Marianist Monday

Praying With the Saints
by Bro. David Betz

When those who have gone before us in faith are declared saints or blesseds, the Church assigns them a Feast Day. These Feast Days are usually associated with the days when the saints or blesseds entered eternal life, either by martyrdom or natural causes. This assignment is an acknowledgement that these men and women can be venerated publicly throughout the worldwide Church. Prayers are distributed and used when we need to invite the saints or blesseds into our prayer life. These prayers enable us to ask for the intercession of God’s grace. The prayers usually reflect the perssonal attributes these venerable people were known for during their holy lives.

Here are two prayers that were created, one for Venerable Marie Thérèse De Lamourous and another for the Martyrs of Ciudad Real (Blesseds Carlos Eraña, Fidel Fuidio and Jesús Hita) whose Feasts we celebrated in September:

Marie Thérèse* (September 14)

God, source of all holiness, we thank you for the gift of Marie Thérèse. Her love of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the message of the Gospel inspire us today. We ask that we, like her, will be of service to all our brothers and sisters now and in the future. We pray for the enthusiasm with which she spread the Gospel and love for Christ and His mother. Amen.

Martyrs of Ciudad Real (September 18)

Lord, our God, to Blessed Carlos Eraña , Fidel Fuidio and Jesús Hita, who were influenced with the love of the Virgin Mary, you gave the grace to suffer for Christ; grant that; through their intercession, we may remain firm in the faith which they taught to children and youth, and to which they bore witness with their own blood in martyrdom. We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen