Mother of Mercy, Pray for Us

As I read the Holy Father's address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelizaiton, some of the lines Fr. Beseau mentioned stood out to me as well:

So many people have fallen away from the Church. It’s a mistake to put the blame on one side or the other, in fact, it’s not about talking about fault. There are responsibilities in the history of the Church and of her men, in certain ideologies and also in individual persons. As children of the Church we must continue on the path of Vatican Council II, stripping ourselves of useless and harmful things, of false worldly securities which weigh down the Church and damage her true face.

There is need of Christians who render the mercy of God visible to the men of today, His tenderness for every creature. We all know that the crisis of contemporary humanity is not superficial but profound. Because of this the New Evangelization -- while calling to have the courage to go against the current, to be converted from idols to the only true God --, cannot but use the language of mercy, made up of gestures and attitudes even before words. In the midst of today’s humanity the Church says: Come to Jesus, all you who labor and are heavy laden and you will find rest for your souls (cf. Matthew 11:28-30). Come to Jesus. He alone has the words of eternal life.

"Our Lady of Sorrows" by Jay Crisafulli

So many times my heart breaks when someone asks me to pray for their "prodigal" loved ones.  It's painful to hear stories about people falling away from the Catholic Church.  The words of Pope Francis to not focus on who's to blame, but to focus on mercy are encouraging.  Instead of wallowing in what we could have done to keep a loved one from falling away from the Church, the Holy Father challenges us to focus on what we can control now: the Mercy of Jesus.

This approach is taken by the Marian Mantle Group.  They are one of my favorite prayer groups.  Started by a mother and father in Kansas who turned to prayer above all else for their prodigal child, the Marian Mantle group reminds us that "it's not hopeless and we're not helpless."

As they explain on their site:

A mother's heart ached because a grown child had ceased to be a practicing Catholic.  She and her husband searched for a way to bring their child back to the Church but the answers were not easily found since a grown man's life is his own.

As they prayed, they met parents, grandparents, and many others with the same heartache. The mother began to realize that in the midst of what seemed to be an impossible situation, through the grace of God and the leading of His Mother, she found herself reaching out to other parents who also hurt. The result is Marian Mantle Group - a group of Catholic parents dedicated to helping each other, and other parents with our same heartaches, to rest in the peace of the Lord while we join together in prayer for all our grown children.  Our goal is to work and pray together in the hope that every Catholic mother and  father will someday see the return of their prodigals to Holy Mother Church.

The Marian Mantle Group assists parishes in forming prayer groups to pray for prodigals.  By wrapping loved ones in the Mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, powerful conversions have taken place.  If you're interested in joining or forming such a prayer group, contact: editor@marianmantle.com