'The Nap' by Teresa Satola
www.teresasatola.com

Mother's Home School Deliverance Prayer
(Offered only through the Immaculate Heart of Mary)
written by Sharon M. Willoughby © 2010

Be with me, Lord, as these days and ways of motherhood
dawn on my children's growing in knowledge and faith.
Deliver me, Lord, from reaching beyond the day
to worries beyond my strength.
Help me to find You,
glowing there each day in the light of my children's eyes.

Deliver me from the spirit of haughty perfection,
that might blind me to the gift of the spontaneous love of a child
or the fullness of family life around me.
Not a manger or a cave have You provided us,
only a place where You might decide to come in and have supper,
for the night is always late and we are always hungry.
Prepare us each day to wait on Your place with us
in our family life together.

Help me, Lord, to realize my limits
and to be at peace when I do all that I am able,
while seeming to still fall short of my expectations.
Help me to allow You to be the judge of the love
that hides behind each of my failings.

Deliver me, Lord, from the spirit of criticism
by granting me the gift of self-knowledge.
You know the places in me that are broken.
Deliver me from hiding them from You.
Only in my weaknesses are You able to be strong through me.
Inspire our family to live well, the sacramental life.
Help us to find the healing we need in the sacrament of confession
and the true Food for our journey in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Deliver me, Lord, from the temptation of taking for granted
the gift You have given to me in my holy and miraculous marriage.
Inspire me each day to pray for and serve in love, my spouse, who labors,
so that I may encounter the fullest expressions of motherhood,
that have allowed me to spend my days homeschooling my children.

Deliver me, Lord, form the temptation
to involve my children in so much work and activity,
that they lose their wonder in Your gift of creation all around them.
Help us to seek Your plan in the lives
of each of the souls you have entrusted to us,
by a prudent and prayerful discernment of what activities
should take us away from our home life.

Help us, Lord, to gather as often as possible
each evening at our dinner table,
in Your name, truly thankful for the bounty You have provided us.
Inspire our family to a life of good health in rest, exercise and nutrition,
so that we are better able to serve Your will in our days.

Help us to find playful ways to spend our time together.

Inspire us to gather each day as a family
able to pray together in Your Most Holy Name.

Most importantly, Lord, teach me to love beyond my understanding.
Help me to forgive beyond all failings.
Help me to be generous beyond all measure.
Help me to be patient beyond all possibilities.

May I rest each evening, as Your daughter,
trusting in Your infinite love for our children.
May I awaken each morning as their mother,
in Your mercy that permits me each day
to serve those You have entrusted to my care.
Come, Holy Spirit!

Sharon
©August 2010