Prayers for the Modern(ist) Age

Besides those prayers which every Catholic should know by heart (the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Apostle's Creed, Salve Regina, Memorare, St. Michael the Archangel prayer, etc.), I highly recommend the following prayers. They are truly prayers for the times.

Prayer of Recognition of Christ's Sovereignty
O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee as King of the world. All that exists has been created for Thee. Exercise Thy rights upon me. I renew my baptismal vows and renounce Satan with all his works and pomps, and I promise to lead a good Christian life. I particularly promise to do all in my power for the triumph of God and of His Church.

O Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee all my actions, in order that all mankind may acknowledge Thee as their King, and that Thy divine peace may reign throughout the whole world. Amen.

Prayer for Holy Bishops


Lord, according to Thy promise that the Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, raise up men fit for such work. The Apostles were but soft and yielding clay till they were baked hard by the fire of the Holy Ghost.

So, good Lord, do now in like manner with Thy Church militant. Change and make the soft and slippery earth into hard stones. Set in Thy Church strong and mighty pillars that may suffer and endure great labors -- watching, poverty, thirst, hunger, cold and heat -- which also shall not fear the threatenings of princes, persecution, neither death, but always persuade and think with themselves to suffer with a good will, slanders, shame, and all kinds of torments, for the glory and laud of Thy holy Name. By this manner, good Lord, the truth of Thy Gospel shall be preached throughout the world.

Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Thy mercy, show it indeed upon Thy Church.

-St. John Fisher

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe For the Conversion of the Americas and of the World
O Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, who as Our Lady of Guadalupe didst aid in the conversion of Mexico from paganism in a most miraculous way, we now beseech thee to bring about in these our times, the early conversion of our modern world from its present neo-paganism to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of thy divine Son, Jesus Christ, starting in the Americas, and extending throughout the entire world, so that soon there may be truly "one fold and one shepherd," with all governments recognizing the reign of thy Son, Jesus Christ the King. This we ask of the Eternal Father, through Jesus Christ His Son Our Lord and by thy powerful intercession - all for the salvation of souls, the triumph of the Church, and peace in the world. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph for the Church and the Holy Father
Most Powerful Patriarch St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, which has always invoked thee in anxiety and trouble, from the exalted seat of thy glory, cast a loving glance upon the whole Catholic world. Let thy fatherly heart be touched at the sight of the Mystical Spouse and the Vicar of Christ overwhelmed with sorrow, and persecuted by powerful enemies. Oh, by the bitter anguish thou didst experience upon earth, dry the tears of the venerable Pontiff, defend him, comfort him, intercede for him with the Giver of peace and charity, that, all adversity being removed and all error dissipated, the entire Church may serve God in perfect liberty. Amen.


Prayer to St. Joseph for Priests
O Illustrious Patriarch St. Joseph, who carried the Infant Jesus in thy blessed arms and who, during the space of thirty years, lived in the most intimate familiarity with Him, take under thy powerful protection those whom He has clothed with His authority and honored with the dignity of his priesthood, whom He has charged to continue His mission, to preach His Gospel, and to dispense everywhere His graces and blessings. Sustain them in their fatigues and labors; console them in their pains; fortify them in their combats; but above all, keep far from them all the evils of sin.

Obtain for them the humility of St. John the Baptist, the faith of St. Peter, the zeal and charity of St. Paul, the purity of St. John, and the spirit of prayer and recollection of which thou, my dear Saint, art the model, so that, after having been on earth the faithful dispensers of the Mysteries of thy foster Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, they may in Heaven receive the recompense promised to pastors according to the Heart of God. Amen.

Msgr. Schmitz Visits DC

On Sunday 18 February 2007, Msgr. Michael Schmitz of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest offered a Missa Cantata at Old St. Mary's in Washington, DC. During his sermon, Msgr. Schmitz spoke of the apparent contradiction between God's law (or justice) and God's love, and how there really isn't an incompatibility between the two. His sermon was excellent, and he received a lot of positive feedback from congregation at the coffee and donuts hour after Mass.


Msgr. Schmitz Distributing Communion in Front of the Sacred Heart Altar

The following evening, the Monsignor spoke at the Washington, DC Bureau of the American TFP. His lecture was on "The Classical Roman Rite and the Renewal of the Liturgy." Another attendee of the lecture gave an excellent summary:



"His talk was very good and was recorded. He took some questions afterward with the recorder shut off. He responded to a question of the abomination of Communion in the hand by laying it at the feet of Pope Paul VI - a moment of weakness (I call it a Pontificate of weakness). He gave a very good talk on the TLM and how it will resurrect the church when it is more widely performed. He likened the church to a frozen giant who has been paralyzed for 40 years. He also characterized the TLM as the beating heart of the church and the Novus Ordo as a weakening of this beating heart. He explained that if the devil was intent on attacking the church that he would do that by introducing the abuses that we have experienced since the Second Vatican Council and weakening the beating heart of the church."

"He spoke for about an hour and he struck me as a very solid traditional priest, very much convinced that the only way to re-sanctify the church was through the widespread use of the TLM, whose graces invigorate Holy Mother Church, and the eventual disappearance of the Novus Ordo."

"For my money, he puts a lot of faith in Benedict XVI to turn this all around, due to his great love for the ancient liturgy, as expressed in his many writings. It was the only part of his talk that was dismaying to me. If he (B-XVI) is that passionate about restoring the Mass, he should hold Bishops and Cardinals accountable for its implementation." (Source)


The St. Peter statue on the table in front of Msgr. Schmitz is actually a second-class relic. It was belonged to a school attended by St. Teresa of the Andes, who likely venerated the statue during her time there.

I consider it a blessing that I was not only present for the Mass, but also the lecture. Msgr. Schmitz is truly a priest according to the order of Melchisedech.