LEAVES Website for November-December 2024 Issue
Excerpted from “Leaflets” column:
To all of you, dear LEAVES Members, I send my best greetings. As I look around, I can hardly believe we are already thinking of getting ready for Thanksgiving. Of course, when we think of our own personal lives, we do have so much for which to be thankful.
This feast of Thanksgiving is certainly a wonderful opportunity to see all the gifts the Lord has given to each one of us. These gifts have taken on different forms. Some of them were an answer to our prayers, such as better health, success in the various enterprises we started; happiness in our work, in our studies, and also in our relationships with others; better job opportunities.
We have also discovered new friends and straightened out certain tensions with some people around us. We may also have made an important step forward in our relationship with God and a greater awareness of Jesus’ presence in our daily lives. There are so many other gifts the Lord has given us. It becomes important to thank the Him for all of this.
This holiday is also a great opportunity to thank our family members and friends for their support and encouragement. No wonder so many people travel to visit their loved ones during this time. By doing this they prove, in a very tangible way, how much those they visit have become important to them.
Furthermore, I believe we should think of all those who have been victims of natural disasters, such as tornadoes, floods, landslides, etc. Many have lost their homes, their jobs, and all they had. A great number do not have enough food for their subsistence. We can pray for them, asking the Lord to help them in these difficult times. We may also be able to share some bit of food or other assistance with those we know or those we meet.
Many have lost their loved ones, while others are suffering from depression, despair, trauma, and are unable to look after themselves and their families, because of disabilities caused by these natural disasters against which they were unprepared to protect themselves and their families. Have you ever stopped to think how blessed you are and what you might be able to share with them?
We could say this prayer from St. Bede the Venerable that I happened to find recently: “Open our hearts, O Lord, and enlighten our minds by the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may seek what is well-pleasing to your will; and so order our doings after your commandments, that we may be found fit to enter into your everlasting joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Once our Thanksgiving celebration is over, we begin to prepare ourselves for Christmas. Probably Christmas songs and stories can already be heard on our radios, TV sets, etc.
When I was in Grade School, we would put on a whole Christmas play, along with songs, and we would set up a Christmas tree. The teacher would have a box of nametags with the names of each child in each class. The teacher would ask us to draw a name from our classmates. Then we would have to make a gift for that person whose name we had picked.
On the last night before the Christmas holiday, our parents and the whole family would come over for the Christmas plays and sing-a-long and, at the end, Santa Claus would arrive and distribute the gifts the children had prepared and put under the Christmas tree.
That was a great event which really put in us the spirit of Christmas. All though that happened quite a long time ago, I still remember these Christmas evenings very vividly. The preparations and rehearsals would take place in the afternoons. Mrs. Kendall, one of the moms, would come to the school in the afternoon and accompany on the piano those of us who were going to sing on that night, either individually, or as a choir, or in a musical play.
We always took those rehearsals pretty seriously and enjoyed them at the same time. We knew our parents would come to that Christmas play and we wanted to make sure that they would be proud of us if we performed well.
This happened every year while we were in Grade School. Probably many you experienced something similar. We didn’t have a Catholic school in my little town of Norton, VT. We only had a public school with two large classrooms upstairs and a large hall downstairs which was used for various activities in the town. But this celebration of Christmas was something we all enjoyed and our teachers always made sure that everybody was involved.
Recently I was reading the Gospel from St. Matthew on August the 13th. It goes like this: “Jesus said: “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven’’ (Mt 18:3). This passage always impresses me. Very often it makes my memories go back to these childhood Christmas events.
Christmas is a feast for children. It celebrates the coming of Our Lord, Jesus. It’s really centered on the Child. Are we not, all of us, Children of God? That’s probably why we are so easily drawn to the children during Christmas time. We see in each one Jesus himself.
May this Christmas be very special for each of you this year. As we began this Holy Year of 2025 with Pope Francis, let us make a special effort to find this Child Jesus in each and every one we see, including ourselves also. Make a little effort to go and spend a few minutes, at least, to look at the little Jesus in the crib, either at home or in your parish church and offer Him a little bit of yourself as a special gift to the Child Jesus who started so humbly in the manger in Bethlehem and who died for each one of us because He loves us so much that He wanted to forgive us of all our sins and give us new life.
A Blessed Christmas to each one of you. May the Child Jesus continue to remind you that you are His child and that He loves you so tenderly. May He give you a new beginning and bless you all.
From all the personnel working for LEAVES: A Merry Christmas to all of you from the staff of LEAVES and myself – Fr. Michael Sheehy, C.M.M.
Provincial’s Christmas Letter
Dear Friends, Benefactors, and Readers of LEAVES,
It was a custom in my home that one week before Christmas my father would put up the Christmas tree. Then, every evening before supper, we, the children, would sit on the floor in front of the tree and admire it with all its colorful lights and decorations. And every day, my mother would put one Christmas gift, below the tree, only one at a time, with no name. It was for us like a game trying to guess to whom it would go, and what was the content, hoping that it was what each one desired. In a way, we could say that it was like a novena of good wishes.
This happy remembrance made me ask myself whether it would not be a good idea to continue this custom, this novena, of putting every day, before God, our wishes for Christmas and the New Year for those we love and others in need. We could do that during a few moments of silent prayer. We could call it a moment of meditation, reflecting on the past year, and expressing our hopes for the year to come. I shall do it this year, thinking of you, dear members of the Mariannhill family.
As we prepare for this great feast of peace, we cannot help but include in our good wishes, in our Christmas boxes, so to say, the need for peace on earth. “Peace to people of good will” was the song of the angels. Before peace becomes a reality on earth, there is the need for good will. It is difficult to have peace if, for instance, we make and provide weapons for war.
We are all brothers and sisters in the great family of God, even if we live on the other side of the planet. Our mission is “where we live,” not in an individualistic way since we all live on the same earth. The mission is not just “here”; it is everywhere.
We may be here, but we cannot remain indifferent to what is taking place elsewhere. Our world has become one big village. Therefore, PEACE should be our first wish for Christmas and the New Year. We are all missionaries of love and peace, individually, and as independent nations.
As Missionaries of Mariannhill, and here I include you all, let us make of this Christmas and New Year, not only pious wishes, but a sincere resolution to be “peacemakers,” in the image of Christ. And I take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your support as we try to realize this mission of Christ together. Your prayers, your friendship, your financial support are all greatly appreciated; even more as our number gets smaller.
May God bless you. Remember that a blessing is wishing something good. May He bring you peace, and keep you in His love.
Yours sincerely,
Fr. Robert Deshaies, C.M.M.,
Provincial Superior
American-Canadian Province
The Mariannhill Mission Society
Excerpted from “Our Family Album”:
Legal Document Found
Dear holy Jesus, source of all goodness, came to my rescue again. The latest time was finding a certificate to my car. My car was stolen from my garage. Two weeks prior to that, I had been burglarized in my home.
The burglary occurred during the night while I was sleeping in bed. I heard nothing and discovered the burglary in the morning when I went into my kitchen and saw all the cabinet doors were wide open.
My purse was missing from the next room, so I knew I had been robbed. Gift cards, jewelry (costume and gold bracelets) and many watches were gone. The keys to my house, car and mailbox also were taken.
My precious daughter Mary flew in immediately from California to be with me. All identity cards that were in my purse had to be reported stolen and replaced. The locksmith had to replace all locks, which cost over $3,000.
My daughter spent days with me, taking care of all stolen vitals. She owns a computer and i-Pad which I chose not to own. All matters were handled competently by her.
My car was found by the police. It had been in an accident and then abandoned. It was considered totaled by the insurance company.
I had to mail the certificate of my car to the insurance company, so I asked my dear Holy Spirit where it was. At first look I could not find it, but the Holy Spirit knew where it was.
I went to a strongbox I own that contains valuable papers. Among the contents I found my Buick’s title in the original envelope. God’s miracle, of course! Such a beautiful answer to prayer!
Thank you, Jesus, with all my heart – Faye B.
Financial Dilemmas Persist
This is a quick note with two parts. One is a thank you to the following for prayers answered in April and May of this year, to Our Lord, Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.
I had a shortfall in income and received assistance when most needed, including my tax refund coming in more quickly than I had thought possible.
Two, I have a prayer request that I brought to Our Lord, Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. I have been asking them for special help the last few months. My dilemma? My monthly Social Security checks amount to $1,100 a month and I was just informed that my rent is going up $50 a month, which will have a definite impact on how much I will have to use for all my other expenses.
Here then is my dilemma: I was directed a number of years ago by the state and Social Security to retire to protect what I have left of my hearing, which is a congenital nerve loss. In the past year or two my hearing loss has become worse, to the point that I had to have the hearing aids adjusted for volume for the first time since I purchased these aids a little over seven years ago.
The volume on the hearing aids was up on level 4, as high as they could go, and are now at number 2. Naturally, since I had them adjusted, I can tell that the right side has dropped a bit since January when I had them worked on.
I have been told that I am not a good candidate for cochlear implants as even the bone induction is not good. I am asking for prayers for my financial needs, as I do not know where the extra income will come from.
Most jobs would create a problem for my hearing, which also means that the comprehension is getting worse as time goes on. Hence my need. Thank you for the prayers of all those in the LEAVES family, which I include in my prayers. As ever in Christ – Edward S.
Christmas Poem Shared
My mother received LEAVES magazine for many years. She passed away in 1992 at age 97. I probably subscribed at that time. I am 92 years old now and thought I would share a prayer that I wrote recently. I am also sharing a Christmas poem that I wrote in 1972. My son printed them up for me.
I hope they can appear in LEAVES and wish the Mariannhill Missionaries and LEAVES family peace and good health. Tempus Fugit (time flies)! – Don W.
Without
By D.W. Killmeyer
Without our God in heaven
There would be no Christmas Day
And Santa and his reindeer
Would never need a sleigh.
No child would get a gift, you see
Because no Bethlehem
No tree there in the morning
With a star atop its stem.
Without Him in the manger
No carols to be sung.
You must have the Holy Family
If lights are to be strung.
The Three Wise Men brought gifts that day
Or very soon thereafter.
They expected nothing in return
Except His Baby laughter.
Where would you find good will on earth
Or peace to those around?
It comes from Him who on that day
The shepherds did surround.
Mother and Child together
Is what it’s all about.
When you hang your wreath upon the door
And set your candle out.
Remember this on Christmas morn
As your evergreen you light
He came to give us heaven
When we try to do what’s right.
Excerpted from Blessed Engelmar Testimonies:
A Life of
Blessed Engelmar
There is now available a booklet of the life of Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, C.M.M. You may receive a free copy of it by sending a stamped (postage for one ounce), self-addressed envelope to us at: LEAVES, P.O. Box 87, Dearborn, MI 48121-0087.
My donation is for thanksgiving for three of my sons. In the past year, they all were in need of employment. I asked for Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig to intercede on their behalf, and all three of my sons were offered employment with the companies they were most interested in.
God bless Fr. Engelmar. He has been so good to me and my family. Thank you, dear Lord! – Mary S.
+ + +
Thanks for prayers answered to: Ss. Philomena, Theresa and Jude, and Fr. Engelmar. Some prayers were answered and some are still on hold. Many of the Lord’s friends in heaven are watching.
Please pray for my family, for my grandson’s and my health and finances. Thanks – Pat R.
+ + +
I am writing to thank St. Padre Pio for finding my son a job, for Bl. Engelmar Unzeitig for prayers answered and also St. Anthony for finding items I had lost.
Please pray for all the people who lost their homes because of flooding, and hurricanes and other natural disasters, and those who are barely surviving the heat because of no power. God bless – B.D.
Novena in Honor of
Abbot Francis Pfanner
Abbot Francis Pfanner founded Mariannhill Monastery, and 100 years ago its monks became the Congregation of Missionaries of Mariannhill. He was not only a great missionary, but also a holy man. The cause for his beatification has begun. We have available a novena in his honor and will send you a free copy of it when you send a stamped (postage for one ounce), self-addressed envelope to us at: LEAVES, P.O. Box 87, Dearborn, MI 48121-0087.
Prayer to the
Sacred Heart of Our Lord
For Ourselves, Our Friends
And the Souls in Purgatory
By St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
I have placed all my confidence in Thee, do not reject me. I call Thee, I invoke Thee as the sovereign remedy for all my evils, the greatest of which is sin. Destroy it in me and grant me pardon for all the sins that I have committed, of which I repent with my whole heart, and ask your forgiveness for them.
Make then Thy sovereign power, O loving Heart, felt by me and by all hearts capable of loving you, especially my parents and friends, and by all those persons who have recommended themselves to my prayers for whom I have a special obligation. Assist them, I beseech Thee, according to their necessities.
O Heart full of charity, soften hardened hearts and relieve the souls in purgatory; be the assured refuge of those in their last agony and the consolation of all those who are afflicted or in need. In time, O Heart of Love, be to all in all things; but especially at the hour of my death, be the safe retreat for my poor bewildered soul. At that moment, receive it into the bosom of Thy mercy. Amen.
(In November we remember our deceased family members, saints and all those who have gone on to their eternal reward. St. Margaret Mary Alacogue, 1647-1690, was a French religious who spread devotion to the Sacred Heart.)
Prayer for Our
Own in Purgatory
My God, you have taken from me those very dear to me in this world. Grant that you will supply the place of all in my regard and replace them in my heart. They deserved my attachment. I was devoted to them, and I hoped to enjoy their love and assistance much longer. You have disposed otherwise.
May your holy will be accomplished! The great consolation which I have in their loss is the hope that you have received them into the bosom of your mercy, and that you will grant one day to unite me to them. If a deficiency of satisfaction for their sins detains them in suffering, I offer you for their intention, my prayers and good works, and above all my resignation in the loss which I have experienced. Render this resignation complete and worthy of you. Amen.
Give them, O Lord, eternal rest;
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
(This very old prayer was sent by Mariannhill in 2009 after my father died. I have prayed it for my father, mother, and husband. Thank you Mariannhill Missionaries – Therese P.)
Immaculate Conception
We praise you, Lord,
in this daughter of Israel,
Mary, your faithful one and our mother.
We pray as she did:
may your name be holy;
may the hungry be filled and the rich know hunger;
may the proud be scattered and the oppressed raised up;
may your love be ever with your people.
We make our prayer always through Mary’s child;
He rose from her the sun of justice,
Jesus, who is Lord for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to you.
(The feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8 celebrates Mary, conceived without sin.)
Candle, Candle
By Leslie Jean Anderson
Candle, candle
burning bright
in the darkness of the night.
Little rays of gentle Love,
lift all prayers to God above.
+ + +
O Baby Jesus
By Leslie Jean Anderson
O Baby Jesus, hear my prayer,
as I lay my head by your manger where
every soul is family holy,
and you,
Our Prince of Peace, most truly!
Journey’s End
By Bernice Laux
The road that leads to heaven,
As we journey on our way,
May be a narrow rocky path,
But God’s beside us all the day.
If we stumble on the way,
Let’s get right up again,
For knowing God is there
To sooth us in our pain.
Our life may be short or long,
But the journey’s sure to end,
Be not afraid, for peace and love
Our God is sure to send.
Let’s keep our eyes toward heaven,
The place soon to be our home.
They’re with God and His angels;
Never again will we roam.
To be embraced by God our Savior
Will be such joy for you and me!
We will hear Him say, “Come, beloved,
See what I’ve prepared for thee!”
Baby Jesus, Be Praised & Blest
Baby Jesus, you came to earth,
To save us through your holy birth.
You took our flesh to be your own,
To claim our hearts for God alone.
O Holy Infant, Word Divine,
Our image now becomes like Thine.
Take our hearts in yours to rest,
Baby Jesus, be praised and blest.
God’s Plan Unfolds
By Margaret Peterson
Mary hugged her Infant Son,
Petal-soft His face.
She was holding heaven itself
In this unlovely place.
Joseph, ever standing near,
A source of great protection,
Held Him in his loving arms
With deepest, fond affection.
It didn’t matter where Christ was born;
It mattered who was there
Ready to raise God’s precious Son
With love and kindness and prayer.
Be Born in Me
By Sr. M. Carmella Schneider, SND
Be born in me, Incarnate Word,
That every day may be
A Christmas day within my heart
To breathe and grow in me.
Use my flesh to do Thy work,
My blood to do Thy will,
My heart to beat for Thee alone
Until Thy will I fill.
Use my hands and use my feet
To carry out Thy plan.
That all who come to ask for help
May get a helping hand.
Use my words to speak THY WORD
To all I meet today,
That the Father may be glorified
With words of love and praise.
Excerpted from “Leaflets” column:
To all of you, dear LEAVES Members, I send my best greetings. As I look around, I can hardly believe we are already thinking of getting ready for Thanksgiving. Of course, when we think of our own personal lives, we do have so much for which to be thankful.
This feast of Thanksgiving is certainly a wonderful opportunity to see all the gifts the Lord has given to each one of us. These gifts have taken on different forms. Some of them were an answer to our prayers, such as better health, success in the various enterprises we started; happiness in our work, in our studies, and also in our relationships with others; better job opportunities.
We have also discovered new friends and straightened out certain tensions with some people around us. We may also have made an important step forward in our relationship with God and a greater awareness of Jesus’ presence in our daily lives. There are so many other gifts the Lord has given us. It becomes important to thank the Him for all of this.
This holiday is also a great opportunity to thank our family members and friends for their support and encouragement. No wonder so many people travel to visit their loved ones during this time. By doing this they prove, in a very tangible way, how much those they visit have become important to them.
Furthermore, I believe we should think of all those who have been victims of natural disasters, such as tornadoes, floods, landslides, etc. Many have lost their homes, their jobs, and all they had. A great number do not have enough food for their subsistence. We can pray for them, asking the Lord to help them in these difficult times. We may also be able to share some bit of food or other assistance with those we know or those we meet.
Many have lost their loved ones, while others are suffering from depression, despair, trauma, and are unable to look after themselves and their families, because of disabilities caused by these natural disasters against which they were unprepared to protect themselves and their families. Have you ever stopped to think how blessed you are and what you might be able to share with them?
We could say this prayer from St. Bede the Venerable that I happened to find recently: “Open our hearts, O Lord, and enlighten our minds by the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may seek what is well-pleasing to your will; and so order our doings after your commandments, that we may be found fit to enter into your everlasting joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Once our Thanksgiving celebration is over, we begin to prepare ourselves for Christmas. Probably Christmas songs and stories can already be heard on our radios, TV sets, etc.
When I was in Grade School, we would put on a whole Christmas play, along with songs, and we would set up a Christmas tree. The teacher would have a box of nametags with the names of each child in each class. The teacher would ask us to draw a name from our classmates. Then we would have to make a gift for that person whose name we had picked.
On the last night before the Christmas holiday, our parents and the whole family would come over for the Christmas plays and sing-a-long and, at the end, Santa Claus would arrive and distribute the gifts the children had prepared and put under the Christmas tree.
That was a great event which really put in us the spirit of Christmas. All though that happened quite a long time ago, I still remember these Christmas evenings very vividly. The preparations and rehearsals would take place in the afternoons. Mrs. Kendall, one of the moms, would come to the school in the afternoon and accompany on the piano those of us who were going to sing on that night, either individually, or as a choir, or in a musical play.
We always took those rehearsals pretty seriously and enjoyed them at the same time. We knew our parents would come to that Christmas play and we wanted to make sure that they would be proud of us if we performed well.
This happened every year while we were in Grade School. Probably many you experienced something similar. We didn’t have a Catholic school in my little town of Norton, VT. We only had a public school with two large classrooms upstairs and a large hall downstairs which was used for various activities in the town. But this celebration of Christmas was something we all enjoyed and our teachers always made sure that everybody was involved.
Recently I was reading the Gospel from St. Matthew on August the 13th. It goes like this: “Jesus said: “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven’’ (Mt 18:3). This passage always impresses me. Very often it makes my memories go back to these childhood Christmas events.
Christmas is a feast for children. It celebrates the coming of Our Lord, Jesus. It’s really centered on the Child. Are we not, all of us, Children of God? That’s probably why we are so easily drawn to the children during Christmas time. We see in each one Jesus himself.
May this Christmas be very special for each of you this year. As we began this Holy Year of 2025 with Pope Francis, let us make a special effort to find this Child Jesus in each and every one we see, including ourselves also. Make a little effort to go and spend a few minutes, at least, to look at the little Jesus in the crib, either at home or in your parish church and offer Him a little bit of yourself as a special gift to the Child Jesus who started so humbly in the manger in Bethlehem and who died for each one of us because He loves us so much that He wanted to forgive us of all our sins and give us new life.
A Blessed Christmas to each one of you. May the Child Jesus continue to remind you that you are His child and that He loves you so tenderly. May He give you a new beginning and bless you all.
From all the personnel working for LEAVES: A Merry Christmas to all of you from the staff of LEAVES and myself – Fr. Michael Sheehy, C.M.M.
Provincial’s Christmas Letter
Dear Friends, Benefactors, and Readers of LEAVES,
It was a custom in my home that one week before Christmas my father would put up the Christmas tree. Then, every evening before supper, we, the children, would sit on the floor in front of the tree and admire it with all its colorful lights and decorations. And every day, my mother would put one Christmas gift, below the tree, only one at a time, with no name. It was for us like a game trying to guess to whom it would go, and what was the content, hoping that it was what each one desired. In a way, we could say that it was like a novena of good wishes.
This happy remembrance made me ask myself whether it would not be a good idea to continue this custom, this novena, of putting every day, before God, our wishes for Christmas and the New Year for those we love and others in need. We could do that during a few moments of silent prayer. We could call it a moment of meditation, reflecting on the past year, and expressing our hopes for the year to come. I shall do it this year, thinking of you, dear members of the Mariannhill family.
As we prepare for this great feast of peace, we cannot help but include in our good wishes, in our Christmas boxes, so to say, the need for peace on earth. “Peace to people of good will” was the song of the angels. Before peace becomes a reality on earth, there is the need for good will. It is difficult to have peace if, for instance, we make and provide weapons for war.
We are all brothers and sisters in the great family of God, even if we live on the other side of the planet. Our mission is “where we live,” not in an individualistic way since we all live on the same earth. The mission is not just “here”; it is everywhere.
We may be here, but we cannot remain indifferent to what is taking place elsewhere. Our world has become one big village. Therefore, PEACE should be our first wish for Christmas and the New Year. We are all missionaries of love and peace, individually, and as independent nations.
As Missionaries of Mariannhill, and here I include you all, let us make of this Christmas and New Year, not only pious wishes, but a sincere resolution to be “peacemakers,” in the image of Christ. And I take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your support as we try to realize this mission of Christ together. Your prayers, your friendship, your financial support are all greatly appreciated; even more as our number gets smaller.
May God bless you. Remember that a blessing is wishing something good. May He bring you peace, and keep you in His love.
Yours sincerely,
Fr. Robert Deshaies, C.M.M.,
Provincial Superior
American-Canadian Province
The Mariannhill Mission Society
Excerpted from “Our Family Album”:
Legal Document Found
Dear holy Jesus, source of all goodness, came to my rescue again. The latest time was finding a certificate to my car. My car was stolen from my garage. Two weeks prior to that, I had been burglarized in my home.
The burglary occurred during the night while I was sleeping in bed. I heard nothing and discovered the burglary in the morning when I went into my kitchen and saw all the cabinet doors were wide open.
My purse was missing from the next room, so I knew I had been robbed. Gift cards, jewelry (costume and gold bracelets) and many watches were gone. The keys to my house, car and mailbox also were taken.
My precious daughter Mary flew in immediately from California to be with me. All identity cards that were in my purse had to be reported stolen and replaced. The locksmith had to replace all locks, which cost over $3,000.
My daughter spent days with me, taking care of all stolen vitals. She owns a computer and i-Pad which I chose not to own. All matters were handled competently by her.
My car was found by the police. It had been in an accident and then abandoned. It was considered totaled by the insurance company.
I had to mail the certificate of my car to the insurance company, so I asked my dear Holy Spirit where it was. At first look I could not find it, but the Holy Spirit knew where it was.
I went to a strongbox I own that contains valuable papers. Among the contents I found my Buick’s title in the original envelope. God’s miracle, of course! Such a beautiful answer to prayer!
Thank you, Jesus, with all my heart – Faye B.
Financial Dilemmas Persist
This is a quick note with two parts. One is a thank you to the following for prayers answered in April and May of this year, to Our Lord, Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.
I had a shortfall in income and received assistance when most needed, including my tax refund coming in more quickly than I had thought possible.
Two, I have a prayer request that I brought to Our Lord, Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. I have been asking them for special help the last few months. My dilemma? My monthly Social Security checks amount to $1,100 a month and I was just informed that my rent is going up $50 a month, which will have a definite impact on how much I will have to use for all my other expenses.
Here then is my dilemma: I was directed a number of years ago by the state and Social Security to retire to protect what I have left of my hearing, which is a congenital nerve loss. In the past year or two my hearing loss has become worse, to the point that I had to have the hearing aids adjusted for volume for the first time since I purchased these aids a little over seven years ago.
The volume on the hearing aids was up on level 4, as high as they could go, and are now at number 2. Naturally, since I had them adjusted, I can tell that the right side has dropped a bit since January when I had them worked on.
I have been told that I am not a good candidate for cochlear implants as even the bone induction is not good. I am asking for prayers for my financial needs, as I do not know where the extra income will come from.
Most jobs would create a problem for my hearing, which also means that the comprehension is getting worse as time goes on. Hence my need. Thank you for the prayers of all those in the LEAVES family, which I include in my prayers. As ever in Christ – Edward S.
Christmas Poem Shared
My mother received LEAVES magazine for many years. She passed away in 1992 at age 97. I probably subscribed at that time. I am 92 years old now and thought I would share a prayer that I wrote recently. I am also sharing a Christmas poem that I wrote in 1972. My son printed them up for me.
I hope they can appear in LEAVES and wish the Mariannhill Missionaries and LEAVES family peace and good health. Tempus Fugit (time flies)! – Don W.
Without
By D.W. Killmeyer
Without our God in heaven
There would be no Christmas Day
And Santa and his reindeer
Would never need a sleigh.
No child would get a gift, you see
Because no Bethlehem
No tree there in the morning
With a star atop its stem.
Without Him in the manger
No carols to be sung.
You must have the Holy Family
If lights are to be strung.
The Three Wise Men brought gifts that day
Or very soon thereafter.
They expected nothing in return
Except His Baby laughter.
Where would you find good will on earth
Or peace to those around?
It comes from Him who on that day
The shepherds did surround.
Mother and Child together
Is what it’s all about.
When you hang your wreath upon the door
And set your candle out.
Remember this on Christmas morn
As your evergreen you light
He came to give us heaven
When we try to do what’s right.
Excerpted from Blessed Engelmar Testimonies:
A Life of
Blessed Engelmar
There is now available a booklet of the life of Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, C.M.M. You may receive a free copy of it by sending a stamped (postage for one ounce), self-addressed envelope to us at: LEAVES, P.O. Box 87, Dearborn, MI 48121-0087.
My donation is for thanksgiving for three of my sons. In the past year, they all were in need of employment. I asked for Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig to intercede on their behalf, and all three of my sons were offered employment with the companies they were most interested in.
God bless Fr. Engelmar. He has been so good to me and my family. Thank you, dear Lord! – Mary S.
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Thanks for prayers answered to: Ss. Philomena, Theresa and Jude, and Fr. Engelmar. Some prayers were answered and some are still on hold. Many of the Lord’s friends in heaven are watching.
Please pray for my family, for my grandson’s and my health and finances. Thanks – Pat R.
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I am writing to thank St. Padre Pio for finding my son a job, for Bl. Engelmar Unzeitig for prayers answered and also St. Anthony for finding items I had lost.
Please pray for all the people who lost their homes because of flooding, and hurricanes and other natural disasters, and those who are barely surviving the heat because of no power. God bless – B.D.
Novena in Honor of
Abbot Francis Pfanner
Abbot Francis Pfanner founded Mariannhill Monastery, and 100 years ago its monks became the Congregation of Missionaries of Mariannhill. He was not only a great missionary, but also a holy man. The cause for his beatification has begun. We have available a novena in his honor and will send you a free copy of it when you send a stamped (postage for one ounce), self-addressed envelope to us at: LEAVES, P.O. Box 87, Dearborn, MI 48121-0087.
Prayer to the
Sacred Heart of Our Lord
For Ourselves, Our Friends
And the Souls in Purgatory
By St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
I have placed all my confidence in Thee, do not reject me. I call Thee, I invoke Thee as the sovereign remedy for all my evils, the greatest of which is sin. Destroy it in me and grant me pardon for all the sins that I have committed, of which I repent with my whole heart, and ask your forgiveness for them.
Make then Thy sovereign power, O loving Heart, felt by me and by all hearts capable of loving you, especially my parents and friends, and by all those persons who have recommended themselves to my prayers for whom I have a special obligation. Assist them, I beseech Thee, according to their necessities.
O Heart full of charity, soften hardened hearts and relieve the souls in purgatory; be the assured refuge of those in their last agony and the consolation of all those who are afflicted or in need. In time, O Heart of Love, be to all in all things; but especially at the hour of my death, be the safe retreat for my poor bewildered soul. At that moment, receive it into the bosom of Thy mercy. Amen.
(In November we remember our deceased family members, saints and all those who have gone on to their eternal reward. St. Margaret Mary Alacogue, 1647-1690, was a French religious who spread devotion to the Sacred Heart.)
Prayer for Our
Own in Purgatory
My God, you have taken from me those very dear to me in this world. Grant that you will supply the place of all in my regard and replace them in my heart. They deserved my attachment. I was devoted to them, and I hoped to enjoy their love and assistance much longer. You have disposed otherwise.
May your holy will be accomplished! The great consolation which I have in their loss is the hope that you have received them into the bosom of your mercy, and that you will grant one day to unite me to them. If a deficiency of satisfaction for their sins detains them in suffering, I offer you for their intention, my prayers and good works, and above all my resignation in the loss which I have experienced. Render this resignation complete and worthy of you. Amen.
Give them, O Lord, eternal rest;
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
(This very old prayer was sent by Mariannhill in 2009 after my father died. I have prayed it for my father, mother, and husband. Thank you Mariannhill Missionaries – Therese P.)
Immaculate Conception
We praise you, Lord,
in this daughter of Israel,
Mary, your faithful one and our mother.
We pray as she did:
may your name be holy;
may the hungry be filled and the rich know hunger;
may the proud be scattered and the oppressed raised up;
may your love be ever with your people.
We make our prayer always through Mary’s child;
He rose from her the sun of justice,
Jesus, who is Lord for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to you.
(The feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8 celebrates Mary, conceived without sin.)
Candle, Candle
By Leslie Jean Anderson
Candle, candle
burning bright
in the darkness of the night.
Little rays of gentle Love,
lift all prayers to God above.
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O Baby Jesus
By Leslie Jean Anderson
O Baby Jesus, hear my prayer,
as I lay my head by your manger where
every soul is family holy,
and you,
Our Prince of Peace, most truly!
Journey’s End
By Bernice Laux
The road that leads to heaven,
As we journey on our way,
May be a narrow rocky path,
But God’s beside us all the day.
If we stumble on the way,
Let’s get right up again,
For knowing God is there
To sooth us in our pain.
Our life may be short or long,
But the journey’s sure to end,
Be not afraid, for peace and love
Our God is sure to send.
Let’s keep our eyes toward heaven,
The place soon to be our home.
They’re with God and His angels;
Never again will we roam.
To be embraced by God our Savior
Will be such joy for you and me!
We will hear Him say, “Come, beloved,
See what I’ve prepared for thee!”
Baby Jesus, Be Praised & Blest
Baby Jesus, you came to earth,
To save us through your holy birth.
You took our flesh to be your own,
To claim our hearts for God alone.
O Holy Infant, Word Divine,
Our image now becomes like Thine.
Take our hearts in yours to rest,
Baby Jesus, be praised and blest.
God’s Plan Unfolds
By Margaret Peterson
Mary hugged her Infant Son,
Petal-soft His face.
She was holding heaven itself
In this unlovely place.
Joseph, ever standing near,
A source of great protection,
Held Him in his loving arms
With deepest, fond affection.
It didn’t matter where Christ was born;
It mattered who was there
Ready to raise God’s precious Son
With love and kindness and prayer.
Be Born in Me
By Sr. M. Carmella Schneider, SND
Be born in me, Incarnate Word,
That every day may be
A Christmas day within my heart
To breathe and grow in me.
Use my flesh to do Thy work,
My blood to do Thy will,
My heart to beat for Thee alone
Until Thy will I fill.
Use my hands and use my feet
To carry out Thy plan.
That all who come to ask for help
May get a helping hand.
Use my words to speak THY WORD
To all I meet today,
That the Father may be glorified
With words of love and praise.