Dear Catholic Exchange,
Hello there. I am in need and I feel that you are the right person to come to. I need to know something. I am in love in love with a guy whom I have been in love with for years. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for him. In my heart and in all of my soul I do believe that we belong together. I just believe that we are soul mates and I really need to know something: is there a prayer I can say to bring the one I love closer to me. I am not trying to mess with free will or anything. I just want him to know that I love him with all of my heart and all of my soul. I talk to my angels and I ask the angels to send my love to him I ask God to send my love to him. I pray to Jesus every night to send my love to the one I truly love. Can you please help me find a prayer for more faith? I thank you for reading this email.
God Bless You,
Faithful
Dear Faithful,
Thank you for sharing this question with us.
I don't want to read too much into your question, but I want to gently remind you that the Lord must be the first love of our life. Our happiness must rest in Him, and not in any person or thing, including even our loved ones. I'm not saying that you are going to the extreme of idolatry, that is, putting the man you love in the place of God, but that can be a real temptation, especially when you have such a strong emotional attachment to him.
One prayer that has always been dear to me is the prayer of self-dedication to Jesus Christ by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Here's one popular translation:
Lord Jesus Christ,
Take all my freedom,
My memory, my understanding, and my will.
All that I have and cherish
You have given me.
I surrender it all to be guided by your will.
Your grace and your love
Are wealth enough for me.
Give me these, Lord Jesus,
And I ask for nothing more. Amen.
But even more fundamentally, take your concerns, desires, dreams, etc. to the Lord in private prayer during a quiet part of the day. Ask Him to help you grow in faith. Even the Apostles asked Our Lord to increase their faith (Luke 17:5). Also ask Him whether this man is the one He intends for you. Ask Him to prepare your heart so that whatever His answer is, you may have the eyes to see His loving providence at work.
While prayers and novenas do not work by magic, offering a novena to St. Joseph for your future husband, whoever it might be, would be a very pious and good thing. Here is a link to one such a novena. Also, St. Raphael is the patron saint of lovers. He appears in the Old Testament book of Tobit. Maybe you'd like to read that book of the Bible some evening and ask St. Raphael for his angelic intercession on your behalf.
I will especially remember you in my own prayers.
United in the Faith,
Leon Suprenant
Catholics United for the Faith
827 North Fourth Street
Steubenville, OH 43952
800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)
