Daily Prayers for Priests

Daily Prayers for Priests
I want to encourage everyone to start praying more for our priests, please set 4 minutes aside each day. I have uploaded 5 excellent prayers from various Saints to help us in our daily prayers. Our priests are the church shepherds and prime targets who are on the front lines in spiritual warfare. When one priest falls away from the faith many people lose hope. But when we have strong priests many people come back to the flock. I have heard that only 1 of 4 Catholics go to church. This tells me we really need to pray a lot more for our priests. Imagine when our Lord welcomes us into heaven with these words "Welcome good and faithful servant because of your many prayers to strengthen my priests many people came back to the faith! Welcome to your eternal reward!"

Saint Faustina Prayer for Priests
(DIARY, 1052)

1. O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church: Grant it love and the light of Your Spirit, and give power to the words of priests so hardened hearts may be brought to repentance and return to You, O Lord. Lord, give us holy priests; you yourself maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares which are continually being set for the souls of priests. May the power of Your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priests, for You can do all things. Amen.

2. Lord Jesus, Grant saintly priests to the world, priests (*consecrated to our Blessed Mother) who live close to the Eucharist, who have a deep spiritual life,
who work and suffer, yet with a joyful heart, priests who dedicate every moment of their lives for the salvation of souls and Your Kingdom. Amen.

3. Prayer of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests; for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for your tempted priests; for your lonely and desolate priests; for your young priests; for your dying priests; for the souls of your priests in purgatory. But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptized me; the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way (especially …). O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.

4. Prayer for Priests

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests. Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments. Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.
Set their souls on fire with love for your people. Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom. Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel. Allow them to experience joy in their ministry. Help them to become instruments of your divine grace. We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest.
Amen.

5. Prayer by Pope Benedict XVI

Lord Jesus Christ, eternal High Priest, you offered yourself to the Father on the altar of the cross
and through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave your priestly people a share in your redeeming sacrifice. Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests. Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial priesthood may be ever more conformed to you, the Divine Master.May they preach the Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience. Let them be shepherds according to your own heart, single-minded in service to you and to the Church, and shining examples of a holy, simple, and joyful life. Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, your Mother and ours, draw all priests and the flocks entrusted to their care to the fullness of eternal life where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.