Prayers for Priests

"There are no bad priests, only priests for whom there has not been enough prayer." ~St. John Vianney

Dear Lord, we pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around your priests, especially Fr. (n) and through her intercession strengthen him for his ministry. We pray that Mary will guide him to follow her own words, “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5)

May he share the heart of St. Joseph, Mary’s most chaste spouse. May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart inspire him to embrace all who suffer at the foot of the cross.

May he be holy, filled with the fire of your love seeking nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of souls. Amen. St. John Vianney, patron of all priests, pray for Fr. (n) and for all of us. (Adapted from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

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Prayer for Priests by Fr William Doyle, SJ

O my God, pour out in abundance Thy spirit of sacrifice upon Thy priests. It is both their glory and their duty to become victims, to be burnt up for souls, to live without ordinary joys, to be often the objects of distrust, injustice, and persecution.

The words they say every day at the altar, "This is my Body, this is my Blood," grant them to apply to themselves: "I am no longer myself, I am Jesus, Jesus crucified. I am, like the bread and wine, a substance no longer itself, but by consecration another."

O my God, I burn with desire for the sanctification of Thy priests. I wish all the priestly hands which touch Thee were hands whose touch is gentle and pleasing to Thee, that all the mouths uttering such sublime words at the altar should never descend to speaking trivialities.

Let priests in all their person stay at the level of their lofty functions, let every man find them simple and great, like the Holy Eucharist, accessible to all yet above the rest of men. O my God, grant them to carry with them from the Mass of today, a thirst for the Mass of tomorrow, and grant them, ladened themselves with gifts, to share these abundantly with their fellow men. Amen.

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A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

By the late John J Cardinal Carberry

Keep them; I pray Thee, dearest Lord.

Keep them, for they are Thine

The priests whose lives burn out before

Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, for they are in the world,

Though from the world apart.

When earthly pleasures tempt, allure --

Shelter them in Thy heart.

Keep them and comfort them in hours

Of loneliness and pain,

When all their life of sacrifice

For souls seems but in vain.

Keep them and remember, Lord,

they have no one but Thee.

Yet, they have only human hearts,

With human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host,

That daily they caress;

Their every thought and word and deed,

Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

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Prayer for Priests

by St. Therese of Lisieux

O Jesus, eternal Priest,

keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,

where none may touch them.

Keep unstained their anointed hands,

which daily touch Your Sacred Body.

Keep unsullied their lips,

daily purpled with your Precious Blood.

Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,

sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.

Let Your holy love surround them and

shield them from the world's contagion.

Bless their labors with abundant fruit

and may the souls to whom they minister

be their joy and consolation here

and in heaven their beautiful and

everlasting crown. Amen.

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Prayer for Priests from the Apostleship of Prayer

Jesus, Eternal High Priest, let your love flow into the hearts of your priests and transform them into living images of you.

By your grace, make them true apostles of your Sacred Heart.

I pray for the fulfillment of the promise you made to St. Margaret Mary:

"I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts."

May your Kingdom come to the hearts of all through the ministry of holy priests!

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A Morning Offering by Fr. Mark Kirby

Most merciful Father,

I offer Thee the prayers, works,

joys, and sufferings of this day

by placing them in the holy and venerable hands of Jesus, the Eternal High Priest,

and by saying, as He did upon entering the world,

"Behold, I come to do Thy will" (Hebrews 10:9).

For the sake of all His priests,

and in particular for the priests

entrusted to my intercession,

I entreat Thy beloved Son to unite my offering

to the Sacrifice of the Cross,

renewed upon the altars of Thy Church

from the rising of the sun to its setting (Malachy 1:11).

Holy Father,

look upon these men chosen by Thy Son

to show forth His death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26);

keep them from the Evil One (John 17:15)

and sanctify them in the truth (John 17:17).

Bind them by a most tender love

to the Virgin Mary, their Mother

that, by her intercession,

they may be overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)

in every act of their sacred ministry;

thus may their priesthood reveal

the Face of Jesus and the merciful love of His Heart,

for the fruitfulness of His spouse, the Church.

and the praise of Thy glory. Amen.

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Lord Jesus,

you have chosen your priests from among us and sent them out to proclaim your word and to act in your name. For so great a gift to your Church, we give you praise and thanksgiving. We ask you to fill them with the fire of your love, that their ministry may reveal your presence in the Church. Since they are earthen vessels, we pray that your power shine out through their weakness. In their afflictions let them never be crushed; in their doubts never despair; in temptation never be destroyed; in persecution never abandoned. Inspire them through prayer to live each day the mystery of your dying and rising. In times of weakness send them your Spirit, and help them to praise your heavenly Father and pray for poor sinners. By the same Holy Spirit put your words on their lips and your love in their hearts, to bring good news to the poor and healing to the brokenhearted. And may the gift of Mary your mother, to the disciple whom you loved, be your gift to every priest. Grant that she who formed you in her human image, may form them in your divine image, by the power of your Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

~Father Kevin Scallon, CM

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Mary Immaculate & Pure Pray with Us for Your Priest Sons

& Place Them in The Wound of The Sacred & Living Heart of Jesus

Mary Immaculate & Pure

Accompany them as you did your son Jesus in their daily way of the cross