Prayer of St Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred let me sow love,
where there is injury let me sow pardon,
where there doubt let me sow faith,
where there is despair let me sow hope,
where there is darkness let me give light,
where there is sadness let me give joy.
O divine master, grant that I may
not try to be comforted but to comfort,
not try to be understood but to understand,
not try to be loved but to love.
For it is giving that we receive,
it is forgiving that we are forgiven,
and it is dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Prayer to St Gerard Majella for Expectant Mothers
Saint Gerard, we honour you as the patron of expectant mothers because of the miracle granted through your prayers for a woman in labour.
Through your intercession, protect all expectant mothers who the Lord has entrusted with tiny, infant souls.
Bless them with health and fill them with love for the lives they carry.
Give them the courage to overcome the pain of childbirth, the strength to heal from it and a constant faith to rear their children in the spirit of Christ.
Amen.
Prayer to St Jude, The Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases and Things Despaired Of
O Glorious Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus,
true relative of Jesus and Mary,
I salute you through the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Through this Heart I praise and thank God
for all the graces He has bestowed upon you.
Humbly prostrate before you,
I implore you through this Heart to look down upon me with compassion.
O despise not my poor prayer,
let not my trust be confounded.
To you God has granted the privilege
of aiding mankind in the most desperate cases.
O come to my aid, that I may praise the mercies of God.
All my life I will be grateful to you
and will be your faithful client until I can thank you in heaven.
St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress.
Prayer to St Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary
St Joseph
Oh, St. Joseph,
whose protection is so strong,
so great, so prompt before the throne of God,
I place in you all my interests and desires.
Oh, St Joseph,
do assist me by your powerful intercession,
and obtain from your Divine Son for me
all spiritual blessings through Christ Our Lord,
so that, having engaged here below your Heavenly Power,
I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.
Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you,
and Jesus asleep in your arms.
I dare not approach while He reposes near your Heart.
Press Him in my name,
and kiss His fine head for me
and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.
St. Joseph, Patron of Departing souls, pray for me.
Prayer to St Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland
Most glorious Saint Patrick,
Bishop and Confessor,
chosen by the Almighty to be the Apostle of Ireland,
we, the children of those to whom you preached the Faith of Christ,
never to be renounced,
hail you as the wonderful instrument of God’s mercy
for the obtaining of our eternal salvation.
Most glorious Apostle and Patron of our island,
submit to the Almighty our every temporal and spiritual want,
that through your intercession,
we may be relieved, in all our necessities through life,
and when called from this world to the glory of God,
we may, to your honour,
be found worthy of the faith that is within us,
and of eternal salvation.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
St Patrick’s Breastplate
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ within me,
Christ below me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left hand,
Christ in my sleeping,
Christ in my waking,
Christ in the heart of all who think of me,
Christ in the mouth of all who speak of me,
Christ in every eye that looks at me,
Christ in every ear that listens to me.
Amen.
Prayer to St Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh, martyred for the faith
Glorious Martyr Oliver
who willingly gave your life for your faith.
Help us also to be strong in faith.
May we be loyal like you to the See of Peter.
By your intercession and example
may all hatred and bitter-ness
be banished from the hearts of Irish men and women.
May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts
as it did in your heart even at the moment of your death.
Pray for us and for Ireland.
Amen.
Prayer to St Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh
Lord, look upon the family
whom your Saint and Bishop, Malachy,
brought to life with the word of truth
and nourished with the Sacrament of Life.
By his ministry you gave us the faith;
by his prayers help us to grow in love.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer to St Michael, the Archangel
Holy Michael, Archangel,
defend us in the hour of conflict.
Be our safeguard against the wickedness
and the snares of the devil.
May God restrain him, we humbly pray,
and you, O Prince of the heavenly host,
thrust down to hell,
Satan and all the evil spirits
who wander through the world
for the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Prayer to St Valentine
O glorious advocate and protector,
St Valentine,
look with pity upon our wants,
hear our requests,
attend to our prayers,
relieve by your intercession the miseries
under which we labour,
and obtain for us the divine blessing,
that we may be found worthy to join you
in praising the Almighty for all
eternity: through the merits of
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Prayer to St Therese of Lisieux
Loving Father, we praise you and we thank you for all that you have done for us and for all that you have given to us.
We thank you especially for the life of St. Therese.
During her short life she taught us about your great love for us and the importance of doing the ordinary things well.
May her life continue to inspire us on our pilgrim way to your kingdom of love and peace.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Novena Prayer to St. Clare
Beloved St. Clare,
by your trust in God's providence,
obtain help for all the poor and needy;
by your love for the Infant Jesus,
obtain the protection of our families;
by your love for Jesus crucified,
obtain for us courage in every trial;
by your love for Jesus in the Eucharist,
obtain our request:
[Here mention your request...]
by your attentiveness to the Holy Spirit,
obtain for us the grace of prayer and devotion;
by your likeness to Mary, our Mother,
obtain peace in our hearts, our homes and our world.
Amen.