Miriam was married to Raju and they had six children – all girls. I liked Miriam because she was kind and gentle. She always had a cup of tea for a priest visiting families. I never got to know Raju very much. He looked a bit scary,
As a Columban lay missionary, I have been living and working in Britain for two years. From the limitation of involvement due to covid-19, until becoming fully immersed in different ministries, I have been blessed with new friends, new challenges, new adventures, new opportunities to learn things. Everything is new, as the Lord said “Behold, I make all things new.”
In 2019 I had the honor of being one of the Columban representatives at the canonization of Cardinal Newman in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. From that moment on, I thought that no Columban had closer ties to Newman than I did. Then I met up with Nathalie.
O most holy angel of God,
appointed by God to be my guardian,
I give you thanks for all the benefits
which you have ever bestowed on me
in body and in soul.
I praise and glorify you
that you condescended to assist me
with such patient fidelity,
and to defend me against all the assaults of my enemies.
Blessed be the hour in which
you were assigned me for my guardian,
my defender and my patron.
In acknowledgement and return
for all your loving ministries to me,
I offer you the infinitely precious
O Mary, powerful Virgin,
you are the mighty and glorious
Protector of the Church.
You are the marvelous
help of Christians.
You alone have destroyed
every heresy in the entire Church.
In the midst of my anguish,
my struggles and my distress,
defend me from the power
of the enemy, and at the hour
of my death, receive my soul into Paradise.
Saint Michael, your heart was filled
with great charity for God and man.
Our Lord returned your love
and allowed you to exchange mystically
your heart with His.
Pray for all whose hearts afflicted
with illness, fear, or loneliness.
Teach us to be resigned to God's will
in all the trials and sicknesses.
Help us to live as you lived -
to do good now and for eternity.
Amen.
Eternal God,
You have revealed Yourself
as the Father of all Life.
We praise You for the Fatherly care
which You extend to all creation,
and especially to us,
made in Your image and likeness.
Father, extend Your hand
of protection to all families.
Bless our families and bless our land,
that we may have the joy of life
in your service always mindful
that You are the Eternal Father.
Grant me grace, O merciful God,
to desire ardently all that is pleasing to You,
to examine it prudently,
to acknowledge it truthfully,
and to accomplish it perfectly,
for the praise and glory of Your name.
Amen.
Father All-holy, I thank You
for the life of Blessed George Matulaitis,
totally dedicated to the cause
of Christ the Savior, in which he persevered
disregarding difficulties and suffering.
Through his intercession, I ask You
to grant that I never lose heart
because of life's difficulties,
but entrust everything to You
and steadfastly walk along the road
of the Christian life.
Just like Blessed George,
may I dwell with You within my heart,
rejoicing, working, and suffering with You.
Saint Timothy, pray for me that I, too,
may one day glorify the Blessed Trinity
in heaven.
Obtain for me your lively faith,
that I may consider all persons,
things, and events in the light
of almighty God.
Pray, that I may be generous in making
sacrifices of temporal things to promote
my eternal interests, as you so wisely did.
Set me on fire with a love for Jesus,
that I may thirst for His sacraments
and burn with zeal for the spread
of His kingdom.
By your powerful intercession,
Missionary Society of St. Columban US