My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here,

that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins,

and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My immaculate Mother,

St. Joseph, my Father and Lord,

my guardian angel, intercede for me.

One of our specialties is asking for things.

In the introductory prayer that we just recited,

we asked for things. I ask your pardon for my sins,

the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. Some of the most remarkable moments in the New Testament

are those moments when one person or another came up to Jesus and begged him for a favor.

Take that unforgettable moment when an official came forward,

knelt down before Jesus, and said,

My daughter has just died, but come lay your hand on her, and she will live. We can't imagine the passion, the desperation with which this father of the young girl spoke these words.

In fact, it would be pretty hard to reenact that scene.

But you can imagine, my daughter has just died, but you can make her live.

This scene comes to mind in a very special way because we are celebrating the 120th anniversary

of a very striking moment during the life of St. Jose Maria.

This event took place in the year 1904,

when the young Jose Maria was all of two years old.

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