Prayer Requests

My extended family is in need of intense prayer for private intentions. Suffice
to say that no life is physically in danger, but bad decisions have led to unpleasant
consequences.

A friend of the family also needs prayers. He used to go to the church I grew up
going to. He was my Lutheran conformation sponsor. He has prostate cancer and will
soon be receiving radiation treatments five days a week for the next five weeks.

This entry was posted in personal and tagged on by .

About Funky Dung

Who is Funky Dung? 29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil. Why Funky Dung? I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!" Whence Ales Rarus? I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P Wherefore blog? It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907) Statement of Faith I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements. I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church. I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter. Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces. May He take full possession of me for ever. May His divine unction cause my face to shine. May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart. May His understanding enlighten my darkness. May His counsel guide me. May His knowledge instruct me. May His piety make me fervent. May His divine fear keep me from all evil. Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it. Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005) I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o' the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback. Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester" Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without further ado, here are my answers to his questions. 1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you favorite Pink Floyd song and why? Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music, but the lyrics describe me pretty well.

New World Man He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the old world man Learning to catch the heat of the third world man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it --- He's a new world man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and arranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the old world man Trying to pave the way for the third world man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it --- He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church. At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me, even as a former Lutheran. During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself. Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith. Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing, thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil. 3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever done? I set up WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :) 4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman? "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt." 5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be? That's a tough one. As a member of the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick one, though, I'd probably pick "Sing of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.

9 thoughts on “Prayer Requests

  1. LI LOK

    Thank God for that I can submit my prayer request here, and thank you for your prayer, may God bless you.
    Firstly, please pray for that my mother was cheated by Mr. Kwong, Mr Ho, Hin Chai and Anna the year before, she went to a company and worked as an Office assistant, but they cheated my mother, and compelled my mother to give her money out to them(they cheated my mother that the money was used for investment, and the investment was failured), and went away, thank God for that the policemen arrested Mr. Kwong now, but the Mr. Ho , Hin Chai and Anna were still not arrested, please pray for that God can help the policemen in the investigation, and find the evidence to accuse the Mr. Kwong and his helper in the judiciary court, thank God for that the policemen sent us several letters till now about that the investigation is in the progressing, please pray for that God can move their heart, Mr. Kwong , Mr. Ho, Hin Chai and Anna will regret about that they cheated my mother, and they can have pity on my mother , and return the money back to my mother , thank you.
    Secondly, (1) Please pray for that I can improve my working efficiency, and please pray for and thank God for that God can protect my family members and I will not to be hurt by my workmates and supervisors in order that I can have psychological health during working and I will have a stable job after my contract due, and pray for and thank God for that I will not be suffered in the marital problems in my job, please pray for that I can further my contract, please pray for that God can help me to make my every effort in keeping my job, please pray for that God can protect my job – which is as a Contract Office Support Assistant, I need this job very much, please pray for that God can have mercy upon me, please pray for that God can help me to tackle with the wrong I make in my job, include I break a pen when I feel very stressed, please pray for that God will forgive my fault and will not punish me about my fault, and I will not make this wrong or others again whole life times, and help me to keep the job after the end of my contract and further my contract for one more year, and please pray for and thank God for that I can have talent to do a job if I will not further the contract later, because I want to earn living for my family members, now I have taken in the psychological medicines, and please pray for that my family members and I will not hurt by my bosses, and will not suffer a loss at the judgement day. and please pray for that my mother and I can use our all our spare time to study bible, distribute the gospel pamphlets and pray, so that we can have spiritual growth up. (2)please pray for that my brother , sister and I can have safety during working hour, please pray for that God can protect my family members and I to have a job. 4) Please pray for that I now use a sharp wood to cut into my skin in order that I can keep on praying, (5)Please pray for that I can restore my psychological health, because I am always blame myself about the sins I committed before, I am afraid that God will punish me about the sins I committed before, please pray for that I can have biblical mind to know will God punish me one day or not, so that I can live out good witnesses and have peace to face the punishment from God one day, and please pray for that God can forgive me. (6) Please pray for and thank God for that I will not be suffered in the marital problems, so that I can seek the kingdom and the righteousness of God first, and have a spiritual growth up, and I will not regret about the decision I made in this marriage this life, that I will only choose the Christian girlfriend that was arranged by God, please pray for that if God had not prepare a Christian girlfriend for me, help me to keep alone whole life, so that I will not be hurt again in order that I can restore my psychological health and have a spiritual growth up. (7)Please pray for that the son of my brother will not hurt himself, my brother and my sister will not be suffered in the marital problems , my sister can have good psychological health, and we can maintain a good relationship, we will not be hurt by the husband of my sister and the wife of my brother, so that my mother and I can help my sister and my brother to accept the Jesus. (8)Please pray for that my computer can run well , and I can continue submit my prayer requests and study bible from the net, so that my mother and I can firmly believe in the bible ,and we can have assurance of the salvation. And please pray for that we will not suffer a loss in the Lord’s Judgement Day, thank God for that I can keep on use mind or mouth to pray in the office , please pray for that God can keep my stomach health if I pray with fasting for too long time, and please pray for that God can keep me not to hurt myself if I undergo stress because I found some blood come out of my body nowadays, please pray for that God can keep me if I need to see a doctor, please pray for that God can help me not to bleeding inside my body and I can restore my health, and please pray for that I can not only keep on use mouth to pray in the office but also in the whole life time, God can keep my health when I pray too vigorous, and I can pray at mid-night , and my mother and I can go to the church where God prepared for us and donate our money there in the will of God, so that we can have spiritual growth up , please pray for that I can maintain a good psychological and body health, and can keep on pray with heart this life, and please pray for that I will not suffer from disease ( such as heart disease) if I pray too vigorous. (9)Please pray for that my family members and I can have place to live and food to eat, we will not buy the “london gold” and we can have safety in using electricity and fire, pray for my sister that she want to born a baby, please keep her health and baby’s health, and please pray for that we can apply for compassionate rehousing in God’s will, may God have mercy upon my family members. (10) Please pray for that when I distributing the gospel pamphlets in the mainland China, the policemen come to me, and write down my Identity Card number, please pray for that God can help me to tackle with it. (11) Please pray for that I hurt my skin in order to keep on praying, please pray for that I can keep on pray with hurt my skin and will not infected by the SARS or other viruses. (12) Please pray for that my ears can not hear clearly now. (12)Please pray for that my brother will not go on drinking the wine and gambling, and please pray for that when his wife want to divorce with him, he will not have some irrational thoughts, such as commit suicide or hurt himself or do some hurtful things . so that he will not be arrested by the policemen. (13)Please pray for my stomach check in the hospital; (14)Please pray for that God can purify me and help me to have spritual growth up, and please pray for that my family members and I will not be hurt by my colleagues, classmates, church members and friends include Christian colleagues, so that they can be helpful for me to live out a good witness before my family members, my grandmother, my father, my sister, my brother and my relatives can all accept the Jesus Christ, and my mother and I can have a spiritual growth up and can strenghthen our faith.
    And I am sorry for any inconvinience and wrong I made to submit my prayer request above, pray in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, A-men.

  2. Daniel Patrick

    I am in need of help for rent so my wife and I can move into our own first place.Section 8 housing will pay for everything except $450 and we are short on the funds. I am hoping we are able to get some help through you. The place for rent is located at 639 Washington St in Cambridge maryland and the Landlord’s phone number is (410)713-0812 if you would like to contact them. They are willing to work with us and anyone who can help us out would be appreciated.
    Thank you,
    Daniel Patrick

  3. Heather

    Please pray that I (Heather) Do Not Lose Residential Custody of my Children (Madison and Hailey) please pray I will win at each one of the court hearings I have coming up in the future and that god will bless me abundantly and please pray for me to be able to affored financially to pay for all the attorney fees and to be blessed with a good job to do so and to have gods strength, mercy & favor upon me everyday i go to court,please pray I don’t loose faith. And please pray for my father he has been fighting cancer for 1 1/2 and is down to 109 pnds please pray for healing and for my mother to be healed physically and strengthened as well.

    Warmly
    Heather in N.

  4. Abhishek dey

    I am Abhishek Dey from Agartala,Tripura(India).I am leaving my native town(Agartala) & will move to another city(Kolkata) of my country for 2 years for studying Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Engineering.The condition of my mother’s health have improved a little bit from before.The credits goes to my all those brothers & sisters who have prayed for her well-being through the various prayer request websites where I have posted requests of prayers for her health.It might be possible that you are also a part of them.But,this is not over.She needs more & more of your prayer & god’s grace for her complete recovery.She is still lying in the danger zone & her condition is still very critical & serious.She is a patient of chronic kidney failure,heart,hi/low blood pressure,anaemia,diabetes & thyroidism.She also underwent a heart by-pass surgery in the year 2000.Present condition of her heart & kidneys are very critical.Presently she is undergoing peritoneal dialysis for problems relating with her kidneys.Another major problem that is arising every month or so is that,a fluid gets accumulated in her chest which needs to be tapped manually after admitting her in a hospital.The reason or main cause of accumulation of the fluid in her chest still remains undisclosed.Even the local doctors are confused.It may be due to the leakage of the dialysis fluid into her lungs or may be due to her heart ailments.She also underwent a mild brain stroke this february.According to medical science & doctors,a patient who once experience a mild brain stroke are much prone to experience a major stroke later in future.Presently she is completely bed ridden.She even cannot sit,walk,stand or make other body movements by her own.Here,too,the main reason behind it remains undiagnosed & undisclosed.We are also planning to take her to another major city of the country for better treatment after few months.So,I would like to request you all to pray more & more to god for her complete recovery,well-being & longevity.I understand that in this situation,only prayers & miracles can do the work.Request god to touch her each & every ailing body parts with his healing hands & heal them – including her heart,kidneys,chest,lungs,brain,hands,legs,spinal cord,the entire nervous system,e.t.c.Pray to him so that she does not undergo a second attack of stroke.Pray to him so that the accumulation of fluid in her chest stops permanently & a need for further hospitalisation does not arise.Request him to make her active as before.Pray to him so that she can again start walking & make other body movements of her own.Request him to gift her a long life,free from any disease or ailments.Pray to god for her complete recovery & well-being.The condition of health of my father is also not good.He is a patient of hi blood pressure & high diabetes.He is also having a matured stone in his gall bladder which needs to be operated.So,I request you all to pray for my father also.Pray to god for my father’s complete recovery,well-being & longevity.Pray to god so that such a situation does not arise in which I have to suspend my studies either temporarily or permanently over there for the detoriation of health of my father or mother & have to come back to my native town in an emergency.Pray to god so that I can stay there well without any fear,tension,worry or anxiety regarding my parents’s health.Request god to take care of my parents in my abscence & always keep his hands both on my head & my parents’s for our well-being & for leading us towards excellence & prosperity.I shall remain ever greatful to you for this kind act of your’s.Thanking you,once again…

  5. Eero

    We have Christmas celebration for inner-city people. It is 12.21.2009. We ask that you pray that God saves, heals and renews a lot of people and that all go well.

  6. Kaca

    Please, support me in prayers:
    For URGENT DIVINE INTERVENTION FOR COMPLETE RECONCILIATION with my loved one SHULE
    That SHULE DOES NOT GET INVOLVED INTO ANY NEW RELATIONSHIP, but that HE MAKES STEPS TOWARD ME (CALL, APPROACH), THAT GOD FORM LINES OF GOOD COMMUNICATION BETWEEN US, KEEP US IN HIS CARE and HELP US TO WORK OUT ALL PROBLEM
    THAT WE START AGAIN, OFFICIALLY GET MARRIED AND HAVE MANY CHILDREN!
    God gives promises, and I know He is FAITHFUL!
    Thank you very much. God bless you. I pray for you. Praise the Lord for He hear prayers and answer on it.
    Kaca

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