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Novena for Priests to St. John Vianney Day 6

by VP


Posted on Wednesday July 31, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


St. John Vianney, Model of Purity O holy Priest of Ars, your life was a model of purity. Your life of chastity was a source of edification to all. You said that when a soul is pure all the court of heaven looks upon it with great joy. Today we are experiencing a great disregard for the virtue of purity; it is looked upon with ridicule by worldly standards.

O great St. John Vianney, more than ever before, we need your prayers and help in avoiding sins of impurity. I ask you to help Father ___ to keep pure in mind and in body and give good example in his speech, conduct and in his faith. Obtain for him the strength necessary to combat temptations against the virtue of purity, which could lead him away from God. Unite your prayers with those of Mary Immaculate to implore God that Father ___ be pure in mind and heart and preserve him from those sins which are so displeasing to God.

Novena Prayer:
O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround Father ___ and intercede for him in all his needs and troubles especially console him in his most difficult moments, grant him serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect him from evil. O St. John Vianney, I have confidence in your intercession.
Pray for Father ___ in a special way during this novena.


Novena for Priests to St. John Vianney Day 5

by VP


Posted on Tuesday July 30, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


St. John Vianney, Lover of Sinners O holy Priest of Ars, you spent many long hours daily in the confessional. People came to you for forgiveness of their sins from far-off places. Although you despised sin, you always received the sinner with much love and forgiveness.

O holy confessor of the Lord, St. John Vianney, awaken in Father ___ a sense of his sinfulness before the eyes of God. By your Priestly example, grant him a love of the reception of the Sacrament of Penance. Obtain for him the understanding that it is in confessing his sins that Godʼs mercy is poured out upon him and he draws closer to Christ. Obtain for him a deep hatred of sin and the grace to resist temptation. Teach him the value of frequent confession, where he meets Jesus, our Savior, the source of all mercy and consolation. Contrite and forgiven may all those with whom he comes in contact act with that same mercy. Pray that Father ___ always love the Sacrament of Penance. Pray that he may call sinners to repentance with his good example and lives in complete service to our Lord.

Novena Prayer:
O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround Father ___ and intercede for him in all his needs and troubles especially console him in his most difficult moments, grant him serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect him from evil. O St. John Vianney, I have confidence in your intercession.
Pray for Father ___ in a special way during this novena.


Novena for Priests to St. John Vianney Day 4

by VP


Posted on Monday July 29, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


St. John Vianney, Greatly Devoted to Our Blessed Mother O holy Priest of Ars, your life was consecrated to the Blessed Mother. You prayed earnestly to her, entrusting your Priesthood to her care. You begged all the faithful to pray the rosary, the favorite prayer of Mary, our Mother. You summed up the reason for your great love of our Lady by saying: We have only to turn to the Blessed Mother to be heard. Her heart is all love.

O great John Vianney, I ask you with all my heart through the merits of Jesus and the intercession of Mary, the Virgin Mother to make Father ___ʼs life patterned after that of our heavenly Mother, full of love for God and his neighbor. Obtain for him a deeper love for our Lady and a filial confidence in her. She is the person to whom he can turn in times of distress when lonely or upset or in times of temptation. Inspire Father ___ to consecrate his life to his Mother in heaven. May he know the powerful protection of Maryʼs Mantle all the days of his life.

Novena Prayer:
O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround Father ___ and intercede for him in all his needs and troubles especially console him in his most difficult moments, grant him serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect him from evil. O St. John Vianney, I have confidence in your intercession.
Pray for Father ___ in a special way during this novena.


Novena for Priests to St. John Vianney Day 3

by VP


Posted on Sunday July 28, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


St. John Vianney, Adorer of the Blessed Sacrament holy Priest of Ars, you had such an overwhelming love for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament that you prayed for hours in His presence. You said that when our Lord sees them coming eagerly to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament, He smiles upon them. They come with that simplicity which pleases Him so much. O Saint of the Eucharist, may your example enkindle in Father ___ a deeper love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. By your prayers, never let him doubt Christʼs Real Presence, but obtain for him a firm faith rooted in the Eucharist. Help him not to be afraid to defend or preach Christʼs Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Obtain for him the grace to approach our Lord with simplicity of heart as he lays his soulʼs innermost thoughts before Jesusʼ Sacred Heart. Keep Father ___ under your continual protection, that he may be supported by your example and assistance and be faithfully devoted to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. May his life reflect the belief of our Lordʼs abiding presence with us. O St. John Vianney, by the power of your intercession, give us Priests devoted to the holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Novena Prayer:
O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround Father ___ and intercede for him in all his needs and troubles especially console him in his most difficult moments, grant him serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect him from evil. O St. John Vianney, I have confidence in your intercession.
Pray for Father ___ in a special way during this novena.


St. Pantaleon, Martyr, A.D. 303.

by VP


Posted on Saturday July 27, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


Saint Pantaleon

"He was physician to the Emperor Galerius Maximianus ; who being converted to the Christian faith, extended his profession to the care of souls as well as of bodies. He fell, however, by a temptation, which is sometimes more dangerous than the fiercest torment; for bad example, if not shunned, insensibly weakens, and at length destroys the strongest virtue. Pantaleon in the midst of an impious and idolatrous court, and deceived by often hearing the false maxims of the world applauded, was unhappily seduced into an apostacy from the faith. But a zealous Christian called Hermolaus, by his prudent admonitions, awakened his conscience to a sense of his guilt, and brought him again into the fold of the Church. The penitent ardently wished to expiate his crime by martyrdom; and to prepare himself for the conflict, when the cruel persecution of Dioclesian broke out at Nicomedia in 303, he distributed all his possessions among the poor. Not long after this action, he was taken up, and after suffering many torments with wonderful constancy, he was at length beheaded under Dioclesian, in the year 303.

Pray for all in persecution and trouble; and beseech God to give you patience in all your trials. What are your trials if compared to those of the martyrs? Why then are you so easily disturbed? Lament your weakness, and beg for strength. Humble yourself, and pray for divine grace. Learn too, that all states are capable of doing good to their neighbour, in helping him into the way of salvation. Be zealous and charitable in this, as far as your circumstances will permit. How often have you given scandal to others by words; and by your bad example discouraged them from seeking the truth? What other reparation can you make, than by edifying them by your zeal, and by seasonable discourses exciting them to the love of virtue and truth?" The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother


"Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick."

Prayer to St. Pantaleon for the sick and afflicted (priests): O fortunate penitent! sighing to prove your perfect contrition and love by the heroic shedding of your heart's blood for Him whom your sins had crucified! O happy martyr! I offer my heartfelt thanks to God for the great favors bestowed upon you, and upon all who lovingly drink the chalice of the Lord, and bear His Cross. I now humble come before you to invoke your special prayers on my behalf, and on behalf of those for whom I have been inspired to pray. Oh! prove to us now that the prayers of us, poor exiles, are not despised in the blessed mansions above. As all good Samaritans invoke your aid and blessing, look compassionately on me, and on those sufferers for whom I invoke  your aid. O obtain the grant of our humble petitions, and ask them for us in the sacred Name of Jesus. N.N.

We likewise invoke your patronage for the spiritual physicians of all erring and afflicted souls, and for all those whom Providence has called to the vocation of the "Good Samaritan". As for the poor "patients", who now undergo the ordeal of spiritual, corporal, or mental infirmities, I earnestly ask relief or perfect cure, and whatever will be most conducive towards securing their eternal salvation, and a higher degree of glory for them in Heaven. If it be God's blessed Will that their trials continues, obtain for them a great spirit of prayer, interior penance, patience, longanimity, and holy joy in embracing every pain, privation, or humiliation that may befall them, for the pure love of Jesus Crucified; and though not actually martyrs for their holy faith and religion, pray, O illustrious penitent, that they may be the happy martyrs of Divine Love by their perfect meekness and conformity to the Will of their heavenly Father, who chastises them in mercy by the penalties for sin, of sickness, desolation, and death. Amen

Source: The Fervent Adorer, Or, Practice of Perpetual Adoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 1867


Novena for Priests to St. John Vianney Day 2

by VP


Posted on Saturday July 27, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


St. John Vianney, Full of Zeal for Souls O holy Priest of Ars, you taught men to pray daily: O my God, come to me, so that You may dwell in me and I may dwell in You. Your life was the very living out of this prayer. The divine life of grace abided in you. Your zeal for the salvation of souls was manifested by your total self-surrender to God, which was expressed in your selfless service to others. You gave of yourself unreservedly in the confessional, at the altar, in the classroom, in fact, in every action you performed.


O great St. John Vianney, obtain for Father ___ the realization that God also dwells in him when he is free of sin. Remind him that the salvation of his soul is the fulfillment of his existence. Awaken in him a sense of self-giving for the salvation of souls. Obtain for Father ___ , by your intercession, a zeal for souls like your zeal. May he see that God dwells in him and in his fellow men. Obtain for him from our Lord the grace to lead all men to salvation. Let your prayer be his: If you really love God, you will greatly desire to see Him loved by all the world.

Novena Prayer:
O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround Father ___ and intercede for him in all his needs and troubles especially console him in his most difficult moments, grant him serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect him from evil. O St. John Vianney, I have confidence in your intercession.
Pray for Father ___ in a special way during this novena.


Novena for Priests to the Cure d'Ars Day 1

by VP


Posted on Friday July 26, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


St. John Vianney, Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh NC

 
St. John Vianney, Who Accepted the Cross, O holy priest of Ars, as a young seminarian you encountered many obstacles on the road to the Priesthood, but you realized that to suffer was to suffer with Christ on Calvary, and so, if following our Lord meant taking up His cross, you lovingly embraced it. Your motto in life became loving while suffering and suffering in order to love. You did not get discouraged, but your strong faith united you closer to Jesus every day of your life.

Oh great St. John Vianney, you know what is needed for Father ___ʼs salvation: a strong faith able to accept the will of God in all things. To serve Christ, he too must take up his cross and follow Him. By your prayers, obtain for him a heart full of courage and strength. Obtain for Father ___ that same courage and strength to follow Jesus wholeheartedly even if it means following Him to Calvary. Intercede for him before the Lord that he may do the will of God, obey the commandments, and loyally love the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Novena Prayer:


O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the dangers, fears and anxieties that surround Father ___ and intercede for him in all his needs and troubles especially console him in his most difficult moments, grant him serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect him from evil. O St. John Vianney, I have confidence in your intercession.
Pray for Father ___ in a special way during this novena.

Source: Cure d'Ars Prayer Group


Saint Maria Goretti

by VP


Posted on Saturday July 06, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


File:Photograph of Saint Maria Goretti, 1902.jpg


Retranscription of Pope Pius XII Homily at Canonization Of Saint Maria Goretti

"Venerable brethren and beloved children. Through a loving design of Divine Providence the supreme exaltation of a humble daughter of the people has been celebrated in this shining eventide with a Solemnity unequaled and in a form up to now unique in the annals of the Church.
 It has been celebrated In the vastness and majesty of this place of mystery, become a sacred temple towards which is turned the firmament which chants the glories of the Most High—a temple desired by you rather than provided by Us and filled with an unnumbered amount of faithful such as other canonizations have never seen. Above all, it is a temple almost, as it were, required by the dazzling brilliance and intoxicating fragrance of this lily cloaked in purple whom We this moment with intimate joy have inscribed in the album of Saints: the tiny and sweet martyr of purity, Maria Goretti.

Why have you come in such huge numbers, beloved children, to her glorification? Why have you been softened even to tears at hearing or reading the account of her short life so like a Gospel story for its simplicity of line, the color of its environment, the very flashing violence of its death? Why has Maria Goretti so quickly captured your hearts even to becoming their darling and their favorite?

 There is then in this world, apparently turned upside down and immersed in hedonism, not just a thin rank of settled elect of Heaven and the pure air, but a throng, immense multitudes on whom the supernatural perfume of Christian purity exerts an irresistible and promising fascination: promising yes, and reassuring. If it is true that in the martyrdom of Maria Goretti purity shone forth above all; nevertheless in and with it other Christian virtues also triumphed. In her purity there was the most elementary and significant affirmation of perfect mastery by the spiritual over the material. In her supreme heroism, which is not improvised, there was a tender, docile love, obedient and active, towards parents. There was sacrifice in harsh daily labor, poverty accepted in a Gospel manner and sustained by Faith in a celestial providence. There was religion intently embraced and its understanding always more desired, made ever more the treasure of life and nourished by the flame of prayer. There was a burning desire for the Eucharistic Jesus, and finally, there was the crown of charity, the heroic pardon granted to her murderer. All this made up the garland of country flowers, rustic but so dear to God, which adorned the white veil of her First Communion and shortly afterwards, that of her martyrdom.
Thus this sacred ceremony develops spontaneously into a popular assembly for purity. In the light of every martyrdom there is always a bitter contrast, the stain of some iniquity. Behind that of Maria Goretti is a scandal which at the beginning of this century seemed unheard-of. At a distance of almost 50 years, amidst the often insufficient reaction of those who are good, the conspiracy of immorality—availing itself of books, illustrations, the theater, radio programs, fashions, resorts and associations — attempts to undermine in the bosom of society and the family those who are the natural custodians of virtue, to the harm principally of those in their tenderest childhood.

Oh young people, beloved boys and girls, apples of the eyes of Jesus and of Our own — speak out! Are you resolved firmly to resist any attempt whatever that others may dare to make against your purity?

And you, fathers and mothers, in the sight of this multitude, before the image of this adolescent virgin who with her spotless purity has stolen your hearts, in the presence of her mother who having educated her to martyrdom and while living in its harrowing wake does not mourn her death and who now kneels overcome to pray to her —speak! Are you ready to assume the solemn pledge of watching over your sons and daughters, so far as in you lies, in order to preserve and defend them against such great dangers as surround them and to keep them ever away from places that prepare the way for impiety and moral perversion?
And now, oh all you who hear Us, lift up your hearts. Above the foul marshes and mud of the world there stretches a heaven of beauty. It is the heaven which drew little Maria, the heaven to which she wished to rise by the only way that leads to it: Religion, love of Christ, heroic observance of His commandments.

 Hail, oh sweet and lovable Saint! Martyr on earth and angel in heaven, from your glory turn your gaze on this throng that loves you, venerates you, glorifies and exalts you. On your brow you wear clear and shining the victorious name of Christ. On your virgin countenance is the strength of love, the constancy of fidelity to your Divine Spouse. You are the spouse of blood through tracing upon yourself His image.

To you, powerful with the Lamb of God, we entrust these Our sons and daughters here present and all others spiritually united with Us. They admire your heroism but even more they wish to be your imitators in fervor of faith and incorruptible stainlessness of morals. To you fathers and mothers run that you may help them with their training mission. In you through Our hands all childhood and youth find refuge that they may be protected from every contamination and enter upon the path of life in the serenity and joy of the pure of heart. Amen."


"Heroic and angelic Saint Maria Goretti, we kneel before you to honor your persevering fortitude and to beg your gracious aid. Teach us a deep love for the precepts of our Holy Church; help us to see in them the very voice of our Father in Heaven.

May we preserve without stain our white baptismal robe of innocence. May we who have lost this innocence kneel humbly in Holy Penance, and with the absolution of the priest, may the torrent of Christ's precious Blood flow into our souls and give us a new courage to carry the burning light of God's love through the dangerous highways of this life until Christ our king shall call us to the courts of Heaven. Amen."


For the Church and Civil Authorities

by VP


Posted on Thursday July 04, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers


“America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance — it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded.”

"The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The Tragedy of our time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate conviction.”

“A religion that doesn’t interfere with the secular order will soon discover that the secular order will not refrain from interfering with it.” Rev. Fulton J. Sheen

We pray Thee, O almighty and Eternal God, Who through Jesus Christ Hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy; that thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue, with unchanging faith, in the confession of Thy name.

We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life our Pope Francis, the vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ in the government of His Church; our own bishop Bishop Zarama; all the other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise among us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation.

We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice, through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgments decreed, assist, with the Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the President of the United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people, over whom he presides, by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by faithful execution of the law in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality.

Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government; so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge, and may perpetuate to us the blessings of equal liberty.

We pray for his Excellency the Governor of this State, for the members of the Assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare; that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise to Thy unbounded mercy all our brethren and fellow citizens, throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge, and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and, after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

Finally, we pray Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith, and repose in the sleep of peace: the souls of our parents, relations, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation; and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship, and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance.

To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus, Our Lord and Savior.
Amen.

( Adapted from Archbishop Carroll's prayer)


July: Offerings to the Divine Incarnate Word of His own Most Precious Blood

by VP


Posted on Monday July 01, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers



Devotion: Precious Blood

Virtue: Simplicity

Offerings to the Divine Incarnate Word of His own Most Precious Blood (Extracted from those made by S. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi when in a state of rapture. Confraternity of the Precious Blood)

O most Holy Word! I offer Thee Thy priests, and in their behalf I offer thee whatever is most dear to Thee in heaven and on earth, in union with all Thy Most Precious Blood: and I pray Thee to enable them fitly to conceive of the high degree to which they are exalted, and to hold in extreme abhorrence whatever can dishonor their dignity or contaminate their lives.

O most Loving Word! I offer Thee the Virgins consecrated to Thee, and in their behalf I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst sweat in Thine Agony, in the garden. I place these doves in their own nest, and these lilies in their garden, Thy most amiable Heart; and I pray Thee to make them know the height of the vocation to which Thou hast called them, and faithfully correspond to Thy love.

O Eternal Word! I offer Thee all the faithful sons of Holy Church, Thy Spouse, members of that body of which Thou art the Head; and I offer Thee in their behalf the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed in Thy scourging: I pray Thee to cause them to remember the solemn renouncement of the world, the flesh, and the devil, which they made in baptism; and that they may lead such lives as will not bring discredit on the faith which they profess.

O Divine Word! I offer Thee all poor sinners, and in their behalf I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood and Water which issued from Thy sacred Side when pierced by the lance. I pray Thee to wash the stains from their souls in this Blood and Water, and to grant that, with a timely repentance, they may, by returning love for love, make up for the sins they have committed against Thee.

O Eternal Word! I offer to Thee all heretics, and in their behalf I offer Thee that Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy Body, all wounded as it was, when Thou wast stripped to be crucified. I entreat Thee to have compassion on these poor sheep, which, separated from Thy fold, are on the way to lose themselves in the paths of error and obstinacy; and place them in the bosom of Thy Church, where alone truth and safety are found.

O Divine Word! I offer Thee all infidels, and in their behalf I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy sacred Head when crowned with thorns. I beseech Thee to remember that these souls also are the work of Thy Hands. Enlighten them, that they may know their true and only God, and their Savior; that they too may be made partakers of the grace of the Sacraments, and of our common redemption.

Eternal Father! I offer Thee the intense pains which Thy only-begotten Son did suffer, during the three hours that he was nailed to the Cross for love of us; particularly when, in the intensity of His grief and abandonment, He exclaimed, " My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" I offer them to Thee in behalf of all those in their agony, together with the Blood that flowed from His five wounds; that they, by the power of this Blood, may be fortified and defended against all temptations, and may reach the port of eternal bliss.

O most merciful Word! I offer to Thee all the holy souls in Purgatory, and in then- behalf I offer Thee Thy most Precious Blood. I beseech Thee to grant that this sacred fount of comfort may incessantly flow to mitigate their pains, and to hasten their release, that so they may quickly come to be united with Thee in that glory to which they are destined. Amen.

O Eternal Father! I offer Thee the love which Jesus Christ, Thy Son, testified towards the human race during the whole course of His Passion, and especially in the pain which He endured in the hiding of the Beatific Vision from the lower part of His nature. I pray Thee that Thy complacency in this love may so delight Thee, that Thou mayest mercifully vouchsafe to overlook the many offenses committed against Thee in the world at this time.

Seven Glorias in honor of the Most Precious Blood.