site-logo
menu
Search

Prayer for Priests Remaining Faithful to Tradition

Priests_of_the_Archdiocese_of_Lipa_2024-06-29
By:

Introduction

The Catholic priest stands at the altar in persona Christi, offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and guarding the deposit of faith entrusted to the Church. In times of doctrinal confusion and moral trial, priests require not only courage but supernatural strength.

Sacred Scripture reminds us:

“Pray one for another, that you may be saved” (James 5:16).
https://www.drbo.org/chapter/59005.htm

To pray for priests is an act of justice and charity. Through their fidelity, the faithful are nourished with sound doctrine and reverent worship.

This prayer is offered for priests who strive to remain steadfast in Sacred Tradition, loyal to the perennial Magisterium, and devoted to the Mass of the Ages.

Why We Must Pray for Priests

The priest participates in the eternal priesthood of Christ.

“Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech” (Hebrews 7:17).
https://www.drbo.org/chapter/65007.htm

At every Mass, he offers the same sacrifice as Calvary in an unbloody manner, as solemnly defined by the Council of Trent.¹
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09789c.htm

His vocation is sacred, yet he remains human. He bears spiritual burdens, pastoral trials, and, at times, isolation.

Saint Paul exhorts the faithful:

“Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25).
https://www.drbo.org/chapter/59005.htm

This apostolic request remains urgent.

Theological Foundation for Praying for Priests

The priest is entrusted with:

  • The proclamation of Sacred Scripture
  • The safeguarding of Sacred Tradition
  • The administration of the Sacraments
  • The offering of the Holy Eucharist

The Council of Trent affirms that the priest acts sacramentally in offering the Eucharistic sacrifice.¹

Because the priest stands between God and the faithful in sacred ministry, the faithful must support him through prayer and sacrifice.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Eternal High Priest, intercedes particularly for those configured sacramentally to her Son.

“Behold thy mother” (John 19:27).
https://www.drbo.org/chapter/50019.htm

Through her Immaculate Heart, priests receive strength in fidelity.

Prayer for Priests Remaining Faithful to Tradition

O Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ,
look with mercy upon Thy priests who labor in fidelity to Sacred Tradition.

Strengthen them in courage when they are tested.
Grant them clarity in preaching the perennial doctrine of Thy Church.
Preserve them from error, compromise, and discouragement.

May they offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with reverence and purity of heart,
mindful that they stand at the altar in Thy sacred Person.

Guard them in chastity, humility, and obedience ordered toward truth.
Protect them from isolation and from the spirit of the world.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Immaculate Mother of Priests,
obtain for them perseverance in fidelity to the deposit of faith once delivered to the saints.

May their hands be holy,
their doctrine sound,
their charity fervent,
and their souls steadfast in the perennial Magisterium.

O Lord, sustain Thy priests,
that they may shepherd Thy flock in truth and reverence until the end of their days.

Amen.

Final Exhortation

The preservation of the Catholic faith depends in great measure upon faithful priests.

Support them with prayer.
Encourage them with charity.
Strengthen them through sacrifice.

May every Rosary, every Holy Communion, and every act of reparation be offered for the sanctification of the clergy and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.

May the Reign of Mary come.
Adveniat Regnum Mariae!

As you pray for priests to remain faithful, deepen your own understanding of the faith through our Q&A with Bishop Athanasius Schneider: https://www.gloriadei.io/q-and-a/

 

Footnotes

  1. Council of Trent, Session XXII, Doctrine on the Sacrifice of the Mass (1562).
    https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09789c.htm
  2. Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version. James 5:16.
    https://www.drbo.org/chapter/59005.htm
  3. Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version. Hebrews 7:17.
    https://www.drbo.org/chapter/65007.htm
  4. Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version. 1 Thessalonians 5:25.
    https://www.drbo.org/chapter/59005.htm
  5. Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version. John 19:27.
    https://www.drbo.org/chapter/50019.htm
  6. Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version. Jude 1:3.
    https://www.drbo.org/chapter/72001.htm

Bibliography

Sacred Scripture

Holy Bible. Douay-Rheims Version.
https://www.drbo.org

Ecumenical Councils

Council of Trent. Session XXII, Doctrine on the Sacrifice of the Mass (1562).
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09789c.htm

Picture of Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Athanasius Schneider, O.R.C. is a Kazakhstani Roman Catholic bishop, the auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra.
All Posts

The Deposition of
Bishop Joseph E. Strickland

“The one charge which is now sure to secure severe punishment is the careful keeping of the traditions of the Fathers.” These words of St. Basil (Ep. 243) can most aptly illustrate the deposition of the Bishop of Tyler, TX/USA, His Excellency Joseph E. Strickland. The deposition of Bishop Joseph E. Strickland signifies a black day for the Catholic Church of our day. We are witnessing a blatant injustice towards a bishop who did his duty in preaching and defending with parrhesia the immutable Catholic faith and morals and in promoting the sacredness of the liturgy, especially in the immemorial traditional rite of the Mass. All understand, and even the declared enemies of this Confessor Bishop, that the accusations brought against him are ultimately insubstantial and disproportionate and were used as a welcome opportunity to silence an uncomfortable prophetic voice within the Church.

What happened to the Bishops during the Arian crisis in the 4th century, who were deposed and exiled only because they intrepidly preached the traditional Catholic Faith, is again happening in our day. At the same time several Bishops, who publicly support heresy, liturgical abuses, gender ideology and openly invite their priests to bless same-sex couples, are not in the least importuned or sanctioned by the Holy See.

Bishop Strickland will probably go down in history as an “Athanasius of the Church in the USA”, who however, unlike St. Athanasius, is not persecuted by the secular power, but incredibly by the Pope himself. It seems that a kind of “purge” of Bishops, who are faithful to the immutable Catholic Faith and the Apostolic discipline, and which has been going on already for some time, has reached now a decisive phase.

May the sacrifice, which Our Lord asked from Bishop Strickland bear plenty spiritual fruits for time and eternity. Bishop Strickland and other faithful Bishops, who were already asked to resign, who are currently marginalized or who will be the next in der row, should say in all sincerity to Pope Francis: “Holy Father, why are you persecuting and beating us? We tried to do what all holy Popes asked us to do? With fraternal love we offer the sacrifice of this kind of persecution and exile for the salvation of your soul and for the good state of the Holy Roman Church. Indeed, we are your best friends, Most Holy Father!”

+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Mary in Astana
Bishop_Joseph_Strickland_Easter_Vigil_2013
site-logo