Offering Up Our Broken Hearts

By an anonymous parishioner

We brought home a baby boy. And another. And a third one. Through the years, we raised them and shared a lot of smiles. We laughed a lot and still do. We were blessed to send them to Catholic grade schools and high schools. We attended Mass on Sundays and holidays together. They received all the Sacraments of Initiation.

One year, when we were on a camping trip, some older kids tore down a bridge-like structure the boys and their friends were building in the woods. Our boys were very upset. That night, when we prayed bedtime prayers, our middle son prayed for the children who tore down their makeshift bridge. Words could not express how moved and proud we were.

When the youngest was in fifth grade, he participated in Bible Bowl and was a champion! Again, we were proud.

Then, years later, they all left the Church. Currently, they do not hold any practice of faith. With broken hearts, we now pray. With broken hearts, we continue to hold hope.

At St. Max we found the St. Monica Society, an intercessory prayer group that meets to pray for the return of loved ones who have left the faith. Initially,

we were told that they only met during the day, on weekdays. At that time, we both worked full-time and were unable to participate; however, we did put their names on the list.

Within a month, we learned that there would soon be an opportunity to pray for them in the evening, after work. Now, one of us attends almost every week. Our prayers are doubled, tripled, quadrupled or more, because there are other people praying with us, uniting their prayers with ours, and all our prayers to God’s will. In front of Jesus in the tabernacle, we pray for all the children who are petitioned on our list.

If you, too, have broken hearts, please consider joining us, adding their names to our list and praying with us for all our prodigals. Imagine the world with their souls “on fire”! That is what our ministry’s patron, St. Monica, prayed for her son, St. Augustine.

The St. Monica Society is open to both men and women. We meet on Mondays at 2:30 PM in St. Patrick’s Conference Room, and at 3:00 PM we move into the church for prayer. You are welcome to join us for both or for prayer only. On Tuesdays, we meet at 7:00 PM in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Among other prayers, we include a Rosary, a Divine Mercy Chaplet and offer one of the Stations of the Cross from a publication written especially for families that include “prodigal” members.

If you are unable to attend, you may contact us at StMonicaSociety@saint-max.org with the first names of the loved ones that you would like included in our prayers.