Friday, March 1, 2024
Feast of Saint David, Patron of Wales
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Let’s start this week On the Road to Emmaus with a challenge: I want you to close your eyes for about ten seconds and attempt to think of a member of your family, or a close friend, who has fallen away from the practice of their Catholic faith.
It didn’t take very long to envisage that person did it?
The fact is, we all have loved ones who have lapsed from the Faith. I certainly do. It’s a sad situation. So, what is to be done?
As with anything: first we pray; secondly, we mortify ourselves; and, lastly, we do.
That’s why this week On the Road to Emmaus I am challenging you to pray every day for that person, or those persons, who were conjured up in your mind. Pray every day that they may return to the loving embrace of Jesus Christ, His Holy Church and the Holy Eucharist whereupon they will find their deepest happiness, peace and meaning. In fact, let’s pray for them now.
O Good Shepherd, you never cease to
seek out the lost, to call home the stray,
to comfort the frightened, and to bind up
the wounded. I ask you to bring my loved one
back to the practice of the Faith,
and to remove all obstacles that prevent
them from receiving your abundant mercy,
which flows sacramentally through
the heart of your holy Church.
Through the intercession of Mary,
the Mother of God, their Guardian Angels,
their Patron Saints and the ever-prayerful
St. Monica, may you pardon their sins
and unshackle them from whatever
hinders their freedom to come Home.
For you, O Good Shepherd, have loved us
to the end and offered yourself to the
Father for the salvation of all. Amen.
To reflect upon this week’s challenge, let me introduce you to Danielle Brown. Danielle is a bright, young lawyer who hails from the Diocese of Lansing but is now working for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC.
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing