Dear Prayer Warriors Just found out our friend John has two weeks to a month left to live. Turbo cancer. Horrible. He is a fallen away Catholic. I don't know if anyone around him will ask for a priest. Prayers for a holy death are much appreciated. Thank you and God bless you.
Lord, may John's heart not be filled with anger and hopeless fear. May his guardian angel remind him of Jesus' inexhaustible Mercy so that salvation may triumph and win him heaven! Bring a priest to his bedside! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for John now and at the hour of his death! Amen!
Prayers to Saint Joseph. Such a short, short while. Incredible and so sad. Even for a person with deep Faith it would be a huge sudden Cross.
Little sister Therese please help with John. “My God, I am quite sure that Thou wilt pardon this unhappy Pranzini. I should still think so if he did not confess his sins or give any sign of sorrow, because I have such confidence in Thy unbounded Mercy; but this is my first sinner, and therefore I beg for just one sign of repentance to reassure me.” quote from St Therese's diary
Thank you all so much. My husband tried to call him this morning. ( he lives in another part of the country) but there was no answer. Your prayers are a great comfort. My heart is so heavy for him. Such a bright and talented man. But left his faith behind in boyhood. I am hoping as a child ( big Irish family) he was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart. May Our Lady take pity on him. I am so grateful for your prayers!!!
Prayers tonight and throughout the next few weeks. We are in the holy season of Lent where conversion is so needed for each of us and I pray that the Holy Spirit will nudge John. Peace
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen
And didn't St Therese read in the papers the day after Pranzini's execution that before death, Pranzini grabbed the crucifix from the Chaplain standing near him; then he kissed the feet of Our Lord and handed the crucifix back to the Chaplin? And apparently St Therese saw this article on Pranzini death, as an answer to her prayer. I hope I am remembering this correctly, its been years since I read "The Story of a soul"
Yes indeed. In the The Story of a Soul, the Carmelite nun St. Therese of Lisieux recounts the conversion story of Henri Pranzini, a triple-murderer whom St. Therese feared would die impenitent. Calling Henri her “mon premier enfant” (my first child), she “wanted at all costs to keep him from falling into hell, and to succeed I employed all means imaginable, feeling that of myself I could do nothing. I offered to God all the infinite merits of Our Lord.” After Henri’s execution in 1887, Therese learned of his last moments. “He turned, took hold of the crucifix the priest was holding out to him, and kissed the sacred wounds three times! Then his soul went to receive the merciful sentence of Him who declares that in heaven there will be more joy over one sinner who does penance than over ninety-nine who have no need of repentance!” I love how the saints point towards keeping things uncomplicated and simple...another great saint who I take example form is St John Vianney, when times are rough or I am going through a trial I remind myself of one of his stories. The Wisdom of St. John Vianney, Super-Saint The devil also attacked him physically, kept him awake at night with loud animal voices, and once even set his bed on fire. The reason that satan did this was to prevent St. John from getting his bed rest, as he spent most waking hours hearing confessions. One night in 1824, St. John heard loud voices, commotion, and a beating on his door. He suspected burglars, so he asked one of the braver citizens of Ars to come spend the next night with him in his rectory. The same thing happened, but when his friend checked outside there was no one there, which could only mean that the commotion was demonic. St. John knew that when this happened a lot, a huge sinner ( a “big fish”) was going to come to his confessional tomorrow, and this was the devil's way of trying to prevent St. John from hearing his confession. St. John jokingly referred to the devil as the “Grappin” (a sharp pronged anchor), and that they were almost chums. For sure, this flippancy toward satan probably enraged the devil even more, but the lesson learned here is that we shouldn't fear the devil and his tricks if we truly trust in God with our whole heart, mind, and soul, do His work to the best of our ability, and remain in the state of grace.
