As some of you may know, Linda Tuttle, the mother of a good friend of ours, is fighting cancer. A few days ago, she received the results of her CT scan. The tumors in her lungs have grown minimally, but the tumor in her abdomen has grown considerably. Whatever shrinkage was obtained from past chemotherapy is gone. She will therefore be returning to a more rigorous chemotherapy. It is a rough regiment, so prayers are greatly needed. Also, the doctor told her that this is the last drug available to her, though research might reveal other alternatives. Although the news is not very good, she continues to keep her spirits high and thinks only of those she might leave behind.

Hearing of all the good God is accomplishing through the intercession of John Paul the Great, and hoping for the same, her family will be saying a novena for his intercession with the following prayer from the Rome Diocese, starting tonight, January 11 and continuing up to and including January 19:

O Blessed Trinity, We thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John
Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the
cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him.

Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession
of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has
shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and
is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces
we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints.

Amen.

Her family thanks you in advance for any prayers you may offer up. I've been told that she greatly appreciates them all, and that they give her the strength to continue her fight. Needless to say, we are all hoping for a miracle.

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