1. Pray the rosary. It's a Catholic classic. If you have young or easily distracted family members, try praying just one decade. It's a good start. Pray for whatever intentions you want. A wise soul suggests always praying the first decade in thanksgiving to God.
2. Say one "Hail Mary" daily for your vocation. Entrust your vocation to Mary! This is especially recommended for young people.
3. Pray daily for your spouse and with your spouse. Pray for your marriage. Pray that you both will grow daily in love for God and each other. Pray for the full graces and blessings of the sacrament of marriage.
Ask God for a holy spouse. But remember not to lower God to your expectations. A woman prayed fervently that God would find a holy husband for her daughter, and the mother was pleasantly shocked when the daughter entered a convent and became a bride of Christ, the ultimate holy Spouse.
5. Pray for the future of all the beloved children in your life. Pray that God will put the right people on your child's road to salvation: for their friends, teachers, schools, confessors, work places, co-workers, etc.
6. Pray for your ancestors and your descendants. Pray for those family members you do not know now but hope to meet in Heaven. These might include those who died long ago and those who are yet to be born.
7. Hand over your regrets to God. Parents particularly may look back at situations and wish they would have handled things differently. Sometimes amends still can be made, wrongs can be made right. But other times, we need to ask God to help mop up our messes: our omissions, outbursts, lack of love . . .
8. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. This is a short set of prayers said on rosary beads, invoking God's infinite mercy. The simple prayers can be found through Catholic resources on the Internet, bookstores or elsewhere.
9. Pray in the car. Bring some peace to your daily commuting or road trips. Plus your kids are a captive audience in your vehicle. Turn off the radio or other electronic devices for at least a brief prayer.
If you see a beautiful sunset, thank God for it, out loud and in front of your children. Pray with your kids before big tests or big games. Pray at every opportunity.
11. Go frequently to Mass, Reconcilation and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Bring a family member with you.
12. Add some heavenly help to your prayers. Sometimes our family problems are complicated, and we can't even see the problem clearly, let alone the solution. A prayerful seminarian said he often just entrusts a person or problem to our Blessed Mother and does not pray for specific answers. He trusts in her intercession.
(This same mother interceded at a wedding once: "They have no wine." Jesus altered His divine plan of salvation at His mother's bidding, and the wedding couple's problem was solved.)
Ask God, who sees our deepest needs, to help as He sees fit. Then trust Him in the outcome.
Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays.
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