What do you do when life doesn't go to plan? Throughout the past year, we have each had an opportunity to find an answer to that question. Turning to the Lord isn't always easy during difficult times, but as Christians we know that He is without a doubt the only antidote to our suffering. We don't know when this time of tribulation will end, but there are strategies we can use to deal with it. Below, you'll find some prayers that you may find helpful to get you through the pandemic.

Perpetual Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
who, to inspire within us an unbounded confidence,
have desired to assume the most sweet name of Mother of Perpetual Help,
I beseech you,
assist me at all times and in every place;
in my temptations; after my failures;
in my difficulties; in all the woes of life,
and above all, at the moment of my death.
Grant me, O charitable Mother,
the conviction and habit of seeking recourse always in you;
for I am certain that, if I invoke you faithfully,
you shall be loyal in assisting me.
Obtain for me, then, that grace of graces,
the grace of praying to you incessantly
and with the confidence of a child,
so that, by virtue of that steadfast petition,
I may obtain your perpetual help and ultimate perseverance.
Bless me, O tender and benevolent Mother,
and pray for me, now and at the hour of my death. Amen.

 

Abandonment to God's Providence
My Lord and my God: into your hands I abandon the past and the present and the future, what is small and what is great, what amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot, things temporal and things eternal. Amen.
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Acceptance of Divine Will

May the most just, the most lovable, and the most high Will of God be done, be fulfilled, be praised and exalted in all things forever. Amen.


We Fly to Your Patronage / Sub tuum præsídium
We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever-glorious and blessed Virgin.

 

Prayer for the Sick

Father, your Son accepted our sufferings to teach us the virtue of patience in human illness. Hear the prayers we offer for our sick brothers and sisters. May all who suffer pain, illness or disease realise that they are chosen to be saints and know that they are joined to Christ in his suffering for the salvation of the world.

Prayer for Mary's Guidance
Mary, child of the Father’s loving heart,
Blest spouse of the Holy Spirit
and Mother of the world’s Redeemer,
Pray for us who stumble in the darkness of this world
That we may be guided by your gentle hand
into the light of heaven.

 

A Prayer of Trust in God

God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission - I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do his work; I shall be a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep his commandments and serve him in my calling. Therefore, my God, I will put myself without reserve into your hands. What have I in heaven, and apart from you what do I want upon earth? My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the God of my heart, and my portion for ever.

A Prayer for an Increase in Faith
My God, you have said that I am more blessed if I believe in you, than if I saw you. Enable me to believe as if I saw; let me have you always before me as if you were always bodily present. Let me ever hold communion with you, my hidden, but my living God. You are in my innermost heart. Every thought of my mind, every good desire of my heart, is from the presence within me of the unseen God. By nature and by grace you are in me. I see you not in the material world except dimly, but I recognise your voice in my own intimate consciousness. If I am tempted to leave you, do not you leave me!