In the face of assaults from the media, let us pray for our Pope, for his safety and success during his visit to Britain.
Prayer for Pope Benedict XVI
V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, Pope Benedict.
R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and bless him upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.
Our Father. Hail Mary.
Let us pray.
O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And please also pray Pope Leo XIII’s Prayer to St Michael the Archangel for Pope Benedict:
The full text of this prayer is:
– Prayer to St. Michael (long form)
O Glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.
Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of his Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.
These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.
Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and Patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root of David.
Let thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
As we have hoped in thee.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon thy holy name, and as suppliants we implore thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel St. Michael, thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls.
Amen.
(Reference: The Raccolta, 1930, Benziger Bros., pp. 314-315 )
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
Don’t worry. If God doesn’t want any harm to come to the Pope, then none will. Right?
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God doesn’t want harm to anyone dear Toad. We often do quite well on our own though!
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OOOooooh! Rabit likes the bit about the “most crafty enemies” who are apparently “filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness” becuse that is clearly a clarion call for a cunning plan from the rabit special operations executive, to undermine the wily wiles of the most crafty enemies wot is filled and inebriateried with the galling and the bitterness, but prolly the bitterness is not provided by Kent hops – thanks to the appalling destruction of the Kent hop fields – but imported ones from Germany. The irony here being that Shepherd Neame, the Kent brewers, advertise their “Spitfire” bitter with such slogans as “No Fokker comes close” – and yet the Battle of Britain reference is a bit disingenusaurus now they are importing German hops…!
Anyway, let’s hear it for gall and bitterness.
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Let’s all storm the heavens for the Holy Father!
For the busy or hurried reader, here is the short version of the Saint Michael prayer:
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
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“Let’s all storm the heavens for the Holy Father!”
Cries MMVE.
God’s stormtroopers ride again! Led by the dead Burro strapped to the saddle of his charger like Charlatan Heston in El Cid!
Love the snazzy cap badge, and the Joan of Arc (copyright Brer Rabit) sword! Off with the heretics’ heads!
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Let’s get one thing straight. The ‘Media’ is NOT assaulting the Pope. The ‘Media’ couldn’t care less. There is NO PLOT hatched by ‘media moguls’ in smoky taverns off Canary Wharf to discredit and blackguard the man.
The media is reporting what happens to the Pope. Sure, some people in the ‘Media’ comment unfavourably on his jaunt, and others comment favourably.
That’s it. No plot. Paranoia.
Personally, I expect the general reaction of ‘The Man on the Clapham Omnibus’ to be …yawn.
Now, Carla Bruni, well…
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(Should have posted here on praying for our Holy Father – arriving in Scotland now as I write – but sent it to Our Lady of Sorrows thread instead!)
Wow! What could have been Pope Leo XIII’s vision to have set him to write this powerful prayer to St. Michael Archangel? It’s a long time since I’ve seen the prayer in full, and it certainly makes one draw a big breath, doesn’t it? Very appropriate just now after the recent media’s attack on the HF and Catholic Church.
Are you listening Toad 😉 ?
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Kathleen,
I think we are simply at cross purposes. The ‘media’ does not attack people, any more than Joan of Arc’s patent, Rabit-endorsed, Heavenly Sword ‘attacked’ people. People USE the media to attack, or praise, or whatever, the Pope, the same way the saint used her sword to cut the heads off Englishmen, for which, she was, very properly, canonised.
I will, no doubt, be accused of pedantry.
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You are quite right Toad – whilst splitting hairs at the same time 😉 – the media is of course made up of people of all sorts, and it’s some of this crowd who have used it to their own sinister ends. Not all the media by any manner of means! Great articles and letters in today’s Daily Telegraph.
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