Prayer to St. Arnold Janssen (January 15)

God, our Father, St. Arnold knew well by experience the pain of suffering and the cross which he called “the salt with which the eternal joys are seasoned.” He found his true happiness and bliss in abandoning himself totally to your will and in service to the Church. Therefore, with confidence we pray to him that we too may be trusting in our efforts to make known your love to all people.

St. Arnold, model of intimate union with God and of dedication to the missionary needs of the Church, implore God to endow men and women in our day with your spirit of dedicated love and service. Obtain for us strength and perseverance so that we may, with grateful hearts and generous zeal, accept our responsibility to carry forward the missionary work of the Church and in the power of the Holy Spirit fulfill that responsibility through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph Freinademetz - I (January 29)

Heavenly Father, you have given us your graces and blessings through the saints. We thank you for choosing St. Joseph Freinademetz, a zealous missionary to China, to be our model. He was a man of prayer who prayed without growing weary. Prayer was the air he breathed and the joy of his life. Prayer nourished his missionary vocation, his love of neighbor, his enthusiasm and readiness for sacrifice as well as his profound religiosity.

Through the intercession of St. Joseph we implore you to shower your graces on all missionaries so that we become persons of prayer and adopt the culture of the people we are sent to. Enlighten us to discover the road you want us to travel and the plan you have mapped out for us. May we have the courage like St. Joseph to keep going, inspite of many odds and hardships in our mission work and to live out our vocation faithfully. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to Sts. Arnold and Joseph

Loving God, you called Arnold and Joseph to follow your Son, the Divine Word, in proclaiming the Gospel to all peoples.

Burning with love for him and filled with his Spirit they dedicated themselves totally to the work of spreading your Kingdom of peace and love. Their example has inspired many generations of missionaries in many parts of the world. May it continue to inspire us today.

Inflame our hearts like theirs with a burning love for Christ who calls us to the same mission.

Guide us to build communities where dialogue is learned and life-giving relationships are created.

Shape our communities by your Son’s self-giving in the Eucharist, so that we may become signs of your never ending love for our world.

Teach us to rejoice in the abundant diversity of peoples and give us a loving heart ready to embrace all peoples of our one world. Transform our one world into one heart fully alive with Christ’s Spirit. Amen.

Prayer to Divine Word Missionary Martyrs (12 June)

God, our Father, we thank and praise you for your servants Gregory, Aloysius, Louis and Stanislaus. You inspired them when they were young to work in your vineyard. They accepted your divine call and entered the Society of the Divine Word in order to become true religious missionaries. Their ministry was centered in and around Poland and they showed an exemplary religious spirit in their missionary life. We lovingly recall their love for the Holy Eucharist and complete trust in you. Their simple qualities of humility, kindness, sensitivity, diligence, faithfulness and patient suffering prompted them to submit themselves entirely into your hands. These servants of yours became victims of the cruelty of war. Each one of them had to shed his blood for upholding your values.

Holy Martyrs, Gregory, Aloysius, Louis and Stanislaus, intercede for us that we may continue to answer our religious missionary vocation with zeal and dedication. May we constantly draw inspiration from you to face our difficulties and trials without any complaint. May we work hard and be ready to suffer for others. Help us to remain faithful in our missionary service especially for the poor and the needy. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to Blessed Maria Helena Stollenwerk - I (November 28)

God, Holy Spirit, you inflamed the heart of your servant, Maria Helena, with apostolic zeal and love. She surrendered herself to you for the honor of the Blessed Trinity and the spread of your reign.

We ask that through your help, we too may be ever faithful in seeking your will in all that we do. Give us, as you gave Blessed Maria Helena, that inner integrity to hold everything in its rightful place. Divine Spirit, may you be forever glorified with the Father and the Son through your servant, Maria Helena. Amen.

Prayer to Blessed Josepha Stenmanns (May 20)

Lord Jesus Christ,

You have manifested your goodness and love to us through Blessed Josepha. As a true missionary, she spent her entire life in spreading the message of your love through her humble and dedicated service. As we pray through her intercession, we ask you to grant us the grace to follow her example of prayer, perseverance, and hard work. Like her, may we be also persons who believe the unbelievable, reach out for the unattainable, trusting in the things beyond seeing, the things beyond hearing, and the things beyond imagining, that you have prepared for those who love you. Amen.

Prayer for the Missionary Congregations of St. Arnold

Loving God,

In your infinite love, you have given us the gift of faith in Jesus Christ, your Son. We thank you for St. Arnold Janssen whom you called to bring the faith in the areas where the Gospel has not been preached. We praise you for the Missionary Congregations of St. Arnold – the Divine Word Missionaries, the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, and Perpetual Adoration Sisters. Your Word and your Spirit inspired the pioneer Divine Word Missionaries and Holy Spirit Sisters of many nations to share the struggle for freedom from the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief through the light of Christ. We glorify you for the wonders you have worked through them in many nations.

We pray for all the priests, brothers and sisters of the three Missionary Congregations. Bless and empower them with your Spirit. May they continue to give powerful witness to Christ and promote the values of justice, peace and integrity of creation and develop life-giving relationships everywhere. Grant them zealous and committed vocations to continue the mission of Christ in the context of today’s world. Through the intercession of St. Arnold, bless our family members, so that we may come to realize and live our Christian vocation profoundly and give witness to Christ. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen