Social Saturdays (1/15/11)

It's Saturday! That means we're chatting with the living and praying for the dead. 

Prayer Requests: 

• For Clyde--the father of Deacon Daniel of the UGCC--who is hospitalized, that the physician of our souls and bodies restore him to full health. 
• For Francisco and his mother who are surrounded by violence that the Lord protect them and give them hope and peace as well as guide them to jobs that allow them to provide for their needs and glorify Him. 
• For A, who is facing numerous assaults, that the Lord shelter and protect her and her family, restoring them to the fullness of physical, emotional, and social health. 
• For Bishop Jia Zhiguo of the underground church and all Christians in China, the Middle East, and around the world who are persecuted for their faith. 
• For the parish of St. John the Baptist Romanian Catholic Mission in Tustin, CA who are celebrating their patronal feast tomorrow (Jan 16, 2011). May the Lord bless them with many more years! 
• For those attending the Walk for Life events scheduled across the United States next Saturday (Jan 22) that they be a prayerful witness to the dignity of all human life and be protected in their travels. 
• For the soul of Archbishop Elias Zoghby of the Melkite Church who passed away three years ago this week (Jan 16, 2008).
• For those who are planning the beatification ceremonies of Pope John Paul II (May 1 in Rome) and Sr. Marie de Mandat-Grancey (Jan 21 in Kansas City, Missouri) as well as those traveling to participate that the Holy Spirit grant them grace and peace. 
• For the homeless and severely impoverished who are without heat or electricity, running water, or sufficient housing or clothes, that they be protected during the winter months. For those who are in positions to help that they do so without greed, malice, or expectation of return. 
• For those who have addictions that they overcome them and are able to seek their consolation from the Lord. 
• For marriage. That the institution of marriage be preserved and protected within our society. That those who are married be blessed with faith, perseverance, kindness, and fidelity as they seek God through their vocation. That those who are discerning marriage be guided to God's will for their lives. That those who are struggling in their marriages find support and hope. 
• For the United States and its leaders, especially those in politics, media, and business, that they seek in word and action to do God's will with the authority they hold. 

Continuing Prayer Requests: 

• Please continue to pray for an abused woman and mother, A (a different A than the one above), who is in desperate straits and in need of many prayers.
• For Kat's family, including their current and future children, that they be guided in discernment and finances in their next adoption. (Kat has other prayer requests at the link.)
• For all those affected by the continued Australian flooding, that the Lord provide for their needs.
• For all of our clergy, religious, and monastics that they be directed in strength, courage, patience, and fortitude to radically live God's will for their lives. 
• For mothers, that they not abort their offspring; for infants in danger of being put to death in the womb; for a change of heart of providers of abortions and of their collaborators; for human victims of stem cell research, genetic manipulation, cloning, and euthanasia; and for all entrusted with the government of peoples, that they may promote the "Culture of Life" so as to put an end to the "culture of death."
• For Your Word From The Wise and all who are connected to it, that it may bring glory to God.
• For the intentions of those who are praying.

Do you have a prayer request you'd like to add? Please put it in the comment box any time this week so we can pray with you.

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What's going on at Your Word From The Wise?

• I worked much more on the Universal Map project, updating locations, detail info, parish names, etc as well as collecting more locations to add. I had a helper send me the links to numerous Churches' Australian websites to get Oceania well-covered on the map. Thank you! (Want your area accurately covered? Send me some info and I'll get it on the map.)
• I'm working on a blog button/image/logo for an Eastern and Oriental Catholicism web ring for the Links page. It's obvious that I'm not a graphic artist. If you know someone who is who would like to come up with an image of 150x225ish pixels then I'd use it instead of my amateur attempts. 
• I was unable to make the follow-up phone calls I hoped to make last week. My husband--my biggest helper--will be home on Monday so I'll be able to lock the bedroom door and hide in the master bathroom and make the needed phone calls without any interruptions! :) 
• I sent out one more interview request which was accepted. WOOHOO! I'll hopefully get it written this weekend. (It's a topic several asked me to cover.)
• I continued researching for an accepted interview that is scheduled for late Feb/early March. I love it and can't wait to share with you!
• I got the blog redesigned to be easier on the eyes. Blogger keeps adding random html to my posts. It turns a chunk of text white or adds numerous line breaks, despite my going in to the html source code and removing it. I save, refresh, and it adds it twice more! A helper pointed out a couple places it had done so and suggested some work-arounds, which I'm very grateful for because that was a little disconcerting. I still haven't figured out how to remove the extra line breaks on the Origen post. It lets me have none or two. I even started over with no formatting, adding it line by line. Hmmm... :/
• I received a response from the 1-question survey I sent out. If a few more come in, I'll post them. The responder is working on some neat Eastern Catholic catechetical tools I can't wait to see, too. 
• I got blog syndication setup to post to the Facebook wall and think I got the kinks worked out thanks to a helper.