Daily Mass

Mass is the joining of Heaven and Earth. Mass is the joining of space and time: we are made present at the Last Supper and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Going to Mass on a weekday is a very efficacious way to pray for our brothers and sisters who have lost their faith.

Pray constantly and fervently.

Offer up frequent Holy Communions for your loved ones.

Adoration

Are you blessed to have Eucharistic Adoration near you? Some parishes and monasteries have 24 hour Adoration, and others have Adoration for part of the week, often on a Friday.

Eucharistic Adoration is a perfect way to commemorate Christ's death on the cross, as part of the required Friday penance, either instead of, or along with abstinence from meat. Fridays can become a special time with Our Lord; one we look forward to all week, to pour out our hearts to Him and offer up our joys and fears.

If one of your fears is for loved ones who have lost their faith, take that concern to Jesus in the Eucharist and leave your worries at His feet.

And remember

that I am with you always

until the end of time.

Matthew 28:20

Jesus Knew

Jesus knew that following Him would sometimes bring division within families and among friends. He is with us. He died for us and for them.

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.
Matthew 10:34-36

Light a Candle, Say a Prayer

There are many opportunities to light a candle for the intention of your loved one. Many Catholic Churches and Shrines have candles to light for a small donation to cover the cost. Many people light candles in front of an icon, statue or holy picture in their homes.

With the advent of the Internet, there are opportunities, both virtual and real, to light candles for your intentions. Light a Candle.org , St. Bernard Abbey, and Gratefulness.org are three such online candle lighting sites.

In Gratefulness.org, The Apostolate of Saint Augustine has its own candle "room". Click on this link, or go to Gratefulness.org and type in StA when asked for the initials of the group. You can post your intention, the initials of the person you are praying for, as well as your own name or initials.

I have linked the picture of the red votive candles on my sidebar to our candle room in Gratefulness.org. Just click on the red votive candles on the sidebar to get there.

Prayer/Sacrifice List

I have added a list to the sidebar. Anyone who contacts me, either via-email, or on a comment (be aware, thought, that once this post scrolls down, I probably won't remember to check it!) I will add the person's name (or initials--remember this is a public blog) to the list on the sidebar.

Let's pray and sacrifice for each other.

Prayer and Fasting

Friday is a special day of prayer and sacrifice in the Church. We are called to abstain from meat, or, more recently, to sacrifice in another way, in commemoration of Christ's suffering and death.

Let us make a renewed effort to follow this Church discipline and make Friday a day of penance for all our loved ones who have lost their faith.

"But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting" ~Matthew 17:21

The Morning Offering

Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.

I offer them for the intentions of the Sacred Heart,
for the intentions of the Holy Father,
for the salvation of souls,
for the remission of sins,
in reparation for my own sins and those of my loved ones,
for the physical, mental and spiritual health of my loved ones,
for the reunion of all Christians,
for faith and peace in the world,
and for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

~Amen

Pray every day, offering up your joys and sufferings to Jesus for your loved ones who no longer believe.

What is The Apostolate of Saint Augustine?

The Apostolate of Saint Augustine is a Catholic apostolate whose purpose is fostering prayer and sacrifice for those who have lost their faith in God.

The pressures of today's society on belief and faith are immense. Belief and reverence are under attack from the media, education and peer groups, as well as from both within and outside of the Church itself. Those who believe and practice the faith as taught by the Apostles of Jesus Christ are belittled and made fun of on a regular basis. The right of all Americans to choose to believe in a power greater than themselves is being challenged and questioned as never before.

Many, many people fall away from the faith at some time during their lives and in some families, there is no one left who is committed to praying for them in their faith struggle.

Prayer is powerful. Fasting, Adoration, the Rosary and the offering up of our daily challenges and inconveniences are ways that each one of us can effect positive change during this period when unbelief becomes the assumed world view of our modern culture.

Let us join together in prayer and sacrifice for all those who have lost their faith in Our Lord. Let us commit to sacrificing our time and our sufferings for their entering in to a new relationship with God.