Prayer Partners

December 2020

Dear Prayer Partner,
We continue to be filled with gratitude at how our Lord is answering your prayers for our intentions. The three of us in Russia right now were at Mass in the city of Vladivostok on November 21 the day after an ice storm. When we tried to drive home, the entrance to the Russian Island bridge was blocked off. The bridge has been closed since that time, but we have been able to attend daily Mass, since the Sisters of the Charity of St. Ann welcomed us to stay at their convent in the city.

On November 30, the three of us turned in the annual paperwork that they needed to submit to maintain their residency permits, and on December 2, are going to take the ferry to the Island to host the first student gathering there since August. A Rachel's Vineyard retreat is planned in a nearby city for Dec 11-13. The Sunday School children are preparing a brief nativity skit for Christmas Eve.

May this Advent season be a time of alertness to God's presence in your life, to how He is speaking to you through circumstances, His Word, the movements of your heart, and through other people. There has been much darkness this year, and isolation, but Christ, the light of the world, is about to be born again in Bethlehem this December. Listen to Him in the silence and be filled with expectation, with hope, joy and love!

In Christ, our light,
Mother Stella, CJD

1. Please pray that the bridge to Russian Island, where our convent, Dom Marii, is located, will reopen soon. The renovation of Dom Marii has been on hold since the major ice storm in late November. Once the bridge reopens, the workers can continue. Pray that the work can continue smoothly.
2. Continue to pray for an end to the corona virus, so that even the elderly parishioners can return to Mass for Christmas. The music for the special Masses on Christmas will depend on the Sisters. We are thinking of making a CD recording of their songs that they do for various Masses and Feast Days. Please pray for that project. Beautiful well done sacred music can be a great factor in helping people grow in holiness and to bring about many conversions.
3. May all you prayer partners, your families, and your loved ones, and our beloved and most self-sacrificing families know the special love and blessings of the Lord this Christmas. May the New Year bring us closer to Him and His most blessed Mother and give each of us a deeper realization of how precious it is to know Him and be among those who celebrate His royal blessings and presence among us.

Loving Thanks

Gentle Jesus, may my every action say "You are my utter all!
May my every breath be a spiritual communion!
May my every heartbeat offer you all the love you have received and will forever receive!

Thank you!

Prayer to Our Suffering Savior For the Souls in Purgatory by St. Alphonsus Liguori

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them, O Lord, Have mercy on them.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them. Have mercy on them O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them. Have mercy on them O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them. Have mercy on them O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel crucifixion, have mercy on them. Have mercy on them O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the cross, have mercy on them. Have mercy on them O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them. Have mercy on them O Lord.

Prayer Partners: Please pray that young women who have a vocation to the missionary life will come, and that our community will develop according to God's plan.

Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for our mission work would be most appropriate.

Our community, Sisters in Jesus the Lord, is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) who was a sister of the Visitation Order in France was responsible for spreading the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout the Church. She said in one of her letters:

"It seems to me that our Lord's earnest desire to have his sacred heart honored in a special way is directed toward renewing the effects of redemption in our souls. For the sacred heart is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to his good pleasure.

A prayer that we sisters say daily is the following:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – Have Mercy on us
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – Inflame our hearts with Your love
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – Help us to make You known and loved by all