An Election Day Prayer

"Come Holy Spirit and Saint Michael! Come to us, all Angels of Good Government appointed by God the Father to vouchsafe the elections that are taking place in the United States! Inspire us and others to vote in such a way that will ensure respect for human life from conception to natural death; prosperity, peace, and dignity for all within our borders and beyond in accord with the holy will of Jesus Christ for America and its allies. On these feasts of All Souls and All Saints, we beg for the extraordinary and miraculous intercession of every soul in heaven, especially the souls and guardian angels of all of our countless millions of sanctified citizens, relatives, and friends of the United States who have passed from this earth, reaching back in all of human history. God the Father, Unleash Your Awesome Power upon this nation consecrated and dedicated by American Catholics and their bishops to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! O Mary, intercede on election day! We promise you, we will vote in a prayerful and responsible way. Amen!"

(Source: Catholicity email newsletter)

A great Rosary companion

The free (yes, free) scriptural rosary available from this site: http://www.cukierski.net/scripturalrosary/scripturalrosary.shtml




Print out the PDF, slide the pages into page protectors, pop them into a small binder, and you've got yourself a great scriptural rosary (with more in-depth scriptural meditations than the usual books found on the market). Beautiful illustrations accompany each mystery, so if you have a color printer the resulting product will be a beautiful companion for your rosary.

It's the month of the Rosary

Have you said yours today?

We've always been a praying people

On Sunday, January 23rd, Fr. Messina took a moment at the end of Mass to remind us that Catholics have a great tradition of praying and asking for those things that they want--and that he himself would be praying for a Saints victory that afternoon--just in case we wanted to join him.

So it only seems fitting to share with you here the words of the first Prayer for the Saints, as penned by Archbishop Hannan, back in 1968. Later this week I'll share some of the prayers that Fr. Ricard has penned for the Saints this year.

By the way, at 96, Archbishop Hannan is ready to cheer his Saints onto victory in the Super Bowl on Sunday!

PRAYER FOR THE SAINTS

God, we ask your blessing upon all who participate in this event, and all who have supported our Saints. Our Heavenly Father, who has instructed us that the "saints by faith conquered kingdoms... and overcome lions", grant our Saints an increase of faith and strength so that they will not only overcome the Lions, but also the Bears, the Rams, the Giants, and even those awesome people in Green Bay.

May they continue to tame the Redskins and fetter the falcons as well as the Eagles. Give to our owners and coaches the continued ability to be as wise as serpents and simple as doves, so that no good talent will dodge our draft. Grant to our fans perseverence in their devotion and unlimited lung power, tempered with a sense of charity to all, including the referees.

May our beloved "Bedlam Bowl" be a source of good fellowship and may the "Saints Come Marching In" be a victory march for all, now and in eternity.

Philip M. Hannan
Archbishop of New Orleans

Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Happy Feast Day to the woman who saved New Orleans!