Sign of the Cross
Heavenly Father, we come before You with humble hearts as we prepare for our TEC
weekend. We thank You for the gift of this time to seek Your presence and to deepen
our relationship with You and bring others closer to you.
Pour forth Your Holy Spirit upon us, O Lord, that we may open our minds and hearts to
Your divine will. Grant us the grace to listen attentively to Your word, to reflect deeply on
Your love, and to respond with faithful hearts to Your call.
Bless our retreat with the light of Your guidance and the warmth of Your love. May it be
a time of spiritual renewal, healing, and transformation. As we journey together, may we
grow in unity and love, supporting one another in faith and in truth.
We entrust this Novena and our retreat into the hands of our Blessed Mother, Mary.
Through her intercession, may we be drawn closer to Your Son, Jesus Christ, our
Savior and Redeemer.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day: Padre Pio
Padre Pio was a peasant from the Apulian region of Southern Italy. He became a Capuchin Friar and was frequently referred to as a “living saint” partly because he had the wounds of Christ on the Cross for almost 50 years. Besides having the 5 wounds of Christ called the stigmata, Padre Pio had the gift of “reading souls” and he could “bi-locate,” which means he could literally be in two places at the same time!
Padre Pio heard many confessions, including one in 1947 when he heard the confession of a young Polish priest named “Karol Wojtyla” and declared that this priest would one day be Pope. Padre Pio endured much suffering. He said his suffering was so that sinners might believe in God and that the world might be saved.
“Pray, hope, and don’t worry” is one of Padre Pio’s famous quotes, but my favorite quote from him is taped on my computer desk at home and it says, “Do not be worried that the time of trial is so long. We can only reach salvation by crossing the stormy sea, which constantly threatens to overwhelm us. Calvary is the hill of the saints, but from it we go on to another hill called Tabor, the Mount of Transfiguration.”
Padre Pio’s feast day is September 23.
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus we ask you to accompany us on TEC 286.
We surrender the weekend to your Holy will.
Help us to “pray, hope, and don’t worry” like your servant St. Padre Pio taught us.
As we plant the seeds of Faith into the hearts of your children this weekend
through the talks, the new friendships made and the scripture verses shared,
please journey with us up the Mount of Transfiguration.
Help us Lord to be transformed into the holy Saints that you
have called us to be.
Intentions:
Through the intercessions of the Saints, we pray for TEC 286
· The team that they stay open to the Holy Spirit in their lives before and during the weekend- we pray.
· The Tecites- For those attending or thinking about attending. That the spirit moves their hearts to be open to the TEC weekend. – We Pray
· (Feel free to add any special intentions you would like prayed for) – We Pray
Heavenly Father, in preparation for this retreat, we lift our hearts in gratitude for Your boundless love and mercy. We thank You for the graces and blessings bestowed upon
us during these days of prayer and reflection.
With humble hearts, we invoke the intercession of the saints who have accompanied us on this journey. Saints who have gone before us, lighting the path with their faith and
devotion:
Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us
St. Joseph, Pray for us
St. Therese of Lisieux, Pray for us.
St. Padre Pio, Pray for us
