Thoughts on prayer

I have just finished a book about Fr. Nicholas Gruner, the 'Fatima Priest', who passed away on April 29 of this year. It has many testimonials concerning Fr., as well as many prayers that he said each and every day. I thought they be of much use for us also, to try to imitate Fr. Gruner.

One thing he did after each Mass was to stay and pray for at least 15 minutes. How many of us do this? Anyway, here are a few prayers he said: Always the ancient and beautiful novena prayers to St. Joseph and to Our Lady under her various titles--Our Lady of Good Remedy, Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. And then, there were two other prayers which Our Lord taught Sister Lucy. These were each repeated 5 times:

"Sweet Heart of Mary, be the salvation of Russia...and the whole world"

"By thy Pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, obtain for me the conversion of Russia...and the whole world."

Maybe we could add these to the prayers we offer after Mass. They only take a few seconds.


Next to these prayers was something concerning final perseverance. Fr. Gruner persevered to the end, and we should to do the same. Anyway, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church, tells us "...that the gift of final perseverance is never given all at once. It's like a chain--it's given one link at a time. Pray every day that you will be given that grace of final perseverance. Pray that you will be anointed and receive Holy Viaticum before you die."


Maybe as a group we can obtain, through our prayers, the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in the fashion she requested at Fatima in 1917. Maybe if some of the Bishops retire, or are disciplined somehow, or if they croak, just maybe we could get some Bishops with backbone and with a love for the Blessed Mother, something that has been lacking in our current leaders, sad to say.