PRAY WITH LOUIS BRISSON
A Novena on the occasion of his Beatification on September 22, 2012

Day 2: Without God, we can do nothing.

I place myself in the Presence of God.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God, You are here, in my thoughts and in my heart; You envelop me with Your Presence.

Louis Brisson

Today I would like to say a word of hope and of encouragement, encouragement for the present and hope for the future…. When all seems lost, overturned, annihilated, and when a man would lose all hope, that is when the Lord will show His power and His influence. Then it will become clear to all that it in His hand alone all decisive power lies, and that without Him, man can do nothing. (Louis Brisson, Chapter of February 4, 1891)

Scripture Text

What can separate us from the love of Christ? Neither trials nor distress, neither persecution nor hunger, neither nakedness nor danger, nor the sword… Just as it is written, “For Your sake, we are being put to death all the day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things, we are victorious through Him Who loved us. (Romans 8: 35-37)

Reflection

His prophetic word of Hope was real in the life of Louis Brisson; during the last years before his death, an attitude of hostility towards the Church suddenly appeared in the politics of the French government, affecting all his life’s work. In France, all that he had built up was lost. His confidence in God, however, was not deceived. His work – the Oblate Sisters and the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales – still exist today, and not only in France, almost everywhere in the world.

Questions for reflection

• Do I know a time of crisis in which everything appears to be lost?
• In spite of that, do I trust that God is ever with me?
• And Who, when I turn toward Him, comes to my aid?

Prayer

O God of Love, all our destiny lies in Your hands. Nothing is ever lost, unless You will it. I rely on that so much that I confide my life to You and the whole world as well, so that You might govern and direct them both on the right path toward a good end. With confidence I beg You to bless me; with Your blessing I shall have the strength to accept whatever may happen today, even though I can not understand it. Amen.

Our Father, Who art in heaven…     Glory be to the Father….