A Prayer for Priests*

The priesthood is a masterpiece of Christ's unfathomed love, wisdom and power for God's people.

Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord. Keep them, for they are Thine

Thy priests whose lives burn out before Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, for they are in the world, though from the world apart;

When earthy pleasures tempt, allure, --- shelter them in Thy heart.

Keep them, and comfort them in hours of loneliness and pain.

When all their life of sacrifice for souls seem but in vain, keep them, and O remember, Lord, they have no one but Thee.

Yet they have only human hearts, with human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host, that daily they caress;

Their every thought and word and deed, deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

Queen and Mother of all Priests, pray for your beloved ones!

* Taken from The Pieta Prayer Booklet, p.67.