WORDS FOR MAY 1
On this first day of May, with more brevity than usual, I want to ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to take care of us and keep us united in charity, obedience and the Catholic faith. I also ask Saint Joseph, to whom we will consecrate ourselves at the end of today's Holy Mass, that his silent presence will teach us to always live together with the Lord and Mary, serving Christ in a dignified and honest life, imitating the servant virtues of the carpenter from Nazareth.
Lord, through your Mother and Saint Joseph, to whom you can deny nothing because even now in heaven, they continue to call you "my son", we beg you for the grace to imitate in the Church the family model that you formed in your home in Nazareth.
A family where authority is always a reflection of the Will of the heavenly Father; where obedience is lived as a way of harmony and freedom; where communion exists because everyone helps the other, and serve and love one other in God; where grace replaces sin and love is always patient and helpful.
We ask your intercession for those who suffer. In the present circumstances, we put before you in a special way those who suffer from the coronavirus. Likewise, we put in Mary's arms the children who will never feel the love of a mother, those who die before birth by abortion, those who are abandoned, and those who are sad because they have parents who live apart or do not love each other.
Finally, I beg you, Mother, to obtain for your children, with the intercession of your spouse, Saint Joseph, the grace that faithful Catholics can receive the sacrament of the Eucharist. In a special way, I ask you on behalf of all my children at Saint Anne. It has never been heard that any who seek your protection have been abandoned or dismissed empty-handed. Encouraged by this confidence, we beg you to incline your ear to the prayers of this family, your children who are asking you for bread. Don't give them a stone - this fast has already lasted for too long. Forgive the sins we have committed, and although we are unworthy, give us your Son Jesus again in Holy Communion.
Only you, Joseph and Mary, can grant us what we ask of you in faith. Touch the hearts that are necessary, work the miracles that are necessary, but feed your children who, like little birds in the nest, come to you in need to place the gift of the Eucharist in their mouths. If you won't, what other help do we have?
Today, we consecrate to you our bodies and souls, our families and our parish of Saint Anne. We commit ourselves with the help of grace - without which we can do nothing good - in such a way that the Will of God is fulfilled in us as it was realized in your life. May our trust in the Mercy of God be full. May our works glorify our heavenly Father and so may our light show men the path that leads to you.
Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us. Saint Joseph, just man and Patron of the universal Church, pray for us.