Fish Eaters: The Whys and Hows of Traditional Catholicism


``Where the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of Antioch, 1st c. A.D


Prayers for Priests
and Priestly Vocations


Prayer for Priestly Vocations

O God, Who desirest that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of Thy truth: send, we beseech Thee, laborers into Thy harvest, and grant them grace to speak Thy word with all trust: that Thy words may run and be glorified: and that all nations may know Thee the one true God, and Him whom Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord; Who with Thee liveth.



Prayer for Priests

O Almighty Eternal God, look upon the face of Thy Son, and for the love of Him who is the eternal High Priest, have pity on Thy priests. Remember, O most compassionate God, that they are but weak and frail human beings. Stir up in them the grace of their vocation which is in them by the imposition of the bishop's hands. Keep them close to Thee, lest the enemy prevail against them, so that they may never do anything in the slightest degree unworthy of their sublime vocation.

O Jesus, I pray Thee for Thy faithful and fervent priests;
for Thy unfaithful and tepid priests;
for Thy priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields;
for Thy tempted priests;
for Thy lonely priests;
for Thy dying priests;
for the souls of Thy priests in purgatory.

But above all I commend to Thee the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted, and who gave me Thy Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me, or helped and encouraged me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way, particularly (priest's name here).

O Jesus, keep them all close to Thy Heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.



Litany for Priests


God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Jesus, our High Priest, Sacrifice, and Teacher, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Bless our Holy Father, our bishops, and priests, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Give them the strength of Thy grace, and the love of Thy Heart, and the spirit of sacrifice of Thine Own Divine life, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Make them firm in faith, holy in conduct, and faithful in Thy service, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Fill them with the zeal of the Apostles, with the courage of the Martyrs, with the spirit of the Confessors, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Grant that they may convert the sinners, correct the erring, teach the ignorant, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Strengthen them with joy in their labors, with patience in their sufferings, with endurance in their struggles, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Preserve them in love for the little ones, in zeal for the education of youth, in loyalty to people and country, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Bless their words in the pulpit, their instructions in school, their admonitions in the confessional and at the sickbed, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Preserve them from the temptations of the wicked enemy, from the hostile plots of unscrupulous men, from all occasions of sin, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Make us one with them in faith, loyal in Divine service, and holy in life, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Give us holy bishops, holy priests, holy missionaries, we beseech Thee, hear us.




Back to Ember Days
Back to Seasonal Customs
Back to Being Catholic
Index