". . . the desire for God is the preparation for union with Him."

John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love.

Ascending Mount Carmel

To keep us focused on our "ascent" of Mt. Carmel I plan to send you frequent reminders of what the journey is all about from those who have already made the climb. Robin

"In the first place it should be known that if a person is seeking God, his Beloved is seeking him much more."

St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love

WAY's Community Prayer

Grant, O Lord, that by the power of the Holy Spirit
and through the intercession of the Blessed Mother,
the members of this community will be formed
into the likeness of your Son and our Lord, Jesus the Christ,
who came to us in the confident zeal of his youth,
and died for us in the holy compassion of his maturity.

We ask boldly for the gift of sanctity,
knowing that the little ones you love
seek in us a haven of tender love,
the light of truthful teaching,
and a living example of apostolic service
entirely surrendered to your holy will.
In Christ's Name we pray.  Amen.

St. Teresa of Avila represents WAY's
personal prayer:
A Way of Loving Christ

"I tried as hard as I could to keep Jesus Christ
our God and our Lord, present within me,
that was my way of prayer."
-- Teresa of Jesus

Holy Teresa,
you who so marvelously mastered
the art of that the Church now gives you a place
of highest honor among teachers of the spiritual life,
intercede for me and for my sisters
that we may each find a fruitful way to pray
and that the Lord Jesus himself
will honor us with his presence.

May we be granted all necessary graces in prayer,
especially a humble patience and perseverance.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton represents WAY's
sacramental life and apostolic service:
A Way of Serving Christ

"We sanctify ourselves for others."
-- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Beloved Mother Seton,
you who have known so much sorrow and suffering,
remember our struggling you community
and pray for our Apostolate, so new and so untested.

Your joy in serving all young people,
rich and poor alike, your faithfulness to family,
and you adoration of the Eucharistic Christ
are our special inspiration.

Pray that those women
who need and seek our fellowship will find it,
and that the clergy with whim we work
will be especially blessed and edified by our witness.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena represents WAY's
search for Truth in sacred scripture and Tradition:
A Way of Learning Christ

"The soul who follows your Truth's teaching in love
becomes through love another you."
-- St. Catherine of Siena

Holy Catherine,
whose sanctity is marked
by a matchless passion for truth,
intercede for us with your "Truth,"
our Lord Jesus Christ,
that he may create in us
an unquenchable thirst for learning
and an enduring ardor for teaching
all the riches of the Faith.

Grant that we may have some share of both
your uncompromising courage
in facing the truth of our own neediness
and your boundless hope
in accepting God's love and forgiveness.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux represents WAY's
spiritual childhood:
A Way of Surrendering to Christ

"My little way is the way of spiritual childhood,
the way of trust and absolute surrender."
-- St. Therese of Lisieux

Saint Therese of Lisieux,
Heartbeat of Incarnate Love,
pray that the members of our community
will learn to love one another
with the kind of sacrificial patience and unselfishness
that you learned from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

May our thirst for personal sanctity grow to equal your own,
and in this way may our ministry draw with irresistible power
the hearts of the young toward the ideal of holiness,
as the Miraculous Star drew the Magi
to the holy crib in Bethlehem.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

St. Michael the Archangel Hotline

Saint Michael the Archangel
Hotline
For Spiritually-at-risk Youth

How It Works

In 1997, the Women’s Apostolate to Youth embarked on a new community ministry: that of praying each day for spiritually at-risk youth. The names and circumstances of some children, for whom we pray 30 days, are known to us. Their needs are placed before us by their youth ministers, priests, friends, neighbors, or relatives. We share their stories with those on our list of "hotline supporters." These people include members and associates of WAY and their "Prayer Partners," who have all agreed to take on this special ministry with us. Also included on our list of supporters is a very special and wonderful group of priests, who--in addition to reciting the prayer daily for our hotline kids--offer masses for these children and youth besieged by evil at every turn.

We realize that for every spiritually at-risk child whose name and circumstances we know, there are thousands more whose needs will never be known to us. These needs of these children are all offered in our general intention. Every month, our hotline supporters receive the St. Michael Messenger, a list of those whose needs have been placed before us. We pray for these children and youth by name and offer prayers, too, for our general intention. Each issue of the Messenger also includes updates, when available, on the circumstances of those for whom prayers were offered in previous months. Sometimes there is good news to share; other times, the need for continued prayers is great. Always, however, there are more prayers to be offered. The ministry continues as long as there is evil in this world that threatens the spiritual and bodily well-being of the young people of this world.

To those of you who are not already participating in this important cause, we invite you now to join us in our ministry for the sake of Christ’s little ones by praying the St. Michael prayer daily for the general intention of protecting children and youth from evil influences. If you are interested in participating in a more formal way, and would like to receive the Messenger, please email stmichael.way@gmail.com.

To all our hotline supporters, we say a heartfelt, "Thank you!" We know that we fight against a powerful enemy, but although we cannot always see the results of our work, we know that we have an even more powerful ally fighting with and for us.