The Curé d'Ars Prayer Group
For the bishop and priests of the Raleigh, NC Diocese.
Devotions
Prayer for the Silent Church
O Jesus, Son of God, You loved Your Church and You gave Yourself for it so as to sanctify it and to enable it to appear before you glorious and Immaculate (Ephesians 5, 23-27). Consider again with mercy the afflictions to which Your mystical spouse is subjected in some parts of the world, but particularly now in the great nation of China.
You see, O Lord, the snares which threaten the souls of Your faithful and you know the calumniating insinuations brought against Your shepherds, Your ministers and Your faithful followers who eagerly desire to spread the truth of the Gospel and Your kingdom which is not of this world. How insistent and pernicious are the attempts to tear the seamless robe of Your spouse, the Church - One, Holy, Roman, Catholic, Apostolic - separating hierarchy and local communities from the sole center of truth, authority, and salvation, the Chair of Peter.
Before the spectacle of such grave evils we ask of You above all forgiveness for offenses perpetrated against you. Indeed, the words You spoke to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus - "Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute Me?" (Acts 9,4) - may well be repeated again today as has happened in the course of recent and past history.
We always trust in the efficacy of the sublime words which You spoke to the Father from the Cross. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23,34). In the same way as Your sacrifice is the source of universal salvation, so may the martyrdom which the Church, Your spouse and our mother, suffers in various regions be salutary to all men through Your grace.
Oh Prince of Peace, may the bishops and the priests, the Religious and the laity be always and everywhere "careful to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4, 3). May Your almighty strength defeat every human calculation, that shepherds and flocks may remain obedient to the voice of the only universal shepherd, the Roman Pontiff, who feels in his heart the responsibility of that supreme command of love, "Holy Father, keep in Thy name those whom Thou has give me that they may be one even as We are one" (John 17, 11).
And lastly, Oh our Saviour, cast a glance of approval on the merits and prayers of Your mother and ours, the august Queen of the Missions and the Universal Church; on the toils, on the sacrifices and on the blood of innumerable heralds of the Faith, who have given You everywhere and still give heroic testimony. And mindful above all of Your Precious Blood, shed for many as the remission of sins, give Your peace to China and to the whole world, since in no one else is there hope, victory and peace if not in You, Our Lord and immortal King of the centuries and of the people. Amen.