Category Archives: Prayer

Faith, Prayer, Quote, Spirituality

Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints about Truth

 

Many in the world today are discovering that not everything we believe is actually true.  The following quotes are attributed to the Saints.  Hopefully they will help us to understand the meaning of Truth.

1.   Anyone who seeks Truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it.

St. Edith Stein

St. Edith Stein
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2.  Truth is not private property.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo
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3.  Truth suffers but never dies.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
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4.  Proclaim the Truth and do not be silent through fear.

St. Catherine of Siena

4.  Proclaim the Truth and do not be silent through fear.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena
5.  Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.

St. Vincent de Paul

St. Vincent de Paul
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6.  He is an all-powerful God, who is Truth

St. Faustina

St. Faustina
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7.  Faith and Reason are like two wings of the human spirit, which it sours to the Truth.

St. John Paul II

8.  There is no true peace without fairness, truth, justice and solidarity.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II
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9.  I can nourish myself on nothing but Truth.

St. Therese of Lisieux

10.  Jesus said, ” I am the Truth” and it is your duty and mine to speak the truth, then it is up to the person who hears it whether to accept or reject it.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
U.S. Stamp
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11.  When lies have been accepted for some time, Truth always stands with an air of novelty.

St. Clement of Alexandria…Church Father

12.  True happiness is to rejoice in the Truth, for to rejoice in theTruth is to rejoice in you, O God, who are the Truth, you my God, my true Light, to whom I look for salvation.

St. Augustine

13.  To lovers of the Truth, nothing can be put before God and Home in Him.

St. Basil

St. Basil the Great
14.  Do not accept anything as Love which lacks Truth.

St Edith Stein

15.  If I do not speak the truth, I become a slave of the father of lies and beome a member of the Father of lies.

St. Jerome Emiliani

St. Jerome Emiliani        Patron Saint of Orphans
16.  Speak the Truth in a million voices.  It is silence that kills.

St. Catherine of Siena

17.  Sin makes a man a coward, a life in the Truth of Christ makes him bold.

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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18.  For He who is true God is also True man; and there is no deception in this union, where the loftiness of God and the lowliness of man are brought together.

St. Leo the Great

St. Leo the Great
19.  No one in the world can change Truth.  What we can do and should do is to seek Truth and to serve it when we have found it.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian Kolbe
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20.  Serve the Lord in fear and Truth.

St. Polycarp…Church Father

St. Polycarp
21.  God is supreme Truth; and to be humble is to walk in Truth.

St. Teresa of Avila.

22.  Charity and kindness unwedded to Truth are not charity and kindness but deceit and vanity.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius Loyola
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23.  My longing for truth was a single prayer.

St Edith Stein

24.  Seek the Truth, Do the Good,  Love the Beautiful!

St. John Henry Newman

St. John Henry Newman
25.  What prayer could be more true before God the Father than that which the Son, who is Truth, uttered with His own lips?

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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Faith, Prayer, Spirituality

Do Evil Spirits Really Exist?




 

The Fall of Man Michelangelo
The Fall of Man
Michelangelo

 

On Halloween, we see many representations of good and evil: angels, witches, devils, monsters, princesses, gangsters, rock stars, politicians, super heroes.

While we are made in the image of God, each of us has a temptation to do evil. Society glamorizes evil.

If we take the Bible seriously, we should not doubt the existence of Satan and evil spirits. Jesus refers to Satan and angels multiple times.

Satan is actually an angel. He fell from grace when he turned from God. He has been at war with God ever since.

It is only in modern times, that people have denied the existence of evil spirits. Halloween is a time when we should reflect on the good and evil evident around us.

Halloween (All Hallows Eve) comes on the night before All Saint’s Day. Halloween is a display of both good and evil. All Saint’s Day (November 1st) is a display of people who have overcome evil for the glory of God.

Angels have existed since the beginning of creation. They are servants and messengers of God. Unlike human beings they are pure spirits. During the life of Jesus they are always present. Archangel Gabriel announces his birth, they protect Jesus in his infancy, (Mat 4) serve him in the desert, and they strengthen him in his agony in the garden,

The Feast Day of the Archangels is celebrated on September 29.  The Feast Day of the Guardian Angels is celebrated on Oct. 2.

The Church teaches that Satan, in the beginning, was a good angel, but became evil by choice.  We learn in the bible that Jesus came to conquer evil.

“Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.“  1 John 8

When Jesus is praying in the Garden before his crucifixion, he prayed for unity among Christians.  He also prayed for protection against satan.

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”  (John 17:15)

The fallen angels have never repented for their fall from grace. Their hatred of God leads them to seduce men into choosing their evil ways.

We have free will. God did not create evil. On Halloween, we should reflect on which path we wish to follow…the path of God…or the path of evil.

Being neutral is not an option, it is evil; the sin of omission, laziness, and being lukewarm.

The devil is always trying to tempt us to do evil.  We need to turn to God with the Lord’s prayer when we need to be strengthened.

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.   (Matthew 6:13)

We need to be aware of the evil around us and the temptations which may cause us to go astray.  How else can we choose to do good rather than evil?   Pray!  Pray!  Pray!

Save

Save

Cross, Prayer, Quote, Quotes of Saints, Stations of the Cross

Twenty-Five Quotes on the Cross from the Saints

When we think about the cross, we usually think about the suffering and tribulations of life.

The Way of the Cross is a powerful devotion in the church.  We meditate and ponder on the Stations of the Cross.  This devotion is often prayed in church on Fridays during lent.  It may also be prayed alone.    When praying the Way of the Cross privately, it is helpful to use a written form of the devotion with meditations.

The 14 Stations of the Cross represent events from Jesus’ passion and death. At each station we use our senses and our imagination to reflect prayerfully upon Jesus’ suffering, Death, and Resurrection.

1  Jesus Is Condemned to Death.
2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross.
3. Jesus Falls the First Time.
4. Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother.
5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
7. Jesus Falls a Second Time.
8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time.
10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments.
.11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross.
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross.

13. Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross.

14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.

As we reflect on the stations of the cross, perhaps the quotes of the saints will help us as we meditate on the meaning of the cross.
  1.  The Cross is the school of love.

St. Maxamilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian Kolbe
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2.  Mount Calvary is the academy of Love. 

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales
3.  The road is narrow.  He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane.  In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.

St. John of the Cross.

St. John the Evangelist at the Cross

4.  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

St. Paul the Apostle

St. Paul the Apostle
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5.  Whoever does not seek the cross of Christ, doesn’t seek the glory of Christ.

St. John of the Cross

St. John the Evangelist at the Cross
6.  Our greatest cross is the fear of crosses.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney
7.  With the sign of the Cross, I shall more certainly break through the ranks of the enemy than if armed with shield and sword.

St. Martin of Tours

St. Martin of Tours
8.  The Cross is the way to Paradise, but only when it is done willingly.

St. Paul of the Cross

St. Paul of the Cross
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9.  No type of cruelty can tear down the religion established by the mystery of Christs’ Cross.
St. Leo the Great
St. Leo the Great
10.  Apart from the Cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.

St. Rose of Lima

St. Rose of Lima
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11. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him by word and deed.  Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord.  and be at peace with yourself.

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales
12.  Remember that when your heart feels restless, when your heart feels hurt, when your heart feels like breaking… I am precious to Him.  He has called me by name.  I am His.  He loves me.  And to prove that love He died on the cross.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa
Public Domain Image
13.  You must accept your cross; if you bear it courageously, it will carry you to Heaven.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney
14.  The cross is the hope of Christians, the staff of the lame, the comfort of the poor, the destruction of all pride, the victory over devils, the guide of youth, the pilot of mariners, the refuge of those who are in danger, the counselor of the just, the rest of the afflicted, the physician of the sick the glory of Martyrs

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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15.  The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without dawn; nor storm without haven.  The worst prison would be a closed heart.
St. John Paul II
St. John Paul II
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16.  He who, when tempted, makes the Sign of the Cross with devotion, makes Hell tremble and Heaven rejoice.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney
17.  Beneath the cross, one learns to love.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio
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18.  The lukewarm do not embrace the cross; they merely drag it along.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
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19.  The cross is our trophy raised against the demons, our sword against sin and the sword of Christ used to pierce the serpent.

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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20.  If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross.

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas
21.  If you wish to be like Christ, call or look always for the cross.

St. John of the Cross

St. John the Evangelist at the Cross
22.  The Christian’s motto is the Cross.  You will recognize God’s love by this sign, by the suffering he sends you.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio
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23. Suffering is a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa
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24.  Contradictions put us at the feet of the Cross and the cross lifts us up to heaven.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney
25.  It is in loving the cross that we find true peace, not running from it.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney

Discernment, Pope Leo XIV, Prayer, Prayer Intention

July Prayer Intention and Prayer For Discernment by Pope Leo XIV

 

Pope Leo invites us to pray with him for his monthly prayer intention.

The prayer intention for July is for Discernment in Formation.

“Let us pray that we might again learn how to discern, to know how to choose paths of life and reject everything that leads us away from Christ and the Gospel.”

Prayer for Discernment by Pope Leo XIV

Holy Spirit, you, light of our understanding,
gentle breath that guides our decisions,
grant me the grace to listen attentively to your voice
and to discern the hidden paths of my heart,
so that I may grasp what truly matters to you,
and free my heart from its troubles.

I ask you for the grace to learn how to pause,
to become aware of the way I act,
of the feelings that dwell within me,
and of the thoughts that overwhelm me
which, so often, I fail to notice.

I long for my choices
to lead me to the joy of the Gospel.
Even if I must go through moments of doubt and fatigue,
even if I must struggle, reflect, search, and begin again…
Because, at the end of the journey,
your consolation is the fruit of the right decision.

Grant me a deeper understanding of what moves me,
so that I may reject what draws me away from Christ,
and love him and serve him more fully.

Amen.

Faith, Heaven, Prayer, Psalm, Quotes of Saints

Twenty-five Quotes about Heaven from the Saints

Have you pondered what heaven might be like.  We will only know for sure when we enter into the Kindom of Heaven.  The saints share their insights with us in the quotes below.

 1.   How insignificant earth seems to me, when I consider heaven.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola
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2.  The gate of heaven is very low, only the humble can enter it.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
3.  Heaven is a city on a hill; hence we cannot cast into it, we have to climb.

Ven. Fulton Sheen

Ven. Fulton Sheen
4.  Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More
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5.  Those who carry God in their hearts bear Heaven with them wherever they go.

St. Ignatius Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyla
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6.  What does it matter to you whether Jesus wishes to guide you to heaven by way of the desert or by the meadow, so long as He is always with you and you arrive at the possession of the blessed eternity.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio
Public Domain Image
7.  Walk with your feet on earth, but in your heart, be in heaven.

St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco
8.  As mariners are guided into port by the shing of a star, so Christians are guided to Heaven by Mary.

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas
9.  Let us sing alleluia here on earth, while we still live in anxiety, so that we may sing it one day in heaven in full security.  

St. Augustine

St. Augustine
10.  Heaven and hell are inevitable, but the choice between them is up to us.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
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11.  Heaven is full of love, but hell is full of loneliness.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

St. Teresa of Calcutta
U.S. Stamp
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12.  Heaven is for all of us, but we must remember that we must earn it.

St. Francis Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi
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13.  We are not made for this world but for heaven, where we will live forever.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II
14.  Can you expect to go to heaven for nothing?  Did not our dear Savior track the whole way to it with His blood and tears?

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
15.  No one reaches the Kingdom of Heaven except by humility.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo
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16.  Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.  

St. Rose of Lima

St. Rose of Lima
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17. All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, ” I am the way.”

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena
18.  When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens.   I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux          The Little Flower
19.  The pains of hell are not the greatest part of hell, the loss of heaven is the weightiest woe of Hell.

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
Public Domain Image
20.  An angel fell from heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues.

St. John Climacus

St. John Climacus
21.  In the moment of temptation, think of the Love that awaits you in heaven, foster the virtue of hope.

St. Josemaria Escriva

St. Josemaria Escriva
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22.  Heaven is where all tears are wiped away.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo
Public Domain Image
23.  Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you.  

St. Jerome

St. Jerome and the Angel
by Simon Vouet
Public Domain Image
24.  As in heaven Your will is punctually performed, so may it be done on earth by all creatures, particularly in me and by me. 

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

25.  O Saving Victim, opening wide, the gate of heaven to us below.  Our foes press on from every side, Your aid supply, Your strength bestow.

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas

Prayer, Quote

Quote for Today Pope Leo XIV

Unity in the Church and among the Churches is fostered by forgiveness and mutual trust, beginning with our families and communities. If Jesus can trust us, we can certainly trust one another in his name.                                                                                                 

 June 29,2025    Pope Leo XIV on X.   

                                                                                               

The history of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone’s freedom. Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from living a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity.                                                                             

 June 29,2025. Pope Leo XIV on X

Prayer, Quote

Quote for Today Pope Leo XIV

Quote

Unity in the Church and among the Churches is fostered by forgiveness and mutual trust, beginning with our families and communities. If Jesus can trust us, we can certainly trust one another in his name.                                                                                                 

 June 29,2025    Pope Leo XIV on X.   

                                                                                               

The history of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone’s freedom. Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from living a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity.                                                                             

 June 29,2025. Pope Leo XIV on X

Faith, Pope Leo XIV, Prayer, Quote

Quote for Today Pope Leo XIV

Unity in the Church and among the Churches is fostered by forgiveness and mutual trust, beginning with our families and communities. If Jesus can trust us, we can certainly trust one another in his name.                                                                                                 

 June 29,2025    Pope Leo XIV on X.   

                                                                                               

The history of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone’s freedom. Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from living a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity.                                                                             

 June 29,2025. Pope Leo XIV on X

Pope Leo XIV
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 8: The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo (Leone) XIV, as the 267th Supreme Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

 

Pope Leo XIV, Prayer, Sacred Heart

Prayer to the Sacred Heart by Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV has released the following prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  June is considered to be month of the Sacred Heart.

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pope Leo XIV

Lord, I come to your tender heart today, to you who have words that set my heart ablaze, to you who pour out compassion on the little ones and the poor, on those who suffer and on all human miseries.

I desire to know you more, to contemplate you in the Gospel, to be with you and learn from you and from the charity with which you allowed yourself to be touched by all forms of poverty.

You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure with your divine and human heart.

Grant all your children the grace of encountering you.  Change, shape, and transform our plans, so that we seek only you in every circumstance, in prayer, in work, in encounters, and in our daily routine.

From this encounter send us out on mission, a mission of compassion for the world in which you are  the source from which all consolation flows.

Amen

Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us!  
Pope Leo XIV during the Regina Caeli prayer on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Pope Leo XIV, Prayer, Sacred Heart

Prayer to the Sacred Heart by Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV has released the following prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  June is considered to be month of the Sacred Heart.

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pope Leo XIV

Lord, I come to your tender heart today, to you who have words that set my heart ablaze, to you who pour out compassion on the little ones and the poor, on those who suffer and on all human miseries.

I desire to know you more, to contemplate you in the Gospel, to be with you and learn from you and from the charity with which you allowed yourself to be touched by all forms of poverty.

You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure with your divine and human heart.

Grant all your children the grace of encountering you.  Change, shape, and transform our plans, so that we seek only you in every circumstance, in prayer, in work, in encounters, and in our daily routine.

From this encounter send us out on mission, a mission of compassion for the world in which you are  the source from which all consolation flows.

Amen

Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us!  
Pope Leo XIV during the Regina Caeli prayer on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Immaculate Heart, Our Lady, Prayer, Spirituality

Prayer for Deliverance by Pope John Paul II

Prayer for Deliverance from Evil

 

Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future!

From famine and war, deliver us.

From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us.

From sins against the life of man from its very beginning, deliver us.

From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us.

From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.

From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us.

From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God, deliver us.

From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.

From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.

Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies.

Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world the infinite saving power of the Redemption: the power of merciful Love!

May it put a stop to evil! May it transform consciences!

May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of Hope!

This prayer is from the consecration of all individuals and peoples of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984 by Saint John Paul II.  It took place in St. Peter’s Square on March 25, 1984.

Featured, Immaculate Heart, Our Lady, Prayer, Spirituality

Prayer for Deliverance by Pope John Paul II

Prayer for Deliverance from Evil

 

Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future!

From famine and war, deliver us.

From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us.

From sins against the life of man from its very beginning, deliver us.

From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us.

From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.

From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us.

From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God, deliver us.

From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.

From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us.

Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies.

Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world the infinite saving power of the Redemption: the power of merciful Love!

May it put a stop to evil! May it transform consciences!

May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of Hope!

This prayer is from the consecration of all individuals and peoples of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984 by Saint John Paul II.  It took place in St. Peter’s Square on March 25, 1984.