Ständig Bön för Äktenskap och Familj

Hej allihopa,

Den här veckan ställer Fr. Johnny några viktiga frågor till oss.

Innan jul fick jag det här inspirerande mailet från Maurice som vittnar om hur bön kan bära oss i vått och torrt. Jag sparade det tills nu eftersom just då trodde jag att alla var upptagen med julförberedelser och kanske inte skulle ha tid att läsa det ordentligt. Maurice var en av tolkarna när Fr. Johnny besökte oss i Vadstena.

Thanks for all the work you do in promoting the mission of prayer, perhaps one of the most underestimated apostolates in our church. As a beneficiary, I'm well aware of its power.

Last week, I got the results of my latest check-up and, like the previous, ones, there was no measurable sign of cancer. Thank God for that. Yet that's just the icing on the cake in way, because the entire year has been great, a veritable year of grace. Of course I know that every year is a year of grace, but this year I've experienced the 'love of God, the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit' in a very tangible manner. In fact, I believe it all started in Vadstena last year.
I had only just been given my diagnosis and had more or less decided to keep the news within a very limited circle (Why bother others with my problem? People have enough to worry them without my looking for sympathy. ). But, inspired by the spirit of the meeting and the sincerity of those who attended, I shared with you, Jim, Mary and Fr. Johhny to begin with. And that was the starting point. I asked others to pray for me as well, and from that moment, as I've written before, I've felt borne by their prayers. Don't get me wrong, though. I haven't been floating on a cloud, living some otherwordly existence. On a day-to-day level, it's been a very ordinary year, with its fair share of ups and downs. It's just that I've been aware of the presence of God in a different way and have been able to 'let go'. Instead of trying to solve everything myself, I've left the 'unmanageables' to God. Being conscious of the fact that God is with us throughout all the twists and turns of life, in all it joys and sorrows, especially the burdens we term 'unfair', has been a tremendous consolation and strength.

So I'd appeal to others: 'Bother' people with your worries and ailments; give them the opportunity to pray for you - it's a win-win situation! And know that God is with you whatever happens. It's not a matter of illness or sorrow being the will of God; it's about us doing asking what God wants of us when illness and sorrow strike and doing His will in our suffering.

Now, a few days before we celebrate the wonderful mystery of our God, who is so great that He dared to become as tiny and humble as a defenceless, totally dependent infant, let us pray for the grace and humility to become dependent on each other so that we can share the selflessness of our Incarnate God, who became one of us and gave His life for us.

Tacksam om ni ber för paret Paulino och Julio. De har varit gifta i 12 år och Paulino tänker lämna Julio. De har två pojkar. I sådana här situationer finns det alltid de som säger "lämna honom, varför ska du vara olyklig" och de som försöker hjälpa till en försoning. Be att Gud öppna deras hjärta så att de kan börja börstå varandra igen. Vi måste ta på allvar vad Johannes Paulus 11 sade, "Mänslighetens framtiden ligger i famljens händer".

Idag är Linköpings dag för bön för familjen.

Låt oss vara inspirerade av Maurice´s brev och göra allt vad vi kan för att sprida vetskap om ständig bön för äktenskap och familj, så att vi kan bära varandras bördor. Sextio minuters bön i månaden kan göra under.

Ha en fin vecka.

Varma hälsningar,
Colette

Fr. Johnnys veckobrev hittar du här. Fr. Johnnys veckobrev översatt till svenska hittar du här.