The Pope’s Monthly Intention
For the care of water – Let us pray for a just and sustainable management of water, a vital resource, so that everyone may have equal access to it.
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Prayer for the love of Creation
Creator God,
You show us what love is
through the beauty of the earth
and the gift of your Son.
For the love of…
animal and plant
mountain and forest
sea and city
woman and man
friend and family
those who live far from us
and those yet to be born.
Move us to live more simply,
to protect the earth
and to speak up for those in need.
Amen.
Sarah Hagger-Holt/CAFOD
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From The Pastoral Rule of St Gregory the Great (540-604)
Feast, 3 September
We make Idols of our concepts, but Wisdom is born of wonder.
‘There are some so restless that when they are free from labour they labour all the more, because the leisure they they have for thought, the worse interior turmoil they have to bear.’
No one does more harm in the Church than he who has the title or rank of holiness and acts perversely.
Often a wound is made worse by unskilled mending, so that the cut is felt more grievously because it is bound improperly by the bandages. And so it is necessary that when the wound of sin in a layperson is mitigated by correction, even the restraint should be carefully moderated so that the exercise of just discipline should not come at the expense of loving-kindness.
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Laus Trinitati/Antiphon for the Trinity – St Hildegard
Feast, 17 September
To the Trinity be praise!
God is music, God is life
that nurtures every creature in its kind.
Our God is the song of the angel throng
and the splendor of secret ways
hid from all humankind,
But God our life is the life of all.
by St Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
(English version by Barbara Newman, Original Language Latin)
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Traditional Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows
Memorial, 15 September
O Mother of Sorrows, most afflicted of all mothers! I look to you with confidence and love. As I meditate upon the swords of sorrow that pierced your Immaculate Heart, obtain for me the grace of true repentance and the courage to bear my own sufferings with patience.
Holy Mary, stand by me in my trials, care for me in my many needs, and pray for me now and at the hour of my death. Amen.
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St Pio of Pietrelcina
Feast, 23 September
Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord, because even God needs our prayers.
St Pio of Pietrelcina
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Prayer to St Finbarr Feast, 25 September
O glorious St Finbarr, patron of Cork and beacon of faith, we humbly seek your intercession. As you once sought solitude and peace by the waters of Gougane Barra, calm the turbulent waters of our hearts.
Grant us the guidance to seek truth, the strength to act with charity, and the faith to overcome challenges, mirroring your own devoted life.
Amen.
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A Prayer to St Michael, Gabriel and Raphael Archangels
Feast, 29 September
Heavenly King, You have given us archangels to assist us
during our pilgrimage on earth.
Saint Michael is our protector;
I ask him to come to my aid,
fight for all my loved ones,
and protect us from danger.
Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News;
I ask him to help me clearly hear Your voice
and to teach me the truth.
Saint Raphael is the healing angel;
I ask him to take my need for healing and that of everyone I know,
lift it up to Your throne of grace and
deliver us back to the gift of recovery.
Help us, O Lord, to realize more fully the reality of archangels and their desire to serve us.
Holy angels, pray for us.
Amen.