Let's Toss Up Bouquets of Prayers for this little Hero - Beau Dowling

 

Beau Dowling: Sixteen Months Old and Ready to Duke it Out with Cancer


Last week I asked anyone within pestering distance to toss up some prayers for Ryan Rusch who was undergoing another in a long series of life-threatening operations.

Ryan is doing handsomely.

Beau Dowling of St. John Fisher Parish in West Beverly is undergoing cancer surgery as I type these words.  Don't make the little man do it on his own.

As I stated then there is nothing more heart breaking than a sick child and this little man and his young mother, father and siblings need arm loads of prayers.

As in Ryan Rusch's need, I suggested the Memorare - the sure fire tug on the blouse of Our Lady.
This prayer seems to work its wonders in every circumstance*.

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Pray it up. I won't kill you, or cost you nickel one.

* for any 'Yeah, Butt'ers:

In the Memorare the claim is made that the Virgin Mary has never left unaided a soul who asked her intercession. But when I prayed the Memorare for my intention, the situation for which I prayed got worse, not better. This has shaken my faith. What happened?
Answer
The wording of the Memorare is not intended to oblige the Blessed Mother or God to answer your prayer in the exact manner that you specify. It is a statement of utter trust, said with faith that the Blessed Mother and God will always answer the prayers of the faithful, even if the answer given is not the one for which the supplicant hoped.
It is possible that the Blessed Mother did help you in your particular trial. Perhaps she obtained for you the grace to carry your burden with courage and patience. Perhaps she obtained for you the grace to delve more deeply into your Catholic faith through prayer, which is what you did in fact do. By all means, keep praying the Memorare for your intention, keeping in mind Jesus’ example of prayerful supplication for the relief of trials: "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42).

Send Up Some Prayers for Ryan Rusch and His Family, Today

There is nothing more heart-breaking for parents than any child suffering. Those of us who are parents do and should feel for anyone's child, no matter the age, when major health problems threaten their time with us.

Ryan Rusch lives in West Beverly ( The west of Western Ave. - the Cape Cod, raised ranch and Georgian home Beverly working stiff tribe of the 60642 Zip Code).   Ryan was born with a rare heart disorder where only one artery supplies blood flow instead of the standard two.  He and his family have fought for life from the moment of birth.

Ten years ago, three teens decided to beat Ryan nearly to death.  It was a horrific beating, racially motivated by the attacker own words, but not deemed to be a Hate Crime.    Well, that is blood under the bridge.

Ryan added brain damage and all that goes with that, vision impairment, seizures, struggles with attention to studies, to his struggles with the aid of those, but he is one tough kid.  He played football, graduated from St. Rita High School and attended college.  Then heart problems resurfaced.

He is undergoing dramatic surgery as I hit these keys.

We have prayed for Ryan and his family for weeks at daily services in St. John Fisher and at Sacred Heart.  At Sacred Heart, we conclude the readings and prayers of the faithful in preparation for the Celebration of Eucharist with the Memorare.

This very special prayer to Our Lady is a miracle worker.  I taught it to many of the guys at Leo High School who are not Catholic and they said saying this prayer seemed to help them anyway. The words were stange to them, as it is to too many Catholics these days.

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Do me a favor. Send up a couple of Memorares over the next few days for the Rusch Family and all children who suffer from health problems. Send some up for yourself, as well.

It won't kill you and it just might ease some family's burdens.  Say the words,  even if you hate God, religion,  or sentiment.

Send some up for Ryan.

On This Day! Speaking to Myself, Of Course

Steve Brodie - The man could jump and he did.

Tell me this, did you press my Sunday trousers?

- I forgot, I said.

What?

- I forgot, I shouted.  Flann o'Brien (1911-1966)

Each morning I pray ( Memorare & Novena of St. Theresa) and reflect on the day to come.  After that, things are way beyond the grasp of this aspiring control freak - still working that.

It is very good to wake with the intention of actually do some good in this world.  I need to edit a mailing for Leo HS that we hope to send out out before August 1, 2013, after which better eyes than mine will scan and critique what I have written and no doubt replace what I have purged.  After which, I will greet the custodial staff and banter with Mr. Reynolds (Chief of Maintenance Leo HS) concerning the hapless White Sox and born-again Blackhawks.

Then, I will go to my mail box and not find a substantial check from anonymous donor and re-craft grant inquiry.

Raheem ( Leo Junior: GPA 3.2) will arrive two hours before his Math and weight room work-out and will update me on the weekends doings and how to apply Euclidean geometry to the principles of leading a decent life.  I will wow him with Parmenides - the Way of Truth and the Way of Opinion.  Raheem is a math vacuum and singularly large man*.  He gets it.  Math/Science/Art/Litereature/Music all work from and return to The Author of Nature. The confounding issue of living is working through the unity of Nature with Nature's varieties, or some such BS like that.

Later, at about 7:30AM, I'll duck out onto 79th Street in order to greet in-coming Leo Freshmen as they begin the two-weeks of summer school.

Phone calls to donors will follow, " Hi, Bill! Do you have time in the next couple of days to . . . No.  Just an update on the school yea . . .Well, yeah . . .we can always use a substantial check . . .& etc."

I'll get together with the Leadership Team and they say, " Jump!"

Already know the answer.

 With all his faults and by God he has plenty, the Irishman can jump. By God he can jump. - Flann O'Brien

*

Jersey

75

Position

OL, DL

Ht/Wt

6'4"/380

Class

Soph.

School

 

Leo Lions 

Season

 

Varsity 12-13 

Sport

 

Football

Overall

 

5-5-0 

League

 

3-1-0 

National Rank

 

6306

 

IL State Rank

 

232

• Pancake Blocks
  3
 
• Games Played
  3

Francis Cardinal George - One of Us! We are all Supplicant Lions!

Catholics are supplicants.  From the time we first learn to chatter, we are taught to ask for help, intercession, aid and comfort; we beseech.  We supplicate - ask humbly, earnestly and with faith.  Our prayers are chock-filled with verbs, adverbs, adjectives and nouns rooted in the Latin past participle -supplicatus/supplicare.

Catholics are required to go where help is most forthcoming, through intercessors.  We also pray in Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving, but intercession and prayers of intercession are recognition of our helpnessess and subordination to others more capable giving aid -beyond our family, friends, co-workers and most certainly beyond Google, MSNBC,  our Advanced Degrees hanging on our walls and the guys at the local bar.

Catholicism runs counter to Thoreau, Emerson and Dewey.  Outcomes can not be determined by data. Nature can not be apprehended by legislation, policy, or desire for outcomes.

Catholics pray not to fix things, but to reconcile ourselves to God and Nature.  We fix things by paying for them whether they be hips, knees, gutters or unpaid parking tickets.  We can not lawyer up with God's Universe.  Catholics asks humbly and earnestly to keep faith. The absolute best prayer is the Memorare*

On the first day of classes at Leo High School, Thursday last, a giant child of a freshman and one of my morning transport lads, Daylon F. of Bronzeville was waiting for his schedule after being fitted for his uniform polo shirt.  Daylon is 6'3" in height and every bit of 300 lbs and change at 14 years old. Daylon got himself a XXXXX(5)L.

This Mannish Boy was staring at the wonderful life size crucifix with attached kneeler that dominates the wait area outside of my Development cubicle.  He asked me, " What's the INRI on the top of the cross mean?"

Daylon, like so many Leo Men, is non-Catholic.  More so , there are too many Catholic kids who do not learn that theological-historical tidbit in their eight years of Catholic grammar school anymore.

"INRI??? What's that?"

The Romans did not have the letter J and they used I instead.  Jesus was IESUS pronounced Yeah Sus, or something like that.

"What's INRI mean?"

That was the charge Jesus found guilty of violating by the Roman Court - Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

" Damn, that's a crime ?"

A capital crime to the Romans - no king BUT Caesar and the Caesar at that time was Tiberius and he was real piece of work.

"Why a crime."

The Romans wanted nothing but attention to government -everyone and everywhere and the Romans did everything according to law. There is no wiggle room. It says, on that plate in no uncertain terms that Jesus of Nazareth, IS King of the Jews and only Caesar can make a King - like Herod and his old man.  This execution settled it.

" But it didn't."

No it certainly did not.  Jesus rose from the dead and over turned the court's ruling.

Daylon gets it.  He said Jesus "prayed to His Father and Father rose Him from the Dead."

No one does it alone, pal.

Daylon is at Leo because of Mike Holmes, Mark Lee,  Dan McGrath, Rich Furlong, Jim Furlong, Jim Arvetis, Andy McKenna, Frank Considine, John Gardner, Bill Koloseike, Bob Sheehy, Jackie Schaller, Bernie Pepping, Jim Corbett, and seven thousand other Leo Alumni who give money all year.  Even guys who might not have enough money to give volunteer, come to games and most of all pray for Daylon, whom they have yet to meet.  Daylon has Francis Cardinal George backing his play; Cardinal George is a Leo Alumnus.  He is one of us.

We take care of each other.  This summer, one of us, a classmate of Daylon was murdered -

Chicago police said Antonio Davis, 14, was shot and killed Friday night near 69th and Union around 8:40 p.m.A day later, a 13-year-old boy was shot and killed in the 6200-block of South Rhodes. Neighbors said there was a large party at the home where the boy was shot that spilled into the street.Also, a 14-year-old and 15-year-old are recovering from being shot while playing basketball near their home Saturday night. It happened around 8:43pm in the 2400-block of East 74th Street. The two victims were playing when a gunman approached on foot and opened fire, striking the two.Davis' family said he was an A and B student at Leo High School and had dreams of becoming a basketball player."I just know that he was walking to the store to get my niece's baby water and a car pulled up and jumped out at him and shot him" said Davis' aunt, Latrice Strong

Dan McGrath called the Leo community.  Leo paid for the gravesite and the repast held at the school.  Mr. Leak of the Funeral home handled the funeral, Dwayne Wade's mother preached the funeral - Dwayne Wade was coached and mentored by Leo Man Jack Fitzgerald. Antonio Davis attended one week of summer school - he was a Leo Man.  Cardinal George is a Leo Man, Daylon is a Leo Man and we are all supplicants.

Cardinal George has cancer. He is one of us.  We are all supplicants. There are seven thousand and change Leo Men saying the Memorare - a prayer of intercession and supplication,  Help and provide, Mary Mother of God, one of our own - old school and new school versions.

MEMORARE, O piissima Virgo Maria,
non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia,
tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia,
esse derelictum.
Ego tali animatus confidentia,
ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro,
ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto.
Noli, Mater Verbi,
verba mea despicere;
sed audi propitia et exaudi.
Amen.

Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection,
implored Thy help or sought Thine intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother;
to Thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in Thy mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen.

*A prayer beginning, "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary." Of unknown authorship, it has been attributed to St. Augustine, to St. John Chrysostom, and with more reason to St. Bernard or to Claude Bernard, "poor priest" of Paris. Passages in sermons of St. Bernard echo the theme (PL 183:428), but none comes close to the actual wording of the Memorare. The manuscript tradition can be traced only to the 15th century. It appears as a section of a longer prayer in the Antidotarius animae of Nicolas Salicetus (1489). J. Wellinger included it, possibly as a separate invocation, in his Hortulus animae (1503). Claude Bernard (1588–1641) …

Happy Mothers Day! The Memorare

This 15th Century Prayer is the perfect Mothers Day Gift - to everyone.


MEMORARE, O piissima Virgo Maria,
non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia,
tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia,
esse derelictum.
Ego tali animatus confidentia,
ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro,
ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto.
Noli, Mater Verbi,
verba mea despicere;
sed audi propitia et exaudi.
Amen.

Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection,
implored Thy help or sought Thy intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother;
to Thee do I come, before thee I kneel, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in Thy clemency, hear and answer me.
Amen.

Clare Hickey -Now a St. Cajetan Graduate!

Nora, Clare and Conor Hickey at St. Cajetan Parish 8th Grade Graduation Last Night

Memorare*! Clare, one thing to take from your 9(pre-school & eight years) years at St. Cajetan, besides the thick cohort of friends and the wings of happy memories, is this prayer.

Your Mom said this every day. Your Dad only seems to remember it when he is in trouble. Be like Mom.

Your Mother, Mary, both of them, watch over you. Mom only had the earthly joy of you for a little while. Mary the Mother of God has had you much longer. Both have you eternally.

You are in an elite club, St. Cajetan Alumni. St. Cajetan always won the Southtown Economist Bell in Football - that was a trophy. St. Cajetan always educated great people - the Joyces, the Schumachers, the Wards, The Reyas, The Hodorowicz's, the Miers, the Cullens, the Sheehans, the Millers, and Hopkins.

You, Clare, will bring much to our world that is needed. Say the Memorare and get help in all you need to do. Be like Mom.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

* Here's a link to Patriot, Wit, Author, Playwright and Film Maker,Mike Houlihan's take on the Memorare! Click my post title for Mike's piece