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Martyrdom of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych by Józef Simmler  (1823–1868)

"The life of St. Josaphat is a lesson for all time. The two truths which he was charged by our Divine Lord to proclaim, and which he was to seal with his blood: the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff and the unity of the Church, are denied in our own day by the same sectaries, and all who maintain them assailed by the same fiendish cruelty." The Dublin Review, Part 1 page 46. 1877

"Stir up, O Lord, we beseech thee, in thy Church the Spirit wherewith the blessed Josephat thy Martyr and Pontiff was filled."  Thus prays our Mother, today, and the Gospel likewise points to the desire of obtaining pastors like to thee, O holy Bishop! The sacred text speaks of the false shepherd, who flees at first sight of the wolf; but the Homily, which explains it in the Night Office, brands equally with the title of hireling the keeper who, though he does not flee, suffers the enemy un-resisted to work havoc in the fold. May the divine Shepherd, whom thou didst imitate unto the end, even unto laying down thy life for the sheep, live again in all those whom he calls, like Peter, to exercise a greater love." The Liturgical Year: Passiontide and holy week, 3d edition. 1901 Abbot Prosper Gueranger OSB

"Honor thy father, and forget not the groaning of thy mother. Remember that thou hadst not been born but through them, and make a return to them; as they have done for thee." (Eccl. VII. 29-30) Next to God, our parents are our greatest benefactors, entitled to most tender love and gratitude, which is the sacred duty of every child. This duty does not end with this life; it is extended even to eternity. Should our departed parents find no relief in their pains? Must they cry out in bitter anguish: "I have reared sons and daughters, but they have forgotten me?"

If we compassionate the misery of strangers, if we do not heartlessly send a beggar from our doors, oh, let us remember how near and dear father and mother are to us, and how greatly we are indebted to them. After their death, we owe them prayers, alms, good works, and Masses. They cry out to us for mercy. Would it not be the lowest degree of ingratitude were we to forget those who bestowed their best love and care upon us in life? The commandment of God, "Honor thy father and thy mother," is an obligation also towards our deceased parents.

Prayer: O God, Who hast commanded us to honor father and mother, look in loving kindness upon the souls of my father and mother, and forgive them their trespasses and grant unto my the joy of being re-united to them in the glorious light of everlasting life. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Priests in Purgatory: My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden, in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns, in the Way to Calvary, in Thy Crucifixion and Death, have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory, especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them. I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me, the priests my heart has never forgotten, and for those that I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory. Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of parents who have been forgotten by their children.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!