The Spirit of St. Dominic by Fr. Humbert Clerissac Notes

This past week I finished reading through The Spirit of St. Dominic. This book is a collection of retreat conferences preached by Fr. Clerissac to his Dominican brethren in England in 1908. While Father Clerissac passed from this life to the next in 1914, his deep theological insights are still relevant to today's Dominicans and any theologian. As Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P. writes in his Introduction to the book, “a great work of theology has a perennial relevance.” And while this is a more theological work that would be over the head of some, there are still nuggets of wisdom that anyone could appreciate and learn from.

Here are some of my takeaways from this work:

The Dominican Apostolate

The Dominican Order was founded for the salvation of souls.

Dominicans are champions and not mere foot soldiers for the Faith.

While some great apostles converted whole peoples and nations, the mission of St. Dominic was universal and as all-encompassing as that of St. Paul.

Thus, the Dominican Apostolate is distinguished by both its quality and extension from other orders.

Applying even to the tertiaries, the predominance in us of an apostolic intention is our first conformity to the mind and soul of our Lord.

We must remember that the primitive constitution laid down by God stated of Dominicans to “speak only of or to God.” This was St. Dominic’s way of life.

Veritas

We are bound, in virtue of our doctrinal mission, to present every object of our teaching as true. Our own lives out to be governed by the influence of the true.

The idea of the Dominican Order can be summed up as fidelity to the absolute.

The faith of which we are champions is the faith that sees all things as if through the eyes of God. As St. Thomas said, we see everything as if through God’s eyes, if through faith we adhere to the supreme truth for its own sake.

The end of our study and contemplation is to enable us to get a glimpse of absolute truth.

Doctrinal Apostolate

The Apostolate of the Order is necessarily a doctrinal apostolate.

For the Dominican, preaching has always referred to teaching the Faith and all things connected to the Faith.

There can be no exception to study in the life of a Dominican of at least 4 hours a day.

Study in its most comprehensive sense is an essential preparation for our doctrinal mission.

In our study and teaching, we must let our hearts and our wills follow the impulse of our mind for God.

All truth comes from God and returns to Him; our study must always bring us back to Him.

There is nothing wrong with studying the pagan philosophers. Whatsoever is true comes from the One True God. These pagan studies were allowed in Blessed Jordan’s Primitive Constitutions.

Study

There are 2 tendencies with study: study only for a purpose of spiritual utility or study in the Dominican and Aristotelian sense. This latter sense bases study on the right of revealed truth and considers all provinces of science as “tributaries of truth.”

Liturgical Prayer

The official prayers of the Church should lead to divine contemplation.

Canonical life helps the two great Dominican duties: study and teaching.

For those who throw themselves wholeheartedly into liturgical prayer, it cannot fail to take possession of you in both body and soul.

Liturgical prayer transcends all personal considerations. The prayer of the Church is bigger than anyone engaged in it. No greater sign of devotion to Our Lord and His Church can be given than the surrender of our personal interests and their absorption in the universal interests of God.

The spirit of prayer in the Church is the very breadth of Christ’s soul. The daily practice of liturgical prayer is the ideal way to preserve in us the precious power of the divine influence, even after the Eucharistic elements which we have received in Holy Communion cease to be present in us. 

Through liturgical prayer we truly fulfill the words of Scripture: “I pray, now not I, but Christ prayeth in me.”

Other Notes

The two distinguishing qualities of the Order are nobility and keenness. 

The “two dangers that threaten our moral character are cynicism and vanity.” 

“We should try not only to elicit acts of virtue but also to reach before we die the firmness, joy, and constancy of their habitus. Our vows themselves are only means to this end: the vow is practically for nothing but that.”

Penance is one of the distinctive marks of the Order of St. Dominic. And contrition is the first source of penance – it is nowhere deeper and more efficacious than in the Sacrament of Penance. The purgative, illuminative, and unitive life all derive their force from this Sacrament.

Spiritual pride is extremely subtle; the most terrifying form of form is the refusal to aspire after progress in the supernatural life. There is no better place to crush our pride than in the Sacrament of Confession.

“The revelation of our vocation to participate in Eternal Life constitutes the most striking characteristic of the Gospel and its unparalleled greatness.”

Some of the greatest of saints (e.g. St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas) felt that never “were they so much masters of themselves, and never did they use their energy so generously, as when they gave to God the homage of all their human activity.”

“Our devotion, then, to Our Lord is devotion to the God-Christ, devotion to the Eternal Truth, to the Divine Word, living and personally united in the Sacred Humanity of Jesus.”

The Sacred Humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ is “the instrumental cause of grace for the justification, sanctification, and salvation of all souls.” The Sacred Humanity is the channel of Divine Grace. We “turn frequently to His adorable Humanity to derive force and strength from that mysterious and continuous intercession exercised by Him in heaven.”

There are three chief benefits of the Eucharist: the application of the Redemption to each of us in particular (i.e. the renewal of pardon and its extension to all our daily sins), the pledge of life eternal, and the increase of the supernatural life in us, by the growth of Faith, Hope, and Charity.

The austerities of the Dominican Order are inspired chiefly by the motive of protecting its purity.

Purity is an indispensable condition for carrying out the purpose of the Dominican Order.

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All Saints of the Augustinian Order

November 13th is a day of multiple feasts. The Benedictines keep today as the Feast of All Benedictine Saints. The Dominicans keep today as All Dominican Souls since yesterday was All Dominican Saints. In the Universal Church following the traditional calendar, today is the Feast of Saint Didacus, the namesake for San Diego. And in some places today is also the Feast of St. Frances Cabrini, the American saint.

Today is also for the Augustinian Order their Feast of All Augustinian Saints. There are dozens of saints and blesseds of the Order.

St. Fulgentius, St. Rita of Cascia, St. Clare of Montefalco, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, St. Thomas of Villanova, and others now see God face-to-face in Heaven along with St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica. 

May Our Mother of Good Counsel pray for all of us, especially for all who are members of the Augustinian Order on earth. And may we pray to all of these Augustinian saints to keep the Order of St. Augustine faithful to Christ and Tradition.

Collect:

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui no omnium Sanctorum Ordinis nostri merita sub una tribuisti celebritate venerari: quaesumus; ut desideratam nobis tuae propitiationis abundantiam, multiplicatis intercessoribus, largiaris. Per Dominum...

Almighty, everlasting God, Who hast granted us to venerate in one solemnity the merits of all Thy Saints of our Order, we beseech Thee, that as our intercessors are multiplied, Thou wouldst bestow upon us the desired abundance of Thy mercy. Through our Lord...

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A Monthly Catholic Planner For Traditional (1962 Missal) Catholics

This week I had a chance to review The Ultimate Catholic Bundle, a one-of-a-kind Traditional Catholic monthly planner.

The Ultimate Catholic Bundle is a monthly subscription to a PDF file. A new bundle is released each month around the 20th and subscribers have a dedicated place to access the files online. The November bundle for instance was a beautiful designed 31-page file containing a monthly calendar, weekly planner pages, prayer journal pages, a nice novena checklist, a lectio divina guide, a Scripture reading checklist, a Poor Souls Prayer Journal, and quite a few pieces of holy art including 3 coloring pages. 

It's very nice to see a Traditional Catholic Planner, as most Catholic planners will only follow the Novus Ordo's 1969 calendar. While I would prefer to see the pre-1955 calendar kept, the 1962 calendar is very close (aside from a few feast deletions, removed octaves, and suppressed vigils). I certainly do think that anyone who prefers the pre-1955 calendar could still use this monthly bundle with only a handful of changes likely required each month.

The ability to write prayer intentions in various categories (e.g. thanksgiving, repentance, protection, etc) in addition to tracking novenas is something that I have not seen in any other Catholic planner that I have tried.

There is a lot of value in using a planner. I have used one for many years. This one features nice notes and to-do list sections that incorporate our Catholic faith. For instance, in the first picture above, you can see a reminder to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. That is something you will never find in a standard planner sold by a secular office supply store.

And besides all of these benefits, it is a beautifully designed work. The font, the spacing, the artwork, and the illustrations all exude true beauty. The only way to really develop the habit of using and benefiting from a planner is to use one that you enjoy using. And something this beautiful is inspiring and motivating to use. 

I am happy to recommend this planner after having tried out the November edition. If you are in the market for a planner and are looking to support a Catholic business, please give The Ultimate Catholic Bundle a close look. By supporting fellow small businesses owned by Catholics, we help support one another and do good (cf. Galatians 6:10). 

Lastly, anyone who is interested in signing up may take 50% off of their first-month bundle by using discount code BLOG50.

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St. Mennas the Wonder Worker

Our Lord Jesus Christ and St. Mennas, 6th-century icon from Bawit in Middle Egypt, currently at Louvre; One of the oldest known icons in existence.

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): November 11

Happy Martinmas! In addition to the festive celebration of St. Martin of Tours before the start of the Advent fast, we also call to mind today the life of St. Mennas. St. Mennas was an Egyptian, who was martyred c. 295 AD under Emperor Diocletian. He was one of the most popular saints in the early Eastern Church.

The Catholic Encyclopedia lists the following account of his life and legacy:

Menas, a Christian and an Egyptian by birth, served in the Roman army under the tribune Firmilian. When the army came to Cotyaeus in Phrygia, Menas hearing of the impious edicts issued against the Christians by the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian left the army, retired to a solitude in the mountains and served God by fasting vigils and prayer. During the celebration of a great festival Menas appeared in the midst of the populace in the circus, and fearlessly professed his faith. He was led before the prefect Pyrrhus, cruelly scourged, put to torture and finally beheaded. His body was brought to Egypt and the martyr was soon invoked in many needs and afflictions. The fame of the miracles wrought, spread far and wide and thousands of pilgrims came to the grave in the desert of Mareotis between Alexandria and the valley of Natron. For centuries Bumma (Karm-Abum-Abu Mina) was a national sanctuary and grew into a large city with costly temples a holy well, and baths. A beautiful basilica was erected by the Emperor Arcadius. The cult was spread into other countries, perhaps by travelling merchants who honoured him as their patron. As a result of various vicissitudes the doctrinal disputes and the conquest of Egypt by the Arabians under Omar in 641 the sanctuary was neglected and ultimately forgotten. During 1905 Mgr C.M. Kaufmann of Frankfort led an expedition into Egypt which made excavations at Bumma. He found in a vast field of ruins, the grave, the well and thermae, the basilica, the monastery, numerous inscriptions on the walls imploring aid through the intercession of the saint, and thousands of little water pitchers and oil lamps. The rich finds are partly in the Museum of Alexandria and Cairo, and partly in Frankfort and Berlin. The monsignor published an official report of his expedition in 1908, "La découverte des Sanctuaires de Menas dans le désert de Mareotis". His feast is celebrated on 11 November.

Collect:

O Almighty God, grant that we who celebrate the birthday of Your blessed Martyr Mennas, may be made stronger in our love of You through his intercession. Through Our Lord . . .

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Com. of Sts. Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): November 10

Along with St. Andrew Avellino, we commemorate today Sts. Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha. These courageous martyrs of the early centuries of Christianity are commemorated together because their relics are preserved in the same church in Rome.

The Catholic Encyclopedia lists the following account of their lives:

"Tryphon is said to have been born at Kampsade in Phrygia and as a boy took care of geese. During the Decian persecution he was taken to Nicfa about the year 250 and put to death in a horrible manner after he had converted the heathen prefect Licius. Fabulous stories are interwoven with his legend. He is greatly venerated in the Greek Church which observes his feast on 1 February. In this Church he is also the patron saint of gardeners. Many churches were dedicated to him, and the Eastern Emperor, Leo VI, the Philosopher (d. 912), delivered a eulogy upon Tryphon. About the year 1005 the monk Theodoric of Fleury wrote an account of him based upon earlier written legends; in Theodoric's story Respicius appears as Tryphon's companion. The relics of both were preserved together with those of a holy virgin named Nympha, at the Hospital of the Holy Ghost in Sassia. Nympha was a virgin from Palermo who was put to death for the Faith at the beginning of the fourth century. According to other versions of the legend, when the Goths invaded Sicily she fled from Palermo to the Italian mainland and died in the sixth century at Savona. The feast of her translation is observed at Palermo on 19 August. Some believe that there were two saints of this name. The church of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost at Rome was a cardinal's title which, together with the relics of these saints, was transferred in 1566 by Pope Pius V to the Church of St. Augustine."

May we endeavor to keep the memory of these martyrs alive when so many no longer hear of their heroic witness to the Faith.

Collect:

May we always be worthy to celebrate the feast of Your holy Martyrs, Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha, O Lord, so that through their intercession we may be sheltered under Your gracious protection. Through Our Lord . . .

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All Saints of England

Continuing on with the many "All Saints" days for various regions and orders, November 8th is the Feast of All English Saints. 

While many know that King Henry VIII broke away from the Church and that he is known for murdering and replacing a series of wives, few know the full history of Catholicism in England. After King Henry VIII’s death, after a brief experiment with Protestantism under his son Edward VI who ruled at a young age mainly through regents, Catholicism returned to England under his elder daughter Mary I (1555-58). But after her reign ended, England officially adopted Anglicanism in 1559 under his younger daughter Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Except during the reign of the Catholic James II (1685-88), Catholicism remained illegal for the next 232 years until the Catholic Mass could be legally celebrated again in 1791. Yet most Catholics could not hold any public office and had few civil rights. It took the Emancipation Act of 1829 to restore most civil rights to Catholics in England. 

We can and should fervently pray for a restoration of the True Faith - that is the Catholic Faith - in England and Wales. England is blessed with thousands of canonized and beatified Saints and Martyrs - many known and many more unknown. For this reason, it used to be known as "Mary's Dowry." How sadly times have changed. 

St Arsenios of Paros prophesized: “The Church in the British Isles will only begin to grow when she begins again to venerate her own saints.”

For this intention - the return of England and Wales back to the unity of the Catholic Faith - let us pray the Litany of the Saints and Martyrs of England.

Prayer for England written by Cardinal Merry Del Val:

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down with mercy upon England thy Dowry, and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our hope, was given unto the world; and he has given thee to us that we might hope still more. Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the Cross, O sorrowful Mother! Intercede for our separated brethren that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son. Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee, in our heavenly home. Amen.

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Feast of All Irish Saints

November 6th is kept in Ireland as the Feast of All Irish Saints. The blog Pilgrim Progress explains:

Pope Benedict XV beatified Oliver Plunkett in 1920 and during his papacy also (1914-22) the Feast of All the Saints of Ireland was instituted. The same Pope also granted Ireland the honour of having a litany of its native saints approved for public recitation. Only four saints, St Malachy (1094-1148), St Lawrence O'Toole (1128-80) and St Oliver Plunkett (1625-81) and St Charles of Mount Argus (1821-93), have been officially canonised. All the other Irish saints, such as Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Colmcille, are saints, as it were, by acclamation of the local Church.

One of the best ways we can honor this day is by praying for the intercession of the Irish saints using the Litany of Irish Saints. The website, Daily Prayers explains:

When Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922) canonised St Oliver Plunkett, the last Irish Catholic to be executed in England, he also instituted the Feast of All the Saints of Ireland. The official Litany of Irish Saints commemorates sixty-five of the best known, among them St Patrick and St Bridget. Perhaps the less well known include greats like St Darerca and St Crea. However, there are many hundreds of other Irish Saints, most having lived during the 4th – 6th Centuries which led to Ireland being named, “The Land of Saints and Scholars”.

The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 18 (1921) provided the official litany in Latin. And the blog Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae provided both that and the official English translation. That transaction is as follows. Let us pray along:

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Killian, pray for us
St. Rumold,
St. Livinus,
Blessed Oliver,
All ye Holy Martyrs, pray for us.

St. Celestine, pray for us.
St. Patrick,
St. Malachy,
St. Macnise,
St. Finnian,
St. Mel
St. Macartan,
St. Eugene,
St. Colman,
St. Felim,
St. Eunan,
St. Laurence,
St. Conleth,
St. Laserian,
St. Aidan,
St. Kieran,
St. Albert,
St. Ailbe,
St. Colman,
St. Finnbarr,
St. Flannan,
St. Munchin,
St. Fachtna,
St. Otteran,
St. Carthage,
St. Jarlath,
St. Nathy,
St. Asicus,
St. Nicholas,
St. Colman,
St. Muredach,
St. Declan,
St. Virgilius,
St. Senan,
St. Frigidian,
St. Cuthbert,
St. Rupert,
St. Celsus,
St. Cataldus,
St. Donatus,
Blessed Thaddaeus,
All ye Holy Pontiffs and Confessors, pray for us.

St. Columba, pray for us.
St. Kevin,
St. Brendan,
St. Canice,
St. Kieran,
St. Columbanus,
St. Gall,
St. Fursey,
St. Fintan,
St. Comgall,
St. Fiacre,
All ye Holy Monks and Hermits, pray for us.

St. Brigid, pray for us.
St. Ita,
St. Attracta,
St. Dympna,
St. Lelia,
All ye Holy Virgins, pray for us.

All ye Holy Saints of God, Intercede for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, all you Saints of Ireland.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

Grant, O Lord, an increase of Thy Grace to us who celebrate the memory of all the Saints of our Island; that as, on earth, we rejoice to be one with them in race, so, in Heaven, we may deserve to share with them an inheritance of bliss. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Feast of All Irish Saints Mass:

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All Saints of the Society of Jesus

Modena - The painting of Madonna with the child among the Jesuit Saints in church Chiesa di San Bartolomeo from the 19th Century

November features, in addition to the universal All Saints Day kept on November 1st, various days dedicated to all saints of certain religious orders or countries. See the Feastdays Page under November for a listing of many of these.

November 5th is the Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus. This "All Saints Day" for the Jesuit Saints is kept to honor the many remarkable saints which grace their order. While the modern-day Jesuits have lamentably fallen far from their founder and often advance heresy and sin, we should still invoke the holy Jesuits that preceded them. May these holy and saintly Jesuits pray for restoration and cleansing of their Order.

Since the founder of the Jesuits, St Ignatius of Loyola, was canonized in 1622, there have been 52 other Jesuits canonized. Some of these holy Jesuits include:

• St. José de Anchieta
• St. Robert Bellarmine
• St. Francis Borgia
• St. John de Brébeuf
• St. Edmund Campion
• St. Peter Canisius
• St. Peter Claver
• St. Claude de la Colombiere
• St. Peter Faber
• St. Aloysius Gonzaga
• St. Roque González
• St. Alberto Hurtado
• St. Isaac Jogues
• St. Stanislaus Kostka
• St. Ignatius Loyola
• St. Paul Miki
• St. Joseph Pignatelli
• Blessed Miguel Pro
• St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
• St. Francis Xavier

Click here for a complete listing of all Jesuit saints.

Collect:

Grant us, we ask, o Lord, by the intercession of the blessed Father Ignatius and of all the Saints who have served under the banner of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, with him as their leader, so to serve Thee with a perfect heart; that after the course of this life, we may merit to share in their glorious end. Amen.

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Commemoration of Ss. Vitalis and Agricola

 Image of Saints Vitalis and Agricola by Petr Vodička

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): November 4

Along with St. Charles Borromeo, the Church today celebrates Vitalis and Agricola by commemorating them at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Agricola converted his slave St. Vitalis and went with him to martyrdom at Bologna C. 304 AD under the persecutions inflicted by the order of Emperor Diocletian.

The Catholic Encyclopedia writes:

Martyred at Bologna about 304 during Diocletian's persecution. Agricola, who was beloved for his gentleness, converted his slave, Vitalis, to Christianity; they became deeply attached to each other. Vitalis was first to suffer martyrdom, being executed in the ampitheatre. By his tortures and by flattery the persecutors sought in vain to win over Agricola, whom they finally crucified. Both martyrs were buried in the Jewish graveyard. In 393 St. Ambrose and Bishop Eusebius of Bologna transferred the remains of the martyrs to a church. Ambrose took some of the blood, of the cross, and the nails to Florence, placing these relics in the church erected by the saintly widow Juliana. On this occasion he delivered an oration in praise of virginity, with special reference to the three virgin daughters of Juliana. His mention of the martyrs Agricola and Vitalis in the first part of the oration is the only authority for their lives ("De exhortatione virginitatis", cc. i-u, in P.L., XVI, 335). The feast of the two martyrs is observed on 4 November. In 396 other relics were sent to St. Victricus, Bishop of Rouen, and, about the same date, to St. Paulinus of Nola and others.

Collect:

O Almighty God, may the intercessory power of Your blessed martyrs Vitalis and Agricola aid us who celebrate their feast today. Through our Lord . . .

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Within the Octave of All Saints

We are currently in the Octave of All Saints, another casualty in 1955 that few people know of or spiritually celebrate anymore. This is a Common Octave meaning that the days within (i.e. Days 2-7 which are Semidouble) yield to all Double and Semidouble feasts but have precedence over Simple feasts. The Octave is commemorated daily at Lauds, Mass, and Vespers when a higher feast occurs except if the feast is a Double of the First or Second class in which case the Octave is not commemorated.

Brief History of Octaves:

By the 8th century, Rome had developed liturgical octaves not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas but also for the Epiphany and the feast of the dedication of a church.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of octaves (since by then they had grown considerably), the number of Octaves was still plentiful.  Octaves were classified into several types. Easter and Pentecost had "specially privileged" octaves, during which no other feast whatsoever could be celebrated. Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had "privileged" octaves, during which certain highly ranked feasts might be celebrated. The octaves of other feasts allowed even more feasts to be celebrated.

To reduce the repetition of the same liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X made further distinctions, classifying octaves into three primary types: privileged octaves, common octaves, and simple octaves. Privileged octaves were arranged in a hierarchy of first, second, and third orders. For the first half of the 20th century, octaves were ranked in the following manner, which affected holding other celebrations within their timeframes:

• Privileged Octaves
  
  • Privileged Octaves of the First Order
    
    • Octave of Easter
    • Octave of Pentecost
  • Privileged Octaves of the Second Order
    
    • Octave of Epiphany
    • Octave of Corpus Christi
  • Privileged Octaves of the Third Order
    
    • Octave of Christmas
    • Octave of the Ascension
    • Octave of the Sacred Heart

• Common Octaves
  
  • Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM
  • Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph
  • Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
  • Octave of Saints Peter and Paul
  • Octave of All Saints
  • Octave of the Assumption of the BVM

• Simple Octaves
  
  • Octave of St. Stephen
  • Octave of St. John the Apostle
• Octave of the Holy Innocents 
• Octave of St. Lawrence
• Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Traditional Catholics still attached to the pre-1955 Missal will be familiar with the above list of Octaves. We can live out this forgotten Octave by adding to our daily prayers the Collect from All Saints Day:

Collect:

Almighty and eternal God, through Your grace we honor the merits of all Your saints in the one solemn feast of today. Grant us the abundant mercy we ask of You through this army of heavenly intercessors. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ . . .

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