Thursday, June 22, 2006

Twenty-One Days of Prayers for Priests: Day 13

Resuming our Prayers for Priests series, we finally come upon day 13. The prayer is for Thursdays and is brought to us by Pope Pius the XII. All prayers featured are coming from the booklet, Chalice of Strength which is a compilation of prayers we can use to pray for priests.


13. Prayer for Thursday

O Jesus, Eternal Pontiff, Good Shepherd and Fountain of life, who by the special goodness of your Most Sweet Heart, have given us priests to fulfill in us the designs of sanctification which your grace inspires in our hearts, we ask you: come to their aid with the assistance of your mercy.

O Jesus, may they have in their labors a lively faith; in trials an unwavering trust; in their decisions a burning charity.

Grant that your Word, the irradiation of the Eternal Wisdom, may become through continuous meditation the never failing nourishment of their interior life. Let the example of your life and passion animate their actions and sustain them in their suffering, so that they may teach, enlighten and comfort us in our sorrows. Lord, grant our priests the grace of detachment from purely worldly concerns. Let them be first and foremost solicitous for your glory and keep them faithful to their duties.

Keep them pure in conscience till their last breath, so that when death comes to the body, they may place into your hands their mission faithfully accomplished so that they may find in you, Lord Jesus Christ, who on earth were their Master, the prize of the Crown of Justice, in the glory of the saints. Amen. -Pope Pius XII



About the Prayer for Priests Series

Spiritual Adoption of Priests through Opus Angelorum

More about the need to pray for priests, along with prayers.

Help one priest to receive graces from God through your prayers, and you help everyone with whom the priest has contact - actually and spiritually.



IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SPIRITUAL ADOPTION:

The Sisters who handle the spiritual adoption process assign new priests to those within the prayer network each year on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Contact them now to begin praying for a priest using the link for spiritual adoption above.

But, even if you don't read this until after Sacred Heart, don't hesitate to write to them anyway and ask for priest to pray for. You can also submit the name of one yourself, or a seminarian, person discerning, bishop, etc.