There is Something About Mary Series – Ever Feel You Miss the Mark?

Ponder:   This little prayer of 27 words provides a cliff note version of the major Gospel themes: sin and forgiveness, heaven and hell, and the rich mercy of God. 

The heart of the Rosary is where we pray the five decades of each of the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious or Luminous Mysteries.  After praying the tenth Hail Mary and the Glory Be (#7 below), we close each decade of the Rosary with the Fatima prayer (#7 below), the prayer Mary requested during her apparitions at Fatima in 1917.  The recent movie on Fatima tells the beautiful story.  When Mary appeared at Fatima, she did two things of great importance: first, she showed witnesses a terrifying vision of hell to reveal the horrific suffering that sin causes; and second, she gave them what has come to be known as the Fatima Prayer, which she told them to say at the end of each decade of the Rosary.

Pray: The Fatima Prayer

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy.

Amen

Reflect:  Help me turn and look at you Jesus with childlike like faith beside my Mother Mary.  Help me pray as your beloved.  Thank you for lifting me out of the narrow realm of my own ego and giving me a church and a community of brothers and sisters.  I am sorry for my sins, which is when I miss the mark of who you want me to be. Jesus, I am grateful your love was so huge for me that you took on the burden of every sin I have committed and will commit.  Your mercy is endless.  The battle is real between living in the dark and the light, choosing between the good and evil that lives within me.  Lead me not into temptation of my dark thoughts and deliver me from them.  Mary, you appeared at Fatima telling us to intercede for souls.  Help me “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.”  Increase my confidence in your mercy, God.  You are our Prince of Peace; without You, we shall never have peace; there will always be conflict. I am grateful for the gift of your peace when I turn to you in faith and the trust of a child.  Help me promote peace in the world and in my home. 

Act: I will cultivate a few minutes of quiet in my day to pray for the souls that have no one to pray for them and ask for your peace to live in my heart.  I will find one opportunity to share the peace you give me with someone else.