The communion of saints
The saints are not distant. We ask their prayers as we ask a friend's, and we pray, with them, for those who have died.
The short prayer of Pope Leo XIII, long prayed for protection.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Traditional English text · Compare: Holy See Press Office, 29 September 2018 ↗
The devotion to St. Michael and the nine choirs of angels, its approval, and the full traditional text.
Pope Leo XIII's prayer, published with his encyclical of 15 August 1889 and ordered to be said after the Rosary in October.
To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we fly in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy most holy spouse, we confidently crave thy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the immaculate, virgin Mother of God, and through the paternal love with which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus, we humbly beseech thee graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ hath purchased by His blood, and with thy power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful Guardian of the Divine Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving Father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty Protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in this our struggle with the power of darkness: and, as once thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God’s holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity: shield, too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thine example and thine aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holily, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
O glorious St. Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to you I raise my heart and hands to implore your powerful intercession. Obtain for me from the kind Heart of Jesus the help and graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, and in particular the grace I now ask (mention it). O guardian of the Word Incarnate, I am confident your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.
Traditional devotional text. We have not identified an original published source.
O Little Thérèse of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to grant the favor I now place with confidence in your hands (mention it). St. Thérèse, help me to always believe, as you did, in God's great love for me, that I might imitate your 'Little Way' each day. Amen.
Traditional devotional text. We have not identified an original published source.
O holy St. Anthony, gentlest of saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me the favor I seek in this novena (mention it). O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.
Traditional devotional text. We have not identified an original published source.
Exemplary mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with threats but with prayer and tears. With confidence and profound faith you prayed daily for the conversion of your husband and your son. Grant me the same fortitude, patience, and trust as I pray for those I love (mention them), that they may return to God. Amen.
Traditional devotional text. We have not identified an original published source.
Each of these is prayed for nine days with its own intention. St. Jude and St. Rita, patrons of hard cases, are under Prayers in Time of Need.
From the Confessions, Book X, chapter 27, in E. B. Pusey's translation.
Too late loved I Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! too late I loved Thee! And behold, Thou wert within, and I abroad, and there I searched for Thee; deformed I, plunging amid those fair forms, which Thou hadst made. Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee. Things held me far from Thee, which, unless they were in Thee, were not at all. Thou calledst, and shoutedst, and burstest, my deafness. Thou flashedst, shonest, and scatteredst my blindness. Thou breathedst odours, and I drew in breath and pant for Thee. I tasted, and hunger and thirst. Thou touchedst me, and I burned for Thy peace.
Confessions, tr. E. B. Pusey (1838; Oxford printing of 1864) · Book X, ch. XXVII ↗
Prayers for those who have died.
The Church's prayer for the souls of the dead.
V. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord; R. And let perpetual light shine upon them! Amen. May they rest in peace. Amen.
Many parishes pray a prayer to St. Joseph for a soul in purgatory, asking his intercession for the soul most forgotten there. It was written by Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, for his book Consecration to St. Joseph (Marian Press, 2019), and its text is under copyright, so we do not reproduce it. It is published by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception.