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Sainte Jeanne d'Arc, Brittany

Prayer to St. Joan of Arc
Lord, You wondrously raised up St. Joan, the Virgin, to defend the Faith and her country. Through her intercession grant that the Church may overcome the snares of her enemies and enjoy unbroken peace. Amen.

"What a spectacle," says Father Ayroles "to see this unlettered girl of nineteen years, weakened by the torments of her prison, defending herself unaided against an army of men, who were reputed to be depositories of human and divine knowledge, banded together to drag from her some incriminating word!"

What a shocking scandal for the gentle, pious peasant maiden from fair Domremy! It was an evil time; a time of schismatics and anti-popes, when king and nobles intrude into highest ecclesiastical positions their illegitimate sons or unworthy favorites. Relaxation of discipline was notorious, and all the excesses of the next century, the sixteenth, naturally followed."

Some of the Sanhedrin:

With Bishop Cauchon we are already acquainted. He had no more right to judge Joan than had the Khan of Tartary. He appointed himself; and whatever authority was lacking was conferred, in intent at least, by the university of Paris and the king of England. Neither had he any ecclesiastical jurisdiction. That Joan was taken prisoner at Compiegne was no more a reason for Cauchon to judge her anywhere, and least of all out of his diocese, than which the University of Paris had for the judging the Pope. "Fecit, tamen", as St. Augustine says of Pontius Pilate: "They did it, nevertheless."

Thomas Courcelles was especially chosen by Cauchon. He was one of the six doctors sent by the University of Paris to examine the Maid. All through the trial he was very exact in his task, and very well paid in the sum of one hundred and thirteen livres. Courcelles was one of the few in favor of subjecting Joan to torture. M. Quicherat calls him, and truly enough, "the father of Gallican liberties"; for probably no one dictated more articles than he in the schismatical council of Basle. He was the foe of Pope Eugene IV, and supporter of the anti-pope Felix V.

Erar, another of the doctors, preached at Joan in the cemetery at Rouen a discourse of extreme and unworthy violence. He was one of those who brutally tried to force Joan to sign a lying retraction. He had been rector of the University of Paris; and, like his brethren, was as anti-papal as he was anti-French.

Nicolas Midi, another of the Paris envoys, the last to preach at Joan before her execution, is supposed to have been the author - and calumniator - of the famous, or infamous XII Articles, sent from Rouen to Paris as a summary of the trial, and in which the defense is mutilated, or omitted.

Estivet, the prosecutor, canon of Beauvais, whence he was driven with Cauchon, was, of all this group, the lowest. His language resembled that of the English soldiers to Joan at Orleans.

The clergy of Rouen had been won over by the Duke of Bedfort, who showed them many favors. On October 23rd, 1430, when the price of the Maid was being handed over, he was admitted into the body of canons of the Cathedral of Rouen. The religious orders, especially the Benedictines were very numerous. We find them, unfortunately, cutting an evil figure in the trial of Joan. Gilles Duremort, abbot of Fecamp, and member of the English royal council, received the sum of one thousand livres for his share in the iniquitous transaction. He was an intimate friend of Bishop Cauchon, and was afterwards made bishop of Coutances. He did not reside in his monastery but in his fine palace at Rouen; as did his fellow-religious like character, Nicolad Lerous, abbot of Jumieges, and Pierre Miget, prior of Longueville.
Several Englishmen took part in the Process especially at decisive points. Of these was William Hayton, a bachelor in theology, secretary of the king and member of the royal council, who voted for Joan's death.

"In the name of the Lord, amen." Cauchon declares her a heretic, and cuts her off from the Church as a rotten member, and hands her over to the civil power.
(...) Joan denied that she was a heretic or schismatic; and she maintained the truth or her revelations to the last. Bishop de Mailly withdrew, in order not to see her die.
The executioner told of the cruel binding to the stake on the plaster platform, which was so high that the flames hardly reached it; and this moved the rough man to much pity for Joan. She knelt, and with tears begged pardon of all, and uttered her forgiveness for those who were guilty of her death. She prayed much - for half an hour, it is said - with indescribable devotion. Of the priests she begged Masses for the repose of her soul. (...) Then as the fire rose up, she bade the priest to go down from the platform, and begged him to hold up the crucifix straight before her eyes until she died.

(...) The English were growing harshly impatient for Joan's death and their own dinner. As Massieu was consoling her in her last agony, some of their captains cried out, "Priest, do you mean to have us dine here?" Some of them laughed at the death scene; but many of them also wept. As the flames ascended, Joan never ceased to call aloud to "her Lord" and her Saints. At last, as she bowed her head, and yielded up her pure souls to God, the sacred name of Jesus, uttered in a loud voice, was the last word on her lips.

Source: St. Joan of Arc: The Life-story of the Maid of Orleans By Rev. Fr.  Denis Lynch, S.J. 1919

Gracious God, on this Memorial Day weekend,
we remember and give thanks
for those who have given their lives
in the service of our country.
When the need was greatest,
they stepped forward and did their duty
to defend the freedoms that we enjoy,
and to win the same for others.

O God, you yourself have taught us
that no love is greater than that
which gives itself for another.
These honored dead gave the most precious gift they had,
life itself,
for loved ones and neighbors,
for comrades and country – and for us.

Help us to honor their memory
by caring for the family members
they have left behind,
by ensuring that their wounded comrades
are properly cared for,
by being watchful caretakers of the freedoms
for which they gave their lives,
and by demanding that no other young men and women
follow them to a soldier’s grave
unless the reason is worthy and the cause is just.

Holy One, help us to remember that freedom is not free.
There are times when its cost is, indeed, dear.
Never let us forget those who paid so terrible a price
to ensure that freedom would be our legacy.
Though their names may fade with the passing of generations,
may we never forget what they have done.
Help us to be worthy of their sacrifice,
O God, help us to be worthy.

Source: Memorial Day Prayer

Novena for Priests to the Holy Ghost:

"As they cry out with all the faithful, "Abba, Father!" may Your priests be ever more closely identified with You in Your divine Sonship and offer their own lives with You, the one saving Victim.
Make them helpful brothers of one another, and understanding fathers of all Your people. On this Pentecost Sunday, renew in Your priests deeper faith, greater trust in You, childlike reliance on our Mother Mary, and unwavering fidelity to the Holy Father and his bishops.

Holy Mary, intercede for your priests.
St. Joseph, protect them.
St. Michael, defend them.
St. John Vianney, pray for them.
Amen. "

"Pope Leo XIII, May 9, 1897, decreed that a novena to the Holy Ghost should be made every year in preparation for the feast of Pentecost. (...) During this novena no particular form of prayer is of obligation. Any prayer to the Holy Ghost will suffice.

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the Holy Spirit:  Divinum Illud Munus

Novena to the Holy Ghost in Preparation for the Feast of Pentecost: The novena of the Holy Spirit is the chief of all the novenas, because it was the first that was ever celebrated, and that by the holy apostles and the most Holy Mary in the supper room, being distinguished by so many remarkable wonders and gifts; principally by the gift of the same Holy Spirit, a gift merited for us by the passion of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus Himself made this known to us when He said to His disciples that if He did not die He could not send us the Holy Ghost: "If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you" (John xvi. 7). We know well by faith that the Holy Ghost is the love that the Father and the Eternal Word bear one to the other; and therefore the gift of love which the Lord infuses into our souls, and which is the greatest of all gifts, is particularly attributed to the Holy Ghost. As St. Paul says, "The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Who is given to us (Rom. v. 5). In this novena, therefore, we must consider, above all, the great value of divine love, in order that we may desire to obtain it, and endeavor, by devout exercises, and especially by prayer, to be made partakers of it, since God has promised it to him who asks for it with humility: Your Father from heaven will give the good Spirit to them that ask Him" (Luke xi. 13).

Prayer to the Holy Spirit for the Church: "O Holy Spirit, our Creator, come to the aid of Thy Holy Church, and strengthen and confirm it by Thy supreme power against the incursions of its enemies; and by Thy love and grace renew the spirit of Thy servants whom Thou hast anointed, so that they may glorify in Thee the Father and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”—(Indulg. 100 days. Resc. Aug. 26, 1889.)

Short Prayer to the Holy Ghost : Holy Spirit, Spirit of truth, come into our hearts; give to all peoples the brightness of Thy light, that they may be well-pleasing to Thee in unity of faith. (Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. Leo XIII, July 31, 1897.)

Source: My Prayer Book; Happiness in Goodness: Reflections, Counsels, Prayers and Devotions By Francis Xavier Lasance

Prayer to Mary for the Holy Church

Queen of heaven, thy immense love for God maketh thee likewise love His Church. We pray thee, come to its help amidst the ills under which it is now suffering, rent asunder as she is by her own children. Thy prayer, being a mother's, can obtain all from that God Who loveth Thee so well. Pray then, pray for the Church; ask for enlightenment for so many unbelievers who are persecuting it, and obtain for faithful souls the necessary strength to resist being caught in the snares of the unbelievers who would drag them down into their own ruin.

Source: St. Alphonsus' prayer-book, 1888

Our Lady of North Carolina, Downtown Raleigh NC

"Give ear to our prayers, O most Holy Virgin, and be mindful of us. Dispense unto us the gifts of thy riches, and the abundance of the graces with which thou art filled. The Archangel saluted thee, and called thee full of grace. All nations call thee blessed. The whole hierarchy of heaven blesses thee: and we, who are of the terrestrial hierarchy, also address thee, saying: Hail, O full of grace, our Lord is with thee; pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, our Lady and our Queen."

The Glories of Mary, St. Liguori

Lord Jesus Christ, Our God and Saviour, You are the Head of the Church, Your spotless Bride and Mystical Body. Look mercifully upon the profound distress to which Our Holy Mother Church has been subjected. Doctrinal confusion, moral abomination, and liturgical abuse have, in our day, reached an unprecedented height. “The heathens have come into your inheritance, having defiled your holy temple, and laid Jerusalem in ruins” (Ps 79:1). Churchmen who have lost the true Faith and become promoters of a worldly globalist agenda, are intent on changing Your truths and Commandments, the Divine Constitution of the Church, and the Apostolic tradition.

O Lord, with humble spirit and contrite heart we beseech You, prevent the enemies of the Church from exulting in a victory over the authentic Catholic Church obtained by imposing a counterfeit church under the guise of “synodality.” Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come to the aid of Your Church with Your almighty strength. For where sin and apostasy in the Church abounds, the victory of Your grace will abound the more.

We firmly believe that the gates of Hell will not prevail against Your Church. In this hour, in which our beloved and holy Mother Church is suffering her Golgotha, we promise to remain with her. Graciously accept our interior and exterior sufferings, which we humbly offer in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Church, as a reparation for our own sins and for the sins of sacrilege and apostasy within the Church.

O Lord, send forth your Holy Angels under the command of Saint Michael the Archangel, to bring your heavenly light to the Pope and synod participants, and to frustrate the plans of your enemies within the synod assembly. O Lord, look mercifully upon the little ones in the Church, look upon the hidden souls who sacrifice themselves for the Church, look upon all the tears, sighs and supplications of the true children of the Church, and through the merits of the Immaculate Heart of Your Most Holy Mother, arise, O Lord, and by Your intervention grant Your Church holy shepherds who, imitating Your example, will give their lives for You and Your sheep. O Lord, we beseech You: Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us a holy Pope, zealous in promoting and defending the Catholic Faith, we implore You, grant it! Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us holy and intrepid bishops, we implore You, grant it! Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us holy priests, who are men of God, we implore You, grant it! In You, O Lord, we rest our hope: let us never be put to shame. To You, O Lord Jesus Christ, be given all honour and glory in Your Holy Church. You live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit: God, forever and ever. Amen.

September 29, 2023
+ Athanasius Schneider

OnePeterfive

Saint Catherine of Siena, Wake Forest

"The first Thursday of the month of the first Saturday of the month is dedicated to the priesthood. The faithful offer all their prayers and good works of the entire day, their sacrifices, Masses, communions, sufferings, and joys, through the pure hands of Mary, the Mother of Priests, to Jesus, the “Supreme and Eternal Priest,” for the sanctification of priests and candidates for the priesthood. Parishioners are asked to pray especially for their parish clergy. If Jesus prayer for His Apostles; if the Mother of God prayed for them; why should not our Catholic people pray for their successors, the Pope, the Bishops, and the priests?"

"As recently as 1934 the General of the Salvatorians suggested to Pope Pius XI that one Saturday each month might become a day specially devoted to prayers for priests. Pius XI agreed wholeheartedly, declaring that he praised and blessed the suggestion, and since 1934, bishops of more than fifty European dioceses have recommended this practice. How does one take part in Priestsʼ Saturday? It means offering the Saturday after the First Friday of the month wholly and entirely for the sanctification of priests throughout the world; offering Mass and Holy Communion together with all the prayers, actions, joys, sorrows of the day and offering it all to Christ through the hands of Mary. Priestsʼ Saturday is intended to help all priests--the Pope, the bishops, missionaries, all who teach in seminaries and schools, the contemplative religious, the parish priests. For some people a weekday Mass will be impossible. Still they can make an offering of their whole day, and they could say this prayer at least once on Priestsʼ Saturday:"

Source: Priests' Saturday

Priests' First Saturday

Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who hast entrusted the whole work of Thy redemption, the welfare and salvation of the world, to priests as Thy representatives, through the hands of Thy most holy Mother and for the sanctification of Thy priests and candidates for the priesthood I offer Thee this present day wholly and entirely, with all its prayers, works, sacrifices, joys, and sorrows.
Give truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of Thy divine love, seek nothing but Thy greater glory and the salvation of our souls.
And thou, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests in the dangers of their holy vocation and, with the loving hand of a Mother, also lead back to the Good Shepherd those poor priests who have become unfaithful to their exalted vocation and have gone astray.

In addition to the above make it a point also to recite frequently the following:

Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who Hast entrusted the weal and woes of Thy Holy Church to priests, with all the fervor of my heart I recommend to Thee the wants of my pastor and all priests. Enrich them more and more with true priestly sanctity. Give them generous, all embracing, apostolic hearts, full of love for Thee and for all Thy souls, so that they, being themselves sanctified in Thee, may sanctify us who are confided to their care, and may lead us safely to heaven. Bestow upon them in rich abundance all Thy priestly graces!
Let them ever give us a glowing example of love and fidelity towards Holy Mother Church, towards the Pope, and bishops, and grant that by word and example they may shine as models of every virtue.
Most loving Jesus, bless all their priestly labors and sacrifices! Bless all their prayers and words at the altar and in the confessional, in the pulpit, and in school, in confraternities, and at the bedside of the sick!
Protect and preserve them in all dangers from within and from without.
Divine Savior, give to Thy Church priests who abound in true holiness! Call many good boys and young men to the priestly and religious state! Aid and sanctify all those who are to become Thy priests! And to the souls of departed priests grant everlasting rest. But to me give a true spirit of faith and humble obedience, in order that in my pastor I may ever behold the representative of God and willingly follow all his teachings. Amen

"Almighty and eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we kneel before Your Majesty, and thank You from the depth of our soul for the inestimable gift of the Catholic Faith, which you have deigned to reveal to us through Jesus Christ, True God and True man. We received this divine light in holy baptism and have promised You to keep this faith inviolate until death.

Increase in us the gift of the Catholic Faith. By Your grace, may it be strengthened and made unshakeable. Daily increase in us the understanding of the beauty and profoundness of the Catholic Faith, that we might live in the deep joy of Your divine truth and be ready to sacrifice all things rather than compromise on or betray this faith. Grant us the grace to be resolved to undergo a thousand deaths for even one article of the Creed.

Graciously receive from us sinners an act of humble reparation for all the sins committed against the Catholic Faith by the laity and clergy, especially by high-ranking clergy who, contrary to the solemn promise they made at their Ordination to be teachers and defenders of the integrity of the Catholic Faith, have become champions of heresy, poisoning the flock entrusted to them and gravely offending the Divine Majesty of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Truth.

Grant us the grace to see all the events of our life, and the immense trials our Holy Mother Church is now undergoing, in the supernatural light of faith. May we believe that You will cause to arise from today’s vast spiritual desert a renewed flourishing of faith that will adorn the garden of the Church with new works of faith and give rise to a new age of faith.

We firmly believe that the Catholic Faith is the one true faith and religion, which you invite every person freely to embrace. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the destroyer of all heresies, and the great Martyrs and Confessors of the faith, may the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith triumph again in the Church and the world, so that no soul may be lost but rather come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of mankind, and through a right faith and righteous life attain eternal beatitude in You, O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To You be given all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana

Sainte Anne, Bretagne

Great Patriarch, Saint Joachim and good Saint Anne, deserving by your singular virtue to be chosen by Divine Providence to give to the world that Immaculate Queen, in whom all nations were to be blessed, and who, in her virginal bosom, was to bear the Savior of the human race; we who are your devout clients rejoice with you in this your great privilege, and implore you to extend your special protection to ourselves and our families.

Dear Saints, do no let the devil and sin find a place in our hearts, nor the false wisdom of the world to lead us astray. Do not permit us to live unmindful of eternity, for which we have been created. Obtain for us from God a firm and unshaken faith, that we may oppose the wickedness and errors which are ever being spread abroad by the enemies of Holy Church and the Apostolic See. Give us a sincere and constant devotion to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Roman Pontiff, and an unfailing courage in answering lies against those things which are most sacred and venerable in our holy religion.

You are powerful because of the love which your holy daughter Mary bears toward you. Assist the cause of the Church. Gain for her the victory for which she sighs, scatter the powers of darkness, destroy their pride, and grant that the light of the true Faith may shine brightly in all minds.

Grant us, above all, a tender and childlike devotion to your beloved daughter and our Mother, Mary most holy, so that we, honoring her daily with our devout homage, may be made worthy to be numbered among her children. And after the miseries of this exile, may we be brought to praise and bless the mercy of God forever in Heaven Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be (three times)

O Joachim, husband of holy Anne, father of the merciful Virgin, bring us, your servants help for our salvation.
Good Saint Anne, Help of the Church, pray for us.

Rev. Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, Good Saint Anne, 1955