Our Lady of Consolata
Intercede for me
That the Holy Spirit may inspire me:
Where to go
Whom to meet
And what to say...
Lady of Good Counsel
Star of the Evangelization
Direct my path
So that I will announce Christ
And the consolation of His Gospel to all
Amen.
The core of this prayer was not penned by me. It was adapted from an English prayer given to me by a Polish-Canadian lady from Toronto whom I did not have the pleasure of meeting when I worked in that city. I came to know her during a guided tour of the Missionary Exhibition that took place in Fatima from May to October 2012.
At the end of the tour, at the exhibition, I had the opportunity to speak with this lady about what brought her to Fatima, and how through her prayer her two sons came back to the faith and Christian way of life. At the end of our conversation, she gave me a prayer card with Our Lady of Fatima on one side and a prayer on the other.
Once at home, I read the prayer whose central message said: Dear Mother, take me by your hand and tell me where to go, whom to see and what to say... All of a sudden I realized that the lady could have been my Archangel Gabriel. My encounter with her had been for me the equivalent to the Annunciation of Mary. It was a confirmation from above that I was on the right path and that the Itinerant Mission is what God wants for me here and now.
Where to Go - While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'...So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. (...) And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. (Acts 13:2,4; 20:22)
Whom to Meet - Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go over to this chariot and join it.' So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' (Acts 8:29-30)
What to Say - When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. (Mk. 13:11)
The Mission comes from God and is the property of God, first of the Father, then of the Son and now of the Holy Spirit. The Church, docile to the voice of the Holy Spirit, is merely a facilitator.
Fr. Jorge Amaro, IMC