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Triumphant Entrance of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos
olivarum, obviaverunt Domino,
clamantes et dicentes:
Hosanna in excelsis.
Pueri Hebraeorum vestimenta
prosternebant in via et clamabant
dicentes: Hosanna Filio David,
benedictus qui venit in nomini Domini.
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The Holy Father [Pope Leo XIII] exhorts priests to say this prayer as often as possible, as a simple exorcism to curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm. The faithful also may say it in their own name, for the same purpose, as any approved prayer. Its use is recommended whenever action of the devil is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations and even storms and various calamities. It could be used as a solemn exorcism (an official and public ceremony, in Latin), to expel the devil. It would then be said by a priest, in the name of the Church and only with a Bishop’s permission.
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St Michael the Archangel
† In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Prayer to St Michael the Archangel
Most glorious Prince of the Celestial Host, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the conflict which we have to sustain against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places (Ephesus 6:12). Come to the rescue of men whom God has created to His image and likeness, and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. It is thou whom Holy Church venerates as her guardian and protector; thou whom the Lord has charged to conduct redeemed souls into Heaven. Pray, therefore, the God of Peace to subdue Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive nor do injury to the Church. Present our prayers to the most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us. Seize the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit, that he may no more seduce the nations (Apocalypse 20:2-3).
Exorcism
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, strengthened by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Blessed Michael the Archangel, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, (and powerful in the holy authority of our ministry), we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and deceits of the devil.
Psalm 67
Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered: and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.
As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish away: as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
V. Behold the Cross of the Lord! Flee, bands of enemies.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Offspring of David, has conquered.
V. May Thy mercy descend upon us.
R. As great as our hope in Thee.
The crosses [†] below indicate a blessing to be given if a priest recites the Exorcism; if a lay person recites it, they indicate the Sign of the Cross to be made by that person.
Exorcism
We drive you from us, whoever you may be, unclean spirits, Satanic powers, infernal invaders, wicked legions, assemblies, and sects. In the name and by the virtue of Our Lord Jesus Christ †. May you be snatched away and driven from the Church of God and from the souls redeemed by the Precious Blood of the Divine Lamb †.
Cease by your audacity, cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute the Church, to torment God’s elect, and to sift them as wheat †. This is the command made to you by the Most High God †, with Whom in your haughty insolence you still pretend to be equal †. The God Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth (I Timothy 2:4). God the Father commands you †. God the Son commands you †. God the Holy Ghost commands you †. Christ, the Eternal Word of God made Flesh, commands you †. He Who to save our race, outdone through your malice, humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8). He Who has built His Church on the firm rock and declared that the gates of hell shall not prevail against Her, because He dwells with Her all days, even to the consummation of the world (St Matthew 28:20). The hidden virtue of the Cross requires it of you, as does the power of the mysteries of the Christian Faith †. The glorious Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, commands you †. She who by Her humility and from the first moment of Her Immaculate Conception crushed your proud head. The faith of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul and of the other Apostles commands you †. The blood of the Martyrs and the pious intercession of all the Saints command you †.
Thus, cursed dragon, and you, wicked legions, we adjure you by the living God †, by the true God †, by the holy God †, by the God Who so loved the world, as to give up His only-begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him may not perish but may have life everlasting (St John 3:16). Cease deceiving human creatures and pouring out to them the poison of eternal perdition. Cease harming the Church and hindering her liberty. Retreat, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, enemy of man’s salvation. Cede the place to Christ in Whom you have found none of your works. Cede the place to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church acquired by Christ at the price of His Blood. Stoop beneath the all-powerful Hand of God. Tremble and flee at the evocation of the Holy and terrible name of Jesus; this Name which causes hell to tremble; this Name to which the Virtues, Powers and Dominations of Heaven are humbly submissive; this Name which the Cherubim and Seraphim praise unceasingly, repeating: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, the God of Hosts.
V. O Lord hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
(V. May the Lord be with you.)
(R. And with thy spirit.)
Let us pray. God of Heaven, God of earth, God of Angels, God of Archangels, God of Patriarchs, God of Prophets, God of Apostles, God of Martyrs, God of Confessors, God of Virgins, God who has power to give life after death and rest after work, because there is no other God than Thee and there can be no other, for Thou art the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, of Whose reign there shall be no end. We humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy glorious Majesty and we supplicate Thee to deliver us from all the tyranny of the infernal spirits, from their snares, their lies, and their furious wickedness. Deign, O Lord, to protect us by Thy power and to preserve us safe and sound. We beseech Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
V. From the snares of the devil,
R. Deliver us, O Lord.
V. That Thy Church may serve Thee in peace and liberty,
R. We beseech Thee to hear us.
V. That Thou would crush down all enemies of Thy Church,
R. We beseech Thee to hear us.
Holy water is sprinkled in the place where we may be. The following prayer may be said and repeated while sprinkling:
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Divine Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
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St Augustine of Hippo
Before thy eyes, O Lord, we bring our sins, and with them compare the stripes we have received. If we weigh the evil we have done, we find what we suffer to be much less than what we deserve. What we have committed far outweighs what we endure. We feel the punishment of sin, and yet we turn not from our willfulness in sinning. Our weakness faints under Thy scourges; but our perverseness is still the same. Our diseased mind is racked with pain, and our neck is as stiff as ever. Our life is spent in sighs and grief; but in our actions we are not reformed. If Thou expect our amendment, we grow no better; if Thou take revenge, we are not able to subsist. When we are chastised, we acknowledge what we have done; but when thy visitation is over, we forget what we have wept for. If Thou stretch out Thy hand, we promise duty; if Thou suspend Thy sword, we keep not our promise. If Thou strike, we cry for pardon; and if Thou pardon, we provoke Thee again to strike. Here, O Lord, are criminals confessing their guilt; we know that unless Thou forgive Thou mayst justly destroy us. Grant, without our merit, what we ask, O Almighty Father, Who out of nothing didst create us to ask Thee, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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This well-known hymn of praise is attributed to St Ambrose and St Augustine, and is believed to be first sung on the day of St Augustine’s baptism.
A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite it in thanksgiving and a plenary indulgence is granted if the hymn is recited publicly on the last day of the year.
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St Louis, King of France
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St Joachim and St Anne at the Golden Gate
O models of pious and virtuous married persons, St Joachim and St Anne! Through the wondrous blessing with which God gladdened your hearts when He chose you as the parents of the ever blessed Virgin, the mother of our Saviour, obtain for us, we beseech you, the grace to desire nothing but virtue and piety; that, in fidelity and love, we may share each other’s joys and sorrows, and together with our children lead such a life as to insure our entrance into the kingdom of heaven! Amen.
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Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother at the Deathbed of St Joseph
O most holy Virgin Mary, in union with that most faithful love wherewith thy Son commended thee from his cross to the blessed John, I commend to thee my soul and my body, my thoughts, my words, and my actions, my life and my death, and more especially that one last moment of my life on which eternity hangs. And as thou didst invite thy Son to thine own blessed departure, so I invite thee now to mine; beseeching thee, by that love wherewith thou didst stand beneath the cross on which thy Son was dying, and by the bitter tears thou didst shed when thou sawest Him bow in death his sacred head, that thou be not absent from me then, but be there to succour me with a mother’s tenderness; for without thee I cannot die in peace.
Refuse not, O most tender Mother, this my request, which I make to thee with all the earnestness and devotion of my heart; for if I die without thee, I most justly fear lest I perish everlastingly. For how shall I, fearful and frail as I am, stand then amidst the manifold and most grievous assaults of my enemies, unless thou be near to succour me? How shall I appear in the dread day of judgment, unless thou be my companion and my advocate? How give an account of my innumerable, my enormous, my most exceeding sins, unless thou plead my cause with thy Son, and obtain for me forgiveness of them all? Incline now thine ear to my supplication, O my Blessed Mother; and by the love of thy Son come unto me in my last moments, that by thy availing succour I may be rescued from that appalling peril, and with thee attain to everlasting gladness. Amen.
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St Lawrence
Thrice blessed are the Roman people, for they honour thee on the very spot where thy sacred bones repose! They prostrate in thy sanctuary, and watering the ground with their tears they pour out their vows. We who are distant from Rome, separated by Alps and Pyrenees, how can we even imagine what treasures she possesses, or how rich is her earth in sacred tombs? We have not her privileges, we cannot trace the martyrs’ bloody footsteps; but from afar we gaze on the heavens. O holy Lawrence! it is there we seek the memorial of thy passion; for thou hast two dwelling-places, that of thy body on earth and that of thy soul in heaven. In the ineffable heavenly city thou hast been received to citizenship, and the civic crown adorns thy brow in its eternal Senate. So brightly shine thy jewels that it seemeth the heavenly Rome hath chosen thee perpetual Consul. The joy of the Quirites proves how great is thine office, thine influence, and thy power, for thou grantest their requests. Thou hearest all who pray to thee, they ask what they will and none ever goes away sad.
Ever assist thy children of the queen city; give them the strong support of thy fatherly love, and a mother’s tender, fostering care. Together with them, O thou honour of Christ, listen to thy humble client confessing his misery and sins. I acknowledge that I am not worthy that Christ should hear me; but through the patronage of the holy Martyrs, my evils can be remedied. Hearken to thy suppliant; in thy goodness free me from the fetters of the flesh and of the world. Amen.
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St Lawrence heals the blind man.
Holy Deacon! by thy yearning
For the Martyr’s glorious crown;
By thy tortures, by thy burning,
By thy death of bright renown;
When the world and flesh and devil
Tempt our souls to sin and evil,
Dear St Lawrence, pray for us!
By the love that thou didst ever
To thy Pontiff-Father bear,
Pray that no base act may sever
Us from Peter’s loving care!
But when men would once more lead us
Into bonds from which Christ freed us,
Dear St Lawrence, pray for us!
By the Pontiff’s words of warning,
Bidding all thy sorrows cease,
Words foretelling bitter mourning
Leading unto lasting peace!
That to Jesus in our sadness
We may look for help and gladness,
Dear St Lawrence, pray for us!
By thy love, which knew no measure,
For the needy and the old,
Giving them the Church’s treasure
Dearer they than gems and gold!
Teaching us that alms well given
Are but treasures stored in heaven,
Dear St Lawrence, pray for us!
By thy fervent love for Jesus,
By thy strong and constant faith,
Of our sinful burdens ease us!
Help us at the hour of death!
When the fears of death confound us
When the cleansing fires surround us!
Dear St Lawrence, pray for us!
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St Dominic de Guzmán
Thou who, hero-like, hast striven
For the cause of God and heaven!
Dominic, whose life was given
Sinners to recall.
Saint of high and dauntless spirit,
By thy vast unmeasured merit,
By thy name which we inherit,
Hear us when we call.
Flower of chastity, the fairest
Of her lily buds thou bearest,
Snow-white as the robe thou wearest,
Gift from hands divine.
With thy brow of starry splendour,
With thine eyes so mild and tender,
Mary’s client–truth’s defender,
To our prayers incline.
Great Apostle, ever claiming
Souls for Jesus–by the naming
Mary and her Son proclaiming
Mysteries of faith;
Still, O Dominic, the preaching
Of those childlike beads is reaching
Childlike hearts all sweetly teaching
Christ’s own life and death.
With those Aves, first and plainest
Of the Church’s prayers, thou rainest
Blessings on the earth and gainest
Souls whom Jesus made.
Loving Father I at thy station
Of seraphic contemplation,
In each hour of dark temptation,
Give thy saving aid.
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Orate, fratres! 