O Holy Angel,
God by His goodness and His tender care, has charged you to be my Guardian.
Assist me in my needs,
comfort me in my afflictions,
support me when I am discouraged
and obtain for me the favour of:
(Mention your request…)
But may God’s will be done.
O Holy Angel,
I return my profound thanks and I earnestly beseech Thee,
O most amiable protector continue thy charitable care and defend me against the malignant attacks of my enemies. Keep me free from the occasions of sin. Obtain for me the grace to listen attentively to thy holy inspirations and help me to faithfully put them into practice. In particular, I implore thee to obtain for me the favour which I ask for in this novena.
(Mention your request)
O Holy Angel, protect me in all my temptations and trials, but more especially protect me at the hour of my death, and do not leave me until you have taken me into the presence of my Creator in the mansions of everlasting happiness. Amen.
… My Guardian Angel, Pray for Me
St Gertrude the great prayer to Guardian Angel.
O most holy angel of God, appointed by God to be my guardian, I give you thanks for all the benefits which you have ever bestowed on me in body and in soul. I praise and glorify you that you condescended to assist me with such patient fidelity, and to defend me against all the assaults of my enemies. Blessed be the hour in which you were assigned me for my guardian, my defender and my patron. In acknowledgement and return for all your loving ministries to me, I offer you the infinitely precious and noble heart of Jesus, and firmly purpose to obey you henceforward, and most faithfully to serve my God. Amen.
LITANY OF THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL
Holy Guardian Angel,
Angel, my counselor, inspire me;
Angel, my defender, protect me;
Angel, my faithful friend, intercede for me;
Angel, my consoler, fortify me;
Angel, my brother, defend me;
Angel, my teacher, instruct me;
Angel, witness of all my actions, purify me;
Angel, my helper, support me;
Angel, my intercessor, speak for me;
Angel, my guide, direct me;
Angel, my light, enlighten me;
Angel, whom God has assigned to lead me, govern me.
Lord, have mercy on me.
Christ, have mercy on me.
Lord, have mercy on me.
Christ, hear me. Christ, graciously hear me.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on me.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on me.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on me.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on me.
Holy Mary, pray for me.
Holy Mother of God, pray for me.
Queen of the angels, pray for me.
Archangel Michael, pray for me.
Archangel Gabriel, pray for me.
Archangel Raphael, pray for me.
All holy angels and archangels, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who unceasingly behold the face of the Heavenly Father,
pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who never part from us, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who are devoted to us in Heavenly friendship, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, our faithful admonishers, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who preserve us from many evils of body and soul, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, our mighty defenders against the attacks of the evil enemy,
pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, our support in the time of temptations, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who help us when we stumble and fall, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who comfort us in troubles and sufferings, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who uphold our prayers and carry them before the throne of God,
pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who despite our faults never leave us, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who rejoice over our improvement and advancements in perfection,
pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who watch over us and pray for us even when we rest, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who do not abandon us in our agony of death, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who console the souls in purgatory, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, who lead the righteous into Heaven, pray for me.
Holy Guardian Angels, with whom one day we hope to eternally praise and behold God,
pray for me.
Noble princes of Heaven, pray for me.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare me, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear me, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on me, O Lord.
Christ, hear me. Christ, graciously hear me.
Lord, have mercy on me.
Christ, have mercy on me.
Lord, have mercy on me.
Recite the Our Father here.
Bless the Lord, all his angels, you mighty ones who do his will.
He has sent his angels before us to guard us on all our ways.
My God, in the presence of the angels, I bless you.
I adore you and praise your holy name.
Lord, hear my prayer.
And let my cry come unto you.
Amen.
SPIRITUAL EXERCISE:
We ask the Guardian Angels to protect our Bishop’s. May the Angels accompany them, guide them and protect them always.
We pray for our Priest’s and Religious; may the Angels protect them and assist them in their vocation.
Since a priest is engaged in a special and powerful work of God, it makes sense that God would assign an angel to assist in this task. The Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I) points to the ministry of such an angel when it asks God that our sacrifice be “borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high, in the sight of your divine majesty.”
St. Frances of Rome, protected by her guardian angel, sees the devils who tempt men on earth.
Born 1384 in Rome, died 1440 in Rome. St. Frances of Rome received a supernatural gift of visions from God. She is famous for her visions about Hell. Perhaps throughout the History of the Church no other mystic has had so many descriptive visions of Hell as St. Frances.
The following text is taken from Rohrbaher, Universal History of the Catholic Church. The author reproduces words of the Saint regarding one of her visions on Hell:
St Frances of Rome
St. Frances of Rome, protected by her guardian angel, sees the devils who tempt men on earth
While one-third of the angels sinned, the other two-thirds persevered in grace. One-third of the fallen angels are in Hell tormenting the condemned souls. These devils are the ones who freely followed Lucifer and deliberately revolted against God. They cannot leave the abyss except with the special acquiescence of God, when He decides to punish the sins of men with a great calamity. These are the worst among the devils.
The other two-thirds of the fallen angels inhabit the air and the earth. They are the ones who did not take a side in the battle between Lucifer and God, but remained silent.
The devils of the air often instigate storms, winds and thunders to frighten souls, causing their wills to weaken and cede to inconstancy, thus preparing them to falter in the Faith and to doubt Divine Providence. The devils who live on earth among men to tempt us are the fallen angels of the lowest choir. The faithful angels of this choir are our guardian angels.
The prince and chief of all devils is Lucifer, who is confined at the bottom of the abyss, where he punishes the other devils and the condemned men and women. Since he fell from the highest place among the angels, the Seraphic choir, he became the worst devil. His characteristic vice is pride.
St. Frances of Rome describes Lucifer as the highest Seraphim, and for this reason his sin was very grave. You know that the Seraphim constitute the highest of the nine choirs of angels. Since he was the highest angel in Heaven who revolted, he was thrown into the deepest part of Hell.
Lucifer torments the worst souls condemned to Hell
There were angels who made the decision to follow Lucifer with a special malice and by their own initiative. These went to Hell with him and are being tormented by him since he is more powerful than they, and because Divine Justice delegated him the task of punishing for all eternity those whom he had convinced to follow him in the rebellion.
After that, St. Frances tells us, there are three principal demons who follow Lucifer’s commands. The first is Asmodeu, who represents the vice of the flesh; the second is Mammon, head of the vice of avarice, and then Belzebuth, chief of all idolatries and dark works.
You are seeing that the two principal rebellious angels – Lucifer and Asmodeu – are the angels of pride and sensuality. According to our conception of History, pride and sensuality are the two driving forces of the Revolution. In a certain sense, this description of St. Frances confirms it. These angels are in Hell and only rarely does God permit them to leave the abyss to punish humanity. I have the impression that in our times Hell was opened and these worst of devils are on earth trying to accomplish the special task of destroying the Church, just as they were also on earth to kill Our Lord Jesus Christ. I know that the Catholic Church is immortal, but I think that in our days they are here to try to destroy her.
Then there are the other fallen angels. In the first battle they did not want to choose between God and Lucifer. They did not revolt outright against God nor did they clearly support His cause. At the same time, they did not give straightforward support to the cause of Lucifer. They remained in the middle of the road, in a neutral position, which at depth meant they had sympathy for Satan. It was for this reason that God condemned them. But Divine Justice made their chastisement less terrible than that of the other angels. Instead of being hurled into Hell, they are in the air and on the earth. After the Final Judgment they will go to Hell for all eternity. Therefore, during this time between their sin and the Final Judgment, they escape the suffering of Hell.
How small we are in face of this battle among the angels that is taking place around us everywhere and all the time! There are angels who come down from Heaven with this or that mission. There are devils who come out of Hell to cause a great damage. There are demons who infest the air, demons who are working among men. Really we are very small in face of this angelic struggle.
What is our defense against all the plots and evil instigated by these devils? We need to apply the warning of Our Lord: be vigilant and pray in order not to fall into temptation. And the beginning of this vigilance is to believe in the angelical presence, its power, and its continual action.
LIFE OF ST FRANCES OF ROME
Saints come from all states of life and forms of associations within the Church. Quite a few of them were members of Third Orders. A Third Order is an “association of the faithful established by religious orders. Dating from the 13th century, they may be either secular or regular. If secular, they are lay persons, commonly called tertiaries. If regular, they are religious, bound by public vows, and live in community. Originally, Third Orders were Franciscan or Dominican, but the Holy See has since approved many others, both secular and regular, e.g., the Augustinians, Carmelites, Servites, Benedictines, and Trinitarians” (Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, p. 538).
These associations are called Third Orders since the priests are the first order, and the second order is contemplative female religious. Some of the saints who belonged to Third Orders are Catherine of Siena and Rose of Lima, who were Dominicans, Elizabeth of Hungary, a Franciscan, and Frances of Rome, who first belonged to the Franciscans and then also became a Third Order Benedictine.
BIOGRAPHY
Frances of Rome was given the name Francesca Bussa De Leoni when she was born in 1384. Her father, Paul Bussa, and her mother, Iacobella Roffredeschi, were wealthy and ruled by cultural traditions. One of these traditions was the absolute control the father had over the entire family, including arranging marriages for his children.
Typically these marriages took place at a very young age. Thus, Frances — even though she longed to become a religious — was wedded to Lorenzo Ponziani when she was only twelve years old. Perhaps because of her disappointment, Frances became very ill soon after her marriage.
Fearing for her life, Lorenzo sent for a man known for his magical cures. Since Frances had been raised by faithful Christian parents holding to the teachings of the Church regarding magic, Frances forced the man to leave and would have nothing to do with him. She then told her sister-in-law that St. Alexis had appeared to her and cured her.
After her cure by St. Alexis, Frances had an unusual relationship with her guardian angel. She explained that if she ever did the least thing that was displeasing to our Lord, that her guardian angel would nudge her, leading Frances to immediately repent of her offense.
Even though Frances preferred not to be married, she was determined to do all she could to be a dutiful wife and mother. Thus Lorenzo and Frances developed a happy home life and close relationship. At age seventeen, Francesca gave birth to Battista, their first son, born in 1411, who would carry on the family name. They also had another son and daughter, but both of them died in the plague. Soon after this her mother-in-law also died.
When her son died, he appeared to her accompanied by an archangel. This archangel because of his brightness would provide light for her to read at night. Once again if she did anything displeasing to our Lord, the light would go out, and Frances would repent of her wrongdoing.
Frances suffered much during this time, but in God’s divine Providence she found a kindred spirit in Vannozza, the wife of her husband’s brother, who also yearned for a life of service and prayer. Thankfully, both of their husbands approved of their close relationship and their desire to help others so they began their ministry of service to the poor and needy. Amazingly, Lorenzo and Frances then made an agreement to live a celibate life.
Making the most of her situation as a married woman, Frances determined to serve her family first as best she could. Her dedication to them was well known. In addition, Frances and Vannozza began to serve the plague victims which claimed so many lives. After Frances lost her two youngest children to the dreaded disease, she sold all of her possessions to provide for the poor. When she had depleted all her wealth, she and Vannozza went door to door begging for help and alms.
Her husband, aware of her actions, became upset that she had given so much corn to the hungry. He insisted on investigating the granary with her to assess the depleted stores, only to find that the granary had been miraculously filled to overflowing. Likewise, her father-in-law complained about the amount of wine she had been giving away, and when they went to the wine cellar again they found the choicest wine filling all of the containers.
This also was the time that the anti-pope, Pope John XXIII, was fighting the legitimate Pope. Lorenzo was defending the true Pope and was away much of the time.
However, his opponents did come and they ransacked his home, taking his possessions and burning his house down. Frances restored what she could, setting up part of their home as a hospital.
As more and more people came from miles around seeking assistance, more women likewise came to join Frances and Vannozza in their work. For a time Frances herself fell victim to the plague, but when she was suddenly cured, she immediately rose to continue her work.
As Frances carried on this work, her husband continued to fight for the Pope, but then came the time when he was gravely wounded, necessitating his return home to his family. Frances lovingly cared for Lorenzo until he died in 1436.
Frances was so committed to serving others that she put aside her personal occupations to answer the calls of others. “A married woman must, when called upon, quit her devotions to God at the altar, to find Him in her household affairs.” Our Lord showed how please He was with such obedience after she had been called away from reading the Psalms of Our Lady’s Office four times. When she returned the fifth time, she found that the letters were written in gold.
When Battista, her son, returned to Rome, he married a free-spirited woman who disliked Frances. Frances never rebuked her daughter-in-law and proceeded to treat her with respect and gentleness. While acting so petulant, the young woman fell terribly ill and was forced to bed. Frances treated her with great kindness, as she calmed her down and eventually cured her. Her daughter-in-law changed her heart as well and showed the greatest affection for Frances from then on.
Although Frances and her companions belonged to the Franciscans, they also took the habit of St. Benedict in 1425. They kept their devotion to St. Francis by making the 100-mile pilgrimage to Assisi on foot where St. Francis, who had died in 1226, appeared to them and provided them with fresh fruit.
After Lorenzo’s death, Frances moved in with the home she had founded for women. At this time she formally established the Oblates as a religious community, who spent their time praying for the Holy Father and for peace to return to Rome.
In 1440 she went to visit her son who was sick and then she fell ill and was taken back to the Ponziani palace where she died on March 9, 1440. March 9 is her feast.
Dear St. Frances, obtain for us graces which will fill us with zeal to pray for our Holy Father and for unity in the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church. Amen.
