 Saint Theodore joined the Sisters of Providence on August 18, 1823 and took her final vows on September 5, 1831. She was sent to Indiana, USA with 5 other sisters. They established the Academy of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the first Catholic women’s liberal-arts college in the US. She also founded an orphanage for girls and one for boys in Vincennes, Indiana. She opened pharmacies and oversaw construction of a motherhouse for the Sisters of Providence. She is the patron saint of Indiana.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, valiant woman of God, intercede for us in our needs. Implore us through Jesus, the Christ, the gifts of a living faith, abiding hope and steadfast charity, so that through a life of prayer and service with others we may aid in promoting the Providence of God among all peoples. Amen
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 Guardian angels represent individuals before God, watch over them, aid their prayer, and present their souls to God at death. Jesus once said, “See that you despise not one of these little ones for I say to you, that their angels in heavens always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”Mathew 18:10. Guardian angels help and pray for us to stay close to God at all times. A feast in honor of the guardian angels was first observed in the 16th century. In 1615, Pope Paul V added it to the Roman calendar.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Keep us safe from the darkness and stay by our side, amen.  Saint Therese of Lisieux was born to a pious middle-class French family of tradesmen; all four of her sisters became nuns. At age 8, she was cured of an illness when a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary smiled at her. Just before her 14th birthday, Therese had a vision of the Child Jesus and from then on, had unshakeable faith. She had tried to join the Carmelites but was unable to until she turned 17. Saint Therese was told not to fast due to her health problems with tuberculosis. She eventually died from her illness and was declared a doctor of the church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God to grant the favors I now place with confidence in your hands...(think about intention)... St. Therese, help me to always believe as you did in God's great love for me, so that I might imitate your "Little Way" each day, amen.  Saint Jerome was born into a rich pagan family and he led a wild and misspent life. He studied in Rome and became a lawyer. He was baptized in 365 and spent his life in prayer. He became a monk and also a priest after some time. Jerome lived in the Holy Land for the last 34 years of his life where he wrote and translated works of history, biography, the writings of Origen, and much more. He was known as the Doctor and Father of the Church. Saint Jerome is the patron saint of archeologists, archivists, Bible scholars, translators, and more.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O blessed St. Jerome, our Patron, and our guide, we humbly ask that you intercede for us before God and that our petitions this day will be answered. We ask your blessing on the poor, the sick, and the unemployed of our parish. Pray for us, St. Jerome, that our parish community will always remain united in the love that only Christ can bring. May your word and example be our strength and our consolation. Amen.  Saint Gabriel the archangel is the messenger of God. He is mentioned several times in the Old and New Testaments either by name or anonymously. Saint Gabriel was the one who informed Mary that she had conceived. Saint Michael the archangel is known as our protector from God. He was present in the story of Daniel in the Old Testament. Saint Raphael is the healer from God. His name means “God heals” and he is also one of the seven archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord. In the Bible, Saint Raphael claims he “healed” the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels. Saint Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael aren’t the only archangels of the Lord, but they’re the only ones mentioned in the Bible.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Heavenly King, You have given us archangels to assist us during our pilgrimage on earth. Saint Michael is our protector; I ask him to come to my aid, fight for all my loved ones, and protect us from danger. Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News; I ask him to help me clearly hear Your voice and to teach me the truth. Saint Raphael is the healing angel; I ask him to take my need for healing and that of everyone I know, lift it up to Your throne of grace and deliver back to us the gift of recovery. Help us, O Lord, to realize more fully the reality of the archangels and their desire to serve us. Amen.  Saint Wenceslaus of Bohemia was the Duke of Bohemia. His daughter was baptized on her wedding day, though apparently she never took her faith seriously. Wenceslaus was murdered by his brother, Boleslaus, at the door of a church for political reasons. He was still listed as a martyr because the politics arose from his faith. Many miracles were reported at his tomb and his memorial is also Statehood Day in the Czech Republic. Saint Wenceslaus of Bohemia is the patron saint of brewers and Bohemia.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O God, who taught the Martyr St Wenceslaus to place the heavenly Kingdom before an earthly one, grant through his prayers that, denying ourselves, we may hold fast to you with all our heart. Through Christ our Lord, amen.  St Vincent de Paul was born in 1581 in France. He had 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Vincent was very good at studies, so his father sent him to a seminary. In 1597, he attended the University of Toulouse, which had a very bad environment. There were many fights in the school, but Vincent stayed calm. He was ordained on September 23, 1600, at age 19. This was against the laws of the Council of Trent which said that you had to be at least 24 years old to be ordained a priest. When he became a parish priest, his case was taken to the Court of Rome. Instead of filing a lawsuit, he resigned from his position as a priest. In 1605, he sailed from Marseilles to sell the property he owned from an inheritance, but his ship was attacked by pirates. They sold him as a slave to a fisherman, but Vincent could not keep up with his work because he had sea-sickness. So the fisherman sold him away to another master, who was an alchemist, physicist, and inventor. Vincent was amazed by his work and learned from him. His master was very famous and it gave attention to some men in Istanbul who wanted him to come there. As Vincent and his master were traveling to Istanbul, the master died, and Vincent was sold to another master. The third master was a former priest from France. He converted to Islam to gain his freedom from slavery and was living in the mountainside with his three wives. His second wife who was a Muslim went to Vincent and questioned him about the master’s faith. Vincent couldn’t lie, so he said that his master was a Christian, after he said that, his wife scolded him and left him. The master was deeply sad, and along with Vincent, took a boat to France. After returning to France, he went to Rome to continue his studies until 1609, when King Henry VI of France gave him a mission. In 1617, he joined with the Daughters of Charity to help the poor families in France, which soon became the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Vincent conducted many retreats during his lifetime and died on September 27, 1660.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O St Vincent de Paul, help us to be brave during tough times like these like how you were brave when you were sold as a slave by the pirates. Help us also to stay calm so that we can pray better. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.  St. Pope Paul VI was born as Giovanni Battista Montini into a family of three sons in northern Italy in 1897. His father, Giorgio, was a lawyer, editor, and eventually a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. In 1920, following his ordination, Giovanni attended graduate studies in literature, philosophy, and canon law in Rome before joining the Vatican Secretariat of State in 1924. After 30 years of working there, he was named the archbishop of Milan where we worked to bring disaffected workers back to the Catholic Church. He regularly visited factories and oversaw the building of a local Church that was disrupted by World War II. Then in 1954, Montana was selected as one of the first 23 cardinals named by Pope John XXIII. As a cardinal, he helped prepare Vatican II and participated enthusiastically in its sessions. IN 1963, Montana was elected Pope. Pope Paul VI continued the Vatican II council until 1965 where he and Patriarch Athenagoras revoked the ex-communication set by their predecessors in 1054. As Pope, Paul VI stunned the world by making international trips to the Holy Land, New York, India, Columbia, Uganda, and seven other Asian countries during his papacy. Saint Pope Paul’s greatest accomplishment was the completion and implementation of Vatican II. Its decisions about liturgy were the first ones noticed by most Catholics, but its other documents—especially the ones about ecumenism, interfaith relations, divine revelation, religious liberty, the Church’s self-understanding, and the Church’s work with the entire human family—have become the Catholic Church’s road map since 1965.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow-men throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace and joy. Amen.  St. Cleopas was one of the two disciples who met the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus. As told in the gospel of Luke Jesus stopped to have supper with these two disciples. At the end of the meal, Jesus blessed bread and gave them His Sacred Body to eat. Saint Cleopas was later murdered by the Jews in the very house in which he had been host to Our Lord. He is also rumored to be the brother of Saint Joseph. His feast day is celebrated on September 25, and he’s the patron saint of travelers.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Lord, help us follow the example of Saint Cleopas and welcome Jesus in our hearts and homes. Help us remain strong in our faith even during difficult times and always look to the Lord for guidance. Amen.  Blessed Anton Martin Slomsek was a bishop, author, and poet. He penned textbooks for schools including those that he himself opened and he was a vocal supporter of ecumenism and led efforts to achieve a greater dialogue with other faiths with an emphasis on the Eastern Orthodox Church. Slomsek underwent his theological and philosophical studies in order to enter the priesthood. He was considered to be an excellent preacher as well as a tireless and modest cleric. The bishop oversaw the construction of new schools and he himself issued textbooks for students and edited others while also publishing his own sermons and episcopal statements. Bl Anton died on 24 September 1862 after having suffered a series of stomach ailments for some time.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Blessed Anton Martin Slomsek, you helped teach about the Good News to children and adults alike. Pray for us that we may, too, preach about the Lord the way you did. Amen. |
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Directions to our Worship Center
Our Lady of Perpetual Help 20533 Zion Rd., Gaithersburg, MD 20882 |