the dichotomy is painful

I know what you mean ... sometimes the very hardest prayer of all is, "Lord, have mercy on me and bless him."

I hear you. I've been trying to pray for my in-laws for months now, and I can't bring myself to do it. And Michael Schiavo is far worse than anything they've ever done...

I know how you feel. Our hearts are pretty raw this week, and I find myself raging over offhand comments on TV, and the sight of anyone named Schaivo.

But today, while praying the rosary, his face popped into my head during the Fatima prayer. His immortal soul may well be in great danger, and it seemed fitting to me that I think of him because he seemed most in need of mercy. I do believe he is under the influence of the father of lies.

One of the things that helps my kids to be good is when I remind them how mad it makes the devil when they're nice to each other. They really *love* to do something nice and then say, "Oh, I bet that mean ole devil sure is mad right now!"

Conversely, when they do nasty stuff to each other, I remind them how happy that makes the devil.

If you want to lash out about that man, lash out at the devil with prayers for him.

It's worth a shot, anyway.

I find myself in the same dichotomy. I hope that praying for someone while rolling my eyes over them is still acceptable to our Lord. ;) However, I agree with Sandy's comment above.