Prayers Of The Church
Prayer for the Preservation of the Faith
O my Redeemer, will that dreadful time ever come, when but few Christians shall be left who are inspired by the spirit of faith, that time when Thine anger shall be provoked and Thy protection shall be take away from us? Have our vices and our evil lives irrevocably moved Thy justice to take vengeance, perhaps this very day, upon Thy children? O Thou, the beginning and end of our faith, we conjure Thee, in the bitterness of our contrite and humbled hearts, not to suffer the fair light of faith to be extinguished in us. Remember Thy mercies of old, turn Thine eyes in mercy upon the vineyard planted by Thine own right hand, and watered by the sweat of the Apostles, by the precious blood of countless Martyrs and by the tears of so many sincere penitents, and made fruitful by the prayers of so many Confessors and innocent Virgins. O divine Mediator, look upon those zealous souls who raise their hearts to Thee and pray ceaselessly for the maintenance of that most precious gift of Thine, the true faith. We beseech Thee, O God of justice, to hold back the decree of our rejection, and to turn away Thine eyes from our vices and regard instead the adorable Blood shed upon the Cross, which purchased our salvation and daily intercedes for us upon our altars. Ah, keep us safe in the true Catholic and Roman faith. Let sickness afflict us, vexations waste us, misfortunes overwhelm us! But preserve in us Thy holy faith; for if we are rich with this precious gift, we shall gladly endure every sorrow, and nothing shall ever be able to change our happiness. On the other hand, without this great treasure of faith, our unhappiness would be unspeakable and without limit! O good Jesus, author of our faith, preserve it untainted within us; keep us safe in the bark of Peter, faithful and obedient to his successor and Thy Vicar here on earth, that so the unity of Holy Church may be maintained, holiness fostered, the Holy See protected in freedom, and the Church universal extended to the benefit of souls. O Jesus, author of our faith, humble and convert the enemies of Thy Church; grant true peace and concord to all Christian kings and princes and to all believers; strengthen and preserve us in Thy holy service, so that we may live in Thee and die in Thee. O Jesus, author of our faith, let me live for Thee and die for Thee. Amen.
A Random Prayer...
A Prayer to the North American Martyrs (Feast, September 26)
Dear Saints Isaac Jogues, John Brebeuf, Noel Chabanel, Gabriel Lalemant, Anthony Daniel, Charles Garnier, Rene Goupil and John Lalande, we beg of you, pray for the people of this vast country ours. You are the first canonized saints of the United States and Canada. We are glad to have you. We are happy to honor you. You know our country and its needs, and we know you are in heaven praying for us. There is one very special favor we wish to ask of you. Dear Saints of North America, pray God to send us another saint, or better still, a number of them. Ask Him to have soon--a man or a woman, a boy or a girl from this country of ours raised to the honors of the altar. Let it be a farmer or a laborer, a housewife or a schoolboy, born and bred in these United States. Let it be some one who lived his whole life here--a Saint Joseph of Carville County, or a Saint Mary of Middletown, or a Saint William of New York. We do not wish to displace you in our affections, but to add to your glorious number. You understand our desires in this, and we feel sure that we will obtain this great blessing for the salvation of the people of this land. Remember us now, and obtain this great blessing for us from God. Help us always to cooperate with the graces that God so richly and generously gives us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
more prayers...