www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Prayer So many things...

Hello,

I will briefly come out of a self-imposed lurking mode to ask for your prayers for a number of intentions:

1. John is a great man. He and his wife Jackie are directors of the Loaves and Fishes program at St. Jude's and they do a wonderful job helping directly or indirectly thousands of people every year. Jackie and I co-chair the Stewardship Committee. John caught a staph infection a few months ago and it got complicated to the point it affected a heart valve. He had the valve replaced a couple of weeks ago and seemed to be recovering fine, but earlier this week things turned for the worse and he is back in the hospital.

2. Liliana and the kids are spending a few weeks visiting grandparents in Mexico, there Liliana learned that Mariana, the younger sister of Barbara, who used to co-direct with Liliana the children's choir died in an accident in New York. She was in her teens. Barbara and her mother (no Dad) are, of course, devastated.

3. Our son Guillermo's godparents got separated a little over a year ago. Julio went to Dallas, Indira and their now 6 year old daughter Paola went back to Mexico. Indira has no intention to go back with Julio and is now considering divorce. Paola is suffering a lot and blaming her mother for her broken family. All three are suffering quite a great deal.

4. Liliana called some ex-class mates to check on them. First, Rosaura and her husband Daniel are doing well themselves, but they have a daughter with some health issues and Daniel's father suffers from diabetes. He lost his sight some time ago and one leg earlier this week. The poor man (I don't know his name, sorry) is begging his family to kill him to end his sufferings.

5. Next, Liliana learned about Jose. He and his wife were expecting a child around these days, but instead, two months ago, the mother-to-be felt ill, the baby had died and it took them almost a full day to have a c-section performed on her to take the little body out. Two months after, the jury is still out about whether she will survive, let alone be able to bear children.

6. Then there is Marisela. Her son suddenly developed intense leg pain and a few hours later he was unable to walk. By the time she got him to the hospital he had trouble to even breath. He was correctly diagnosed with a rare infection that affects the nerve system and his life was spared. Still, he spend three months in comma and although he is out of that comma, he is still not able to walk.

7. Liliana's aunt Karla learned that her husband had another woman and a daughter with her. Karla has 4 daughters and is now preparing for what surely will be a bitter divorce.

8. My brother-in-law, Raymundo, and his wife Natalia parted ways about a year ago. At first, things were pretty clear cut: This was a fake marriage, convenient to Natalia to get out of her parent's home, convenient to Raymundo to get some socially-sanction sexual life and convenient to both to split the expenses of maintaining a place to live (more than spouses, they were like "intimate room mates"). But now things are getting murkier with the possibility of reconciliation a little less distant now than before. Some of us wonder "reconciliation to what?", but only God knows what is best for these two.

9. Back here, the parish of St. Paschal is finally getting rid of Fr. Claudio and his Koinonia group. This in itself is good news, but the risk of having a parish torn apart by division, now that this move is actually happening, is much more elevated than before.

10. In the midst of all this suffering, this unworthy servant of yours was notified that we have been accepted as Aspirants to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate. Liliana and I are scheduled to go on our first retreat later this month (the 24th till the 27th).

Why has Our Lord decided to mark our entrance to the Formation Program with so much pain around us is still a little bit of a mystery we are still trying to discern.

One thing is clear, though: Whatever God is calling us to be and to do, the sufferings of our brothers and sisters around us is part of that call. We are being called to suffer with them and to minister God's healing love to them to the best of our ability (which is not much at all).

Please pray for mercy for us all.

Now back to lurking mode.

Shalom,
Memo

Prayers for your intentions for John and Jackie, Lilliana and the kids, for the repose of Mariana's soul, for comfort for comfort for Barbara and her mother, for Paolo and Indira's marriage that they may be reconcilled, and for there son Julio that he be comforted at this difficult time, for Daniel's father and daughter that they may be healed and comfored, for comfort for Jose and his wife that they may find peace and comfort,for the health of Marisela's son, and peace of his mother, for Karla in this difficult situation, for Raymundo and Natalia that they may find there answers in Christ, for the future of St Paschal's, and for Memo and Liliana that they may be faithfully serve our Saviour. CHRIST HAVE MERCY

Sorry for some typing errors in my haste, I trust God will still understand it.

Lord, have mercy.

Oh, Memo........of course you will have my prayers and be remembered in my Divine Liturgies....by name. As will those of your family you mentioned suffering so. I am delighted you will ascend to the Deaconate, and my prayers will follow you there as well.

Staro

I will take all your intentions to the Paralklis service this evening! May the Mother of God hear all your prayers and petitions, and granting healing and life!

Lord have mercy on them all!

Thank you all for your prayers and your kindness.

Shalom,
Memo

Prayers for all of Memo's intentions.

Thank you, again.

A quick update:

Since my original post, John was out of the hospital (they corrected an arrithmia), developed a rash and needed to go back to the hospital to drain some fluid around his heart. He was supposed to be discharged yesterday, but I have not heard from them.

Jose is acting very strage, he now seems to care a lot about a book he wrote and wants to publish and not so much about his wife and the baby they lost. I am not sure if this is part of a healthy breavement process. It doesn't feel like.

The "talks" between Raymundo and Natalia didn't go anywhere.

Thanks again.

Shalom,
Memo

God grant to the prayers of your servant Memo healing for all those he has brought before you in the name of your Son Jesus Christ...
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen....

Prayers!

It's been almost 3 years since the original post.

I'd live to thank everybody for your prayers and also give some updates:

1. John recovered completely from his staph infection. He and Jackie are now Directors of Outreach at St. Jude's.

2. Our friend Barbara (Padilla) moved to Houston, TX and got into the "America's Got Talent" show. She's scheduled in the last set of 10 performances for the current round. The show is tomorrow (8/25/2009). Please vote for her. Needless to say, she's doing quite alright.

3. Julio and Indira are now divorced. Julio flies from Dallas to Guadalajara at least once a month to see his daughter and calls her every night. Paola spends almost every vacation period with her dad and they visit us here in LA every now and then. Julio still provides for his daughter, his ex-wife and the new boyfriend. Go figure.

4. 5. 6. I have not heard from Rosaura, Jose or Marisela. Things did not go well with this guy Jose, so I do not expect to hear from him any more.

7. Karla is separated but not yet divorced. She's generally in good spirits, but the ex-husband is trying to maneuver her out of their patrimony.

8. Raymundo is now divorced and planning to re-marry, probably next year. He might seek an anullment and then "regularize" his new marriage in the Church, but only time will tell about that. His girlfriend/fiance is a very nice girl. We're all praying for their happiness.

9. Fr. Claudio is no longer around, but he managed to get a few of his minions ordained to the priesthood. Fr. Olivier is now in charge of "Koinonia" here in L.A. Their presence at St. Paschal's is very subdued, but they still linger. Oh, well...

10. Next month we start our 4th year in the Diaconate Formation Program. It's been quite a ride. This year our class will be instituted to the ministry of Acolyte. The academics will be focused on Liturgy and Sacraments, with a little of History of the Church and Ecumenical relations in the mix. Please keep praying for us.


Thanks!


Shalom,
Memo