The Catholic Defender: Please Bring Them Home, Catholic Prayer for the conversion of loved ones
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
For various reasons, people we know and love will either walk away from the Catholic faith, or have never been given the fullness of the truth in the first place.
In either case, our hearts might ache that this person has not embraced the saving power of Jesus’ love and compassion.
While we should do all that we can to provide an inspiring example for them to follow, sometimes all we can do is pray and hope that God will lead them home.
Here is a prayer from a manual of prayers published in 1851 that beautifully represents our desires and cries out to God for help.
O divine and adorable Savior, thou who art the way, the truth, and the life, I beseech thee to have mercy upon N., and bring him [or her] to the knowledge and love of thy truth.
Thou, O Lord, knowest all his darkness, his weakness, and his doubts: have pity upon him, O merciful Savior; let the bright beams of thy eternal truth shine upon his mind; clear away the cloud of error and prejudice from before his eyes, and may he humbly submit to and embrace with his whole heart the teaching of thy Church.
Oh, let not the soul for whom I pray be shut out from thy blessed fold! Unite him to thyself in the sacraments of thy love, and grant that, partaking of the blessings of thy grace in this life, he may come at last to the possession of those eternal rewards which thou hast promised to all those who believe in thee and who do thy will.
Hear this my petition, O merciful Jesus, who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, livest and reignest ever and ever. Amen.
Lord God, we thank You and praise You for the many ways You have blessed us and brought us close to You in our lives. We humbly ask that You grant the grace of conversion to all who are in need of it. You have blessed us with many holy preachers who work to spread Your Gospel and to bring souls to You
Lord God, I ask that You move upon hearts to accept the Truth of Christ. “Give them a heart to know that You are the Lord, so that they will follow you and accept YouLord to be their God,” and may they “return with all their heart” (Jeremiah 24:7).
Saint Monica is known for modeling patience. She is the patron saint of conversion, as she prayed for the conversion of her husband, mother-in-law, and son Augustine. We ask for her intercession for patience as we evangelize the Truth to others,and she is often invoked as a patron saint of mothers, wives, and those who are praying for the conversion of family members. Her life exemplifies the virtues of patience, perseverance, and faith, particularly in the face of challenging family dynamics.
Augustine, Prayer for Conversion. O God, Framer of the universe, grant me first rightly to invoke Thee; then to show myself worthy to be heard by Thee; lastly, deign to set me free. God, through whom all things which of themselves were not, tend to be.
Psalm 133 applies to families by highlighting that unity among family members is a divine blessing, good and pleasant, fostering refreshment, healing, and life, much like anointing oil or mountain dew, creating a harmonious environment where members support each other in faith, communication, and love, reflecting God's presence within the home. It emphasizes moving beyond biological ties to embrace the larger spiritual family, finding blessing in shared devotion and mutual support.
The short prayer which Jesus taught St. Faustina for the veneration of His Mercy at 3 O'Clock is, “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You”. This is also known as the Conversion Prayer.
Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion.
Comments