monthly - With A FREE Gift - 1st December 2025 – Advent: Watching, Waiting, Hoping

Welcome to the December edition of The 24/7 Catholic Monthly... with a free gift!

The shops may be in full Christmas mode, but the Church offers something deeper, quieter, holier: Advent, a sacred time of longing, preparation, and hope.

This is not yet Christmas - it is the season to watch and wait. We recall the ancient people of Israel, yearning for the Messiah. We prepare our hearts to welcome Christ not only as a baby in Bethlehem, but also as King of glory at the end of time.

Am I the only one who struggles with 1 Corinthians 10:13?

Have we ever read Saint Paul's famous words about God never allowing us to be tempted beyond our strength...

... and quietly wondered if the verse was written for someone holier, braver, or far more put together than us? 

If so, we're in very good company.

We Crave To Meet Our Lord Face To Face

There is a longing within every Christian soul that words rarely manage to capture. It is the deep, aching desire to meet Our Lord face to face. 

We imagine that moment when the veil is lifted and we finally see the One who made us, the One who loved us into existence, the One who carried us through every hardship. 

That desire is written into us because God Himself placed it there. When we feel the tug of heaven, it is the tug of home. We know that heaven is where we belong because heaven is where He is.

Although this encounter in its fullness is reserved for eternity, there are moments even now when we draw astonishingly close to Him, closer than we allow ourselves to grasp. These moments are not only spiritual but profoundly physical, because the God who took flesh in Bethlehem still gives Himself in flesh and blood. 

An easy prayer to remember...

 
"Almighty God of grace and light,
please bless (name here or description of person) and hold them tight. 
Grant them peace along their ways
and keep them safe both nights and days.