Eph 4:1-7, 11-13; Matthew 16:24-27
OPENING: O God, who in your ineffable Providence chose your priest, Blessed Basil, to imitate the virtues of the Holy Family and respond to the needs of the Church, grant, we beseech you, that, supported by his prayers and example, we may have the strength to boldly confess the Cross of Christ as our only hope. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Most merciful God, who were pleased to create in blessed
Basil the New Man in your image, the old having passed away, graciously grant,
we pray, that, renewed like him, we may offer you the acceptable sacrifice of
conciliation. Through Christ our Lord.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
May the mysteries we have received, O Lord, prepare us, we
pray, for the eternal joys that, as a faithful steward, blessed Basil came to
deserve. Through Christ our Lord. Or: We pray, almighty God, that we, who are
fortified by the power of this Sacrament, may learn through the example of
blessed Basil to seek you always above all things and to bear in this world the
likeness of the New Man. Through Christ our Lord.
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PRAYERS TO BLESSED MOREAU:
1. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU APOSTOLIC MISSIONARY
Father Moreau, your burning zeal for the glory of God and
the salvation of souls inspired you to undertake great works, even at the cost
of personal suffering and sacrifice.
Your missionary spirit moved you to respond to the needs of
the Church in difficult times by rekindling the Christian life in parishes, instructing
youth, and forming brothers, priests, and sisters for the apostolate.
Heeding the call of Providence, you directed the eyes and
steps of missionaries toward distant shores, where you never ceased to guide,
sustain, and bless them.
Please pray for me, that I too might be zealous for the kingdom of God, generous in heeding His call wherever it may lead, and faithful to the evangelical mission I received at my baptism. Amen.
2. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU DEVOTED SON OF THE CHURCH
Father Moreau, in your youth you were formed by priests who
remained faithful to the Church in troubled times. You, in your turn, were a
devoted servant of the Holy See.
You had a profound veneration for the Holy Father, resting
on the Chair of Peter the very foundation of all your hopes.
Filled with faith and love for the Church, you became the
father of a great missionary family, sending your sons and daughters to far-off
lands in response to the urgent needs of the time.
Please pray for me, that always professing the faith of the apostles and remaining attached to the Successor of Peter, I might answer the summons to serve the people of God with generosity and love. Amen
3. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU DISCIPLE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Father Moreau, you abandoned yourself entirely to God with
faith in his love and grace.
You served as the instrument of Providence, overcoming many
obstacles to begin holy works of education and evangelization.
When the designs of God indicated the foreign missions as
one of the fields destined for your religious family of Holy Cross, you heeded
the call in a spirit of trust and confidence.
Please pray for me, that I might discern the action of God
in my life, that I might cooperate with his holy will, and that I might respond
humbly and wholeheartedly to his call, knowing, as you did, that Providence
will never fail me. Amen.
4. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU EDUCATOR IN THE FAITH
Father Moreau, your life of ministry was devoted to the education of youth. You understood Christian education to be a “work of resurrection” and one that would prepare the world for better times than our own. You had a tender love for the children entrusted to your care, seeing in them hearts to form and souls to save. You handed on the gift of Christian truth, teaching young people how to love and serve the Lord. Please pray for all involved in the work of Catholic education. May parents, teachers, and administrators, animated by the spirit of the Gospel, be effective guides for the young, teaching by the example of their lives. May students grow in knowledge and virtue, so that with hearts and minds formed in the truth, they might serve God faithfully in this life, and so come to dwell with him forever in the next. Amen.
5. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU FOUNDER AND RELIGIOUS
Father Moreau, in your desire to be perfectly united to
Christ, you professed vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. With zeal for
the kingdom of God, you consecrated yourself to a life of prayer and service.
You invited men and women to join you in answering the call
of the Lord. To them you were a loving father, teacher, and friend. You gave
them a Rule and Constitutions to sustain them and encouraged them to live as
one.
You persevered in establishing foundations that would extend
the reign of Jesus Christ on earth.
You gave your congregation the name Holy Cross. You placed
it under the protection of Our Lady, you invoked Saint Joseph as model of the
religious spirit, and you adored the heart of Jesus as the source and bond of
love.
May the religious family of Holy Cross find inspiration in your example and strength in your loving intercession. May it be blessed with brothers, priests, and sisters who desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ and so offer their life and their life’s work in the service of the Lord for the needs of the Church and the world. Amen.
6. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU FRIEND OF THE POOR
Father Moreau, you made yourself poor for Jesus Christ, detaching
yourself from all passing things, so that the Lord alone would be your
treasure. You preached the Gospel to the poor, distributed bread to the hungry,
cared for the sick, and were generous to laborers. You educated the children of
the poor, and believed in showing particular care and concern to those whose
needs were greater.
Please pray for me, that I might embrace simplicity of life, that I might see the image of God in all people, and that, with charity enshrined in my heart, I might generously respond, to the needs of the poor and the afflicted. Amen.
7. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU IMITATOR OF CHRIST
Father Moreau, in imitation of Christ, you joyfully preached
the word of God and desired to live in perfect conformity to the will of the
Father. Compassionate and sympathetic, your heart of charity burned with the
desire to help people.
Near the end of your life, you drank the chalice of the
Lord’s passion. Humiliated, disdained, and abandoned, the trials you endured
made you more like our Lord.
Please pray for me, that through the work of grace and the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ might be made manifest in all my thoughts, words, and deeds, and that, forgetting self, I might live solely for God. Amen.
8. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU, MAN OF THE CROSS
Father Moreau, the cross was ever-present in your life of
Christian discipleship. You endured the cross of criticism, contempt, and
humiliation, as well as the physical suffering that comes with age. As one
extremely and extraordinarily tested, you undertook and suffered everything for
the glory of God and the sanctification of souls.
You assembled a religious family under the sacred sign of
the cross. You sent missionaries o plant the tree of the cross in faraway
lands, trusting that it would bear life-giving fruit.
You preached the cross of Christ as our only hope, and you
embraced the sufferings of each hour as relics of the true cross to be loved
and venerated.
Please pray for me in the midst of my trials, that I might profit from the grace offered through them, and that I might respond to difficulties as you did: placing my hope in the cross of Christ, our Savior, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen
9. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU MAN OF PRAYER
Father Moreau, the call of silence persisted throughout your
life of work and ministry. You believed that the interior life and solitude were
the greatest of teachers, and so you consecrated yourself to a spirit of prayer
and recollection. You knew that without prayer, your work would be fruitless. You
also relied upon the help of the Saints, especially Mary and Joseph.
By your intercession, help me to cultivate a spirit of prayer, so that setting myself to the practice of the presence of God, my soul might be at peace, my spirit might be attentive to the promptings of grace, and my efforts for the sake of the Gospel might bear abundant fruit. Amen.
10. BLESSED BASIL MOREAU MAN OF VIRTUE
Father Moreau, your lively faith united you to Christ and inspired your efforts for the sanctification of souls. Even in the midst of painful trials, you never lost hope in Providence, which directs all things with strength and gentleness. You considered humility to be the foundation of charity, and charity always swayed your heart. You were tenacious in the defence of truth and right, and you took up the cause of those who were forgotten and neglected.
The example of your life of virtue made you a model for your religious and gave glory to God. Please pray for me, that I might always have faith in the Son of God who loved me and who gave himself up for me. May my heart burn with charity toward my neighbour, may I oppose injustice in every form, and may I walk in the way of him who was meek and humble of heart. Amen.
11. PRAYER TO BLESSED BASIL MOREAU
Blessed Basil Moreau, as a priest after the heart of Christ,
you worked tirelessly for the glory of God and the sanctification of souls. As
a teacher of the faith and zealous preacher of the Gospel, you devoted yourself
to the apostolate of education and evangelization to make God known, loved, and
served.
As an instrument of divine providence, you formed brothers, priests, and sisters to share in your mission. Your hunger for souls led you to undertake great works for God, even in faraway lands.
As a man of prayer, you desired to be conformed to Christ in
all things, seeing, even in the cross of suffering, a cause for hope.
O Basil Moreau, please pray for the accomplishment of God’s
designs in me. Fulfilling the call of my baptism, may I serve the Lord faithfully
in this life, and so come to dwell with him in the company of the Saints. Amen.
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