I no longer make a petition. Rather, I pray this prayer as a most apt Advent devotion to help open my heart to the graces of this Holy Season.
That is not to say that I deny the efficacy of this prayer. On the contrary, there have been two occasions when I did get what I desired. *Actually, I got way more than I had asked. Once, I asked to be able to make a trip to Mexico. What I got was a pilgrimage led by an Institute priest. This pilgrimage was an historic one in that we assisted at the first TLM in over 40 years, at the main altar of the ancient Cathedral of Mexico City. As if that were not enough, Fr. Moreau also celebrated Mass for our group at the little chapel that sits at the very top of the mountain where Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego!
Here is the St. Andrew prayer:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.
In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
(It is piously believed that one’s petition will be granted when praying the above 15 times daily until the 25th.
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Note: Be patient. A gift asked of God may be delayed even some years. There have been years when not receiving immediately what I had asked for, I would forget what I had requested.
* I should add that when I told my daughter that I wanted to go to Mexico, she told me she would pray for my intention. So maybe it wasn’t just my praying the St. Andrew prayer. Perhaps she obtained this grace for me. Pray the St. Andrew prayer anyway! 🙂
