Let us not forget to pray for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples: May the Lord bring a just peace. There is so much suffering! Children are suffering, the sick are suffering, and many people are dying. War is always a defeat. Let us not forget: War is always a defeat!  I ask that every possible avenue be pursued to absolutely avoid an escalation of the conflict, to provide assistance to the wounded, and to deliver aid to the population of Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely dire. I implore you to stop, in the name of God, Cease fire!

Parish Council invites St Malachi members to do personal prayer with us for 8 weeks to prepare us for discernment. Prayer materials can be found on the St. Malachi Google Drive. This is a beautiful opportunity to be closer to God. All the prayers do not have to be completed. If you find something that moves you toward God, you can stay with it as long as you want. If you skip or forget prayer sometime during the week, don’t give up– pray next time.  After all, we skip meals once in a while, but we don’t stop eating!

Thank you for being on the prayer journey! This week we immerse with Jesus, after his resurrection, inviting us to eat with Him on the shore. There will be NO prayer Zoom. Sunday evening. Please pray for Council as we discern  the best options for our future on Saturday, Feb 25th. 

Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.
Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image – as well as theirs – made for eternal life.
Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and all the needed care that a mother can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever.  Amen.

—https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/prayer-for-the-unborn-20787

God of mercy we ask for blessings on all those who have served their country in the armed forces. We ask for healing for the veterans who have been wounded, in body and soul, in conflicts around the globe. We pray especially for the young men and women, in the thousands, who are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with injured bodies and traumatized spirits. Bring solace to them, O Lord. May we pray for them when they cannot pray. Have mercy on all our veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Bring peace to their hearts and peace to the regions they fought in. Bless all the soldiers who served in noncombative posts. May their calling to serve continue in their lives in many positive ways. Give us all here present today creative vision to see a world that, growing weary with fighting, moves to affirming the life of every human being and so moves beyond war. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Jesus, I trust in You!

If you are looking for some help with prayer and/or want to develop a deeper relationship with the Blessed Trinity, you may want to consider spiritual direction. You can get help selecting and talking with trained and certified spiritual directors by contacting the Ignatian Spirituality Institute (gragone@jcu.edu; 216-397-1599), the Jesuit Retreat Center (440-884-9300; www.jesuitretreat center.org), or River’s Edge (216-688-1111; www.riversedgecleveland.com).