The Curé d'Ars Prayer Group

The Curé d'Ars Prayer Group

For the bishop and priests of the Raleigh, NC Diocese.

Devotions

Behold Thy Mother: Our Mother suffered for the sins of others, and not for Her own, and endured all at the hands of those who were the children of Her own mother, the Synagogue: "The sons of my mother have fought against me" (Cant. 1.2.) We Priests have often to suffer for the sins of other men, and at such times we must not turn upon those who cause our suffering, but have recourse to prayer, in order not to lost the treasure of charity. Let us be assured that the more we are ill-treated the greater will be our reward in heaven, and that (as St. Augustin says) the reproaches of our adversaries serve only to increase our eternal treasures.
(...) We must also be prepared to endure calumny and injustice without shrinking, and, on the other hand, to maintain the truth at all costs (as St. Gregory says). In short, the priest (as St. Ephrem says) must be like the anvil, which when beaten does not bend, but becomes the stronger.

Meditations for the use of the clergy, for every day in the year by Angelo Agostino Scotti (Abp. of Sidney) Fifteen week after Pentecost on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows


  Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows for Suffering Priests

O Mother of Sorrows, Virgin most afflicted,
You who stood at the foot of the Cross with a heart pierced by grief,
look with compassion upon your sons, the priests of your Son,
especially those who now suffer in silence, in weariness, in sorrow.
You held the broken Body of Jesus with tender strength—
now hold your suffering priests close to your Immaculate Heart.
Console those who are discouraged, strengthen those who are persecuted,
heal those who are wounded in body or spirit.
Intercede for those burdened by shame or temptation,
for those who feel forgotten or abandoned,
for those who weep in secret beneath the weight of the sacred yoke.

Mother of the Eternal High Priest,
wrap your mantle around them and hide them in the wounds of Christ.
Remind them that no suffering is wasted when united to His Cross.
Raise up their eyes to Heaven,
so they may remember the eternal reward promised to faithful shepherds.
Whisper to them again the joy of their first “yes,”
and help them persevere to the end.
We entrust them to you,
O Lady of Sorrows,
Mother of all priests,
Refuge of the afflicted,
Queen of the Clergy.
Amen.

—Rev. Fr. Ricardo Arriola

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