San Antonio Catholic Churches

San Antonio, Texas has many beautiful Catholic churches. During our latest visit the city, I took some pictures to share with family, friends and readers.

St. Jude Prayer for Advent

Lord Jesus,

Your power is infinite, your glory, everlasting.

Quietly you come as a tiny baby.

Ready my heart for the miracle of your birth.

Bring light to this dark world waiting silentely for your warmth in the coldness of the night.

Waiting is itself your gift, animating my heart with anticipation.

Bless me with needed patience and faithful discipline to prayerfully prepare to welcome and greet you.

St Jude, eternal hope, let your holiness flow into me.

May Christmas joy and burning love take root in me and grow until they bloom on Christmas Day to carry joy to the world and inspire hope to renew the face of the earth.

Amen.

Soruce: The National Shrine of St. Jude

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Oh, God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungery;

When I have work, help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a warm home, help me to remember the homeless;

When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer;

And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency and bestir my compassion.

Make me concerned enough to help, by word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted.

-- Samuel F. Pugh

Source: Salesian Missions

Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima

O Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of the most Holy Rosary,

You were pleased to appear to the children of Fatima and reveal a glorious message.

We implore you, inspire in our hearts a fervent love for the recitation of the Rosary.

By meditating on the mysteries of the redemption that are recalled therein may we obtain the graces and virtues that we ask, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer.

Amen.

Prayer to St. Odilia

O God, Who in Your Kindness gave St. Odilia, Virgin and Martyr, as the Protectress of the Order of the Holy Cross and the Patroness of the eyes and those afflicted, grant us, we humbly beseech You, Your protection through her intercession from the darkness of ignorance and sin, and grant us healing from blindness of the eyes and from other bodily infirmities.

We pray through Him, Who is the Light and Life of the World, Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord.

Amen.

Source: Crosier Fathers and Brothers

The Prayer Before The Crucifix

Most High, Glorious God,

enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out Your holy and true command.

-- St. Francis of Assisi

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

O ever Immaculate Virgin,

Mother of Mercy, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Comfortress of the Afflicted,
You know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings. Deign to cast upon me a look of mercy.

By appearing in the grotto of Lourdes, You were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary from where you dispense your favors and where many sufferers have obtained
the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.

I come therefore with unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain, O loving Mother, my requests I will endeavor to imitate your virtues,
That I may one day share your glory and bless you in eternity.

Amen.

Source: Trinity Missions

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

O brilliant star of purity,
Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes,
glorious in your assumption,
triumphant in your coronation,
show unto us the mercy
of the Mother of God,
Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother,
be our comfort, hope, strength and consolation.
Amen


Source: Trinity Missions

A Prayer to The Family

Lord,

thank you for this special day when we bow our heads in thanksgiving and consider our many blessings.

We thank You for our health, homes and the beauty all around us.

We thank You for answering our prayers and for knowing what we need even before we ask.

Most of all, we thank You for surrounding us with the gifts of family and friends for their laughter, trust and love.

Please, bless those who can't be with us yet remain close to our hearts and continue to bless and protest us.

Source: St. Mark The Evangelist Catholic Church

Driver's Prayer

Sacred Heart of Jesus,

grant me a steady hand and watchful eye, that none be hurt as I pass by.

You gave life. I pray no act of mine take away or mar that gift divine.

Protect those, Lord, who travel with me from highway dangers and all anxiety.

Teach me to use my car for others' needs and never miss the beauty of Your world through excessive speed.

I pledge to drive with loving concerns to my every destination offering each travel hour to You in a spirit of reparation.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, my auto companion, have mercy on me.

Amen.

Source: Sacred Heart Auto League