Our Blessed Lord told Saint Faustina: “Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give them the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You” (Diary of St. Faustina, 186-187).
Jesus also told St. Faustina: “The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered” (Diary, 1397). The Divine Mercy Chaplet is another powerful prayer for the conversion of sinners.
It is hard to have a family member or other loved one in need of conversion, and sadly this is widespread among Catholic families today. The saints have had to deal with this, too. One of the most famous instances of conversion is that of St. Augustine of Hippo, through the prayers of his holy mother, St. Monica. Year in and year out, she persevered in prayer for the conversion of her loved one and lived to see the answer to her prayers.
At Fatima, Our Lady asked for prayer and sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. On July 13, 1917, she said, “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.” The previous year, the Angel of Portugal had taught the three children a prayer which “beg[s] the conversion of poor sinners.”
“Love is the link binding us to Christ; it is love that gives value to our prayer and makes it fruitful for the salvation of our brothers and sisters” (Sr. Lucia of Fatima).
“Never despair of God’s mercy” (St. Benedict).
While we’re on the subject of conversion, let’s think about our own conversion. None of us is exempt from needing some type of conversion. Conversion is a daily process of turning away from sin and drawing closer and closer to Christ.
“Today we can no longer be Christians as a simple consequence of the fact that we live in a society that has Christian roots: even those born to a Christian family and formed in the faith must, each and every day, renew the choice to be a Christian, to give God first place, before the temptations continuously suggested by a secularized culture, before the criticism of many of our contemporaries” (Pope Benedict XVI).
Ask Good St. Joseph’s powerful intercession for the conversion of your family and friends with the beautiful prayer below!
Prayer to St. Joseph for Conversion of a Loved One
Attributed to Rev. Paul J. Gorman
O glorious patriarch St. Joseph, who merited to be called “just” by the Holy Spirit, I urgently recommend to you the soul of [Name], which Jesus redeemed at the price of His Precious Blood.
Thou knowest how deplorable is the state and how unhappy the life of those who have banished this loving Savior from their hearts, and how greatly they are exposed to the danger of losing Him eternally.
Permit not, I beseech thee, that a soul so dear to me should continue any longer in its evil ways; preserve it from the danger that threatens it; touch the heart of the prodigal child and conduct him back to the bosom of the fondest of fathers.
Abandon him not, I implore thee, till thou hast opened to him the gates of the heavenly city, where he will praise and bless thee throughout eternity for the happiness which he will owe to thy powerful intercession. Amen.
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