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"St. Anicetus succeeded Saint Pius, and sat about eight years, from 165 to 173. if he did not shed his blood for the Faith, he at least purchased thee title of martyr by great sufferings and dangers. He received a visit from Saint Polycarp, and tolerated the custom of the Asiatics in celebrating Easter on the 14th day of the first moon after the vernal equinox, with the Jews. His vigilance protected is flock from the wiles of the heretics Valentine and Marcion, who sought to corrupt the faith in the capital of the world. The first thirty-six bishops of Rome, down to Liberius, and, this one excepted, all the popes to Symmachus, the fifty-second, in 498 are honored among the saints; and out of two hundred and forty-eight popes, from St. Peter to Clement XIII, seventy-eight are named in the Roman Martyrology. In the primitive ages, the spirit of fervor and perfect sanctity, which is nowadays so rarely to be found, was conspicuous in most of the faithful, and especially in their pastors. The whole tenor of their lives breathed it in such a manner as to render them the miracles of the world, angels on earth, living copies of their divine Redeemer, the odor of whose virtues and holy law and religion they spread on every side.

Reflection: If, after making the most solemn protestations of inviolable friendship and affection for a fellow-creature, we should the next moment revile and contemn him, without having received any provocation or affront, and this habitually, would not the whole world justly call our protestations hypocrisy, and our pretended friendship a mockery? Let us by this rule judge if our love of God be sovereign, so long as our inconstancy betrays the insincerity of our hearts."

Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints.

Image Source: Wikipedia

"When he returned home, Rolando did his best to continue his life as a seminarian. He continued to wear his cassock. This choice was dangerous in an area where bands of partisans, very active, were controlled by Communists. For followers of Marxism-Leninism, the Catholic Church would have no place in society after the war; the clergy were at the top of the list of enemies to be destroyed."

Source: Abbaye Saint Joseph de Clairval, Biography of Blessed Rolando Rivi – I belong to Jesus

From New Liturgical Movement:

"I make bold to suggest that Bl. Rolando is a good person to appeal to if you know any seminarians who need prayers, and especially those who are persecuted for their love of the Church’s traditions; and further, in preparation for next year’s symposium on the priesthood, that it would not be a bad idea to consider what it was about the Church that Rolando Rivi lived in that enabled him to face martyrdom so bravely at the age of only 14. Beate Rolande, ora pro nobis!" Gregory DiPippo

From the Official Italian site:

Prayer for the Intercession of Blessed Rolando Rivi

O God, merciful Father, who choose the small to confound the powerful of the world, I thank You for having given us, in the seminarian Rolando Rivi, a testimony of total love for Your Son, Jesus, and the Church, unto the sacrifice of his life.

Enlightened by this example,and through Rolando’s intercession, I ask You to give me the strength always to be a living sign of Your love in the world, and I beg You to grant me the grace of [here state your petition], which I ardently desire. Amen

Download the prayer card

"In one respect alone was Richard inexorable even to sternness, and that was when any one violated the dignity of the priesthood, or any priest polluted his holy office by sin. In one case he had deprived a priest of noble blood of his benefice, and was assailed on all sides by petitions for his re-installment. "But," says Bocking, "though king and queen, and many great nobles with prelates and bishops earnestly and often begged him to restore the offender to his benefice, he was immovable, and would not yield for all their prayers." To one bishop, who was especially urgent, he answered, "My lord Bishop, I commit my authority to thee in this case, at the peril of thy soul, as thou wouldest wish to have acted at the day of judgment before the Judge of all;" but the bishop would not accept the bargain."

Source: Lives of the English Saints.

As a brother, as chancellor, and as bishop, St. Richard faithfully performed each duty of his state without a thought of his own interests. Neglect of duty is the first sin of that self love which ends with the loss of grace."

Source: The Little Pictorial of the Lives of Saints

"Satisfaction consists in cutting off the causes of sin. Fasting is the proper antidote of gluttony and lust; Prayer is the cure for pride, envy, anger, and sloth; alms-giving against covetousness and avarice."

"The saint's devotion to the Holy Eucharist is shown by his minute and careful legislation regarding all things connected with the service of the altar. Everything surrounding it, and especially the linen used for Mass, must be of spotless cleanliness, and no priest may say Mass in torn or dirty vestments. The chalices must be of Gold or silver, and a crucifix must always be placed before the celebrant. When the Holy Viaticum is carried to the sick it must be taken with the utmost reverence, the priest in surplice and stole, accompanied by cross, lights, and holy water, and preceded by an acolyte with a bell to let the people know that their Lord is passing.

Only those who have passed a sufficient examination are to be admitted to the ranks of the clergy, and no one is to be ordained to sacred orders if he come with any other design than to serve God alone; ordination, therefore, should be refused to anyone for money, favor, or privilege, and all those in the least tainted with heresy or suspected of leading unholy lives must be rigorously excluded from the priesthood.

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Finally, the clergy are reminded of the duty of instructing their flocks in the truths of the Faith, and they must teach them simple prayers according to their ability to learn.

Source: Richard of Wyche, labourer, Scholar, Bishop, and Saint. by Sister Mary Reginald OP 1913

Prayer to Saint Richard of Chichester

Most merciful Redeemer,
who gavest to thy Bishop Richard a love of learning,
a zeal for souls, and a devotion to the poor:
grant that, encouraged by his example,
and aided by his prayers,
we may know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly,
day by day;
who livest and reignest with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God,
world without end. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester

Gratias tibi ego, Domine Jesu Christe, de omnibus beneficiis, quae mihi praestitisti; pro poenis & opprobiis, quae pro me pertulisti; propter quae plactus ille lamentablis vere tibim competebat. Non est dolor sicut dolor meus.
 

St. Jonas and barachisius by Jacques Callot

"King Sapor of Persia, in the eighteenth year of his reign, raised a bloody persecution against the Christians, and laid waste their churches and monasteries. Jonas and Barachisius, two brothers of the city Beth-Asa, hearing the several Christians lay under sentence of death at Hubaham, went thither to encourage and serve them. Nine of that number received the crown of martyrdom.
After their execution, Jonas and Barachisius were apprehended for having exhorted them to die. The president entreated the two brothers to obey the king of Persia, and to worship the sun, moon, fire, and water. Their answer was, that it was more reasonable to obey the immortal King of heaven and earth than a mortal prince. Jonas was beaten with knotty clubs and with rods, and next set in a frozen pond, with a cord tied to his foot. Barchisius had two read-hot iron places and two red-hot hammers applied under each arm, and melted lead dropped into his nostrils and eyes; after which he was carried to prison, and there hung up by one foot. Despite these cruel tortures, the two brothers remained steadfast in the Faith. New and more horrible torments were then devised under which at last they yielded up their lives, while their pure souls winged their flight to heaven there to gain the martyr's crown, which they had so faithfully won.

Reflection: Those powerful motives which supported the martyrs under the sharpest torments ought to inspire us with patience, resignation, and holy joy under sickness and all crosses or trials. Nothing is more heroic in the practice of Christian virtue, nothing more precious in the sight of God, than the sacrifice of patience, submission, constant fidelity, and charity in a state of suffering."

Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, edited by John Shea, 1894

Prayer of the Sick for Vocations

O God, Who through the sufferings and death of Thine Only Begotten Son, didst redeem the race of men, grant, we beseech Thee, that through the sufferings which I now humbly and patiently bear out of love for Thee and in union with Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Thou mayest be pleased to call to the sacred priesthood and the religious life generous youths who will dedicate themselves to the sublime vocation of bringing to souls the saving merits of the Passion and Death of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Bishop Coleman F. Carroll (1962, Florida)

St. Lomer

Innocence and Justice. "St. Lomer, a priest and treasurer of the church of Chartres, left the world while still young, and withdrew to a forest of the Perche, where he constructed a rude cabin of twigs, there to devote himself to prayer, and occupy himself solely with preparing for eternity amid the austerities of penance and holy meditations. he was there discovered, and many companions came to embrace this kind of life. But at length, being troubled by the concourse of strangers, he betook himself to another hermitage, in order there to remain unknown. The reputation of his sanctify betrayer him, in spite of all his efforts at concealment, and he found himself constrained to build a monastery. A vast crowd of sick persons always surrounded his cell, for the Lord had bestowed on him the gift of miracles. One day a rich man sent him, by way of alms, several pieces of gold, that he might pray for him and obtain his cure. Lomer took one of them only, and sent the others back, saying: "They are the proceeds of robbery; God does not accept such offerings: you will assuredly die." St. Lomer yielded up his spirit in 594.

Moral reflection: Prayer can never be found acceptable to God when proceeding from one who has committed injustice; hence it is said in Ecclasiasticus:"Be not anxious for goods unjustly gotten, for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity and revenge." (Eccls. v 10)"

Source: Pictorial Half Hours with the Saints by Fr. Lecanu, 1865

"The Conversion of Sinners: Abraham, the solitary, after having disposed of his vast property and distributed the proceeds to the poor, was living in a deep retreat near Edessa, in Mesopotamia, when the bishop of Edessa consecrated him as bishop, and invested him with the mission of converting the inhabitants of a neighboring town, who were still pagans.

Abraham undertook this out of a spirit of obedience, and, God aiding, succeeded in the undertaking, but not without vast efforts, and not without having been thrice on the eve of martyrdom.

He then withdrew to this beloved solitude, but was obliged to leave it once again. A niece whom he tenderly love had abandoned her home, and given herself up to evil courses. When, after two years' seeking and prayer, the pious solitary had at length discovered her abode, he assumed a disguise, and went to visit her. So soon as he made himself known she gave way, while pouring out her sorrow, and, of her own accord, imposed on herself rude austerities which were only to end with her life. St. Abraham died towards 370.

Moral reflection: It is the duty of every Christian to labor for the conversion of sinners, because all partake of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, says the apostle St. Peter: "To declare His virtues, who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. " (1 Peter ii. 9.)"

Source: Pictorial Half Hours with the Saints by Fr. Auguste François Lecanu

"O that we realized the omnipotence of prayer! Every soul was created to glorify God eternally; and it is in the power of every one to add by the salvation of his neighbor to the glory of God. Let us make good us of this talent of prayer, lest our brother's blood be required of us at the last.

"I affectionately entreat you to pray assiduously for the salvation of sinners, for whom I ask of you wrestlings and tearful prayers, that I may satisfy My longing to show them grace and mercy." Revelation to St. Catherine of Siena"

Source: Miniatures Lives of the Saints, for Every Day in the Year, 1883

Novena Prayer for the Return of Lapsed Catholics

O Good Shepherd, you never cease to seek out the lost, to call home the stray, to comfort the frightened, and to bind up the wounded. I ask you to bring (mention names) back to the practice of the Faith, and to remove all obstacles that prevent them from receiving your abundant mercy, which flows sacramentally through the heart of your holy Church.

Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, their Guardian Angel(s), their Patron Saint(s) and the ever-prayerful St. Monica, may you pardon their sins and unshackle them from whatever hinders their freedom to come Home. For you, O Good Shepherd, loved us to the end and offered yourself to the Father for the salvation of all. Amen.

Prayers for the return of a lapsed Catholic should also be accompanied by sacrificial and secret acts of fasting and almsgiving done in their name.

"Gregory was a Roman of noble birth, and while still young was governor of Rome. On his father's death he gave his great wealth to the poor, turned his house on the Coelian Hill into a monastery, which now bears his name, and for some years lived as a perfect monk. The Pope drew him from his seclusion to make him one of the seven deacons of Rome ; and he did great service to the Church for many years as what we now call Nuncio to the imperial court at Constantinople. While still a monk the Saint was struck with some boys who were exposed for sale in Rome, and heard with sorrow that they were pagans. “ And of what race are they?” he asked. “They are Angles.” “Worthy indeed to be Angels of God,” said he. “And of what province ?” “Of Deira,” was the reply. “ Truly must we rescue them from the wrath of God. And what is the name of their king ?” " He is called Ella." “ It is well,” said Gregory; "Alleluia must be sung in their land to God.” He at once got leave from the Pope, and had set out to convert the English when the murmurs of the people led the Pope to recall him. Still the Angles were not forgotten, and one of the Saint's first cares as Pope was to send from his own monastery St. Augustine and other monks to England. On the death of Pope Pelagius II., Gregory was compelled to take the government of the Church, and for fourteen years his pontificate was a perfect model of ecclesiastical rule. He healed schisms; revived discipline ; saved Italy by converting the wild Arian Lombards who were laying it waste ; aided in the conversion of the Spanish and French Goths, who were also Arians; and kindled anew in Britain the light of the Faith, which the English had put out in blood. He set in order the Church's prayers and chant, guided and consoled her pastors with innumerable letters, and preached incessantly, most effectually by his own example. He died A.D. 604, worn out by austerities and toils ; and the Church reckons him one of her four great doctors, and reveres him as St. Gregory the Great.

Reflection.—The champions of faith prove the truth of their teaching no less by the holiness of their lives than by the force of their arguments. Never forget that to convert others you must first see to your own soul. 

Source: Lives of the Saints: With Reflections for Every Day in the Year. 1894

More on Saint Gregory: New liturgical Movement

Prayer to Saint Gregory, Pope and Confessor

O invincible defender of Holy Church's freedom, Saint Gregory of great Renown by that firmness thou didst show in maintaining the Church's rights against all her enemies, stretch forth from heaven thy mighty arm, we beseech thee, to comfort her and defend her in the fearful battle she must ever wage with the powers of darkness.

Do thou, in an especial manner, give strength in this dread conflict to the venerable Pontiff who has fallen heir not only to thy throne, but likewise to the fearlessness of thy mighty heart; obtain for him the joy of beholding his holy endeavors crowned by the triumph of the Church and the return of the lost sheep into the right path.

Grant, finally, that all may understand how vain it is to strive against that faith which has always conquered and is destined always to conquer: "this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith." This is the prayer that we raise to thee with one accord; and we are confident, that, after thou has heard our prayers on earth, thou wilt one day call us to stand with thee in heaven, before the eternal High Priest, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.

Source: CAPG

St. Eulogius pray for our Bishops

Prayer for Holy Bishops

Lord, according to Your promise that the Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, raise up men fit for such work. The Apostles were but soft and yielding clay till they were baked hard by the fire of the Holy Ghost. So, Good Lord, do now in like manner again with Thy Church Militant; change and make the soft and slippery earth into hard stones; set in Thy Church strong and mighty pillars, that may suffer and endure great labors, watching, poverty, thirst, hunger, cold and heat; which also shall not hear the threatenings of princes, persecution, neither death but always persuade and think with themselves to suffer with a good will, slanders, shame, and all kinds of torments, for the glory and laud of Thy Holy Name. By this manner, good Lord, the truth of Thy Gospel shall be preached throughout all the world. Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Thy mercy, show it indeed upon Thy Church.

Saint John Fisher (Sermon in 1508) from Saint John Fisher Forum

The Forty Martyrs of Sebace

"Reward and punishment: During the persecution of Licinius, in the year 320 of the Christian era, forty soldiers of the garrison of Sebaste seceding from their comrades, who, in compliance with the emperor's orders, had gone to sacrifice to the idols, proclaimed themselves Christians.
The torments by fire and sword being ineffectual to conquer their constancy, they were exposed, devoid of covering, upon a frozen pool, there to pass the night within sight of a tepid bath, kept ready for such as might apostatize. All remained firm, however; their keeper meanwhile, who was watching them, beheld angels hovering above them with thirthy-nine crowns. While seeking to explain the reason of this number, one of the intended martyrs apostatized and rushed towards the bath, but on entering was struck with death. The keeper, converted by this miracle, went forward and took his place. As all outlived the sufferings of that cruel night, they were huddled into carts, and carried to the stake. Thus the victors received their crown, and the apostate found death and everlasting perdition, instead of the life he had promised himself.

Moral reflection: Such an example is a confirmation of the words of the Gospel, which a Christian cannot have too much in mind: "He that preferreth his life, shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it." Pictorial half hours with the saints, by Rev. Auguste François Lecanu, 1865

Prayer: "Valiant Soldiers of Christ who meet us, with your mysterious number, at this commencement of our Forty Days’ Fast, receive the homage of our devotion. Your memory is venerated throughout the whole Church, and your glory is great in Heaven. Though engaged in the service of an earthly prince, you were the Soldiers of the Eternal King: to Him were you faithful, and from Him did you receive your crown of eternal glory. We, also, are His soldiers. We are fighting for the kingdom of Heaven. Our enemies are many and powerful but, like you, we can conquer them if, like you, we use the arms which God has put in our hands. Faith in God’s word, hope in His assistance, and humility and prudence —with these we are sure of victory.

Pray for us, Holy Martyrs, that we may keep from all compromise with our enemies, for our defeat is certain if we try to serve two masters. During these Forty Days we must put our arms in order, repair our lost strength and renew our engagements. Come to our assistance and get us a share in your brave spirit.

A crown is also prepared for us: it is to be won on easier terms than yours, and yet we will lose it unless we keep up within us an esteem for our vocation. How many times, in our past lives, have we not forfeited that glorious crown? But God in His mercy has offered it to us again, and we are resolved on winning it. Oh, for the glory of our common Lord and Master, make intercession for us!" The Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger.

Litany to Saint Edmund by the Society of St. Edmund

"Not only was the power of the Crown opposed to him, with its haughty pretensions and impatience of ecclesiastical control, not only were the rude and overbearing barons bent on defying his authority, but, harder still to be borne, the spirit of the world had invaded the Church herself. Relaxation of discipline had crept into the cloister and was fast undermining the monastic life. Mercenary foreigners, intruded into English benefices, sought only their own gain, instead of feeding the flock of Christ. The people were burdened with heavy taxation, the prelates and clergy being further crippled by the heavy subsidies levied on them to relieve the Pope's necessities.

When a man of Edmund's simple rectitude and elevation of character saw himself face to face with such abuses, he must needs attack and grapple with them. At the time of his elevation to the primacy (1233) Henry III had just escaped from the trammels of a long minority. He loved to surround himself with foreigners, with whom he constantly endeavored to fill every office in Church and State. Although he was far from possessing the ungovernable temper of his grandfather, or the irreligious and sad disposition of his father, he was weak and wilful, and, like them, determined to stretch the royal prerogative, and usurp rights which brought him into conflict with the Church. The Archbishop addressed to him a strong remonstrance on his neglect of his subjects, the preference he showed for aliens, his practice of keeping episcopal sees and benefices vacant, and otherwise despoiling the Church. By a threat of excommunication, he compelled him to dismiss Peter des Roches, his unworthy counselor, together with his adherents.

When the King found that the primate was not to be moved from the attitude he had at the outset assumed of defending the rights of clergy and laity against royal oppression, he took the resolution of asking the Pope to send a legate to England. He rightly calculated that the straits to which the Holy Father was driven by the Emperor Frederick would naturally lead him to conciliate the King of England as much as possible, in order that he might consent to the demand of a tenth of the ecclesiastical revenues which was made on behalf of the see of Rome.

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His chief motive in desiring the Legate to be sent was the idea that his superior ecclesiastical authority would act as a counterpoise to the archbishop's influence, and serve to nullify his opposition to the royal measures. St. Edmund entered an energetic protest against the presence of the Legate. It proved, as he anticipated, no small embarrassment to him. Although the Legate acted with discretion, yet his authority in virtue of his office enabled him to supersede the archbishop's authority, to annul his decisions and revoke his sentences. At one time when the difficulties of his position pressed hard upon St. Edmund, it was said that St. Thomas of Canterbury appeared to him, bidding him be steadfast and act manfully. Taking his hand, he passed it over  his head, that he might feel the scar of his fatal wound, bidding Edmund suffer death as he did, rather than relinquish any of the liberties and franchises of Holy Church.

St. Edmund's persistent protests were unavailing. "Seeing," says the Chronicler, Matthew Paris, "the Church in England to be day by day more trodden underfoot, robbed of her possessions, despoiled of her liberties, life became unsupportable to him, and he could not endure to see the evils which were upon the land.' Mortified and baffled on every side; persecuted by the bad; misrepresented by the good;  supported by hardly any, even of those who were bound by their sacred office to support him; opposed by the monks, who sought to emancipate themselves from episcopal jurisdiction, and by the bishops, who resisted his attempts to make a visitation of the diocese of London, he presently withdrew from the unequal contest. Like St. Thomas and Stephen Langton, he took refuge within the abbey of Pontigny (France), which thus for the third time opened its hospitable portals to shelter a persecuted archbishop of Canterbury, forced to exile himself from his native land. Death followed quickly on his flight; he expired at Soissy within twelve months after quitting these shores."
A Short History of the Catholic Church in England Bp. William Robert Bernard Brownlow Catholic Truth Society, 1895 page 230

Prayer to Our Lady and St. John by St. Edmund

"O happy and spotless and blessed for ever; O matchless and incomparable virgin, Mother of God, Mary, most acceptable temple of God, sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, gate of the kingdom of Heaven,  through whom, after God, the whole world lives; inclines the eyes of thy compassion to my unworthy prayers, and be to me, a sinner, compassionate and helpful in all things. O most blessed John, familiar friend of Christ, who by the same our Lord Jesus Christ was chosen as a virgin and loved  by Him above all the rest, who was made partaker, beyond all others, of heavenly secrets, who didst become His glorious apostle and evangelist; I call upon thee also along with Mary, mother of the same Savior, that thou wouldst deign along with her to bestow thine aid on me.

O ye two heavenly jewels, Mary and John together! O ye two luminaries glittering with Divine Splendor in God's presence! by your beams dissipate the mists of my vices. Ye are the twain in whom God the Father, by His only Son built up a house for Himself; in whom also the only-begotten Son of God the Father, out of regard for undefiled virginity, confirmed the special privilege of His love. Whilst hanging on the Cross, He said to the one: "Woman, behold thy son!" Then He said to the other, "Behold thy mother!" In the tenderness of that most holy love whereby, at that time, ye were united together as mother and son, according to the Divine pronouncement, I, a sinner, on this day, commend to you both my body and my soul; that, every hour and every moment, you would deign to be my steadfast protectors within and without, and to be my kind mediators with God. For I firmly believe and undoubtedly confess that your will is God's will; and what you will not, that God does not will. Hence, whatever you ask of God, that you obtain without delay.

Through that most powerful efficacy which belongs to you of right ask for me health of body and soul. Be it your care, I entreat, to obtain for me by your invincible prayers that the sweet Spirit may visit my heart and deign to dwell there; that He may cleanse it from all defilement of sin; that He may adorn it with all virtues; that He would cause me to stand perfect and to persevere in the love of God and my neighbor; and that, after this life's course is run, He would bring me to the joys of His elect. This I ask of the generous Paraclete, the best Bestower of graces, who, consubstantial and co-eternal with Father and Son, with Them and in Them, liveth and reigneth, Almighty God, in the midst of His saints. Amen."

Life of St. Edmund of Canterbury by Rev. Fr. Wilfrid Wallace  1893