Prayers for the Papacy
and the Church


All prayers taken from the book, THE GLORIES OF MARY,
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

DEVOUT PRAYERS
ADDRESSED BY VARIOUS SAINTS TO THE DIVINE MOTHER
 
THE following Prayers are put here, not only that they may be used, but also that they may show the high idea that the Saints had of the power and mercy of Mary, and the great confidence they had in her patronage. They may be used in conjunction with the intention to pray for the Pontiff, the Church and the Bishops and Priests.

PRAYER OP SAINT EPHREM
 
O Immaculate and entirely-pure Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Queen of the Universe, our own good Lady; thou art above all the Saints, the only hope of the Patriarchs, and the joy of the Saints. Through thee we have been reconciled with our God. Thou art the only advocate of sinners, and the secure haven of those who are sailing on the sea of this life. Thou art the consolation of the world, the ransom of captives, the joy of the sick, the comfort of the afflicted, the refuge, the salvation of the whole world. O great Princess, Mother of God, cover us with the wings of thy mercy, and pity us. No other hope but thee is given us, O most pure Virgin. We are given to thee, and consecrated to thy service; we bear the name of thy servants. O, then, permit not that Lucifer should drag us to Hell. O immaculate Virgin, we are under thy protection, and therefore we have recourse to thee alone; and we beseech thee to prevent thy beloved Son, Who is irritated by our sins, from abandoning us to the power of the devil O thou who art full of grace, enlighten my understanding, loosen my tongue, that it may sing thy praises; and more particularly the angelic Salutation, so worthy of thee. I salute thee, O peace, O joy, O consolation of the whole world. I salute thee, O greatest of miracles, O paradise of delights, secure haven of those who are in danger, fountain of graces, mediatress between God and men.

PRAYER OF SAINT BERNARD

We raise our eyes to thee, O Queen of the world. We must appear before our Judge after so many sins; who will appease Him? No one can do it better than thou canst, O holy Lady, who hast loved Him so much, and by Whom thou art so tenderly beloved. Open, then, O Mother of mercy, the ears of thy heart to our sighs and prayers. We fly to thy protection; appease the wrath of thy Son, and restore us to His grace. Thou dost not abhor a sinner, however loathsome he may be. Thou dost not despise him, if he sighs to thee, and, repentant, asks thy intercession. Thou, with thy compassionate hand, deliverest him from despair. Thou animatest him to hope, and dost not leave him until thou hast reconciled him with his Judge. Thou art that chosen Lady in whom our Lord found repose, and in whom He has deposited all His treasures without measure. Hence the whole world, O my most holy Lady, honours thy chaste womb as the temple of God, in which the salvation of the world began. In thee was effected the reconciliation between God and man. Thou, O great Mother of God, art the enclosed garden, into which the hand of a sinner never entered to gather its flowers. Thou art the beautiful garden in which God has planted all the flowers that adorn the Church, and amongst others the violet of thy humility, the lily of thy purity, the rose of thy charity. With whom can we compare thee, O Mother of grace and beauty, Thou art the paradise of God; from thee issued forth the fountain of living water that irrigates the whole earth. O, how many benefits thou hast bestowed on the world by meriting to be so salutary a channel!

Of thee it is that the question is asked, "Who is She that cometh forth like the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun?" Thou camest, then, into the world, O Mary, as a resplendent dawn, preceding with the light of thy sanctity the coming of the Sun of Justice. The day on which thou camest into the world can indeed be called a day of salvation, a day of grace. Thou art fair as the moon; for as amongst all planets the moon it is which is most like the sun, so amongst all creatures thou art the nearest in resemblance to God. The moon illumines the night with the light it receives from the sun, and thou enlightenest our darkness with the splendour of thy virtues. But thou art fairer than the moon, for in thee there is neither spot nor shadow. Thou art bright as the sun; I mean as that Sun Which created the sun; He was chosen amongst all men, and thou wast chosen amongst all women. O sweet, O great, O all-amiable Mary, no heart can pronounce thy name but thou inflamest it with thy love; nor can they who love thee think of thee without feeling themselves strengthened to love thee more.
 
O holy Lady, help our weakness. And who is more fit to address our Lord Jesus Christ than thou, who enjoyest in such close vicinity His most sweet converse? Speak then, speak, O Lady; for thy Son listens to thee, and thou wilt obtain all that thou askest of Him.

PRAYER OF SAINT GERMANUS
 
O my only and sovereign Lady, who art the sole consolation that I receive from God, thou who art the only celestial dew that gives me refreshment in my pains, thou who art the light of my soul when it is surrounded with darkness, thou who art my guide in journeyings, my strength in weakness, my treasure in poverty, the balm of my wounds, my consolation in sorrow, thou who art my refuge in miseries and the hope of my salvation; listen to my prayers, have pity on me as it becomes the Mother of a God who has such love for men. O thou who art our defence and joy, grant me all that I ask; make me worthy to enjoy with thee that great happiness which thou enjoyest in Heaven. Yes, my Lady, my refuge, my life, my help, my defence, my strength, my joy, my hope, grant that I may one day be with thee in Heaven. I know that, being the Mother of God, thou canst, if thou wilt, obtain it for me. O Mary, thou art omnipotent to save sinners, nor needest thou any other recommendation; for thou art the Mother of true life.

PRAYER OF BLESSED RAYMOND JOURDAIN, ABBOT OF CELLES

Draw me after thee, O Virgin Mary, that I may run to the odour of thy ointments. Draw me, for I am held back by the weight of my sins and by the malice of my enemies. As no one goes to thy Son unless the heavenly Father draws him, so do I presume to say, in a certain manner, that no one goes to Him unless thou drawest him by thy holy prayers. It is thou who teachest true wisdom, thou who obtainest grace for sinners, for thou art their advocate; it is thou who promisest glory to him who honours thee, for thou art the treasurer of graces.

Thou, O most sweet Virgin, hast found grace with God, for thou wast preserved from the stain of Original Sin, wast filled with the Holy Ghost, and didst conceive the Son of God. Thou, O most humble Virgin, didst receive all these graces not for thyself only, but also for us, that thou mightest assist us in all our necessities. And this thou dost indeed; thou succourest the good, preserving them in grace, and the wicked thou preparest to receive Divine mercy. Thou assistest the dying, protecting them against the snares of the devil; and thou helpest them also after death, receiving their souls and conducting them to the kingdom of the blessed.

PRAYER OF SAINT METHODIUS
 
Thy name, O Mother of God, is filled with all graces and Divine blessings. Thou hast contained Him Who cannot be contained, and nourished Him Who nourishes all creatures. He Who fills Heaven and earth, and is Lord of all, was pleased to stand in need of thee, for it was thou who didst clothe Him with that flesh which He had not before. Rejoice then, O Mother and handmaid of God; be glad then, with exceeding great joy, for thou hast Him for thy debtor Who gives their being to all creatures. We are all God's debtors, but He is a debtor to thee. Hence it is, O most holy Mother of God, that thou hast greater goodness and greater charity than all the other Saints, and hast freer access to God than any of them, for thou art His Mother. Ah, deign, we beseech thee, to remember us in our miseries, who celebrate thy glories, and know how great is thy goodness.


PRAYER OF SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE

I salute thee, O Mary; thou art the hope of Christians; receive the supplication of a sinner who loves thee tenderly, honours thee in a special manner, and places in thee the whole hope of his salvation. From thee I have my life. Thou reinstatest me in the grace of thy Son; thou art the certain pledge of my salvation. I implore thee, then, deliver me from the burden of my sins, dispel the darkness of my mind, banish earthly affections from my heart, repress the temptations of my enemies, and so rule my whole life that by thy means and under thy guidance I may attain the eternal happiness of Heaven.

PRAYER OF SAINT ANDREW OF CANDIA

I salute thee, O full of grace, our Lord is with thee; I salute thee, O cause of our joy, through whom the sentence of our condemnation was revoked and changed into one of blessing. I salute thee, O temple of the glory of God, sacred dwelling of the King of Heaven. Thou art the reconciliation of God with men. I salute thee, O Mother of our joy. Truly thou art blessed, for thou alone amongst all women wast found worthy to be the Mother of thy Creator. All nations call thee Blessed.

O Mary, if I place my confidence in thee, I shall be saved; if I am under thy protection, I have nothing to fear, for the fact of being thy client is the possession of a certainty of salvation, which God only grants to those whom He will save.
 
O Mother of Mercy, appease thy beloved Son. Whilst thou wast on earth thou didst only occupy a small part of it, but now that thou art raised above the highest heavens, the whole world considers thee as the propitiatory of all nations. I implore thee, then, O Holy Virgin, to grant me the help of thy prayers with God; prayers which are dearer and more precious to us than all the treasures of the earth: prayers which render God propitious to us in our sins, and obtain us a great abundance of graces, both for the pardon of our offences and the practice of virtue: prayers which check our enemies, confound their designs, and triumph over their strength.

PRAYER OF SAINT ILDEPHONSUS

I come to thee, O Mother of God, and implore thee to obtain me the pardon of my sins, and that I may be cleansed from those of my whole life. I beseech thee to grant me the grace to unite myself in affection with thy Son and with thyself: with thy Son as my God, and with thee as the Mother of my GOd.

PRAYER OF SAINT ATHANASIUS
 
Give ear to our prayers, O most Holy Virgin, and be mindful of us. Dispense unto us the gifts of thy riches, and the abundance of the graces with which thou art filled. The Archangel saluted thee, and called thee full of grace. All nations call thee blessed. The whole hierarchy of Heaven blesses thee; and we, who are of the terrestrial hierarchy, also address thee, saying, Hail, O full of grace, our Lord is with thee; pray for us, O holy Mother of God, our Lady and our Queen.

PRAYER OF ST. ANSELM

We beseech thee, O most holy Lady, by the favour that God did thee, in raising thee so high as to make all things possible to thee with Him, so to act that the plenitude of grace, which thou didst merit, may render us partakers of thy glory. Strive, O most merciful Lady, to obtain us that for which God was pleased to become man in thy chaste womb. O, lend us a willing ear. If thou deignest to pray to thy Son for this, He will immediately grant it. It suffices that thou willest our salvation, and then we are sure to obtain it. But, who can restrain thy great mercy? If thou, who art our Mother, and the Mother of mercy, dost not pity us, what will become of us when thy Son comes to judge us?
 
Help us, then, O most compassionate Lady, and consider not the multitude of our sins. Remember always that our Creator took human flesh of thee, not to condemn sinners, but to save them. If thou hadst become Mother of God only for thine own advantage, we might say that it signified little to thee whether we were lost or saved; but God clothed Himself with thy flesh for thy salvation, and for that of all men. What would thy great power and glory avail us, if thou dost not make us partakers of thy happiness? O, help us, then, and protect us: thou knowest how greatly we stand in need of thy assistance. We recommend ourselves to thee; O, let us not lose our souls, but make us eternally serve and love thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

PRAYER OF SAINT PETER DAMIAN
 
Holy Virgin, Mother of God, succour those who implore thy aid. O, turn towards us. Hast thou, perhaps, forgotten men, because thou hast been raised to so close a union with God? Ah no, most certainly. Thou knowest well in what danger thou didst leave us, and the wretched condition of thy servants; ah no, it would not become so great a mercy as thine to forget such great misery as ours is. Turn towards us, then, with thy power; for He Who is powerful has made thee omnipotent in Heaven and on earth. Nothing is impossible to thee, for thou canst raise even those who are in despair to the hope of salvation. The more powerful thou art, the greater should be thy mercy.
 
Turn also to us in thy love. I know, O my Lady, that thou art all benign, and that thou lovest us with a love that can be surpassed by no other love. How often dost thou not appease the wrath of our Judge, when He is on the point of chastising us! All the treasures of the mercies of God are in thy hands. Ah, never cease to benefit us; thou only seekest occasion to save all the wretched, and to shower thy mercies upon them; for thy glory is increased when, by thy means, penitents are forgiven, and thus reach Heaven. Turn, then, towards us, that we also may be able to go and see thee in Heaven; for the greatest glory we can have will be, after seeing God, to see thee, to love thee, and be under thy protection. Be pleased, then, to grant our prayer; for thy beloved Son desires to honour thee, by denying nothing that thou askest.

PRAYER OF WILLIAM OF PARIS
 
O Mother of God, I have recourse to thee, and I call upon thee not to reject me; for the whole congregation of the faithful calls and proclaims thee the Mother of mercy. Thou art that one who, from being so dear to God, art always graciously heard; thy clemency was never wanting to anyone; thy most benign affability never despised any sinner who had recourse to thee, however enormous his crimes. Can it be falsely or in vain that the Church calls thee her advocate, and the refuge of sinners? Never let it be said that my sins could prevent thee from fulfilling the great office of mercy, which is peculiarly thine own, by which thou art the advocate and mediatress of peace, the only hope and most secure refuge of the miserable. Never shall it be said that the Mother of God, who for the benefit of the world brought forth the Fountain of Mercy, denied her mercy to any sinner who had recourse to her. Thine office is that of peacemaker between God and men: let, then, the greatness of thy compassion, and which far exceeds my sins, move thee to help me.



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