Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

As Thomas and Natalie prepare for their pilgrimage to Lourdes, please join us in praying this Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes for his full recovery. Please pray also for all the other pilgrims who will also make their pilgrimage! (And for their safe travels!)

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.

By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request.

(state your request - for Thomas Peter's full recovery!)

Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory. Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

Follow with a daily prayer: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. 

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Novena originally posted by EWTN.
Icon written by Br. Claude Lane, OSB, of Mount Angel Abbey, OR.
Learn more about Lourdes.

PRAY + SUPPORT + SHARE

#IStandWithThomasPeters :: Masses Said Around the World

30 Masses are being said tomorrow for Thomas and Natalie - from Manila, to London, to Houston to Prince Edward Island! (If you're saying mass for Thomas and Natalie, drop us an email and we'll add you to our list.)

Join us in prayer through our Spiritual Bouquet site, or by joining the facebook prayer group, or by joining one of our novenas. 

PRAY + SUPPORT + SHARE

See what others are saying about #IStandWithThomasPeters Day.

From Natalie: Pilgrimage to Philadelphia

Thank you for your prayers for our safe travel to Philadelphia and back! 

These days, traveling takes a lot more planning and coordination, but happily all of this went very well on our first trip out of the city! Taking a van, a train, and a handicapped taxi service (with lots of time for delays built in), we made it safely to the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

As we were in line waiting to venerate the relics after Mass, we were greeted by the rector of the cathedral, who recognized Thomas and introduced us to Maureen O'Riordan who is facilitating the US tour of these precious relics and spreading devotion to Louis and Zélie Martin. They offered us the opportunity to have private time to venerate the relics. It was an incredible experience and we came away even more in love with them and eager to spread devotion to their cause.

For more information on the life and devotion of this blessed couple, and how to locate their relics in the United States, please visit Maureen's website www.louisandzeliemartin.org. 

Join us in prayer!

Novena to St. Jude Starts Tonight!

Dear friends: Thomas and Natalie celebrated their 6 month anniversary today. Thursday was 3 months since the accident, and in 10 short days, Thomas is going to be discharged from rehab. (Meanwhile, Natalie is moving into a new handicap accessible apartment, and finalizing all the may details arrangements to make home living possible for Thomas.)

In the midst of all of this is (on October 28th) the Feast of St. Jude. Saint Jude is one of Thomas and Natalie's dearest patrons (Natalie credits him with their getting together in the first place). He is also the patron of impossible causes, things "almost despaired of," (as well as hospital workers and hospitals).

We would love for you to join us in this novena -- one of the oldest novenas of the Church. You can begin it tonight and end it October 27th, or you can begin it tomorrow and end it on October 28th -- his feast day!

The prayer is below, and also linked on the Novena page. Thank you, as always, for your love and support!

Novena To St. Jude 

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus,  the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult  cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. 

Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is  almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive  the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and  sufferings, particularly -(make your request here)- and that I may praise  God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be  ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as  my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen


May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, and loved in all the  tabernacles until the end of time. Amen.
May the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised and glorified now and forever. Amen
St. Jude pray for us and hear our prayers. Amen. 
Blessed be the Sacred Heart of JesusBlessed be the Immaculate Heart of MaryBlessed be St. Jude Thaddeus, in all the world and for all Eternity.

Our Father...

Hail Mary...


(Icon written by Anna Edelman, Windows Into Heaven Icons)

Join us in prayer!

St. Francis Novena, Wheelchairs + an Adventure Outdoors

Hi All! Sorry for the silence: it's been a busy busy week for Thomas and Natalie!

Many of you may not know that Natalie will be assuming the role of care giver, rather than having home assistance. This week Natalie spent her first full day at rehab working with Thomas and learning the techniques for his home care. They specifically worked on practicing transfers (from chair to bed, bed to chair, etc.). "It's fun to be working side by side together!"  Through October she will be spending a lot of time at rehab with him, learning and practicing everything to ensure his transition home is successful.

His team is in agreement that he will most likely be discharged the beginning of November, just in time to come home to the new apartment. He will then begin their day program, which is the same number of hours of therapy per day, but they get to live at home! And to that end, after a long search, they have found a new apartment that is wheelchair accessible. Natalie wrote: "Thank you for all of your prayers and tips to help us with our search!"

They also had a meeting this week with the rehab's wheelchair representative. Insurance will cover the one chair per seven years and there has been a lot of discussion about whether to get Thomas a power chair or a manual chair to go home in. For the longer-term a manual chair is ideal, for many reasons, but Thomas is not quite strong enough to be using a manual exclusively. But, because his status is changing (meaning, he continues to gain function), the wheelchair rep is giving Thomas a free loaner power chair until he is ready to purchase a manual chair! Great news!

Thomas and fellow patients were taken on an outing a few miles from rehab to give them real-world practice in their wheelchairs. They were given free time to wander and told to identify "barriers" in the community. Thomas said it went really well, but that barriers were certainly opening doors in the manual wheelchair, sidewalk ramps when crossing the street, and uneven sidewalks. He said people were friendly and helpful. He bought a coffee and, since we're having an Indian Summer in DC, he bought a volleyball to practice throwing! A successful excursion!

Lastly, yesterday Thomas began moving his entire left foot at the hinge! It's incredibly exciting!

NOVENA TO ST. FRANCIS

A Dominica Friar shared this story of St. Francis of Assisi (who's feast we celebrate today):

At Gubbio, there was a woman with both hands so crippled that she was unable to handle anything with them. When she heard that Saint Francis had entered the city, she immediately ran to him. With a sad and mournful face she showed him her crippled hands and begged him to touch them. He was moved with great pity. He touched her hands and healed them. The woman immediately returned home full of joy, made a cheesecake with her own hands, and offered it to the holy man. He kindly took a little of that cake and told her to eat the rest of it with her family.

 — The Life of Saint Francis by Thomas of Celano (1229)

This inspired Thomas to begin praying to St. Francis for recovery of mobility in his fingers. Thomas and Natalie are starting a novena to St. Francis today, and we invite you all to join us! 

Click here for the Litany of St. Francis and his prayer to the Immaculate Conception.
(Or click the "Novena" link above.)




Join us in prayer!

Sunday

Brothers and sisters,
You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”
Endure your trials as “discipline”;
God treats you as sons.
For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

- Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Christ Crucified by Velasquez

 

The Novena of Thanksgiving concluded yesterday! Thank you for praying with us, and please do continue to pray for Thomas and Natalie, for their caregivers, and for all those who are injured similarly but have no one to pray for them. Blessed Sunday to you all!

Update 8/19

A quick update from the hospital: Sunday was a quiet day -- Thomas took a day of rest. A priest from their parish came up and said Mass. He decided not to try sitting in the wheelchair. He and Natalie and her parents watched a movie in the evening. Thomas was off the ventilator for a full 12 hours, as well.

Monday morning, Thomas had a lot of shoulder tightness and pain. Just in time, Physical Therapy showed up and were able to incorporate massage/relaxation into their therapy routine for his upper body. Thomas worked hard on all of the exercises and did really great! (After that he felt great enough to post once more on FB and Twitter!)

In the afternoon, he had a post-surgery swallow evaluation, and he was cleared for soft mushy foods - the doctors are still consulting about whether they are comfortable starting him on liquids, so we'll stay tuned.  

The biggest news of the day: the doctors decided to let him go as long as he wanted off the vent and he made it for 19 HOURS!  

NOVENA:

Mother Theresa encouraged all those who prayed novenas to pray nine days in prayer and then nine days in thanksgiving. So, we are starting a novena of thanksgiving to Luisa Piccaretta. Follow along here.

Tomorrow, a longer (and long overdue, since we skipped last week) Weekly Update!

Join us in prayer!

Sunday: Paper Rosary

The last two days have been quiet ones. Thomas was off the ventilator both Friday and Saturday for 12 hour stretches.

On Friday 2 of his 3 post-surgery wound drains were removed (which is great: they are painful to lay on). He was also weaned off IV pain meds and all but one dose of antibiotics; so subsequently, his pick line and 1 of his 2 IVs were removed. Yesterday the 3rd wound drain was removed, and the antibiotics ended, so he's down to one IV for fluids to keep him hydrated!

Since the surgery, he says his hands are feeling stronger and he is beginning to feel individual fingers - and is working hard to try and move them individually (he hasn't been able to yet, but this is a great start).  He also said his swallow feels so much better post-surgery. They have him scheduled for a swallow evaluation for Monday and we're hopeful he will be cleared for liquids and food!

Yesterday he sat in his wheelchair for about 2.5 hours, and was even taken outside for a bit of fresh air! Unfortunately they are still trying to get his pain meds right, so for the first hour he was in the chair he was in a lot of pain. They are working to find the right balance. In the meantime, he's getting lots of rest, working on physical therapy exercises, and enjoying a visit from Natalie's parents.
 

We are witnesses, through your comments and emails, of the incredible generosity in faith and prayer of all of you reading this blog, whether you know Thomas and Natalie personally, or not. Likewise, Thomas and Natalie are receiving get-well cards and gifts from people all around the country and the world! Natalie tells us each day how grateful she is! We wanted to start sharing some of these gifts, prayers and stories with all of you, too!

One of the most extraordinary gifts they have received is a hand-made paper rosary from a family in Tomball, TX. Dedicated to the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, every decade focuses on something different; every paper bead is a different prayer intention: decade 1 thanksgiving, decade 2 movement in each finger (literally each of the 10 beads says "that you may continue to gain strength in your right index finger," and so on, decade 3 & 4 healing of various things (trach, coming off vent, lungs, halo, etc.) witness to others, ability to blog again, etc., decade 5 growth in virtue and grace.

Needless to say, Natalie was completely overwhelmed by this gift, which arrived during that first, difficult week that Thomas was in the Halo. (When she wrote to us about it she was at first completely speechless - saying only that they got the most incredible gift - and leaving us bloggers to wonder what it was till the pictures arrived!) We are so very grateful for everyone's generosity and love.

Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.

- Hebrews 12: 1-2

 

Join us in prayer!

Surgery NOW + A Miraculous Story

Thomas went in for surgery this morning at 7:30 am. Please pray that the surgery may be successful, and his recovery continue! Please keep in your prayers the doctors -- that they be alert and have dexterity -- and for lack of complications during the surgery.

As Thomas is in surgery, we wanted to share this incredible story with you, to show how efficacious your prayers have already been! This story comes straight from Natalie:

The night Thomas arrived in Trauma, Dr. A was the one who spoke to me about his condition, and tried to prepare me for possible outcomes and scenarios that could arise over the course of the night.  He was kind, focused on Thomas, and spoke directly - three things I was deeply grateful for that night when everything was happening so quickly, as we spoke surrounded by the chaos of the Trauma unit.   

Over the last two weeks, I've seen Dr. A nearly everyday along with the larger team of doctors tracking Thomas progress - he is always kind and concerned about Thomas, us, and our families. 

On Sunday evening, Dr. A stopped by Thomas' room; it was his last day in rotation at University Maryland Hospital and he's heading back to his own hospital.  He had a gift and a card for Thomas and he wanted to say goodbye. Thomas was asleep, and rather than waking him, Dr. A stayed and talked with me. He said he wanted to personally encourage Thomas of how truly remarkable his recovery up to this point has been, he said, in fact, it's miraculous.   

Dr. A told me more about the terrible state Thomas was in when he first arrived in Trauma - details I had never heard. Although he didn't say this at the time, he said when treating Thomas that night he thought it very likely Thomas' outcome would be ventilator-dependent, vegetative state. He said through the night they worked to do everything possible. In the early morning he stopped by to see Thomas and when the nurse said "he's awake, you can go right in" he asked her if he was in the right place! He said he could not believe it - Thomas was conscious and so soon?!  HOW? 

He said seeing Thomas every day, Thomas and I together, and our moms, was a powerful reminded of why he does this every day. He believes Thomas has a special path ahead and will have a powerful story to tell - we just don't know what it is yet. He believes Thomas will be an inspiration and already has been. He said he's a Christian and was touched by the faith and prayerfulness of our family and knows full well he may be the doctor but it's really up to the Lord. And the night Thomas came in, the Lord definitely had a plan all His own. He wished us all the best and asked me to encourage Thomas to not become discouraged on the long, challenging road ahead of us, but instead, to be assured that he has already made incredible and miraculous progress. I promised him we would stay in touch and that I would tell him Thomas' story. 

Please continue to pray for Thomas, Natalie, his doctors and his treatment! We'll update as soon as we can post-surgery.

Join us in prayer!

Novena to Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta!

Happy Feast of the Transfiguration!  

Today we are beginning a novena for Thomas to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta starts today and will continue for the next 9 days!  You can download the novena here and you can also find our more about this on the new Novena page.  

We are asking her intercession for Thomas' healing!  Natalie and her family have had a special devotion to "Luisa la Santa" for many years. The Servant of God Luisa, never abandoned her bed of suffering and remained sitting in the same position for 64 consecutive years. Her teachings on the Divine Will and her constant "Fiat" to God has formed Natalie and her family's spiritual life. 

"The Lord makes known to Luisa that He wants to give her an extraordinary gift: THE GIFT OF THE DIVINE WILL. This particular grace which God gives to the creature from Himself, constitutes a special and free gift…Into the most complete silence and in the greatest hiddenness of this Soul, God wanted to send the message of the Divine Will, in which the Holy Spirit wants to renew the face of the earth: the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven."  - Father Bernardino Giuseppe Bucci

Again, if you have the desire to join us, we would appreciate it.  We are so very grateful for all of your prayers and support!

We'll post a weekly update tomorrow morning!

Join us in prayer!

Spiritual Bouquet

A friend was kind enough to set up a spiritual bouquet website for Thomas and Natalie.

If you would like to add your specific prayer offerings, you can access the site here.


Prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trail as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.
~ St.Therese of Lisieux

Full Day with the Halo

Thom was suffering from some fever through the night and this morning, which is not uncommon after the procedure which he underwent yesterday.  It is being kept under control with medication.  Today was challenging for Thom with his first day trying to adjust to the halo. The device prevents him from shaking or nodding his head, in order to keep the vertebrae in alignment and encourage healing.

As his sensations slowly return, Thom is experiencing more pain symptoms but for now they are being managed reasonably well.  Thom was stepped down on the ventilator by a small amount this morning, which is also a good sign of returning function.  He also very much wants to communicate more, and must be patient as his body continues to heal and he is not yet ready to be taken off of the ventilator.

Today was seemingly uneventful, but small steps were clearly made.  Please continue to keep Thom and his family in your prayer.

Considering Options

This morning Thomas and members of his family, met with the Neurology Team and they are weighing options for treating his neck injury: Surgery or the Halo.  Since he continues to improve in strength and mobility, there is not an emergent need for a decision to be made.

Please pray for wisdom for them as they deliberate and attempt to choose the best possible option.

Thank you for your prayers!