Aug 1, 2023
O vigorous defender of the divinity of Christ,
you who suffered exile
for your work for the faith,
you who had a true shepherd’s heart
and cared so deeply
for the priests and people
the Lord placed in your hands –
pray the shepherds of the Church today
will strive with your same selfless zeal
to bring the love of the Son of God
and the blessed demands of His call
to every soul in their care,
that the faith might increase
and be known in all its fullness
even to the ends of the earth.
Pray and weep, O steadfast apostle,
for all the members of Christ’s holy flock,
that we shall be protected
from false and specious claims,
from wolves in sheep’s clothing
who would enter and steal the faith
of this holy Catholic Church
founded by our Lord Jesus Christ.