Nine Days of Prayer for Family Unity with Venerable Patrick Peyton: Day Nine

"Nine days of prayer for family unity with Venerable Patrick Peyton" (CatholicMom.com)

Image courtesy of Holy Cross Family Ministries. All rights reserved. Used with permission.[/caption] How to begin Take a moment to gather your family. It’s helpful to find a quiet space, turn off all digital devices, light a candle and perhaps have a statue or image of Our Lady or the Holy Family. Discuss as a family what intentions you will pray for today. Is a family member ill, out of work, struggling with their studies? Were you blessed in some way today that you would like to offer a petition of thanksgiving? There are no right or wrong petitions. Anything from the hearts of any family member are important to offer. If every family member has a Rosary, take them out. FamilyRosary.org offers an infographic on how to pray the Rosary that you can share with your children as they learn this form of prayer.

DAILY OPENING PRAYER

Begin by praying together each day the following prayer: O Jesus, on the Cross you gave us Mary as our Mother. Her faithful servant, Father Patrick Peyton C.S.C., the Family Rosary priest, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to proclaim an important message about the power of family prayer. He believed and preached that The Family That Prays Together Stays Together. Through Mary and his intercession, we ask for this favor for our family _____________________________________. Let our praying of the Rosary be a way for us to become more united as a family. Amen.

January 9 – Sorrowful Mysteries

Pray the Rosary. Read one mystery and reflection at each Our Father and spend a few quiet moments reflecting on it. You may want to have different family members read the reflections and lead the prayers:

RECONCILIATION

As we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries together, we find peace in the comforting arms of God’s mercy and forgiveness. The First Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden “Blessed are those whom the Master finds vigilant on his arrival.” Luke 12:37 The last night of his life on earth Jesus was profoundly alone even though his close friends were nearby; they were asleep. Many in our world are alone and in agony, perhaps even family members. Can we not watch one hour with them? The Second Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar “You say that I am a king, for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” John 18:37 The great king and Lord of all was arrested, humiliated and scourged like a common criminal, even though he was pure and innocent. Throughout these trials he remained true to himself, his mission and his Father. Can we remain true to our beliefs, our true self and our vocation when we pass through many trials? The Third Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning with Thorns “Simon, Son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15 The thorns pierced his skin, his skull, his heart. Peter wept his heart out for denying Christ and causing so much pain. In his shame and guilt at the sin against Christ, he did not give up. With a humble, contrite heart he approached the Lord for forgiveness. The heart of reconciliation is believing in God’s mercy. The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:38 The Lord himself found the Cross he was carrying so heavy he needed the help of Simon of Cyrene, a bystander. All of us have crosses to bear each day. When we try to carry them by ourselves we struggle. We need others in our family, our Church and our community to help us. Who has helped you carry your cross lately? The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 Jesus’ suffering in his Passion and death seems to exhaust the possibilities of human misfortune. By his stripes we are healed. He took on all our sins and redeemed us by his dying on the Cross. Sometimes we feel so alone in our suffering and pain, help us Lord, to remember that we are never alone, He is with us.

CLOSING

We end this novena with Venerable Patrick Peyton’s prayer for beatification: Prayer For the Beatification of Venerable Patrick Peyton Dear Jesus, Father Peyton devoted his priestly life to strengthening the families of the world by calling them to pray together every day, especially the Rosary. His message is as important for us now as it was during his life on earth. We beg you, therefore, to hasten the day of his beatification so that your faithful people everywhere will remember his message that The Family That Prays Together Stays Together, will imitate him in his devotion to your Mother and ours, and will be inspired by his holy life to draw ever closer to you with childlike confidence and love. Amen. Here at CatholicMom.com, we will offer the full text of the daily novena prayers at 6 AM Eastern through January 9. You may also download the novena ebook from FamilyRosary.org. All in honor of Venerable Patrick Peyton, we thank you for joining us in this Novena of Thanksgiving. As we express our profound gratitude to Our Lord for this tremendous gift, we also give thanks for all your prayers for Father Peyton’s Cause. Please continue to pray for Father Peyton’s Cause so that one day he will become “Blessed,” then a “Saint.” After all, the world needs “A Saint for Family Prayer.” We encourage you to continue praying with your family every day, wherever you are. For additional online resources for family prayer including a Prayer Petition Page and our World at Prayer Blog, please visit FamilyRosary.org. All our resources represent a sample of Father Peyton’s passion for family unity through prayer. We hope our services will enhance your family’s prayer life particularly remembering Father Peyton’s famous words: “The Family That Prays Together Stays Together” and “A World at Prayer is a World at Peace.” "Nine days of prayer for family unity with Venerable Patrick Peyton" (CatholicMom.com)