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Litany for Lawyers and Government Officials

LITANY FOR LAWYERS and GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
as published by Spero Forum, www.speroforum.com, March 16, 2016
This is the Catholic Church’s first litany for lawyers and government officials. It has been ecclesiastically approved.

LITANY FOR LAWYERS and GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
(for private devotional use)
Published with ecclesiastical approval
+ Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington
February 25, 2016

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.

Sovereign Judge, Have mercy on us.
You make the sun to shine upon the good and bad,
You allow the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust,
Power infinite, I love You.
Wisdom incomprehensible,
Love unspeakable,
You command me to love You,
Jesus, Word of God, I love You.
Jesus, Son of David,
Jesus, crucified under Pontius Pilate,
Jesus, You sit at the right hand of the Father,
Jesus, You shall come again with glory to judge the living and the death,
Jesus, Our Intercessor with the Father,
Jesus, Whose kingdom will never end,
Jesus, You fulfill the Law,
Holy Spirit, Light of my mind, I love
Holy Spirit, Strength of my will,

Holy Mary, Mirror of justice, Pray for us,
Holy Mary, Seat of wisdom,
Holy Mary, Tower of David,
Holy Mary, Royal Throne of the Eternal King,
Immaculate Conception, patronness of the United States,1
Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas,
Blessed Moses, bearer of the Divine Commands, Pray for us.
Blessed Moses, filled with righteous anger in seeing God’s people and their Golden Calf,
St. John the Baptist, Pray for us,
Saints Peter and Paul,
St. Ignatius of Antioch,2
St. John Fisher,3
The Martyrs of Vietnam,4
St. Oliver Plunkett5 and other martyrs of Ireland,
Saint Augustine Zhao Rong6 and your 119 companions, of China,7
Saints Andrew Kim Taegon8 and Paul Chong Hasang9 and 101 companions of Korea,10
Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War,11
The 40 English and Welsh Martyrs,12
St. Paul Miki13 and your 25 companions14 in Japan,
St. Miguel Pro15 of Mexico and other martyrs of the Cristero War,
St. Maximilian Kolbe,16
The Martyrs of Compiègne,17 and other martyrs of the French Revolution,18
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,19
Holy Innocents,
St. Justin Martyr20 and your companions,21
St. Maurice and other members of the Theban Legion,22
The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste,23
St. Charles Lwanga24 and your 21 companions in Uganda,
Blessed Franz Jaegerstaetter,25
St. Perpetua26 and St. Felicity,27
All you martyrs condemned to death by civil or military authorities on account of Christ,
St. John Chrysostom,28 Pray for us.
St. Augustine,29
St. Thomas Aquinas,30
All you holy orators and writers,
St. Gabriel the Archangel,31 Pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel,32
St. Matthew,33
St. Thomas More,34
St. Raymond of Peñafort,35
St. Ives of Brittany,36
St. Edward the Confessor,37
St. Jadwiga of Poland,38
All you patrons of lawyers, diplomats, civil servants, police officers, queens and kings,
St. Cyprian of Carthage,39 Pray for us.
St. Ambrose,40
Pope St. Gregory the Great,41
St. Alphonse Liguori,42
St. Francis de Sales,43
St. Paulinus of Nola,44
St. Germanus of Auxerre,45
St. Cajetan,46
St. Turibius [or Toribio] of Mogrovejo,47
St John Capistran,48
All you holy men and women who left law or government service to devote yourselves to
God in another manner.
St. Anthony of Padua,49 Pray for us.
St. Patrick,50
St. Peter Claver,51
All you holy men and women who protected the rights and lives of others,
St. Catherine of Siena,52 Pray for us.
St. Nicholas von Flue,53
All you holy men and women who advised rulers,
King David, Pray for us,
King Solomon,
St. Pammachius,54
St. Pulcheria,55
St. Ethelbert of Kent,56
St. Wenceslaus,57
St. Adelaide,58
St. Henry II59 and St. Cunigunde of Luxembourg,60
St. Stephen and Blessed Gisela of Hungary,61
St. Leopold III,62
St. David of Scotland, 63
St. Ferdinand III,64
St. Louis IX of France,65
St. Helen,66
St. Margaret of Scotland67
All you holy kings, queens, and rulers,
That You will engrave Your law upon our hearts, Lord, we ask You, hear our prayer,
That we may faithfully keep Your holy commandments,
That we may submit to Your just and gentle rule,
That we may not “load on men burdens that are unendurable. . .that we ourselves do not move a finger to lift,”68
That we may not “neglect. . .justice, mercy, faith,”69
That we might live justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly before the Lord,70
That to You, Christ the King, all things may be restored,
From all evil, Lord, deliver us, we pray,
From all sin,
From all murmurings and complaints against Your holy decrees,
On the Day of Judgment,

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God
R. And obtain for us the gift of good counsel.
V. Lord, show us Your mercy,
R. And grant us Your salvation.
Let Us Pray

(three options)

Option 1 (an adaptation of Isaiah 11)

May the spirit of the Lord rest upon us: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and our delight shall be the fear of the Lord. May we not by appearance judge, nor by hearsay decide, but may we judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. May we strike the ruthless with the rod of our mouths, and with the breath of our lips slay the wicked.
May justice be the band around our waists, and faithfulness a belt upon our hips. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen. Raphael, The Prophet Isaiah (1512), Basilica di Sant’Agostino,Rome

Option 2 (by St. John Fisher)

Hans Holbein, Bishop John Fisher.
Lord, according to Your promise that the Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, raise up men and women fit for such work.
The Apostles were soft and yielding clay till they were baked hard by the fire of the Holy Spirit. So, good Lord, do now in like manner with Your Church militant:
–Change and make the soft and slippery earth into hard stones.
–Set in Your Church strong and mighty pillars that may suffer and endure great labors –watching poverty, thirst, hunger, coat and heat – which also shall not fear the threats of princes, persecution, neither death, but always persuade and think with themselves to suffer with a good will, slanders, shame, and all kinds of torments, for the glory and laud of Your holy Name.
By this manner, good Lord, the truth of Your Gospel shall be preached throughout the world. Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Your mercy, show it indeed upon Your Church. Amen.

Option 3 (by St. Thomas More)

Lord, grant that I may be Able in argument, Accurate in analysis, Strict in study, Candid with clients, and Honest with adversaries. Sit with me at my desk and Listen with me to my client’s plaints, Read with me in the library, and Stand beside me in court, So that today I shall not, In order to win a point, Lose my soul. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.