01/18/2023
Tomorrow, January 18th on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Rome, marks the beginning of the Church Unity Octave, a week set aside in the Church to pray for the conversion of all who are not in communion with the Holy See. The Octave ends on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on the 25th, and each day is dedicated to a different, specific intention:
January 18: The union of all Christians in the one true Faith and in the Church
January 19: The return of separated Eastern Christians to communion with the Holy See
January 20: The reconciliation of Anglicans with the Holy See
January 21: The reconciliation of European Protestants with the Holy See
January 22: That American Christians become one in union with the Chair of Peter
January 23: The restoration of lapsed Catholics to the sacramental life of the Church
January 24: That the Jewish people come into their inheritance in Jesus Christ
January 25: The missionary extension of Christ’s kingdom throughout the world
Antiphon. That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.
℣. I say unto thee, thou art Peter;
℟. And upon this rock I will build my Church.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst unto Thine Apostles: Peace I leave you, My peace I give to you; regard not our sins, but the faith of Thy Church, and grant unto her that peace and unity which are agreeable to Thy Will; Who livest and reignest ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
Prayer to Our Lady, Help of Christians
Mary, Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and our Mother, thou seest how the Catholic Faith is assailed by the devil and the world – that Faith in which we purpose, by the help of God, to live and die. Do thou, O Help of Christians, renew thy victories of old, for the salvation of thy children. To thee we entrust our firm purpose of never joining assemblies of heretics. Do thou, all holy, offer to thy Divine Son our resolutions, and obtain from Him the graces necessary for us to keep them unto the end. Bring consolation to the visible head of the Church, support the Catholic Episcopate, protect the clergy and the people who proclaim thee Queen. Hasten, by the power of thy prayers, the day when all nations shall be gathered around the Supreme Pastor. Amen.
