Dear Lara, Never, never, never doubt the effectiveness of your prayers!\u00a0 Do you really think that God, who so lovingly created us and holds us in existence, who deigned to send Jesus Christ to save us by suffering and dying on the cross \u2013 do you think such a God would ignore you?\u00a0 When we get to judgment day, we will see that our prayers did much more than we ever imagined in extending and defending the Kingdom of God.\u00a0 As a result, we will deeply regret how little use we made of this powerful weapon while we were on earth.\u00a0 God\u2019s love has gathered an immense reservoir of grace in heaven; every time we pray \u2013 even little prayer darts uttered as we walk across campus between classes \u2013 we open up a channel for some of that grace to rush down into our hearts and the hearts of others, to come to the aid of souls in need.\u00a0 God is just waiting to shower us with his grace; but he needs us to turn on the faucet. Today\u2019s saint is a good example of this.\u00a0 He forsook the pleasures and promise of his high noble rank in the Republic of Venice (which was in its heyday during his lifetime) after hearing a call to dedicate himself totally to God.\u00a0 He entered the monastic community of St George, where he learned modesty, humility, and trust in God.\u00a0 He used to beg alms for his brother monks, and his fervor won the hearts of many who answered his requests.\u00a0 He was so exemplary a Christian that he soon was named bishop of a nearby diocese.\u00a0 There he dedicated himself to caring for the poor and making himself available to men and women of every rank who needed spiritual guidance and attention.\u00a0 Some miracles accompanied his endless stream of good works, but above all it was his meekness and patience, his sincere but active humility that renewed his diocese inside and out.\u00a0 He won the respect and admiration of statesmen and churchmen alike, until the Pope named him Patriarch of Venice, a position that the humble cleric tried to decline.\u00a0 But his speech before the Venetian senate, in which he tried to convince them to request someone else to lead their church, manifested such integrity and gentleness that the Doge himself (doges were like presidents, but more magnificent) begged him to stay on, and the senators seconded the motion. Towards the end of this holy Prelate\u2019s life, a hermit on the Island of Corfu informed a traveling Venetian merchant that Venice had been spared from violent conquest (the Mediterranean was a liquid battlefield in those days, and Venice would have been a pretty prize for any of the up and coming powers) only by the prayers of St Lawrence. And that\u2019s my point.\u00a0 The Venetians had no idea that they owed their peace and prosperity to Lawrence\u2019s prayers, and yet they did.\u00a0 When we get to heaven (may God grant it!), how many more such hidden wonders will we discover? So, my dear niece, keep on praying.\u00a0 Pray always and everywhere, for everyone and everything.\u00a0 God is always at your side and in your heart, and he wants to talk.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let him down. Prayerfully yours, Uncle Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Lara, Never, never, never doubt the effectiveness of your prayers!\u00a0 Do you really think that God, who so lovingly created us and holds us in existence, who deigned to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":145992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3719],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-142218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncle-eddy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n