Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon made an urgent appeal for prayers today for the upcoming Synod on the Family in Rome. Using his Facebook page to post the below message to the faithful, His Excellency asked that all “pray that God’s will be done at this Synod and that all the powers of the Enemy, Satan and his demons, be kept far from the work of the Synod.” Archbishop Sample was appointed to the Archdiocese of Portland by Pope Benedict XVI on January 29, 2013. He is not a delegate to the Synod.

AN URGENT APPEAL FOR PRAYER!

I am going to make this bold request for prayers from all who are willing and able. The Ordinary Synod of Bishops begins this Sunday, October 4 and will run through October 25. The theme of the Synod is “The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and the Contemporary World.” This is an extremely important moment in the life of the Church and for the future of the Christian family.

I am asking us all to begin now and pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for the Holy Father, the Synod bishops and other participants. I am suggesting that we all commit to praying the Holy Rosary and/or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every day from now through the end of the Synod on October 25. Pray that God’s will be done at this Synod and that all the powers of the Enemy, Satan and his demons, be kept far from the work of the Synod.

Pope Francis said earlier this year: “Let us pray to the Lord and ask Him to protect the family in the crisis with which the Devil wants to destroy it. Families are the domestic church where Jesus grows in the love of a married couple, in the lives of their children. This is why the Devil attacks the family so much. The Devil doesn’t want it and tries to destroy it. The Devil tries to make love disappear from there.”

Will you join me in prayer?