HWP: St. John the Baptist

Today is the feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist. We celebrate only three earthly birthdays in the course of the liturgical year, each one highlighting the importance of the person in God's plan for salvation. So with that, we turn to St. John the forerunner of the Christ and implore his help and prayers to prepare our hearts to meet the Lord on the last day.

Prayer to St. John the Baptist

O Glorious Saint John the Baptist, greatest prophet among those born of woman, although you were sanctified in your mother’s womb and did lead a most innocent life, nevertheless it was your will to retire into the wilderness, there to devote yourself to the practice of austerity and penance, obtain for me from your Lord the grace to be wholly detached, at least in my heart, from earthly goods, and to practice Christian mortification with interior recollection and with the spirit of holy prayer. 

O Most Zealous Apostle, who, without working any miracle on others, but solely by the example of your life of penance and the power of your word, did draw after you the multitudes, in order to dispose them to receive the Messiah worthily and to listen to his heavenly doctrine, grant that it may be given unto me, by means of your example of a holy life and the exercise of every good work, to bring many souls to God, but above all to those souls that are enveloped in the darkness of error and ignorance and are led astray by vice. 

O Martyr Invincible, who, for the honor of God and the salvation of souls, did with firmness and constancy withstand the impiety of Herod even at the cost of your own life, and did rebuke him openly for his wicked and dissolute life, by your prayers obtain for me a heart, brave and generous, in order that I may overcome all human respect and openly profess my faith in loyal obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

Pray for me, Saint John the Baptist, that I may be made worthy of the promises of Christ, specifically, (STATE REQUEST). 

O God, who has made this day to be honorable in our eyes by the commemoration of blessed John the Baptist, grant unto your people the grace of spiritual joy, and direct the minds of all your faithful into the way of everlasting salvation. Amen.

HWP: Prayer for Newlyweds

This past weekend I had the joy of assisting at the diocesan Catholic Engaged Encounter retreat for couples preparing for the sacrament of matrimony. With them in mind, I want to offer for the HWP this week:

A Prayer for All Newlyweds

Thank You Father God for marriage and we lift-up to You all those that are married – and especially those that have been recently married – the newly-weds, knowing that marriage is instituted of God, but also knowing that the world at large is at enmity with You and seems to have waged war on the sacred establishment of matrimony and family life.

Give wisdom to all Christian couples and especially those that have recently become newlywed, that they give heed to the truth of Your word and demonstrate the joy that comes from living a life as unto the Lord.

Help them to trust in You as their God and Saviour and to keep You at the centre of their marriage. Help them to live in humble obedience to Your Word and may they demonstrate the love of God and the wisdom of His Word to the world at large, in all they say and do.

Help all newlywed Christian couples to establish and maintain the kind of marriage that is pleasing in Your sight- where the husband loves his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her and where the wife is gentle and submissive to her husband – the encourager, support and helper as laid out in Scripture - and use them to be a light to others whose marriages may be fraught with difficulties or disintegrating due to sin.

Bless we pray all newlyweds today and may they grow in grace and in a knowledge of Jesus Christ, throughout the course of their marriage to Your praise and glory,

Amen.

HWP: Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart

This Friday we celebrate the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. With this in mind we offer this week's HWP, which was employed daily by St. Pio of Pietrelcina for those who sought his prayers. It can be used as a regular novena or a daily prayer. Either way, enjoy!

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of...... (here name your request)

Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

II. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of.......(here name your request) Our Father...Hail Mary....Glory Be To the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

III. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away." Encouraged by your infallible words I now ask for the grace of.....(here name your request) Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father...Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours.

Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

HWP: Prayer for Conversions

This Friday we celebrate the feast of St. Boniface, the great apostle of the German people. Filled with holy boldness, he went into the land and preached the faith to the peoples and converted many to the Lord Jesus. With that in mind, we pray that the Lord would continue the good work of bringing souls to Himself as we pray:

A Prayer for Conversions

Lord Jesus Christ, most merciful Saviour of the world, we humbly beseech You, by Your most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep who stray out of Your fold may in one days be converted to You, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls, who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.

Learn more about St. Boniface HERE.  

HWP: Christian Unity

Today in the Ordinary Form (and tomorrow in the Extraordinary Form) we celebrate the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury, often referred to as the Apostle of England. He was sent by Pope St. Gregory the Great to evangelize the nation and was highly successful, particularly on account of the fact that he wasn't martyred by the people as is often the case with first preachers of the faith. To honor him today, please join me in praying...

A Prayer for Christian Unity

Holy Father, You have given us in St. Augustine of Canterbury, a great witness of Christian faith, grant through his intercession a renewed Christian unity among people of all Christian communities and in a particular way bless the relationship between the Anglican Church and Roman Catholic Church. Grant this through our one Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

HWP: Prayer for Humility

Yesterday in the Extraordinary Form calendar Mother Church honored Pope St. Peter Celestine. St. Peter Celestine was a man of humble beginnings, being raised in relative poverty. Being a man of great piety, he pursued religious life as a hermit and helped to inspire faith in others. His humility made him reluctant to be ordained a priest and to offer Mass, but the Lord spoke in his prayers to be obedient. This obedience was called upon again when he was unanimously elected as Pope - much to his horror. He submitted to the yoke of the papacy, but shortly thereafter renounced the papal throne and returned to the humble hermitage in which he had previously lived. So today we honor him as we pray:

A Prayer for Humility

Lord Jesus, when You walked the earth, Your humility obscured Your Kingship. Your meekness confused the arrogant, Hindering them from grasping Your purpose, Your nobleness attending to the destitutes. Teach me to model after Your eminence, To subject my human nature to humility. Grant me a with a natural inclination To never view myself greater than anyone. Banish all lingering sparks of self-importance That could elevate me greater than You. Let my heart always imitate Your humility!

HWP: Pope St. Pius V

In the Extraordinary Form yesterday (and Ordinary Form last Thursday) we celebrated the feast of Pope St. Pius V. He is arguably one of the most influential popes in the history of the Church by his implementation of the reforms of the Council of Trent and direction in the times following the Reformation, as well as his spiritual guidance and example of holiness. With this in mind, I bring out for the Half-Way Prayer of the week this newfound gem recounting his many good works:

A Hymn to Pope St. Pius V: Belli tumultus ingruit 

Wars and tumults fill the earth;

Men the fear of God despise;

Retribution, vengeance, wrath,

Brood upon the angry skies.

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

None more mightily than thou

Hath, by holy deed or word,

Through the spacious earth below

Spread the glory of the Lord.

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

Thine it was, O pontiff brave!

Pontiff of eternal Rome!

From barbaric yoke to save

Terror-stricken Christendom.

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

When Lepanto's gulf beheld,

Strewn upon its waters fair,

Turkey's countless navy yield

To the power of thy prayer:

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

Who meanwhile with prophet's eye

Didst the distant battle see,

And announce to standers-by

That same moment's victory.

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

Mightier now and glorified,

Hear the suppliant cry we pour;

Crush rebellions haughty pride;

Quell the din of rising war.

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

At thy prayer may golden peace

Down to earth descend again:

License, discord, trouble cease;

Justice, truth and order reign.

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

To the Lord of endless days,

One Almighty Trinity,

Sempiternal glory, praise,

Honour, might, and blessing be.

Holy Pius! Pope sublime!

Whom, in this most evil time

Whom, of saints in bliss, can we

Better call to aid than thee?

V. Pray for us, blessed Pius.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray. God, Who, to the destruction of the enemies of thy Church and for the restoration of Thy holy worship didst vouchsafe to elect blessed Pius to be thy High Priest; grant us so to be defended by his protection, and so to remain steadfast in Thy service, that, overcoming the snares of all our enemies, we may enjoy perpetual peace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

HWP: de Montfort's Prayer to Mary

Yesterday was the feast of St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, whose book "True Devotion to Mary" is one of the classics on Marian spirituality. This words have had a profound impact on the Church affecting millions of people from the top (Pope St. John Paul II) all the way down (me). His profound theology of the Blessed Virgin shows in his prayers, but even more apparent is his devotion. So though it might be a bit long, it is worth praying St. Louis' own pray...

A Prayer to Mary

Hail Mary, beloved Daughter of the Eternal Father. Hail Mary, admirable Mother of the Son. Hail Mary, faithful Spouse of the Holy Ghost. Hail Mary, my Mother, my loving Mistress, my powerful sovereign. Hail, my joy, my glory, my heart and my soul. Thou art all mine by mercy, and I am thine by justice. But I am not yet sufficiently thine. I now give myself wholly to thee without keeping anything back for myself or others. If thou seest anything in me which does not belong to thee, I beseech thee to take it and make thyself the absolute Mistress of all that is mine. 

Destroy in me all that may displease God; root it up and bring it to nought. Place and cultivate in me everything that is pleasing to thee. May the light of thy faith dispel the darkness of my mind. May thy profound humility take the place of my pride; may thy sublime contemplation check the distractions of my wandering imagination. May the continuous sight of God fill my memory with His Presence; may the burning love of thy heart inflame the lukewarmness of mine. May thy virtues take the place of my sins; may thy merits be my only adornment in the sight of God and make up for all that is wanting in me. Finally, dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but thine to know Jesus, and His Divine Will; that I may have no other soul but thinke to praise and glorify God; that I may have no other heart but thine to love God with a love as pure and ardent as thine. 

I do not ask thee for visions, revelations, sensible devotions, or spiritual pleasures. It is thy privilege to see God clearly, it is thy privilege to enjoy heavenly bliss; it is thy privilege to triumph gloriously in heaven at the right hand of thy Son and to hold absolute sway over angels, men, and demons. 

It is thy privilege to dispose of all the gifts of God, just as thou willest. Such, O heavenly Mary, the 'best part', which the Lord has given thee, and which shall never be taken away from thee--and this thought fills my heart with joy. As for my part here below, I wish for no other than that which was thine, to believe sincerely without spiritual pleasures, to suffer joyfully without human consolation, to die continually to myself without respite, and to work zealously and unselfishly for thee until death, as the humblest of thy servants. The only grace I beg thee, for me, is that every moment of the day, and every moment of my life, I may say, "Amen, so be it, to all that thou art doing in heaven. Amen, so be it, to all thou didst do while on earth. Amen, so be it, to all thou art doing in my soul," so that thou alone mayest fully glorify Jesus in me for time and eternity. Amen.

HWP: Prayer for Courage

Monday was the feast of Pope St. Martin I, who reigned as Supreme Pontiff in the 7th Century. The imperial powers of the day began to enforce policies that were not in keeping with the Christian faith and made such known. In standing up for the faith, Pope Martin put himself in great danger. Soon after making his stance known and defying the government, he was arrested and exiled, where he suffered great pains during imprisonment and abandonment by those closest to him, who wouldn't even answer his letters or send any food for him to survive, ultimately leading to his death several years later. In the footsteps of the first Apostles who boldly preached the Gospel in a world opposed to it, Pope St. Martin I won the martyr's crown and remains a witness for us to take courage in the face of even the strongest of worldly oppositions. With that in mind, we pray today:

A Prayer for Courage

Dear God, give me courage,

for perhaps I lack it more than anything else.

I need courage before men against their threats

and against their seductions.

I need courage to bear unkindness,

mockery, contradiction.

I need courage to fight against the devil,

against terrors and troubles, temptations,

attractions, darkness and false lights,

against tears, depression, and above all fear.

I need Your help, dear God.

Strengthen me with Your love and Your grace.

Console me with Your blessed Presence

and grant me the courage to persevere

until I am with You forever in heaven.

HWP: Easter Wednesday

Today we find ourselves midway into the Easter Octave, that 8-day festival honoring the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I was intrigued to find a page (here) with a series of prayers for each day of the octave, so in celebration of Christ's Resurrection, we offer our HWP for the week:

A Prayer for Easter Wednesday 

Let us commend ourselves and all people

to the love and protection of the Mother of God. 

Holy Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin,

intercede for us with the Lord our God. 

God who is mighty has done great things for us.

And holy is His name. 

Let us pray:

Mary,

In the brilliant light of Easter,

Teach us, too, that nothing is impossible with God.

All our struggles with self and others,

All our disappointments and shames,

All our failures and sinfulness

Are as nothing in this healing, life-giving light.

Accept, then, our all.

May God look upon it,

As once did the Mighty One upon your lowliness,

So that we might be gifted with that blessedness

Promised to all sons and daughters of the Resurrection.

HWP: Angelus

Today we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would bear the Son of God. This angelic salutation is at the heart of our faith and for this reason has been formalized in the prayer of the Church throughout the centuries. One particular way is the Angelus, traditionally prayed daily at 6am, 12noon and 6pm. This prayer has been used by the laity to join in prayer with priests and religious who pray the psalms at certain times throughout the day. Let us honor our Lord and our Lady as we pray this week's HWP:

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:

And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary... 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: 

Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: 

(genuflect) And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, 

that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

HWP: Memorare to St. Joseph

Tomorrow we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. This man of faith and foster-father of the our Lord continues to pray for us and lead us in the pathway of Heaven. Let us continue to entrust ourselves to his paternal care as we pray the HWP for this week:

The Memorare to St. Joseph

Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession were left unassisted. Full of confidence in your power I fly unto you and beg your protection. Despise not O Guardian of the Redeemer my humble supplication, but in your bounty, hear and answer me. Amen.

HWP: 40 Holy Martyrs

Yesterday was the feast of the 40 Holy Martyrs, sometimes knows as the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste. These martyrs numbered 40 Roman soldiers who converted to the Christian faith in the 4th Century when persecution of Christians was still widespread. In response, the 40 were exposed naked in the dead of winter and set on a frozen-over pond in the nearby town of Sebaste. One the shore was placed a warm bath for any who would renounce the faith. The 40 stood strong for hours until one the group and went for the warm water. Jumping in the warm water, his body went into shock and he died on the spot. This sight, coupled with a heavenly vision of the 39 being crowned with heavenly gifts brought one of the watchmen on the shore to immediate conversion and he stripped himself of his garments and joined the 39 on the ice, bringing the number back to 40. After many hours, the men were taken and burned, most of them still being alive, and their ashes tossed into a river. They have been honored since the late 4th Century and continue to be a witness to faith in the midst of so many trials, as well as the power that witnessing to faith has in bringing others to know Christ Jesus. With this in mind, we pray for our Half-Way Prayer this week the words spoken by the martyrs themselves:

The Prayer of the 40 Holy Martyrs

You can have our armor and even our bodies, 

but our hearts’ allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ.

HWP: Our Lady of Lourdes

Today is the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Lourdes. Her appearances to St. Bernadette led to what has become one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the world, where miracles happen by the hundreds daily. Though I haven't been there I've heard of and experienced personally miracles from the little stream that continues to pour forth healing waters. With that in mind, we invoke Our Lady today to pray for healing for ourselves and those we hold in our hearts. And so we pray...

A Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes for Healing

O ever immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, health of the sick, refuge of sinners, comfort of the afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings; deign to cast upon me a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal. I come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence, to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain, O loving Mother, the grant of my requests. I will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that I may one day share your glory, and bless you in eternity. Amen.

HWP: Fruitless Efforts

Yesterday was the feast of St. Ansgar (more on him here) who is generally passed over on account of his sharing a feast with the more notable St. Blaise. In reading about him, it actually seems rather appropriate to be so. St. Ansgar had a great desire to be a martyr for the faith and sought this by way of his attempts to evangelize the pagans of Scandinavia. He went on numerous missions and converted a few souls each time but ultimately they lapsed back into their paganism after his departure. His devotion to the poor and sick was a noble example of charity and he lived a life of great holiness, dying of natural causes rather than his desire of martyrdom. St. Ansgar gives us an example of a man who had a desire to do great things, but who often encounter fruitless efforts and had to accept that some things were not the will of God. And so, this week's HWP is one that helps us to align our will with that Divine Will and continue to seek the Lord in all things. Please join me in praying...

An Act of Conformity to God's Will

O my God, I do not know what will happen today, but it is enough for me to know and to believe that nothing will happen to me that is not permitted by You from all eternity for my greater good. 

I adore Your holy and eternal dispositions. I surrender myself with all my heart to Your fatherly love. I make of everything a loving sacrifice in union with that of my Divine Saviour.

I ask, in His Name and through the merits of His Passion, the grace of patience and perfect submission to You in all my sufferings, so that whatever You permit to happen may be for Your greater glory and my sanctification. Amen.

HWP: St. Peter Nolasco

Today is the feast of St. Peter Nolasco, who, alongside St. Raymond of Penyafort, founded the Mercedarians. This community was formed with a specific intention of freeing many of the Christians who had been taken captive by the Moors, going so far even as to take a vow to exchange their life for those of the captives they sought to free. Today there are many still in chains for their faith, as well as many trapped in the chains of sin. Let us pray to St. Peter that they might experience freedom according to God's Holy Will as we pray...

A Prayer to St. Peter Nolasco

O God, St. Peter was divinely guided by the example of Your own love to enrich Your Church with a new community dedicated to the ransoming of imprisoned Christians. Release us from the slavery of sin through his intercession so that we may enjoy the eternal freedom of our home in heaven.

HWP: St. Agnes

This week I am in Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life at our nation's capital. Today being the feast of St. Agnes, I wanted to honor this little lamb of the Lord with a prayer to her. It is a prayer to be preserved from harm in our own trials and strikes me that it is the vigil of the legalization of abortion in our country. Perhaps today we can pray on behalf of those little souls in danger of being aborted? So let us pray...

A Prayer to St. Agnes

O glorious St. Agnes, you served God in humility and confidence on earth and are now in the enjoyment of His beatific Vision in heaven because you persevered till death and gained the crown of eternal life. Remember now the dangers that surround me in the vale of tears, and intercede for me in my needs and troubles.

Amen.

HWP: Prayer for Priests

As my brother priests and I take a bit of time away from our parishes for continued formation and education, it highlights that fact that we are still flawed men in need of prayers and the grace of God. Please keep us in your prayers and be assured of our prayers for you as well.

Prayer for Priests

Lord Jesus, we your people pray to You for our priests. You have given them to us for OUR needs. We pray for them in THEIR needs. 

We know that You have made them priests in the likeness of your own priesthood. You have consecrated them, set them aside, annointed them, filled them with the Holy Spirit, appointed them to teach, to preach, to minister, to console, to forgive, and to feed us with Your Body and Blood. 

Yet we know, too, that they are one with us and share our human weaknesses. We know too that they are tempted to sin and discouragement as are we, needing to be ministered to, as do we, to be consoled and forgiven, as do we. Indeed, we thank You for choosing them from among us, so that they understand us as we understand them, suffer with us and rejoice with us, worry with us and trust with us, share our beings, our lives, our faith. 

We ask that You give them this day the gift You gave Your chosen ones on the way to Emmaus: Your presence in their hearts, Your holiness in their souls, Your joy in their spirits. And let them see You face to face in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread.

We pray to You, O Lord, through Mary the mother of all priests, for Your priests and for ours. Amen.

Composed by John Cardinal O'Connor 

HWP: Epiphany

This past Sunday (or yesterday in the Extraordinary Form calendar) we celebrated the Solemnity of Epiphany, marking the arrival of the Magi with their gifts and the invitation for all of humanity to seek the face of God. So we pray...

An Epiphany Prayer

O God, 

Who by a star

guided the wise men to the worship of your Son

we pray you to lead to yourself

the wise and great of every land

that unto you every knee may bow,

and every thought be brought into captivity

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

HWP: O Virgin Immaculate

Advent and Christmas preparations got the best of me with posting things here in a timely manner or any manner at all. So today we begin again with the Half-Way Prayers and pray for the blessings of the Lord to be poured from the Heart of Jesus upon each of us through the intercession of all the angels and saints, and especially Mary, the Mother of God. So we begin in anticipation of that great feast with the prayer...

O Virgin Immaculate

O Virgin Immaculate, Mother of God and my Mother, from your sublime heights turn your eyes of pity on me. Filled with confidence in your goodness and knowing full well your power, I beg you to extend to me your assistance in the journey of life, which is so full of dangers for my soul. In order that I may never be a slave of the devil through sin, but may ever live with my heart humble and pure, I entrust myself wholly to you. I consecrate my heart to you forever, my only desire being to love your divine Son, Jesus. Mary, none of your devout servants has ever perished; may I, too, be saved.

Amen.