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Invocation of Saint Barbara
Against the hostile forces of nature and
against the possibility of an unprepared death.
Saint Barbara, a young pagan converted to Christianity, suffered martyrdom at
the hands of her pagan father Dioscurus and the Roman proconsul Marcian. Shortly
thereafter both men were fatally struck by lightning. Ever since, Saint Barbara
has been called upon as patroness of those endangered by lightning. She is
likewise asked to deliver us from death unprepared by repentance and reception
of the Sacraments.
[V] Our hope +
is in the Name of the Lord.
[R] Who hath made heaven and earth.
[V] The Lord be with you.
[R] And with thy spirit.
Let us pray:
Prayer:
O God, who didst adorn Thy holy virgin and martyr Barbara with extraordinary
fortitude in the confession of the Faith, and didst console her in the most
atrocious torments; grant us through her intercession perseverance in the
fulfillment of Thy law, the grace of being fortified before our end with the
holy Sacraments, and the grace of a happy death. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Invocation:
Through thy pious intercession before the throne of God, deliver our souls,
most holy Barbara, from the power of the evil one throughout our lives, and,
especially, at the time of death. Help us to be holy and of pious disposition,
that we may thereby avoid the fate of thine impious persecutors and all others
who have abandoned their lives to punishment from on high through the forces of
God's creation. Beg deliverance of our bodies, as well, from the adversities of
nature, that, free from excessive difficulty in life, we may be able to serve
God with increased appreciation and greater clarity of purpose. Please ask Him
to look favorably upon His people, preserving us from sin above all, drought,
lightning, and all of the punishments that our weak human natures most richly
deserve.
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