“O my God, come to me, so that You may dwell in me and I may
dwell in you.”
Father of mercy, you made Saint John Vianney outstanding in his
priestly zeal and concern for your people. By his example and prayers, enable
us to win our brothers and sisters to the love of Christ and come with them to
eternal glory.
Pope Benedict’s letter proclaiming the Year of the Priest for the 150th year of Saint John Vianney’s death
A Litany in Honor of Saint John Vianney
A brief biography of Vianney
A list of resources on The Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament
The very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost
its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for
anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.
Father, you constantly
build up your Church by the lives of your saints. Give us the grace to follow
Saint Alphonsus in his loving concern for the salvation of men, and so come to
share his reward in heaven.
The Lord led the just in right paths, and showed him the kingdom of God.
Mother Anne, be joyful;
We beseech Thee, O Lord, keep and sanctify Thy people, that strengthened by the help of Thine Apostle James they may please Thee by their conduct and serve Thee with a quiet mind.
Every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
God our Father in Saint Sharbel Makhluf, You gave a light to Your faithful people. You made him a pastor of the Church to feed Your sheep with his word and to teach them by his example. Help us by his prayers to keep the faith he taught and follow the way of life he showed us.
Saint Sharbel Makhlouf (1828-1898) was born in a small Lebanese mountain village who became, at 23 years old, a monk of the Lebanese Maronite Order and later ordained a priest in 1859. He is known for his intense devotion to lectio divina, the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Sensing a deeper call in 1875, he began a solitary life (as a hermit) which he lived for twenty-three years of his life. Sharbel’s witness taught us about the virtues of poverty, self-sacrifice, and prayer in world dominated by an attraction to money, power and fame. Since July 24, 2004 Saint Sharbel has been introduced the liturgical observance in the sacred Liturgy.
Archbishop Francis M. Zayek said of Saint Sharbel:
“Reading about the holy hermits of the desert, we used to consider many reported facts as mere fables. In the life of Blessed Sharbel, however, we notice that these facts are authentic and true. Blessed Sharbel is another Saint Anthony of the Desert, or Saint Pachomius, or Saint Paul the Anchorite. It is marvelous to observe how you, Maronites, have preserved the same spirituality of the fathers of the desert throughout the centuries, and at the end of the nineteenth century, 1500 years later, produced a Sharbel for the Church.”
(The icon was painted by iconographer Christine Habib el Dayé. Other pieces of the artist’s work can be seen here and she can also be found on Facebook.)
Lord, our God, you revealed the secrets of heaven to Saint Bridget as she meditated on your Son’s Passion. Grant that we your servants may find great joy when your glory is revealed.
Early in the morning of the first day of the week, when Jesus had arisen, he first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven seven devils.