To Christ the King

 

O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee to be the king of the universe; all that hath been made is created for Thee. Exercise over me all Thy sovereign rights. I hereby renew the promises of my baptism, renouncing Satan and all his works and pomps, and I engage myself to lead henceforth a truly Christian life. And in an especial manner do I undertake to bring about the triumph of the rights of God and Thy Church, so far as in me lies. Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee my poor actions to obtain the acknowledgment by every heart of Thy sacred kingly power. In such wise may the kingdom of Thy peace be firmly established throughout all the earth. Amen.

St. Raphael Prayer for Discerning Marriage

 

Glorious Saint Raphael, Patron and lover of the young, I feel the need of call­ing to you and of pleading for your help. In all confidence I open my heart to you to beg your guidance and assistance in the important task of planning my future. Obtain for me through your intercession the light of God’s grace so that I may de­cide wisely concerning the person who is to be my partner through life. Angel of Happy Meetings, lead us by the hand to find each other. May all our movements be guided by your light and transfigured by your joy. As you led the young Tobias to Sara and opened up a new life of happi­ness with her to holy marriage, lead me to such a one whom in your angelic wisdom you judge best suited to be united with me in marriage.

Saint Raphael, loving Patron of those seeking a marriage partner, help me in this supreme decision of my life. Find for me as a help‑mate in life the person whose character may reflect some of the traits of Jesus and Mary. May he (she) be up­right, loyal, pure, sincere and noble, so that with united efforts and with chaste and unselfish love we both may strive to perfect ourselves in soul and body, as well as the children it may please God to en­trust to our care.

Saint Raphael, Angel of chaste court­ship, bless our friendship and our love that sin may have no part in it. May our mutual love bind us so closely that our future home may ever be most like the home of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Offer your prayers to God for the both of us and obtain the blessing of God upon our marriage, as you were the herald of blessing for the marriage of Tobias and Sara.

Saint Raphael, Friend of the young, be my Friend, for I shall always be yours. I desire ever to invoke you in my needs. To your special care I entrust the decision I am to make as to my future husband (wife). Direct me to the person with whom I can best cooperate in doing God’s Holy Will, with whom I can live in peace, love, and harmony in this life, and attain to eternal joy in the next. Amen. 

In honor of Saint Raphael: Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us!

Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

 

3 years Indulgence each day of the Novena with the intention of continuing for nine days.

Let us commend to Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother the souls in Purgatory, in particular those of our relatives, benefactors, friends and enemies; especially those for whom we are bound to pray; and let us offer the following considerations and prayers for them, pondering over the great sufferings which these spouses of Christ endure.

First Day

Manifold are the sufferings which those blessed souls must endure, but the greatest of all is the reflection that their sins in life are the cause of their present torments.


Prayer

O Jesus, my Savior, I have so often deserved to be cast into hell. How great were my suffering if I were now cast away and obliged to think that I myself had caused my damnation. I thank Thee for the patience with which Thou hast endured me. My God, I love Thee above all things and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee because Thou art infinite goodness, I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of perseverance; have pity on me and at the same time on those blessed souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy power�ful intercession.

Our Father, Hail Mary



Prayer to our Suffering Savior
for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

(To Be Said Every Day During the Novena)

V. O most sweet Jesus, through that sweat of blood which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these holy souls. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord, have mercy on them.

V. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Scourging, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord, have mercy on them.

V. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful Crowning with Thorns, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord, have mercy on them.

V. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy Cross to Calvary, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord, have mercy on them.

V. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord, have mercy on them.

V. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter Agony on the Cross, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord, have mercy on them.

V. O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord, have mercy on them.

[Here recommend yourself to the souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions]

Blessed Souls, we have prayed for you; we entreat you, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for us miserable sinners, who are in danger of being damned and of losing God forever. Amen.

______________________


Second Day

The second pain which causes these holy souls much suffering, is the time lost in life, when they might have gained merits for heaven; and the thought that they are unable to repair this loss, because the time of life and merit is passed.


Prayer

Woe to me, unhappy being, so many years have I already spent on earth and have earned naught but hell! I give Thee thanks, O Lord, for granting me time even now to atone for my sins. My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. Send me Thy assistance, that I may apply the time yet remaining to me for Thy love and service; have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory, O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.


______________________


Third Day

Another great pain of the holy souls is caused by the hideous vision of their guilt, for which they now suffer. In this life the hideousness of sin is not seen as in the life to come; and this is one of the greatest sufferings of Purgatory.


Prayer

O My God! because Thou art infinite goodness, I love Thee above all things, and repent with my whole heart of my offenses against Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. And thou, Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.


______________________


Fourth Day

The pain that still more afflicts these holy souls, the spouses of Jesus, is the thought of having, during life, displeased by their sins that God Whom they so ardently love. Some penitents have felt so much pain and sorrow in thinking of having, by their sins, offended so good a God, that they died of grief. The souls in Purgatory understand far better than we do, the claims that God has to our love; they love Him with all their strength. Hence, at the thought of having offended Him during life, they experience pain that surpasses all other pain.


Prayer

O My God! Because Thou art infinite goodness, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended Thee. I promise to die rather than ever offend Thee more. Give me holy perseverance; have pity on me, and have pity on those holy souls that burn in the cleansing fire and love Thee with all their hearts. O Mary, Mother of God, assist them by thy powerful prayers.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.


______________________


Fifth Day

Another great suffering is caused these holy souls by the ignorance of the time of their deliverance. They are certain of being one day released, yet the uncertainty of the time when their purgatorial term will have ended gives them great pain.


Prayer

Woe to me, unhappy being, if Thou, O Lord, hadst cast me into hell; for from that dungeon of eternal pain there is no deliverance. I love Thee above all things, O infinite God and I am sincerely sorry for having offended Thee again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful inter-cession.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.


______________________


Sixth Day

The holy souls are, indeed, comforted by the recollection of the passion of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, since they know they are saved by the passion of Jesus Christ, and have received, and still receive, so much consolation from Holy Masses and Holy Communions. Nevertheless, they are greatly pained by the recollection of their ingratitude for these two great gifts of the love of Jesus Christ.


Prayer

O My Divine Redeemer Thou didst die for me on the Cross, and hast so often united Thyself with me in Holy Communion, and I have repaid Thee only with ingratitude. Now, however, I love Thee above all things, O supreme God; and I am more grieved at my offenses against Thee than at any other evil. I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.


______________________


Seventh Day

A further great sorrow of these holy souls consists in their ardent desire for the beatific vision. Slowly and painfully the moments of their purgatorial imprisonment pass by; for, they love God deeply, and desire to be delivered from their sad prison in order to praise Him forever.


Prayer

O God, Father of Mercy, satisfy this their ardent desire! Send them Thy holy Angel to announce to them that Thou, their Father, are now reconciled with them through the suffering and death of Jesus, and that the moment of their deliverance has arrived.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.


______________________


Eighth Day

Another bitter sorrow of these souls is caused by the reflection that God had distinguished them by so many graces not granted to others, and that they compelled Him, by their sins, to condemn them to these sufferings, and that they had deserved hell, and were pardoned and saved only by the mercy of God.


Prayer

O my God, I also am one of these ungrateful beings, having received so much grace, and yet despised Thy love and deserved to be cast by Thee into hell. But Thy infinite goodness has spared me until now. Therefore, I now love Thee above all things, and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, I will rather die than ever again offend Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.


______________________


Ninth Day

Great are all the sufferings of the holy souls; the fire, the grief, the darkness, the uncertainty of the time of their deliverance from prison; but the greatest of all these sorrows is this, that these holy souls are separated from their divine Spouse, and deprived of His beatific vision.


Prayer

O My God! how was it possible that I, for so many years, have borne tranquilly the separation from Thee and Thy holy grace! O infinite Goodness, how long-suffering hast Thou shown Thyself to me! Henceforth, I shall love Thee above all things, I am deeply sorry for having offended Thee; I promise rather to die than to again offend Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance, and do not permit that I should ever again fall into sin. Have compassion on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. I pray Thee, moderate their sufferings; shorten the time of their misery; call them soon unto Thee in heaven, that they may behold Thee face to face, and forever love Thee. Mary, Mother of Mercy, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession, and pray for us also who are still in danger of eternal damnation.

Our Father, Hail Mary, O Most Sweet Jesus.

Novena to Christ the King

Prayer to Christ the King
(to be said for nine consecutive days)

O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee to be the King of the universe; all that hath been made is created for Thee. Exercise over me all Thy sovereign rights.

I hereby renew the promises of my Baptism, renouncing Satan and all his works and pomps, and I engage myself to lead henceforth a truly Christian life. And in a special manner do I undertake to bring about the triumph of the rights of God and Thy Church, so far as in me lies.

Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee my poor actions to obtain the acknowledgement by every heart of Thy sacred kingly power. In such wise may the kingdom of Thy peace be firmly established throughout all the earth. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary (3x), Glory Be

Jesus, King and center of all hearts, by the coming of Thy Kingdom, grant us peace.

(Prayers from The Raccolta)

Prayer in Trials

 

To be said in great affliction, or when one seems to be deprived of all visible help, and for cases despaired of.

Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies has caused thee to be forgotten by many but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases – of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; make us, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly . . . (here make you request) and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity.

I promise thee, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron and do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen.

St. Jude, pray for us,

And for all who invoke thy aid.

Novena in Honor of St. Raphael, the Archangel

 

Most illustrious Archangel St. Raphael, who faithfully accompanied the youth Tobias from Syria to Media, deign also to accompany me, a wretched sinner, on the dangerous journey I am making now from Time to Eternity.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Most wise Archangel St. Raphael, who while walking beside the river Tigris preserved the youth Tobias from the peril of death, teaching him how to obtain control of the fish which threatened him, preserve my life also from the attacks of the monster which threatens to devour me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Most compassionate Archangel St. Raphael, who, by a miracle wonderful in its simplicity restored the precious gift of sight to the blind Tobias, free my life, I beseech thee, from the blindness which afflicts and dishonours it, so that I may know things in their true aspect. Never permit me to be deceived by appearances, but help me always to walk secure in the way of the divine Commandments.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Most perfect Archangel St Raphael, ever standing before the throne of the Most High to praise Him, to bless Him, to glorify Him and to serve Him, obtain for me the grace never to lose sight of the divine presence, So that my thoughts, my words and my works may be directed always to the glory of God and to my own sanctification.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Powerful Novena to St. Raphael the Archangel

 Return to Order

(Feast Day October 24th)

 Prayer to St. Raphael

O Heavenly Physician and most Faithful Companion, Saint Raphael, who restored vision to the elder Tobit, conducted the young Tobias every step of his journey and preserved him unharmed; be pleased to hear my petition:

(State petition here)

O, Saint Raphael, be a doctor to my body and soul, cast away all shadows of ignorance, and assist me constantly in the perilous journey of this life, until you lead me to our Heavenly Home, where, as one of the elect, I may forever contemplate the Divine Countenance with thee. Amen

Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be,

Pray for us, o glorious St. Raphael, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

O God, who assigned blessed Raphael, the archangel, to be a companion on the road to your servant Tobias, grant to us Thy servants that we may be guarded by the protection of the same angel and be enforced by his assistance. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen

Feast of the Holy Rosary

 

Prayer to the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary

O Virgin Immaculate and Queen of the Holy Rosary, in these days of dead faith and triumphant impiety thou hast desired to establish thy throne as Queen and Mother in the ancient land of Pompeii, once the home of paganism. From that place, where men of old worshiped idols and evil spirits, do thou this day, as the Mother of divine graces, scatter far and wide the treasures of heaven's mercy. Ah, from that throne where thou reignest in mercy, turn, dear Mother, thine eyes of pity even upon me and be gracious unto me who have so great need of thine assistance. Show thyself to me, even as thou hast shown thyself to so many others, a true Mother of mercy: "Monstra te esse Matrem" (Show Thyself a Mother); while with all my heart I salute thee and invoke thee as my sovereign Lady and Queen of the most Holy Rosary.

Hail, Holy Queen.

(An indulgence of 300 days--1925)

An Indulgence of 7 years is granted to all the faithful who devoutly recite

the Rosary during the month of October--Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Supremi Apostolatus

Our Lady gave Saint Dominic the Rosary as a weapon to combat heresies and sin. 

Feast of the Holy Rosary by Rev. Leonhard Goffine, 1896 The feast was fixed for the first Sunday in October by Pope Clement XI., in perpetual commemoration of a celebrated double victory gained by the Christians at Lepanto, in 1571, under Pope St. Pius V., and at Belgrade, under Pope Clement XI., through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, who had been invoked by saying the Holy Rosary. It is at the same time the principal feast of the Arch-confraternity of the Holy Rosary. In 1885 Pope Leo XIII., ordered the Rosary to be recited every day during the month of October in every parish church and cathedral throughout the world, and those of the faithful who cannot be present at this recital he exhorted to say it with their families or in private. The Holy Rosary is a form of prayer in which there is first said the Apostles' Creed, and then fifteen decades, each one of which consists of ten Hail Marys. Each decade has one Our Father to be said before it, and is followed by a meditation upon some one mystery of our redemption. It is called the Rosary, or Wreath of Roses, because the joyful, the sorrowful, and the glorious mysteries, aptly symbolized by the leaves, the thorns, the flower, of which the rose consists--with the prayers and praises that are blended together--compose, as it were, a wreath or crown. It is also called the Psalter, because it contains a hundred and fifty Hail Marys, as the Psalter of David contains a hundred and fifty psalms, and because it is used in place of the singing of psalms, as practised in former times. There are three parts in the Rosary—the joyful, the sorrowful, the glorious. The joyful part consists of the five first decades, to which are attached five mysteries of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, through which, full of joy, we speak to Mary of Him: 1. Whom she conceived while a virgin. 2. Whom she bore to Elizabeth. 3. Whom she brought forth while a virgin. 4. Whom she offered to God in the temple. 5. Whom she found in the temple. (This is said particularly in Advent.) The sorrowful part, in like manner, contains five decades, in connection with which there are presented for our meditation five mysteries of the passion and death of Jesus: 1. Who for us sweat blood. 2. Who for us was scourged. 3. Who for us was crowned with thorns. 4. Who for us bore the heavy cross. 5. Who for us was crucified. (This is said particularly in Lent.) The glorious part, consisting of the last five decades, reminds us of the glory of Christ and of the Blessed Virgin by five mysteries in which we commemorate Him: 1. Who rose from the dead. 2. Who ascended into heaven. 3. Who sent to us the Holy Ghost. 4. Who received thee, O Virgin, into heaven. 5. Who crowned thee, O Virgin, in heaven. (This part is said particularly at Eastertide.) How was this prayer introduced into the Church? St. Dominic had for many years preached against the errors of the Albigenses and other heretics, with such zeal and profound ability that they were often convinced. But nevertheless the results were unimportant; but few returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church. In this discouraging state of things St. Dominic redoubled his prayers and works of penance, and in particular besought Mary for support and assistance. One day Mary appeared to him and taught him the Rosary. He zealously labored to introduce everywhere this manner of prayer, and from that time preached with such success that in a short period more than one hundred thousand heretics and sinners were converted. The divine origin of the Rosary is testified to by the bull of Gregory XIII. of the year 1577. Is the Rosary a profitable method of prayer? Yes; for by bringing before the eyes of the spirit the fundamental mysteries of Christianity it supplies us with the strongest motives to love God, to hate sin, to subdue the passions, to contemn the world and its vanity, and to strive after Christian perfection, in order that we may gain those happy mansions which Jesus prepares for us. The Rosary, besides, brings before us living examples--Jesus and Mary--whom we must follow, and encourages us to good works by pointing to the all-powerful grace procured for us by Jesus, and the all-prevailing intercession of the gracious Mother of God. Let us not be ashamed to carry the beads with us, for otherwise we might be ashamed of being Catholics; let us say the Rosary often--every evening--as was the custom with Catholics in former times, and we shall find that, as in St. Dominic's day it was a wholesome check to error, so too in our times it will be, if said aright, a powerful weapon against heresy and unbelief, and will increase faith, piety, and virtue. How should we say the Rosary? Properly; that is, as has been above described, and slowly, with a distinct pronunciation of the prayers and mysteries. 2. Devoutly, not only with the lips, but also with the heart. More particularly we ought to meditate upon the mysteries that come before us: thus, at the joyful mysteries we should think of the infinite love of God to men and on His humiliation for us, thanking Him, and promising our love to Him in return; at the sorrowful mysteries we should have compassion on the Saviour suffering for us, should from the heart detest the sins which were the cause of His sufferings, and make the most earnest resolutions for the future; at the glorious mysteries we should remember the glory which awaits us also if we follow Jesus and Mary. Prayer: O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, procured for us the rewards of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that, commemorating these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and possess what they promise. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, etc. http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/

Please remember to offer Rosaries for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.