Litany of the Holy Cross our banner of victory
The cross is the
hope of Christians
the cross is the resurrection of the dead
the cross is the way of the lost
the cross is the savior of the lost
the cross is the staff of the lame
the cross is the guide of the blind
the cross is the
strength of the weak
the cross is the
doctor of the sick
the cross is the aim of the priests
the cross is the
hope of the hopeless
the cross is the freedom of the slaves
the cross is the power of the kings
the cross is the water of the seeds
the cross is the consolation of the bondsmen
the cross is the source of those who seek water
the cross is the cloth of the naked.
We thank you, Father, for the cross.
http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=462
Eternal Father,
Thy Son has promised that Thou wilt grant us all the
graces
which we ask Thee for in His name.
In the name, therefore,
and by the merits of
Jesus Christ,
I ask the following graces for myself and for all mankind:
And first,
I pray Thee to give me a lively
faith in all
that the holy Roman Church teaches me.
Enlighten me also,
that I may know the vanity of the goods of this world,
and the immensity of the Infinite
Good that Thou art;
make me also see the deformity of the sins I have
committed,
that I may humble myself and detest them as I ought;
and, on the other hand, show me how worthy Thou art,
by
reason of Thy goodness,
that I should love Thee with all my heart.
Make me know also the love Thou has borne me,
that from this day forward I may try to be grateful for so
much goodness.
Secondly,
give me a firm confidence in Thy mercy
of receiving the pardon of my sins,
holy perseverance, and, finally,
the
glory of paradise,
through the merits of
Jesus Christ
and the
intercession of Mary.
Thirdly,
give me a great love toward Thee,
which shall detach me from the love of this world and of
myself,
so that I may love
none other but Thee,
and that I may neither do nor desire anything else
but what is for Thy glory.
Fourthly,
I beg of Thee a perfect resignation to Thy will,
in accepting with tranquility sorrows,
infirmities, contempt, persecutions, aridity of spirit,
loss of property, of esteem, of relations,
and every other cross which shall come to me from Thy
hands.
I offer myself entirely to Thee,
that thou mayest do with me,
and all that belongs to me,
what thou pleasest;
do Thou only give me light and
strength to do Thy will,
and, especially at the hour of death,
help me to
sacrifice my
life to Thee
with all the affection I am capable of,
in union with the
sacrifice which Thy Son
Jesus Christ
made of His
life on the cross of Calvary.
Fifthly,
I beg of Thee a great sorrow for my sins,
which may make me grieve over them as long as I live,
and weep for the insults I have offered Thee,
the Sovereign Good,
who art worthy of infinite love, and who hast loved me so
much.
Sixthly,
I pray Thee to give me the
spirit of true
humility and
meekness,
that I may accept with peace,
and even with joy, all the contempt,
ingratitude and ill-treatment that I may receive.
At the same
time I also pray Thee to give me perfect
charity,
which shall make me wish well to those who have done
evil
to me,
and to do what
good I can, at least by praying,
for those who have in any way injured me.
Seventhly,
I beg of Thee to give me a love for the
virtue of holy
mortification,
by which I may chastise my rebellious senses,
and cross my self-love;
at the same
time I beg Thee to give me holy purity of
body,
and the
grace to resist all bad temptations,
by ever having recourse to Thee and Thy most Holy Mother.
Give me the
grace faithfully to obey my spiritual father
and all my superiors in all things.
Give me an upright intention,
that in all I desire and do I may seek only Thy glory,
and to please Thee alone.
Give me a great confidence in the Passion of
Jesus Christ,
and in the
intercession of
Mary Immaculate.
Give me a great love toward the most Adorable Sacrament of
the Altar,
and a tender devotion and love to Thy Holy Mother.
Give me, I pray Thee, above all,
holy perseverance, and the
grace always to pray for it,
especially in
time of
temptation and at the hour of death.
Lastly,
I recommend to Thee the holy souls in Purgatory,
my relations and benefactors;
and in an especial manner I recommend to Thee all those
who hate me,
or who have in any way offended me;
I beg of Thee to render them
good for the
evil they have
done,
or may wish to do me.
I also recommend to Thee all infidels, heretics,
and all poor sinners;
give them light and
strength to deliver themselves from
sin.
O, most loving God,
make Thyself known and loved by all,
but especially by those
who have been more ungrateful to Thee than others,
so that by Thy goodness I may come one day
to sing Thy mercies in paradise;
for my
hope is in the merits of Thy Blood,
and in the patronage of Mary.
O Mary, Mother of God,
pray to
Jesus for me!
So I hope; so may it be!
By Saint Alphonsus.
