"…That Christ's Vicar May Oppose the Spirit of the World."
The Litany for the Church in Our Time.
FatherVenditti.com
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 6:27 PM 10/12/2016 — Here at the Shrine, on every First Friday of the month, Holy Mass is followed by a Eucharistic Holy Hour, and my custom has been to begin the Holy Hour with the praying of a litany, either the Litany of the Sacred Heart, or one more appropriate to the season or feast. Toward that end, I recently ordered and received a copy of Fr. Albert J. Herbert's "A Prayerbook of Favorite Litanies*," which contains over a hundred litanies to our Lord, our Lady and numerous saints. Most of them are labeled "Approved for private use," but—let's face it—in this day and age, in which people will do things in church off the top of their heads and no one bothers to ask, “Is this allowed?” I consider myself fully justified in using any litany I want even if, in the old days, it was marked for purely private devotion.
In this book, I found this "Litany for the Church in Our Time." The book gives no information about it's author or date of composition, but in his “Acknowledgments,” Fr. Herbert says he found it in “a leaflet of the Christopher House” in Columbus, Ohio. It seems this litany couldn't be more prescient than it is now:
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, Divine Founder of the Church, hear us.
Christ, Who didst warn of false prophets, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,
have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the World,
have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church,
pray for us.
St. Michael, Defender in Battle,
pray for us.
St. Peter, the Rock upon which Christ built His Church,
pray for us.
St. Paul, Protector of the Faithful Remnant,
pray for us.
St. Francis of Assisi, Re-builder of the Church,
pray for us.
St. Anthony, Hammer of Heretics,
pray for us.
St. Pius V, Restorer of the beauty of the Sacred Liturgy,
pray for us.
St. Pius X, Foe of Modernism,
pray for us.
All ye Holy Angels and Archangels,
pray that we may resist the snares of the Devil.
St. Catherine of Siena,
pray that Christ's Vicar may oppose the spirit of the world.
St. John Fisher,
pray that bishops may have the courage to combat heresy and irreverence.
St. Francis Xavier,
pray that zeal for souls may be re-enkindled in the clergy.
St. Charles Borromeo,
pray that seminaries may be protected from false teachings.
St. Vincent de Paul,
pray that seminarians may return to a life of prayer and meditation.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray that religious may rediscover their vocation of love and sacrifice.
St. Thomas More,
pray that the laity may not succumb to the Great Apostasy.
St. Francis de Sales,
pray that the Catholic press may again become a vehicle of Truth.
St. John Bosco,
pray that our children may be protected from immoral and heretical instruction.
St. Pascal,
pray that profound everence for the Most Blessed Sacrament may be restored.
St. Dominic,
pray that we may ever treasure the Holy Rosary.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray.
Jesus, our God, in these dark hours when Thy Mystical Body is undergoing its own Crucifixion, and when it would almost seem to be abandoned by God the Father, have mercy, we beg of Thee, on Thy suffering Church. Send down upon us the Divine Consoler, to enlighten our minds and strengthen our wills.
Thou, O Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived, have promised to be with Thy Church until the end of time. Give us a mighty Faith that we may not falter; help us to do Thy Holy Will always, especially during these hours of grief and uncertainty. May Thy Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Thy Holy Mother be our sure refuge in time and in eternity.
Amen.
* Rev. Albert J. Herbert, SM, ed., A Prayerbook of Favorite Litanies: 116 Catholic Litanies and Responsorial Prayers, 2012 by Tan Books, Charlotte, NC, originally published 1985.
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