Fiery Prayer for the Apostles of the Latter Times Triduum St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort. August 4 Day 1: To Raise Up Men of Thy Right Hand.
Fiery Prayer for the Apostles of the Latter Times Triduum
St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort. August 4 Day 1: To Raise Up Men of Thy Right Hand.
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Remember, O Lord, remember Thy congregation which Thou did possess from the beginning and think of from all eternity. It was held in Thy Almighty hand when, by a word, Thou didst create the world out of nothing. It was hidden in Thy heart when Thy Divine Son, dying on the Cross, consecrated it by His death and confided it, as a precious treasure, to the care of His most dear Mother: Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast possessed from the beginning (Ps. 73:2).
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Accomplish, O Lord, Thy merciful designs; raise up the men of Thy right hand, such men as Thou hast shown in prophetic vision to some of Thy greatest servants - to St. Francis of Paola, to St. Vincent Ferrer, to St. Catherine of Siena, and to many other noble souls during the last two centuries.
Remember, O Lord: O Almighty God, remember this Company, applying to it all the might of Thy arm, which has no limits, to create, to produce and to bring it to perfection.
Great God, Thou Who out of the very stones can raise up children to Abraham, in the might of Thy Godhead say but one word to provide good laborers for Thy harvest and missionaries for Thy Church.
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Remember, O Lord: God of infinite goodness, remember Thy mercies of old and, through this mercy, remember this congregation. Remember Thy repeated promises that Thou has made to us by Thy Prophets and by Thine Own Son to grant us all our lawful requests. Remember the prayers that have been offered To Thee by Thy servants for this end for so many centuries. Let their wishes, their sighs, their tears, and the blood that they have shed for Thee come into Thy presence and earnestly implore Thy mercy. But, above all, remember Thy Dear Son: Look on the face of Thy Christ (Ps. 83:10). Contemplate His agony, His shame and confusion, His loving complaint in the Gar- den of Olives, when He said: What profit is there in My Blood? (Ps. 29:10).
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His cruel death, His Blood that poured forth cries out for mercy so that, by means of this congregation, His Kingdom may be established upon the ruins of that of His enemies.
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Remember, O Lord: Remember, O Lord, this community in the effects of Thy justice. It is time, O Lord, to do: they have dissipated Thy law (Ps. 118:126). It is time to do what Thou has promised: Thy Divine Law is transgressed. Thy Gospel is ignored, Thy religion abandoned. Torrents of iniquity overwhelm the world, carrying away even Thy servants; the whole earth has become desolate; impiety is enthroned; Thy sanctuary is profaned, and abomination has reached even into the holy place.
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Will Thou suffer this any longer, just Lord, God of vengeance? Will the end of all be like that of Sodom and Gomorrah? Will Thou be forever silent? Must not Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven? Must not Thy Kingdom come? Hast Thou not given to some of Thy friends a prophetic glimpse of the future renovation of Thy Church? Are not the Jews to be converted to the Truth? Is not this what Thy Church is awaiting? Do not all the Saints in heaven cry out to Thee: Avenge Thyself? Do not all the just on earth say to Thee: Amen. Come, O Lord, for the time is at hand (Apoc. 22:20). Do not all creatures, even the most insensible, moan under the weight of the numberless sins of Babylon and call for Thy coming to reestablish all things? For we know that every creature groaneth (Rom. 8:22).
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Detachment from all Earthly Things.
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Lord Jesus, Remember Thy congregation. Remember to give to Thy Mother a new company who, through Her, will renew all things and thus, through Mary, complete the years of grace just as, through Her, Thou did begin them.
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Give me children, otherwise I shall die (Gen. 30:1): Give to Thy Mother children, servants, or let me die. Give Thy Mother children. It is for Thy Mother’s sake that I pray to Thee. Remember that Thou did dwell within her womb, were nourished at Her breasts, and reject me not. Remember whose Son Thou art and hear me. Remember what She is to Thee and what Thou art to Her, and grant my request. What is it I am asking from Thee? Nothing for myself, all for Thy glory. What am I asking of Thee? What Thou can, and even, I dare say, what Thou should grant me, being as Thou art the true God to Whom all power has been given in heaven and on earth and the best of all children, for Thou loved Thy Mother with an infinite love.
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What am I asking of Thee?
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Children: Priests, free with Thy freedom, detached from all things, without father or mother, or brothers or sisters, without relations according to the world, without means, without worry, without cares, and even without any will of their own.
Children: Slaves of Thy love and of Thy will: men according to Thy heart, who, without self-will to stain and hold them back, accomplish all Thy designs and crush all Thy enemies; other Davids, with the staff of the Cross and the sling of the holy Rosary in their hands.
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Children: souls raised above this earth like heavenly dew who, without impediment, fly hither and thither in accordance with the breath of the Holy Spirit. It was they, in part, Thy Prophets spoke of when they asked: Who are these that fly as clouds? (Is. 60:8). Wither the impulse of the Spirit was to go, there they went (Ez. 1:12).
Children: Men ever at Thy hand, ever ready to obey Thee, like Samuel, at the voice of their Superiors: Presto sum: I am ready, every ready to run and suffer everything with Thee and for Thee, like the Apostles: Let us also go ,that we may die with Him (John 11:16).
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Children: True Children of Mary, Thy Holy Mother, who are begotten and concealed by Her charity, carried in Her bosom, fastened to Her breasts, nourished with Her milk, reared under Her care, upheld by Her arms, and enriched with Her graces.
Children: True servants of the Blessed Virgin, who, like other Saint Dominics, would go everywhere carrying the bright and burning torch of the Holy Gospel in their mouths and the holy Rosary in their hands; barking, like faithful watchdogs, at the wolves who would fain tear to pieces the flock of Jesus Christ; burning like fires and lighting up the darkness of the World like other suns. Men who would, by means of a true devotion to Mary, that is to say, interior, not hypocritical; exterior, not critical; prudent, not ignorant; tender, not indifferent; constant, not unsteady; and holy, without presumption, crush wherever they go the head of the old serpent, in order that the curse Thou placed on him might be entirely fulfilled: I will put enmities between thee and the Woman and thy seed and Her seed: She shall crush thy head (Gen. 3:15).