St. Therese Catholic Church

The Month of the Holy Family

The Holy Family models for us what family life should exemplify. It is a school of virtue for both parents and children. There we find God, and learn how to connect with God and with others. The family is where love is freely given without self-interest. It is where we learn to love, to pray and to practice the gift of charity. 




Pope John Paul II tells us that “At the extraordinary school of the Holy Family we learn the essential realities of life and acquire a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Christ.” We are invited “to grow in love of the divine truth that radiates from Christ’s humanity” and safeguard “Christ who is present in every human person.”
 

Thoughts to reflect upon:

Does our family a model the Holy Family?
Do we pray together as a family?
Do we model forgiveness in our family?
Do we talk about and share our faith as a family?
 

 Brother Francis has an entertaining and guidance-filled cartoon that will inspire children to deepen their faith by praying the Rosary!  The Rosary is a captivating way to help children use their hearts and minds in prayer. Click below to watch.

Brother Francis Cartoon

The rosary is a meditative and intentional form of prayer so, each evening our group prays for the intentions below and for any special intentions requested that evening.

• We pray that parishes, placing communion at the centre, may increasingly become communities of faith, fraternity and welcome towards those most in need.  (Holy Father's Monthly Intention)
• For all babies born with a life-limiting diagnosis that the doctors will treat them like any other baby giving them the best medical care and for their families who are making critical decisions on their well being
• For the willingness to listen to God’s call and the ability to discern His purpose and desires for our lives
• For our young people that they have the courage and conviction to follow Jesus and not be influenced by the immorality of those around them

• For all married couples that their love for each other bring out the best in each other and bring them closer to Jesus
• For all priests, deacons, and all religious, that they lead others to Jesus by their fervor and love of God
• For all those away from the church that their hearts be softened and all obstacles that prevent them from experiencing God’s love be removed
• For the intentions of those written in the parish prayer book and those listed in the bulletin
• For human life – that everyone realizes and understands its sacredness from the moment of conception to the last moment of death. 

• For all prisoners - for their healing and conversion and for their families who are suffering as a result of their actions
• For an end to senseless killings and for the creation of a world with peaceful security
• For an end to the polarizing bitterness and non-stop anger with those whom we disagree and for patience in listening to and understanding those with whom we don’t agree.

• For an end to domestic violence and human trafficking 
• For all those suffering from depression or mental illness that they find peace and comfort in God’s loving care

• For an end to the fighting in Ukraine and that peace be victorious
• For children who are abused that with God’s protection they will enjoy a life of calmness and inner peace
• For the needs of the sick and for all those involved in their care, that they be guided by wisdom, skill, and their generosity
• For the parishioners who have joined our church this month that we make them feel welcome and part of our parish family

• For all of us that we are able to see others as God sees them
• For all the souls in purgatory, that by our prayers and intercessions they may join the saints in heaven
• For an increase in prayer to bring more Christ-like love and compassion into our world
• For healing and peace within troubled families
• For the poor that they will find jobs that provide livable wages for themselves and their families
• For all those who have chosen the single life, that they may use the vocation to serve the Lord and do His will.

Mary has made 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary. They are listed below.
Ask anyone who has been praying the Rosary and they will share with you some of the ‘signal graces’ they have received.
Join us every day or whenever you can make time to pray with us!

1. Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.
[A signal grace may be a simple sign in daily life that answers a question made in prayer or points towards God’s will. For example, seeing a rose after finishing a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux could be considered a signal grace. Signal graces are often subtle or seemingly coincidental.]

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
 
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.
 
4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!
 
 5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.
[In other words, anyone who faithfully prays the Rosary and asks for Mary’s intercession will be saved from hell.]

6. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.
[An unprovided death means dying while not in a state of grace (that is, in dying with unconfessed mortal sin in the soul). The Blessed Mother promises that anyone who regularly prays the Rosary, and earnestly tries to live according to God's will, will be spiritually prepared when their time of death comes.]

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
[Our Lady ensures that the soul will receive sanctifying grace through the Sacraments prior to its departure from the body.]
 
8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.
 
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
 
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.
 
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.
 
12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
 
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.
 
14. All who recite the Rosary are my Sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus Christ.
 
15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
[By this the Blessed Mother means that a devotion to the Rosary is a good indication that the devotee is on the path to Heaven.]