A Prayer for the Preservation of Faith

O my Redeemer,

will that dreadful time ever come,

when but few Christians shall be left

who are inspired by the spirit of faith,

that time when Thine anger shall be provoked

and Thy protection shall be take away from us?

Have our vices and our evil lives

irrevocably moved Thy justice to take vengeance,

perhaps this very day,

upon Thy children?

O Thou, the beginning and end of our faith,

we conjure Thee,

in the bitterness of our contrite and humbled hearts,

not to suffer the fair light of faith

to be extinguished in us.

Remember Thy mercies of old,

turn Thine eyes in mercy upon the vineyard

planted by Thine own right hand,

and watered by the sweat of the Apostles,

by the precious blood of countless Martyrs

and by the tears of so many sincere penitents,

and made fruitful by the prayers

of so many Confessors and innocent Virgins.

O divine Mediator,

look upon those zealous souls

who raise their hearts to Thee

and pray ceaselessly

for the maintenance of that most precious gift of Thine,

the true faith.

We beseech Thee,

O God of justice,

to hold back the decree of our rejection,

and to turn away Thine eyes from our vices

and regard instead the adorable Blood

shed upon the Cross,

which purchased our salvation

and daily intercedes for us upon our altars.

Ah, keep us safe in the true Catholic and Roman faith.

Let sickness afflict us,

vexations waste us,

misfortunes overwhelm us!

But preserve in us Thy holy faith;

for if we are rich with this precious gift,

we shall gladly endure every sorrow,

and nothing shall ever be able to change our happiness.

On the other hand,

without this great treasure of faith,

our unhappiness would be unspeakable and without limit!

O good Jesus, author of our faith,

preserve it untainted within us;

keep us safe in the bark of Peter,

faithful and obedient to his successor

and Thy Vicar here on earth,

that so the unity of Holy Church may be maintained,

holiness fostered,

the Holy See protected in freedom,

and the Church universal extended

to the benefit of souls.

O Jesus, author of our faith,

humble and convert the enemies of Thy Church;

grant true peace

and concord to all Christian kings and princes

and to all believers;

strengthen and preserve us in Thy holy service,

so that we may live in Thee and die in Thee.

O Jesus, author of our faith,

let me live for Thee and die for Thee.

Amen.