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St. John Vianney, Saint Joseph, Raleigh NC ©VP

O God, our Lord, we obey without delay to Thy gracious invitation to pray. Encouraged by Thy desire, we worship at your sacred feet, crying out to Thee for our guilty priests. Deign to be reminded, Lord, that Thy priestly Body is Thy crown of predilection, the splendor of Thy glory, the chosen part of Thy heritage.

We implore Thee to arm Thyself with holy indignation against Satan, who dared to plant the banner of sin in Thy own sanctuary, and to chase him away in shame from Thy solemnly dedicated domain.

What would it cost Thee, O Lord, to turn the most hardened hearts into penitents? Only one simple glance at Peter was enough to retrieve him from the abyss of a three times apostasy; would it cost Thee more to touch and convert those who have had the misfortune to imitate his weakness?

O Jesus, our King and Pontiff, we beseech Thee on behalf of Mary, Thy Mother and ours, save the Church, save Thy faithful, save Thy blessed honor, by saving priests! Amen.

Source : translated by VP; "The Priest according to the Doctrine and the Examples of the Servant of God J.M.B. Vianney, Curé d'Ars." J.H. Olivier, (1870)

Far from the world, far from delight,
Distinguishing not day from night ;
Vowed to one sacrifice of all
The happy things, that men befall ;
Pleading one sacrifice, before
Whom sun and sea and wind adore;
Far from earth's comfort, far away,
We cry to God, we cry and pray
For men, who have the common day.

Dance, merry world! and sing: but we.
Hearing, remember Calvary:
Get gold, and thrive you ! but the sun
Once paled ; and the centurion
Said : This dead man was Gods own Son,
Think you, we shrink from common toil,
Works of the mart, works of the soil ;
That, prisoners of strong despair,
We breathe this melancholy air;
Forgetting the dear calls of race,
And bonds of house, and ties of place;
That, cowards, from the field we turn.
And heavenward, in our weakness, yearn?
Unjust! unkind! while you despise
Our lonely years, our mournful cries:
You are the happier for our prayer;

The guerdon of our souls, you share.
Not in such feebleness of heart,
We play our solitary part;
Not fugitives of battle, we
Hide from the world, and let things be:
But rather, looking over earth,
Between the bounds of death and birth ;
And sad at heart, for sorrow and sin.

We wondered, where might help begin.
And on our wonder came God's choice,
A sudden light, a clarion voice,
Clearing the dark, and sounding clear :
And we obeyed: behold us, here!
In prison bound, but with your chains:
Sufferers, but of alien pains.

Merry the world, and thrives apace.
Each in his customary place:
Sailors upon the carrying sea.
Shepherds upon the pasture lea,
And merchants of the town ; and they,
Who march to death, the fighting way;
And there are lovers in the spring.
With those, who dance, and those, who sing:
The commonwealth of every day.
Eastward and westward, far away.
Once the sun paled; once cried aloud
The Roman, from beneath the cloud:
This day the Son of God is dead!
Yet heed men, what the Roman said?
They heed not : we then heed for them,

The mindless of Jerusalem ;
Careless, they live and die : but we
Care, in their stead, for Calvary.
O joyous men and women! strong,
To urge the wheel of life along.
With strenuous arm, and cheerful strain,
And wisdom of laborious brain:
We give our life, our heart, our breath,
That you may live to conquer death;
That, past your tomb, with souls in health,
Joy may be yours, and blessed wealth;
Through vigils of the painful night.
Our spirits with your tempters fight:
For you, for you, we live alone.
Where no joy comes, where cold winds moan:
Nor friends have we, nor have we foes ;
Our Queen is of the lonely Snows.
Ah! and sometimes, our prayers between.
Come sudden thoughts of what hath been :
Dreams! And from dreams, once more we fall
To prayer : God save, Christ keep, them all.
And thou, who knowest not these things,
Hearken, what news our message brings!
Our toils, thy joy of life forgot:
Our lives of prayer forget thee not.

Source: Dreams and Images: An Anthology of Catholic Poets by Joyce Kilmer (Boni and Liveright, 1917) p109

Prayers to St. Dominic

My Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst found the Church with Thy precious blood, and by the preaching of the apostles didst establish, propagate, and extend it throughout the whole world, and thereafter didst commission the holy patriarch Dominic to adorn, illustrate, and defend it with the splendor of this merits and doctrine; graciously hear the prayers which this apostolic man incessantly offers to Thee for the increase of her treasures, both spiritual and temporal.
Pater, Ave, Gloria

Most merciful Redeemer, Who didst choose as Thy fellow-laborer for the salvation of souls, St. Dominic, who by his zeal, aided by Thy grace, gained over to the Church so many heretics who had been lost to her, and so many sinners who had grieved her by their obstinacy; send, O my God, ever fresh laborers into Thy vineyard to work for Thy glory, and gather in the fruits of eternal life.
Pater, Ave, Gloria.

O Good Jesus, Who didst delight to see St. Dominic prostrate every night before Thy altar, adoring Thee hidden in the most holy sacrament with most lively faith, and offering up, now groans, now prayers, now penances on behalf of the Church, at that time persecuted by her enemies and profaned by her servants; defend this Thy Spouse through the intercession of St. Dominic from the outrages and plots of the infernal enemy of mankind.
Pater, Ave, Gloria.

V. Pray for us, St. Dominic.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who are weighted down by the burden of our sins may be raised up by the patronage of Thy blessed confessor Dominic. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Pope Leo XIII, July 21, 1883

Source: With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflexions by Rev. Francis Xavier Lasance.

John Vianney, Good and Holy Priest O holy Priest of Ars, you lived in an age of much upheaval, in a time when men turned their backs on God. Your bishop told of a parish to which he wished to send you where there was no love. He assigned you to Ars and said that you would be the Priest who would enable the people to know the love of God. Not only did you draw these people back to God, but your saintly reputation soon spread and many people were converted to a life of holiness. You said that a good Priest, a Priest after Christʼs own heart is the greatest treasure that God can give a parish. Give us such Priests!

O great St. John Vianney, once again we are living in day of upheaval. There is much evil in the word. Obtain for Father ___ the grace to persevere in his faith and never to despair. May he walk with the Lord and trust in Him all the days of his life. Obtain through your heavenly intercession, for Father ___ the grace of modeling his life after that of Jesus Christ, that his people will know the love of God. More than ever the people need him to be able to bring the world to Christ. Pray for Father ___ and all Priests, O great Priest of Ars.

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.

"Unless a Priest esteem the Holy Sacrifice as it deserves, he can never celebrate it with suitable devotion. Assuredly there is no action, which man can perform, so sublime, so sacred, as the celebration of Mass.

God Himself could not enable a man to perform anything greater than the celebration of Mass."

Source: Sacerdos sanctificatus; or, Discourses on the Mass and Office, St. Alphonsus Liguori 1861

St. John Vianney, Lover of Penance and Mortification O holy Priest of Ars, you led a life of detachment from worldly pleasures. Your meals consisted of a boiled potato each day; you slept a few hours each night. But you did all of this so that you would be able to serve God to the best of your ability. Your life was portrayed by the saying: We complain when we suffer. We have much more reason to complain when we do not suffer, since nothing likens us to our Lord as the bearing of His cross.

O great St. John Vianney, in these days when we are surrounded by so many comforts and pleasures, it can be so difficult for us to do penance for our sins and live a life of detachment. I resolve to offer some sacrifice today for the expiation of Father ___’s sins and the sins of all mankind. Assist Father in accepting the cross God chooses to send him. May he embrace the life of sacrifice to which Priests are called. May he willingly offer his whole life to God! Obtain for Father ___ the grace to imitate the life of Christ by the bearing of His cross.

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.

O holy Priest of Ars, your life was filled with humility. You wore an old cassock. You ate meager meals. You realized that before the throne of God, you were one of His creatures made to glorify God and praise Him in all things. You said that the first virtue is humility; the second, humility; and the third, humility. You counseled people to remain humble, remain simple and the more one is so, the more good he will do. Your simplicity of soul and your uncluttered way of life led you to sanctity.

O humble St. John Vianney, when Father ___ forgets he is totally dependent on God for everything, intercede for him with Almighty God, to allow him to see that without His Creator nothing is possible and that he must rely on God for everything. He is his Creator, who keeps him in existence at every moment. Obtain for Father ___ the grace of humility. May his life exemplify your humility and simplicity, a life uncluttered, a life totally dependent on 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.