Saint Nimatullah Kassab Hardini

O Heavenly Father, the source of all holiness, You are glorified in your saints. You have bestowed grace upon Mar Nimatullah, so He forsake the world to live for You and with You in the solitude of the monastery.

O Lord Jesus, the Holy One of all saints, You have called Mar Nimatullah and filled Him with Your grace and blessing. So He could follow You on the harrow path of perfection and holiness. He followed Your path carrying His cross with joy, the cross of communal life, by which He was sanctified.

O Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of saints, You have inspired our patron Nimatullah, so that He became a monk and lived with His brethren in the monastery, where He educated them and managed all things wisely and prudently. He was ideal and encourager to Saint Charbel His disciple and many others.

We beseech You, O Holy Trinity, through Mar Nimatullah to enlighten the path of salvation before us, for You are the first and last aim. Bring us back to You so that we may renew the image and the likeness that You have installed in us.
We thank You and glorify You with our mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, of whom Mar Nimatullah was a devout, and with Yous saints, You who live and reign in holiness for ever, Amen!

Today is the feast of the very holy Maronite priest St. Nimatullah Kassab Hardini. He was a mentor to one of the great saints of Lebanon, Saint Charbel!
To read more about St. Hardini, click here.

Saint Lucy

Prayers to St. Lucy

Dear Saint Lucy, whose name doth signify the light, we come to thee filled with confidence: do thou obtain for us a holy light that shall make us careful not to walk in the ways of sin, nor to remain enshrouded in the darkness of error. We ask also, through thy intercession, for the preservation of the light of our bodily eyes and for abundant grace to use the same according to the good pleasure of God, without any hurt to our souls. Grant, O Lucy, that, after venerating thee and giving thee thanks for thy powerful protection here on earth, we may come at length to share thy joy in paradise in the everlasting light of the Lamb of God, thy beloved Bridegroom, Jesus. Amen

Our Lady of Guadalupe

My dear little son, I love you. I desire you to know who I am. I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintains its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth. I desire a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion. All those who sincerely ask my help in their work and in their sorrows will know my Mother’s Heart in this place. Here I will see their tears; I will console them and they will be at peace.

--Mary to St. Juan Diego

Guadalupe Prayer by Pope St. Piux X

Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mystical Rose,
make intercession for the holy Church,
protect the Sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke thee in their necessities,
and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from thy most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life,
burning charity
and the precious gift of final perseverance.
Amen.

La Oración a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

Santa María de Guadalupe, Mística Rosa,
intercede por la Iglesia, protege al Soberano Pontífice,
oye a todos los que te invocan en sus necesidades.
Así como pudiste aparecer en el Tepeyac y decirnos: "Soy la siempre Virgen María, Madre del verdadero Dios", alcánzanos de tu Divino Hijo la conservación de la Fe.
Tu eres nuestra dulce esperanza en las amarguras de esta vida.
Danos un amor ardiente y la gracia de la perseverancia final. Amén.

Guadalupe Prayer

God of power and mercy,
you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac
with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
May her prayers help all men and women
to accept each other as brothers and sisters.
Through your justice present in our hearts
may your peace reign in the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

It's hard to fathom, now, that we Dominicans were one of the biggest blocks to recognizing the Immaculate Conception. We were the last bastion until 1843 when we gave in!

Father, You prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy mother of Your Son. You let her share beforehand in the salvation Christ would bring by His death, and kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception. Help us by her prayers to live in Your presence without sin.

You allowed no stain of Adam's sin to touch the Virgin Mary. Full of grace, she was to be a worthy mother of Your Son, Your sign of favor to the Church at its beginning, and the promise of its perfection as the bride of Christ, radiant in beauty. Purest of Virgins, she was to bring forth Your Son, the innocent lamb who takes away our sins. You chose her from all women to be our advocate with You and our pattern of holiness.