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UNION OF PRAYER IN THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS
By: Anthony Hoang Van Le, sfo.
A. GENERAL CONCEPT ABOUT COMMUNION OF SAINTS
* Communion of the Saints is a sharing / and enjoying of graces obtained through the good works of all members of the Catholic Church - visible and invisible – past or present. The term "Communion of Saints" therefore has two closely linked meanings: communion in holy things and among holy persons. (see The Catechism of the Catholic Church – CCC - 948)
* The Invisible Church is composed of two kinds:
-The Church triumphant in heaven where all the souls which are perfectly purified live forever blissfully in the company of the Most Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, St Joseph, all the saints, and angels. (see CCC 1023)
-The Church suffering in purgatory, where the departed souls are undergoing a period of purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven in the presence of God. (see CCC 1030)
* There is only one visible Church, also called the Church militant where we, who have been baptized into the Catholic Church, are now living on earth.
* The saints who are now in heaven have no need to pray for anything, but they intercede for us who are now living with the Church militant and unceasingly pray for the souls of the departed.
* The saints in heaven will worship, praise, thank Almighty God and ask Him to bestow upon us the graces necessary to do penance, to make amends for the sins we have committed, to sanctify ourselves in such a way as to be worthy of communion with them now and in the world to come.
* Since the saints are living constantly close to / and in the presence of God, they know how to pray for the graces necessary for our salvation. Therefore their intercession is always very effective.
* As for the holy souls of the deceased, since they have finished their fight against the evil spirits, against sin and the flesh on earth and are now undergoing a stage of purification in purgatory, they can no longer pray for themselves but "our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective". (CCC 958)
* The holy souls in the Church suffering have only the sole occupation to pray for the intentions of the Church militant in its pilgrim members in order to amend for their own faults. So how powerful the prayers of the souls in purgatory for us are in front of Almighty God!
* As for us now still living on earth, because we are so busy with all sorts of things that we have not thought of using all the time allowed to us by God to pray for ourselves. We have not yet realized the importance of prayer while our spiritual needs are so numerous and no less important than those of the holy souls in purgatory!
* Moreover while still on earth we can pray for ourselves and for others that is for both the living and the dead. This is a privilege given to us alone. Why aren’t we taking the opportunity to pray, then?
* Another point: "Wherever two or three people are gathered in My Name, there will I be among them". So, if we are united together, and pray in union with each other, the Lord will grant us what we are asking of Him more eagerly.
* Because when we pray we are united with God, we must purify ourselves, repent our sins, get rid of our wrongdoings, amend our lives and seek a way to sanctify ourselves first.
* We have to sacrifice part of our physical wealth, time, or leisure etc… as an offering to Almighty God. The important thing is to ponder on what is worthy of the means that are now at our disposition for the grace we’re asking for.
* The fact of offering good works talked about here is not a kind of ‘bargain or bribery’ in exchange for divine favors! But it is really a self denial of something unworthy (in the eyes of God) in the hope of a thing better and more suitable for a worthier life.
* In short, the visible church praying in communion with the invisible one is a simple, easy to carry out but effective method of prayer, both useful for the people who are still living on earth and for the souls of the departed, especially for the unknown, orphan souls that nobody is praying for.
* It takes but a few minutes, but so many different members of the visible and invisible churches can unite with each other in the same prayers to the Lord. How could He then refuse the graces we are asking for the good both of ourselves and for the souls in Purgatory?
B. METHOD OF COMMUNAL PRAYER IN THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS
* Each person can fill in the data necessary for self or for others according to his/her own intentions.
* It is however preferable to form small groups of 2 or 3 persons living in the same neighborhood, or having good relationship with each other, or belonging to the same family, or to the same community to pray together.
* Members will ask the groups to pray for their intentions.
* If there are more than one intentions, the group would choose the most important, most urgent one so that the whole group would pray for that intention. The other intentions would be prayed for according to the order of their importance or emergency. It is advisable to pray each time for only one intention.
* In order to emphasize on the communion of saints, we would like to suggest that the group choose one hour of the day for everybody to pray for the same intention, no matter where they may be at the moment.
* Besides prayer in common, each individual ought to pray as many times as possible in private (no matter the time, the place, what is important is to pray with the heart)
* The more we pray the more graces God will bestow upon us. After receiving the grace asked for we are more inclined to pray for others, the living as well as the dead. That means to say, after praying for the first intention, we’ll continue to pray together gradually for the other intentions as well.
* It is advisable for the groups to start praying as soon as possible when they meet to talk about such things as prayer intentions, the choosing of saints, or the souls to pray with us, to perform good works, to offer sacrifices and decide for an appropriate time to gather together to pray daily.
* And then, whenever the accasion arises, they may meet together at a certain place to pray in common, and if possible, to meet at least once a month in order to share with each other the fruits of their life of prayer, or the impressions they have got during the "Unity Of Prayer In The Communion Of Saints"
* Whether praying in common or individually, it is recommended to pray slowly, and if possible, audibly, listening even as we pray and meditating on the content of the prayers.
* Think very carefully about the promises made to / or decisions taken in front of the Lord.
* Remember that we have to fulfill whatever promises we have made.
* The fruit of a life of prayer depends on the sincerity of our heart and the commitment we have taken during our praying process.
C. PLEASE NOTE
* The footnotes from # 1 to 12 at the end of this pamphlet
* We suggest that you read the explanations and guidelines before starting to pray.
* It’s advisable to make copies of these prayer forms before filling in your intentions.
* Permission is given to distribute these prayer forms to anybody who wants to join the prayer movement with 1 condition: to cite its source and do not make any changes without the consent of the author.
* This is the fourth edition of prayer (Lent 2005) after making some appropriate changes and is stored on our Website http://www.psttvnusa.net of the Third Secular Franciscan Order (Vietnamese branch) in the US.
* The sharing of your experiences or the graces you have received as well as your comments is greatly appreciated. Please contact us through our e-mail address psttvnusa@yahoo.com
* May God grant you the graces you’re praying for!
D. ORDER OF PRAYERS
1- THE DOUBLE SIGN OF THE CROSS
(Awareness that we are in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity)
My Lord and my God, with the sign of the Cross, deign to keep us from all evils: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
2- PRAY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
(Pray or sing the prayer to the Holy Spirit. Pray to the Holy Spirit to ask for His guidance and presence during our prayer session)
We beseech Thee, O Holy Spirit, descend with Thy light and consolation into our souls; enlighten our understanding, and consecrate the hearts which Thou has sanctified as Thy temples. O Holy Spirit, come and bring us God’s blessings and peace; console us and all the afflicted; encourage and strengthen the weak; instruct and support the wavering; arouse sinners to penance, and enkindle in their cold hearts the fire of Divine Love and filial confidence in Thee, that all men, in peace and joy, may thankfully praise and adore Thee, together with the Father and the Son, One God, world without end. Amen.
3- ACT OF CONTRITION
(Make the examination of conscience, repentance, ask God for forgiveness of our sins, resolution to make amendment).
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because of Thy just punishments, but most of all they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sins. Amen.
4- COMMUNION OF SAINTS PRAYER (Recite the Communion of Saints prayer. Ask the saints in Heaven and holy souls in purgatory to pray in union with us).
O All-powerful and ever-living God, All-holy and Merciful and most Glorious God, Creator of the universe, of all that is seen and unseen in heaven and on earth!
In union with St. (n…) __________________ who is (are) now being glorified in the Triumphant Church in Heaven
And in union with the holy souls _________________________________
(choose a (or many) soul(s) that you want to pray for) which are now being purified in the Suffering Church in Purgatory
And with the brothers/sisters in my (family/group/association/community) ____________________ who are now walking with the Fighting Church on earth.
We beg You to bestow upon us the grace of (name the grace that you are asking for) ____________
O Lord, we will offer (state the good deeds that you are about to perform with your family, group….) _____________ so that the holy souls in Purgatory may be cleansed of their sins and may be made worthy to behold Thee face to face in Thy Glory.
And each one of us will (state the deed(s) that you will perform personally as a sacrifice …) to atone for my unworthiness when we unite ourselves to ask for Your graces.
O God, if what we do is acceptable to You, please grant us, we beg You, we ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.
5- PETITION:
(Pray the three invocations, asking for the graces we are praying for).
Repeat this prayer 3 times in a row
Leader: Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, St (name the St (s) you have stated in # 4) and all the Saints in the Heavenly Court, In union with the holy souls (name the souls in # 5) and the unknown souls in Purgatory.
All: Lord, hear our prayer!
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