National Day of Prayer
Greetings Catie Team,
Our hopes and prayers continue that this message finds you in the warm and tender embrace of the Father. We wanted to send you a quick update today to let you know or remind you of the National Day of Prayer. Today, May 6th is a day set aside since 1952 to remind us as Americans to stop for a moment and offer a prayer. The prayer can be one of thanks that we are blessed to live in a country where our freedom of religion is guaranteed but hopefully not taken for granted. It can be a prayer of thanks for so many other freedoms that we enjoy because of the efforts and prayers of so many who came before us. It can be a prayer of hope that our country can become what it was divinely inspired to be, a “City on a Hill”; a foretaste of heaven, and a beacon of hope and promise for all. It can be a prayer asking for forgiveness for all of the times that we as individuals and as a country have fallen short of what we could be. Or, it could be a prayer to just say hello to our Father in heaven and reconnect if we have been out of touch. Whatever the prayer, the important part is that there is a special opportunity today; but it will remain just an opportunity without a response from each of us. For us as a family, we will be going to Mass and Adoration at 7pm this evening at St. Joseph’s in Mechanicsburg. If you have the opportunity, please come join us; if you do not, please join us in prayer wherever you are. We will be remembering all of the special times we have had as a family celebrating our “Americanness”. Our annual trips to Washington D.C., placing flags in front of each of our houses, the impromptu parades with those flags as each of the kids became aware of their own sense of national pride. And we will be remembering Catie. Today, this is the picture I see of her, standing boldly in front of the Washington monument with all of the attitude that she would need for the fight of her life that would begin just one week later. To know that her tumor was already there, just unseen as yet brings tears to my eyes. But it also fills me with pride for who she was and is. We also offer the second picture of Catie sitting in her wheelchair and praying. Her model of constant prayer is one that inspires me. Today, on this national day of prayer, may it inspire you as well. May God bless you and continue to bless our country.
A Cancer Prayer
by Stephen R. Chance
Dear God, We have prayed often for you to rid our child’s body of cancer and never let it come back. We have prayed often for you to spare his body the harsh effects of the treatments he must endure. We have prayed for mercy and strength. But we have not yet prayed for the things about cancer we would like to keep.
Please let us keep the love that has been laid bare and that binds our family, our friends, and our community.
Please let us keep our preference to be together.
Please let us keep our appreciation for simple pleasures.
Please let us keep our ability to not sweat the small stuff.
Please let us keep our tolerance for each other’s mistakes.
Please let us keep our focus on each other’s needs.
Please let us keep our patient smiles responsive to normal childhood conflicts rather than the irritation that could so easily ensue.
Please let us keep our tendency to treat others tenderly knowing that we don’t know all the heartbreaks they have felt.
Please let us keep the ease with which new acquaintances become good friends.
Please let us keep our enhanced appreciation for nature.
Please let us keep our motivation to live vigorously now rather than planning to live later.
Please let us keep our calling to help others fight cancer with better weapons and smarter generals.
Please let us keep our need to reciprocate the wonderfully kind favors we have received.
Please let us keep the strength to press on when faced with other illnesses, deaths, and human tragedies.
Please let us keep You at the center of our lives during good times, too.
Amen.
Wherever you are stop and spend a few minutes taking an inventory of all of your blessings. Thank your God and those God has blessed your life with. Share this prayer with those you love. Share your love with all.
Christine, Kevin, Maggie, Max, Mia, Molly, M.E., and always Catie
PS – We continue to do the work of Catie’s Wish and are in the process of sending out all of the thank you letters for all of your generous gifts that allowed us to reach Catie’s goal yet again. We delayed sending the letter so that we could be sure that we reached the goal and because we have just been granted non-profit postage status, allowing us to reduce expenses and stretch your generosity even further.
PSS – Please pray for Jonah who is a new member of Catie’s Injured Reserve. Jonah has been an Ambassador for Catie’s Wish and has done amazing work in spreading the seeds of Catie’s Wish in California. Most recently, he organized a very successful Dress-Down Day and the money raised was the actual donation that allowed us to hit the goal. This week, Jonah was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Please keep him and his mom in your prayers.
Beloved Family, me again. I’m a day late and a dollar short in reading this, but pray I did–Bible study in the a.m., Holy Hour later and EWTN encore Mass at 7. But rest assured, my halo’s WAY crooked! Speaking of EWTN, the Holy Spirit has really been “bugging” me big time to urge you all to pray about sharing Catie’s Wish and the exquisite ongoing fruits of your labors of His love, some how, some way in the future. Perhaps when your book comes out, go on EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa on a Wed. night! These writings are so powerful, so Christ-centered, the conversions, mine included, heaven’s the limit! You have got to get it out there, the more media, the better! Your work are today’s Letters of St. Paul, in my estimation! Praying for your intentions, according to HIS will, love, Marthe