FLORIDA BISHOPS, PRIESTS: Pray the Litany against Hurricane #Irma – URGENT ACTION ITEM

hurricane_andrew_fema_2563Please retweet and share around.

Hurricane Irma has been on my mind a bit.  Some think that it will do more damage in Florida than Andrew did in 1992.  Irma’s path will go straight up Florida, it seems.  My mother lives along the coast, and so Irma has been on my mind a bit.

BISHOPS OF FLORIDA: Stand on the steps of your respective cathedral churches, dressed in cope and miter and, surrounded by clergy, with crosiers in hand, pronounce from the traditional Rituale Romanum the Litany of Saints with the deprecatory prayers against storms.  [below]   Ring the cathedral bells.  You all talk to each other: perhaps coordinate your timing.

I know that in every chancery of Florida, at least one person reads this blog, probably more.  Readers, especially if you know your bishops personally, ask them to do this.

PRIESTS OF FLORIDA: Ditto.  Also, if you have blessed bells, ring the bells of your churches against the storm.  Bells are sacramentals.  They are “baptized” and given names.  They speak.  In valleys of mountainous countries, as storms approached, people would ring the bells and pray the Litany.

PEOPLE OF FLORIDA: Get on your priests about this.  The prayers of priests and bishop are powerful.  Also, ask your holy angels to protect you and to help you make prudent decisions.

Fathers, Bishops…

Use the old Roman Ritual – it’s the real deal – and pray the Litany with the deprecatory prayers against storms. A procession could be done around the grounds of the cathedral or even indoors… even with a very few.

You don’t have to be directly in the line of the storm to pray for others!

PROCESSION FOR AVERTING TEMPEST [Better in Latin, but here is the English from Sancta Missa.]

The church bells are rung, and all who can assemble in church. Then the Litany of the Saints is said, in which the following invocation is said twice:

From lightning and tempest, Lord, deliver us.

At the end of the litany the following is added:

P: Our Father (the rest inaudibly until:)
P: And lead us not into temptation.
All: But deliver us from evil.
Psalm 147
P: Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; * praise your God, O Sion.
All: For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; * He has blessed your children within you.
P: He has granted peace in your borders; * with the best of wheat He fills you.
All: He sends forth His command to the earth; * swiftly runs His word!
P: He spreads snow like wool; * He strews frost like ashes.
All: He scatters His hail like crumbs; * the waters freeze before His cold.
P: He sends His word and melts them; * He lets His breeze blow and the waters run.
All: He has proclaimed His word to Jacob, * His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
P: He has not done thus for any other nation; * He has not made known His ordinances to them.
All: Glory be to the Father.
P: As it was in the beginning.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: Lord, show us your mercy.
All: And grant us your salvation.
P: Help us, O God, our Savior.
All: And deliver us, O Lord, for your name’s sake.
P: Let the enemy have no power over us.
All: And the son of iniquity be powerless to harm us.
P: May your mercy, Lord, remain with us always.
All: For we put our whole trust in you.
P: Save your faithful people, Lord.
All: Bless all who belong to you.
P: You withhold no good thing from those who walk in sincerity.
All: Lord of hosts, happy the men who trust in you.
P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
God, who are offended by our sins but appeased by our penances, may it please you to hear the entreaties of your people and to turn away the stripes that our transgressions rightly deserve.

We beg you, Lord, to repel the wicked spirits from your family, and to ward off the destructive tempestuous winds.

Almighty everlasting God, spare us in our anxiety and take pity on us in our abasement, so that after the lightning in the skies and the force of the storm have calmed, even the very threat of tempest may be an occasion for us to offer you praise.

Lord Jesus, who uttered a word of command to the raging tempest of wind and sea and there came a great calm; hear the prayers of your family, and grant that by this sign of the holy cross all ferocity of the elements may abate.

Almighty and merciful God, who heal us by your chastisement and save us by your forgiveness; grant that we, your suppliants, may be heartened and consoled by the tranquil weather we desire, and so may ever profit from your gracious favors; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.
He sprinkles the surroundings with holy water.

Oh yes… Mom is staying in place for this one.  Some of her old friends from a gated community where she used to live who can’t evacuate will come to her house, which is a real building and not one of those light trailer things.  Friends and neighbors came to batten down the hatches, and she has done the necessary prep.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in ¡Hagan lío!, "How To..." - Practical Notes, ACTION ITEM!, Si vis pacem para bellum!, The Coming Storm and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

12 Comments

  1. gracie says:

    I will pray for your mom. Lord have mercy.

  2. Andrew says:

    Aside from its physical impact, a hurricane is also a test of faith. Do I panic in mistrust or do I put my faith in Jesus, in Mary and in Joseph? Do I trust that God is not out to crush me? He is my Father. He is not indifferent to my needs. (Mt 8:26) Et dicit eis Jesus :” Quid timidi estis, modicæ fidei?” Tunc surgens imperavit ventis, et mari, et facta est tranquillitas magna.

    As I write this, I am sitting in the path of this storm, the doors are shut, the storm preparations are finished: now it is just a matter of waiting to see what happens. And I appreciate this post: indeed prayers are needed.

  3. deaconjeff says:

    I will be praying for her and all others in harms way.
    Here in Santa Rosa County Florida, in the Far Western Part of the Panhandle,
    (Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee), it does not look we will be hit as bad,
    but are still praying for those who are traveling, and those who choose to stay.

  4. SanSan says:

    Oh my Father Z, I pray that your mama will be OK.

  5. Kathleen10 says:

    Lord, please have mercy on the people of Florida and Georgia, keep Fr. Z’s mom and friends, and Andrew, in your sight, surround their homes with angels. Please help all the people and poor creatures there, who can’t get out of the way of this dreadful storm.
    All of this started the same week we had a total solar eclipse that crossed the nation. I am middle-aged, and a weather watcher. I don’t recall this situation ever, nor have I heard of it. Note also the 8.1 earthquake in Mexico. God rest the souls of all killed.
    Lord, have mercy on us.

  6. SKAY says:

    I am praying for your Mom Father Z. Also praying for all in harms way in Florida as well as other states impacted by Irma.

  7. cbmiamiensis says:

    This afternoon at 3pm, joined with my vicar, the vocation director, a visiting priest and one of our seminarians, I rang the bells of The Cathedral of St. Mary, blessed salt and water and sprinkled The Cathedral, The Cathedral School, the rectory and many homes and people in the neighborhood. All done with the traditional form of the prayers and blessings.
    Rector
    St. Mary’s Cathedral
    Miami

  8. Mike says:

    Going to 900 am Mass up here in Maryland and will be praying for all in the path of the storm, especially readers of this blog and their loved ones!

  9. While burning blessed palm please say this prayer for them also. Where you see a cross, make the Sign of the Cross.

    Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. +
    God became man, + and the Word was made flesh. +
    Christ was born of a Virgin.+
    Christ suffered.+
    Christ was crucified.+
    Christ died.+
    Christ rose from the dead.+
    Christ ascended into Heaven. +
    Christ conquers. +
    Christ reigns. +
    Christ orders. +

    May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning.+
    Christ went through their midst in Peace, +
    and the Word was made flesh. +
    Christ is with us with Mary. +
    Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the
    Generation of Juda, the Root of David, has won. +

    Holy God! + Holy Powerful God! + Holy Immortal God! +
    Have mercy on us.
    Amen.

  10. VexillaRegis says:

    Fr. Z, prayers for your dear mother and all people affected of the tornados in the Americas!

  11. VexillaRegis says:

    Saints Harvey, Irma and Joseph, pray for everyone affected by the storms who bear your names!

    http://catholicsaints.info/saint-herve/
    http://catholicsaints.info/saint-mary-hermina-grivot/
    http://catholicsaints.info/saint-irmina-of-oehren/
    And all the countless San Josés.

  12. Pingback: SATVRDAY CATHOLICA EDITION | Big Pulpit

Comments are closed.