Queen of Heaven, sovereign Mistress of the Angels, who didst receive from the beginning the mission and the power to crush the serpent’s head, we beseech thee to send thy holy angels, that under thy command and by thy power, they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them on every side, resist their bold attacks, and drive them hence into the abyss of woe.
Most holy Mother, send thy angels to defend us and to drive the cruel enemy from us.
All ye holy Angels and Archangels, help and defend us. Amen.
O good and tender Mother! Thou shalt ever be our Love and our Hope.
Holy Angels and Archangels, keep and defend us. Amen.
Through Mary’s intercession, say this prayer for deliverance from evil
Prayer for help from St. Gabriel
O blessed Archangel Gabriel,
we beseech thee,
do thou intercede for us at the throne of divine mercy in our present necessities,
that as thou didst announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation,
so through thy prayers and patronage in heaven we may obtain the benefits of the same,
and sing the praise of God forever in the land of the living.
Amen.
PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28)
Saints Simon and Jude
Prayer for the Morning
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us! (Ps 95:6)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
HYMN
One joyful hymn of praise must greet
Apostles whom we always find
Together in the Gospel’s page,
By faithful love and zeal combined.
To follow Christ in early youth
Was surely Simon’s joy and pride,
Before the zealot would set forth
To preach his name both far and wide.
Saint Jude, a kinsman of our Lord,
In heart and mind yet closer still,
Your words remain until this day
With hope and love our souls to fill.
As brothers both in life and death,
A martyr’s crown was your reward,
As shining witnesses to truth
And victims worthy of your Lord.
PSALM 29
Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. (Jer 7:23)
The voice of the Lord is full of power! He calls each of us, like the Apostles Simon and Jude, to be his voice to the world, knowing that wherever we go, he will follow.
O give the Lord, you sons of God,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Adore the Lord in his holy court.
The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters,
the Lord on the immensity of waters;
the voice of the Lord, full of power,
the voice of the Lord, full of splendor.
The Lord’s voice shattering the cedars,
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon;
he makes Lebanon leap like a calf
and Sirion like a young wild-ox.
The Lord’s voice flashes flames of fire.
The Lord’s voice shaking the wilderness,
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh;
the Lord’s voice rending the oak tree
and stripping the forest bare.
The God of glory thunders.
In his temple they all cry: “Glory!”
The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits as king for ever.
The Lord will give strength to his people,
the Lord will bless his people with peace.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (James 1:22-25)
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.
Let us hear the word of the Lord and keep it!
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Jesus said: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (cf. Jn 14:23)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father…
INTERCESSIONS
God has granted us a rich inheritance of faith from the Apostles. With gratitude let us pray:
R/O God, we praise you!
Blessed be God for the holy Church
– built upon the foundation of the Apostles’ witness to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus: R/
Blessed be God for the Good News of our salvation
– handed on from generation to generation from the Apostles: R/
Blessed be God for the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance
– through which we receive the new life of the risen Christ proclaimed by the Apostles: R/
Blessed be God for the Eucharist
– in which we participate in the mystery of the cross witnessed by the Apostles: R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O Lord our God, you chose to build your Church upon the faith of ordinary people made extraordinary by the companionship of your Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. Keep us faithful to the gift which they received with such joy and handed on at such cost, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27)
Prayer for the Evening
You guide us by your counsel and so you lead us
to glory: we praise you, O Lord!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
HYMN
When the way is hard to find,
Seeking first the Father’s will,
Lord, your promise call to mind,
All your purposes fulfill:
When the way is hard to find
Lead your pilgrim people still.
Faith be strong and doubt depart,
Fear and unbelief be gone;
Peace possess the anxious heart
Where the light of Christ has shone:
Faith be strong and doubt depart,
Lead your pilgrim people on.
PSALM 73:1-15, 28
Had you walked in the way of God,/ you would have dwelt in enduring peace. (Bar 3:13)
Some among the rich, famous, and powerful seem to be spared all ordinary human ills despite their apparent disregard of God and of human decency. Even their problems seem unreal in the glare of the spotlight and camera flash. The public idolizes and imitates them. Why not? The Psalmist wrestles with a problem as old as ancient Israel and as modern as today’s tabloids.
How good God is to Israel,
to those who are pure of heart.
Yet my feet came close to stumbling,
my steps had almost slipped
for I was filled with envy of the proud
when I saw how the wicked prosper.
For them there are no pains;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
They have no share in men’s sorrows;
they are not stricken like others.
So they wear their pride like a necklace,
they clothe themselves with violence.
Their hearts overflow with malice,
their minds seethe with plots.
They scoff; they speak with malice;
from on high they plan oppression.
They have set their mouths in the heavens
and their tongues dictate to the earth.
So the people turn to follow them
and drink in all their words.
They say: “How can God know?
Does the Most High take any notice?”
Look at them, such are the wicked,
but untroubled, they grow in wealth.
How useless to keep my heart pure
and wash my hands in innocence,
when I was stricken all day long,
suffered punishment day after day.
Then I said: “If I should speak like that,
I should abandon the faith of your people.”
To be near God is my happiness.
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of all your works
at the gates of the city of Zion.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Matthew 18:6-7)
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
Show us the way to life!
CANTICLE OF MARY
Set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. (1 Tm 4:12)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father…
INTERCESSIONS
The Lord has made us responsible for choosing wisely whose example we will follow and for leading one another in the right way. Let us pray:
R/Lead us in your ways, O Lord.
For those whom fame and fortune have made influential in our culture,
– that they may use their influence for good: R/
For those who follow destructive paths and lead others in their wake,
– that they may turn to the road set out by Christ: R/
For those who are swayed by the example of celebrities,
– that they may choose to imitate the good rather than the heedless: R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever! Amen.
MARIAN ANTIPHON
Antiphon for the Memorial of
Our Lady of the Rosary,
October 7
The daughters of Zion saw her flourishing
in blossoms of roses,
and pronounced her most blessed.
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, O most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27)
Prayer for the Morning
Let us praise the name of the Lord!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
HYMN
In your mercy, Lord, you called me,
Taught my sinful heart and mind,
Else this world had still enthralled me,
And to glory kept me blind.
Lord, I did not freely choose you
Till by grace you set me free;
For my heart would still refuse you
Had your love not chosen me.
Now my heart sets none above you,
For your grace alone I thirst,
Knowing well that, if I love you,
You, O Lord, have loved me first.
PSALM 135:1-6
With age-old love I have loved you;/ so I have kept my mercy toward you. (Jer 31:3)
Created, chosen, redeemed by almighty God, we have reason to sing praise at the beginning of this new day, not for any achievements of our own but for his great love for us.
Praise the name of the Lord,
praise him, servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord for the Lord is good.
Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself
and Israel for his own possession.
For I know the Lord is great,
that our Lord is high above all gods.
The Lord does whatever he wills,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)
You are a people sacred to the Lord, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
I have loved you, says the Lord.
(Mal 1:2)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord. (2 Cor 10:17)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father…
INTERCESSIONS
Because of God’s love for us, we dare to say:
R/Our Father, who art in heaven, hear our prayer.
You created us from nothing:
– may we live always before you in thanksgiving and praise. R/
You chose us out of love:
– may we grow daily in our love for you. R/
You redeemed us through the gift of your Son’s Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection:
– may we think and act as faithful witnesses to the Gospel. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
God our Father, your love for the world you created is without measure. May we grow each day toward the fire of your love for us, reflected in and through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
A prayer to grow in spiritual wisdom
Dear God, St Anthony the Abbot accepted your call to renounce the world and to love you above all things. He faithfully served you in the solitude of the desert by fasting, prayer, humility and good works. In the Sign of the Cross, he triumphed over the Devil.
Through his intercession, may we learn to love you better; with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, all our strength and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
St Anthony the Abbot, great and powerful saint, grant us also this special request […]. Amen.
PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (MONDAY, OCTOBER 26)
Prayer for the Evening
God is the architect and maker of the everlasting city:/ let us give thanks and praise! (cf. Heb 11:10)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
HYMN
Oh blest the house, whate’er befall,
Where Jesus Christ is All in All;
Yea, if he were not dwelling there,
How poor and dark and void it were!
Oh blest that house where faith you find,
And all within have set their mind
To trust their God and serve him still,
And do in all his holy will.
Blest, where their prayers shall daily rise
As fragrant incense to the skies,
While in their lives the world is taught
That forms without the heart are naught.
Blest such a house; it prospers well.
In peace and joy the parents dwell,
And in their children’s lot is shown
How richly God can bless his own.
Then here will I and mine today
A solemn covenant make, and say—
Though all the world forsake your Word,
I and my house will serve the Lord.
PSALM 127
The Lord also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. (2 Sm 7:11)
The Psalmist plays on the double meaning of the word “house” as a building and a family. The Scriptures often present God as the builder who is constructing the heavenly city out of living stones, his children, adopted and loved in Jesus Christ, the firstborn Son of God’s house and its foundation.
If the Lord does not build the house,
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city,
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat:
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.
Truly sons are a gift from the Lord,
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of the man
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Ephesians 2:19-22)
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
We are your people, the work of your hands!
(cf. Is 64:7-8)
CANTICLE OF MARY
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? (Jn 14:2)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father…
INTERCESSIONS
Let us pray to the Father and builder of our house:
R/Build up your house, O Lord.
You have called us and endowed us with different gifts for building up the household of the faith:
– make us skilled laborers in the art of mutual support. R/
Your Son has gone before us to prepare a place for us:
– keep us strong in hope and faith as we await his return in glory. R/
You have given us a vision of the great city to come:
– bring our dead to dwell with you in glory. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of our life. Amen. (cf. Eph 3:17)
MARIAN ANTIPHON
Antiphon for the Memorial of
Our Lady of the Rosary,
October 7
The daughters of Zion saw her flourishing
in blossoms of roses,
and pronounced her most blessed.
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, O most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
A litany for when you are weary and burdened
V. Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Christ, have mercy on us.
V. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
R. Christ, graciously hear us.
V. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother’s womb, [etc.]
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God.
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty.
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God.
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High.
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven.
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity.
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise.
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills.
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy.
Heart of Jesus, rich to all who call upon You.
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our offenses.
Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches.
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities.
Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in You.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints.
V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
R. spare us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
R. graciously hear us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
R. have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart,
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever.
Amen.
Depressed? Here’s a patron saint for you
St. Dymphna wants to help you see the beauty of life once again.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an “estimated 16.1 million adults” suffer from depression on a yearly basis. Depression is a major health problem both in the United States and across the globe, with millions seeking help from anti-depressant medications and mental health professionals.The source of depression is always complex and requires the appropriate medical attention. Each person is unique in their struggle and should approach the disease with due care, following the advice of those qualified to treat it.
On the spiritual side of the issue there are many saints who can be invoked to provide their heavenly aid. One saint in particular is St. Dymphna, known for her intercession for those suffering mental disorders, depression and anxiety.
Born in Ireland during the 7th century, Dymphna was the daughter of a pagan chieftain and a Christian mother.
Her mother died while Dymphna was a teenager and her father began to make advances on Dymphna, who promptly fled the country.
She reached Belgium and stayed in a city called Geel. Filled with rage, her father ran after her and searched until he found her. Dymphna refused her father’s continued advances and for that, he killed her.
During the Middle Ages a church housing her relics was dedicated to Dymphna in Geel. Hundreds of pilgrims came from all over Europe seeking healing from their mental illnesses. Countless miracles were credited to her intercession and the city of Geel became a center for treating mentally ill patients. Treatment centered on the patients having an active part in the life of the town before returning to the hospital at night. It was a groundbreaking community-based treatment that was in stark contrast to the asylums that treated the mentally ill as criminals who needed to be locked up.
Here is a short prayer to St. Dymphna to place those suffering mental illness into her loving hands.
Good Saint Dymphna, great wonder-worker in every affliction of mind and body, I humbly implore your powerful intercession with Jesus through Mary, the Health of the Sick, in my present need. (Mention it.) Saint Dymphna, martyr of purity, patroness of those who suffer with nervous and mental afflictions, beloved child of Jesus and Mary, pray to Them for me and obtain my request.
Other patron saints to invoke are St. Philomena, St. Margaret of Cortona, St. Raphael the Archangel and St. Benedict Joseph Labre. Because St. Louis Martin, father of St. Therese of Lisieux, is thought to have suffered from depression during his life, his intercession is also sought by many.
A prayer to grow in hope
When difficulties arise in our lives, it can be a struggle to maintain hope. The future may look bleak, or even uncertain, and we don’t know what to do.
St. Faustina, a Polish nun who lived in the early 20th century, received many private revelations from Jesus and one of the primary messages he relayed to her was trust. He said to her, “The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive.”
Jesus gave St. Faustina one of the simplest prayers we can use in times of difficulty.
Jesus, I trust in You!