PRAYERS FOR
ENGLAND
Prayers to be
said following Benediction
Dedication of England to the Mother of God
Dedication of
England to St. Peter
Prayer to Blessed
Dominic Barberi
Litany of
Intercession for the conversion of England
St. Paul of the
Cross, founder of the Passionists, prayed for fifty years for the
conversion of England and he left this devotion to the Passionist
Order. St. Paul was comforted in the last years of his life by a
vision of his religious working in England. This would be fulfilled
in the person of Blessed Dominic Barberi. The following prayers are
recommended for those wishing to imitate St. Paul and pray for the
conversion of England back to the true Faith:
O Jesus,
convert England, O God have mercy on our country!
Prayers to be said after
Benediction on the second Sunday of the month
O MERCIFUL God, let the glorious intercession of Thy saints assist
us, particularly the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Thy
only-begotten Son, and Thy holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, to whose
patronage we humbly recommend this country. Be mindful of our
fathers, Eleutherius, Celestine, and Gregory, bishops of the Holy
City; of Augustine, Columba, and Aidan, who delivered to us
inviolate the faith of the Holy Roman Church. Remember our holy
martyrs, who shed their blood for Christ: especially our first
martyr, Saint Alban, and Thy most glorious bishop, Saint Thomas of
Canterbury. Remember all those holy confessors; bishops, and kings,
all those holy monks and hermits, all those holy virgins and widows,
who made this once an island of saints, illustrious by their
glorious merits and virtues.
Let not their memory
perish from before Thee, O Lord; let their supplication enter daily
into Thy sight; and do Thou, who didst so often spare Thy sinful
people for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, now, also, moved
by the prayers of our fathers, reigning with Thee, have mercy upon
us, save Thy people, and bless Thy inheritance. Suffer not those
souls to perish, which Thy Son hath redeemed with His own most
Precious Blood, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, world without
end. Amen.
Let us pray.
O most loving Lord
Jesus, Who, hanging on the Cross, didst commend us all in the person
of Thy disciple John, to Thy most sweet Mother, that we might find
in her our refuge, our solace, and our hope. Look graciously upon
our beloved country, and on those who are bereaved of so powerful a
patronage; that, acknowledging once more the dignity of this holy
Virgin, they may honour and venerate her with all affection of
devotion, and own her as Queen and Mother. May her sweet name be
lisped by the little ones, and linger on the lips of the aged and
the dying; and may it be invoked by the afflicted, and hymned by the
joyful; that this Star of the Sea being their protection and their
guide, all may come to the harbour of eternal salvation. Who livest
and reignest, world without end. Amen.
Dedication of England
to the Mother of God
(formerly recited on Rosary Sunday every year
after Mass)
O IMMACULATE Virgin
Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, Mother of Grace, and Queen of the
kingdom of thy Son, humbly kneeling before thee, we offer thee this
country in which we live. It once was thine. Before it was robbed of
the holy Faith all its children were thy children, and thou wast
honoured throughout its length and breadth as its Protectress and
its Queen. Again do we consecrate it to thee; again do we dedicate
it as thine own Dowry. We offer our own hearts, that their love and
service may ever grow and increase. We offer all our brethren those
multitudes who know thee so little or know thee not at all. May thy
prayer bring back the country’s ancient faith. May thy intercession
lead us to a closer union with thy divine Son. We consecrate
ourselves to Him through thee. Obtain for us, and for England thy
Dowry, every grace and blessing, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin
Mary!
V. Pray for us, O
holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
O Holy Mother of God, Virgin ever blest, O Mary Immaculate, pray for
us, intercede for us, disdain not to help us. For we are confident
and know for certain that thou canst obtain all thou wiliest from
thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, the King of ages, who
liveth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
Dedication of England to
St. Peter (to be renewed in every public church within the
octave of St. Peter’s feast)
O BLESSED Prince of
Apostles, Vicar of Christ, Shepherd of the whole flock, Rock on whom
the Church is built, we thank the Prince of Pastors, who in the ages
of Faith, did bind this country so sweetly and strongly to thee and
to that holy See of Rome from which her conversion came. We praise
and bless our Lord for those steadfast Confessors who laid down
their lives for thy honour and prerogative in the hour when schism
and heresy broke upon the land. We desire to revive the zeal, the
devotion and the love of ancient days. We consecrate our country, as
far as in us lies, fervently and lovingly to thee. We offer thee our
homage. We renew our loyalty to the Pontiff, thy successor, who now
fills the Apostolic See. Do thou confirm and strengthen, by thy
powerful intercession, the faith of the Pastors and people who
invoke thee, save us from apostasy, from disunion, from religious
indifference, and from the losses to which ignorance and temptation
expose our little flock. O most sincere and most humble penitent,
obtain for us tears of true repentance for our sins, and a strong
personal love for our divine Master; O Key bearer of the Heavenly
Kingdom, open to us the gate of Heaven, that we may enter into the
joy of the King of Glory. Remember this realm of England, which grew
in grace and unity under thy blessed apostolic influence for nigh a
thousand years. Pray to Jesus that all may see the and be brought
back to thy Fold, which is the One Fold of Christ. Amen.
V. Thou art Peter.
R. And upon this rock I will build My Church.
Let us pray.
Raise us up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the apostolic might of Thy
blessed Apostle, Peter; that the weaker we are in ourselves, the
more powerful may be the assistance whereby we are strengthened
through his intercession; that thus, ever fortified by the
protection of Thine Apostle, we may never yield to sin nor be
overwhelmed by adversity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer to Blessed Dominic
Barberi, Apostle of England
Heavenly Father,
through Mary, Mother of God we thank you for the life and witness of
Blessed Dominic Barberi, Passionist and Apostle of Christian unity
and of England. You gave him a great love for this land, the Dowry
of Mary, as the Christian churches pray and work towards greater
unity we ask blessed Dominic to show us the way through mutual
prayer reparation and love. Through his intercession grant also the
grace for which we now pray.
LITANY OF INTERCESSION FOR THE
CONVERSION OF ENGLAND
Remember not, O
Lord, our Offences, nor those of our Parents; neither take thou
Vengeance of our Sins.
Lord, have Mercy on us.
Christ, have Mercy on us.
Lord, have Mercy on us.
Jesus, receive our Prayers.
Lord Jesus, grant our Petitions,
- O God the Father, Creator of the World,
Have Mercy on England.
- O God the Son,
Redeemer of the World,
- O God the Holy Ghost, Protector of the World,
- O Sacred Trinity, three Persons and one God,
- Holy Mary, Mother
of God,
Pray for England.
- Holy Mary, Queen
of Angels, whose powerful Intercession destroys Heresies,
"
- Holy Mary, Virgin of Virgins, whose eminent Sanctity our Lord hath
honoured with so many Miracles,
- St. Michael, Prince of the Church,
- St. Gabriel, glorious messenger of our Saviour’s Incarnation,
- St. Raphael, faithful guide of those that have lost their Way,
- Holy Angel, to whose pious custody this Province is committed,
- All Holy Angels, and blessed Spirits, of Heaven, who celebrate
with Joy the Conversion of Sinners,
- St. John Baptist, Precursor of the Messiah, and great Example of
Penance,
- All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets, Friends of God, and Advancers
of his Truth,
- St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Supreme Pastor of Christ’s
Sheep,
- St. Paul, Doctor of the Gentiles, who of a Persecutor became a
Preacher,
- St. Andrew, first Disciple of Christ, and constant Lover of the
Cross,
-All holy Apostles and Evangelists, chief Planters of the Christian Faith,
and zealous Maintainers of Catholic Unity,
- St. George, our principal Patron, whose Courage remained
invincible in the midst of so many Torments,
- St. Alban, our first Martyr, who, for the generous charity of
harbouring a Priest, was put to Death,
- St. Thomas of Canterbury, who, as a faithful Shepherd, laidst down
thy Life in Defence of thy Flock,
- All holy Martyrs of this Nation, who voluntarily lost your Lives
here, to find them again in a joyful Eternity,
- St. Gregory, most vigilant Bishop of the universal Church, whose
pious Zeal sent Missionaries from Rome for the conversion of our
Ancestors,
- St. Augustine, peculiar Apostle of this Nation, by whom our
Forefathers were reclaimed from Paganism and Infidelity,
- St. Bede, most venerable Confessor, by whose religious Life, and
learned Writings, the Catholic Faith was eminently propagated
amongst us,
- All holy Bishops and Confessors, by whose Wisdom and Sanctity this
Island was once a flourishing Seminary of Religion,
- St. Helen, most holy Queen, and happy Mother of the first
Christian Emperor,
- St. Ursula, most blessed Martyr, who died in the glorious Defence
of Faith and Chastity,
- St. Winefred, most admirable Virgin, even in this unbelieving
Generation still miraculous,
- All holy Saints of this Nation, who, amidst the innumerable Joys
of Heaven, still retain a particular Charity for the Conversion of
your country,
- All holy Saints of all Places, who, though divided here in several
Regions, were united in the same Faith, and now enjoy one common
Felicity,
Be merciful, O Lord,
and spare us.
Be merciful, O Lord, and hear us.
- From the Dangers most justly threatening our Sins,
Deliver England, O Lord.
- From the Spirit of
Pride, Rebellion, and Apostacy,
- From the Spirit of Hypocrisy, Prophaneness, and Sacrilege,
- From Schism, Heresy, and all Blindness of Heart,
From Gluttony, Drunkenness, and the false Liberty of an
undisciplin’d Life,
We
Sinners beseech thee hear us.
- That it will
please thee to hasten the Conversion of this, our miserable country,
and re-unite them to the ancient Faith and Communion of thy Church,
We
Sinners beseech thee hear us.
- That it would
please thee particularly to have Mercy on our Kinsfolks, Friends,
and Benefactors, and open their Eyes to see the Beauty of thy Truth,
and embrace it,
- That it would please thee to incline the Hearts of all the
Magistrates rightly to understand our Religion, and impartially
consider our Sufferings; and how hardly soever they may deal with
us, make us till with exact Fidelity to perform our Duties toward
them,
- That it would please thee to comfort and strengthen thy Servants
who suffer for the Catholic Faith, and not permit the weakest of us,
by any Temptation whatsoever, to fall away from thee and thy Truth,
- That it would please thee to assist with thy special Grace those
good Pastors who venture their Lives for their Flock, and daily
augment in them the Fire of thy Love, and the Zeal of gaining Souls,
- That it would please thee to preserve the Catholics of this Land
from all Sin and Scandal, and to adorn our Lives with solid Piety,
that our Enemy, seeing our good Works, may glorify thee our heavenly
Father,
- That it would please thee to grant us the grace of improving the
Restraints and temporal Disadvantages we fall under, into an
Occasion of Retiredness and Christian Severity; supplying our Want
of public Assemblies by a greater diligence in private Devotions,
- That it may please thee to govern us by thy good Spirit, that we
may accept such Ease and Liberty, as thou vouchsafest to bestow on
us, with Gratitude, use it with Modesty, and give others to
understand by our Behaviour, that nothing is pleasing to us, but so
far as it tends to thy Honour and our Neighbour’s Good,
- That it would please thee to illuminate the Hearts of all
Schismatics, who live out of the Church, seriously to apprehend the
danger of their State, and the great Importance of eternal
Salvation,
- That it would please thee to look mercifully down from Heaven on
the Tears of the Afflicted, and the Blood of so many Martyrs, who
have spent their Lives and suffered Death to convert us to thee,
Son of God, we
beseech thee to hear us.
O Lamb of God, that
takest away the Sins of the World, Spare us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God, that takest away the Sins of the World, Hear us, O
Lord.
O Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World, Have Mercy on
us.
Lord have Mercy on
us.
Christ, have Mercy on us.
Lord have Mercy on us.
Our Father...
V.: And lead us not into Temptation.
R.: But deliver us from Evil. Amen.
V.: O Lord, hear our
Prayers.
R.: And let our supplications come unto thee.
Let us Pray.
Almighty and
everlasting God, whose Judgments are righteous, and Counsels
unsearchable, who visitest the Iniquities of the Parents upon the
Children, to the third and fourth generation, and yet at length
rememberest Mercy: Forgive, we beseech thee, the Sins of our
Forefathers, and turn away thy Wrath from their Posterity; deliver
the Ignorant from being seduced by false Teachers, and the Learned
from being abused by their Passions, and the whole Nation from the
Spirit of Contradiction, Licentiousness, and Discord; that instead
of many Divisions and Changes in Religion, under which they labour,
they may again be restored to that Unity of Mind, Steadiness of
Faith, and Tranquillity of Conscience, which is no where to be
sought but in the Communion of thy Church, nor possible to be found
but by the Conduct of thy Grace. O eternal God, who in this great
Deluge of Heresy, which wholly overflows, and almost covers the Face
of this Land, hast vouchsafed to select a small Number for thyself,
and save them in thy Holy Ark from the common Inundation; we praise
and glorify thy infinite Goodness, by which alone we enjoy the
Comfort of a firm and settled Belief, free from the Inconstancy of
those, who, having no Support but their own Fancies, float up and
down awhile, and sink at last into the Gulf of Infidelity; make us
sensible, O Lord, of these thy unspeakable blessings, that as we
know thee by a sure Faith, we may love thee with a perfect Charity;
and fixing all our hopes on the joys of a future Life, patiently
suffer what thou permittest here, and still press on to what thou
promisest hereafter, through Jesus Christ our Lord, and only Saviour.
Amen.
CRUSADE OF PRAYERS