The Saints

For those who wish to ask for intercession on behalf of an intention, a basic prayer is given and suggested prayers for each individual Saint can also be found below.

A large candle such as a glass encased candle - either white or the color associated with the saint - is placed on the altar or mantle.

The candle may bear an image of the saint through whom help is asked or it may be plain and an image of the saint may be placed by the candle.

Meditate upon the situation, light the candle, and pray sincerely and with faith.

Keep the candle burning until the problem is solved, the condition improved, or the situation bettered.

ALL SAINTS: For many blessings

Give me thy blessings as I face the tasks of life. Show me the way toward all that is good, and warn me when I stray from the path you would have me trod. Guide my feet toward your kingdom, place in my hands the work you would have them do, and instill in my mouth only those words which are kind toward those I speak. Keep my mind clear and clean with thoughts which are acceptable and pleasing to you.

GUARDIAN ANGEL: For protection

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom His love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.

HAIL MARY: When in need of forgiveness

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.

INFANT OF PRAGUE: For guidance and wisdom

I come to you with thanksgiving. You have fortified me on every side by providing for my needs. Speak to me and help me to understand what you want of me. Fill my conversation with wisdom, and my silence with holy thoughts. Guide me with the Holy Spirit that I may bless you always for what you have done.

MIRACULOUS MOTHER: For strength

I ask this day for thy help in my time of weakness. Lend me thy strength so that I may continue my daily work, so that I may help others who need assistance, and so that I may serve for good in all my actions with others.

OUR LADY OF FATIMA: For joy and spiritual blessings

Blessed be Thy name. Protect me from vanity and deceit, for I know that it is only in humility that I can hope for security. I know that in building my spiritual house, your blessing will be upon me today and always. Let me be an instrument in bringing joy to others for that is surely the way my soul will be made joyous.

OUR LADY OF GRACE: For daily help

Help me this day to do what you would have me do, for if you are helping me, I cannot fail. If it is good work I am doing, it will be done. Whatever I do in your name will bear fruit and reward. Whatever I need will be given to me. I put my hand, my head, and my heart into your care for this day which God has given me.

OUR LADY AT LOURDES: Healing of the sick

Blessed Mother, through thy intercession, bless those who are sick, infirm, injured, or suffering. Ease their pain and torment, heal the wounds, mend the hurt. Let them see the light of love, the joy of understanding, and the peace of serenity in the knowledge of Thy care.

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP: Assistance in all things

Grant that I may ever invoke thy most powerful name, the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. Come to my assistance whenever I call upon thee, bringing to me your comfort, your sweetness, and your confidence. I know that through you all things are possible.

PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX: To resist temptation

Blessed Jesus, before thy face I humbly pray and beseech thee to fill my heart with feelings of faith, hope, and charity. I am truly sorry for all my sins. Strengthen my desire to turn away temptation, to have less faults today, and to resist whatever would draw me into sin.

SACRED HEART OF JESUS: For daily blessings

Grant me clarity of mind, a healthy body, and a peaceful soul so that I may go about my daily work with composure, tranquility, and serenity. Keep me this day in Thy eye for in Thee do I put my trust.

ST. ANNE: For friendship and love

Give me this day the grace and strength to forbear and to persevere. Give me courage and a quiet mind. May I be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath, and serene in all changes of fortune. Let me be loyal and loving to all those with whom I come in contact.

ST. ANTHONY: Success in all things

Take from my heart all anger, bitterness, ugliness, and rebellion. Replace these failings with hope and patience and confidence. Bring success to my endeavors this day for I sorely need thy help in all that I attempt. I thank thee that thou hast heard me in this prayer.

ST. BARBARA: For courage and protection

Protect me in this time of danger as you have guarded all those close to harm. You who entered Heaven on a thunderbolt will surely guard me from the fire, the storm, the disaster which surrounds me. With your spirit in my heart, I can be calm and courageous, knowing that surely this danger will pass and leave me untouched.

ST. BASIL: For justice

Grant me thy strength and protection. Make that which is evil good, and preserve the just in their righteousness. For thou can do all things and will surely save those who are worthy from oppression and injustice. For those who desire liberation, thou will set free. Bless me this day, I pray.

ST. BERNARD: For special favors

This request I bring to you for your assistance. Add your mighty strength to my own efforts to cause this prayer to be answered. The favor I ask will bring harm to no one, and only benefits can come from its fulfillment.

ST. CHRISTOPHER: Safety in travel

Grant me this day a steady hand and watchful eye so that no harm will come to others as I pass by. Protect me as I go my way, and lead me safely to my destiny.

ST. CLARA: For understanding

I come with a need for knowledge and understanding. I know that all things can work for good and I ask that this may be revealed to me. Let me see the purpose of this burden so that I may bear it with willingness, with dignity, and with the knowledge that blessings will result from the outcome.

ST. CYRIL: Daily needs and blessings

Let thy blessings rest upon us, we pray. We praise thee for all thy good and perfect gifts. We know thy loving kindness will bestow upon us all things we truly need, and you will surely provide all those requirements for which we are most grateful.

ST. DYMPHNA: On behalf of those with mental illness or nervousness

I pray thee will bring thy soothing presence to alleviate the tension and pain. Quiet the mind so that it may be healed. Let those who are sick or alone look up and see the wondrous sights of God's universe and know that there can be freedom from sickness, and love, and happiness for those who care for God and for others.

ST. ELENA: Overcome sorrow and sadness

May the burden of grief, sorrow, and suffering be lifted from my aching heart. Replace these afflictions with the healing love which will lift me out of my despair. Banish bitterness from my mind and turn my sad thoughts toward happy memories, gratitude for the good which remains in my life, and a serenity with which to go forward to a truly happier future.

ST. EXPEDITE: For quick help

I call upon thee in my day of trouble with confidence that you will be my help and my strength. Bring to me justice if my cause is just, triumph in my battle if my struggle is right, and hasty assistance if my need is urgent. Be my light in the darkness and my guide toward the pathway which will turn my enemies away so that I may live in peace and in love.

ST. FRANCIS: Serenity and spiritual blessings

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood, as to understand. To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

ST. GERARD: Motherhood

I call upon thy intercession before God to bring me boundless love, infinite patience, true understanding, and the strength of character I need to guide my children in their journey through life. I know that the answers I need each day will come to me if I ask in thy name with true humility and with firm assurance of the help I need.

ST. JOAN: For courage

My prayer is that I may have the courage to face the battles which are forced upon me. While God does not send us trials we cannot bear, my strength is feeble and thy help will sustain me. May I know truth and persevere with the knowledge that goodness must triumph over lies and evil doers.

ST. JOSEPH: Family blessings

This day I pray thee to protect those I love, and those who love me. Grant us whatever we need that is good for us, teach us to be content, to do our work gladly, bring joy and satisfaction in all our contacts, and bestow upon us the grace of thy great and tender love. Help us to do thy will in gratitude for all thy gifts.

ST. JUDE (Saint of the Impossible): Help with very difficult matters

All else having failed me, I come to you seeking your guidance toward a solution to my most difficult situation. I believe that if my heart can become one with God, the way will be found out of my most fearful dilemma. I will endeavor to walk straight with my spirit as well as my body, and I believe that answers will come to me. I will not be deserted in my most needful hour for I know you will not fail me, and that joy and happiness will follow this trying time.

ST. LAZARUS (Patron Saint of the Poor): For daily needs

With faith in God's infinite goodness, I ask for the blessings which I know come to those who love Him and who spread this love to others in their daily lives. Love begets love, and the fruits of our labor will multiply to be sufficient to our needs. I know this in my heart, and believe in thy divine justice and its manifestation in my personal life.

ST. LUCY: To be free from all evil

May the light of thy spirit light my heart with love and kindness and goodness. Keep me free from the bondage of the darkness and from dependency on any force which stands between me and God's bountiful blessings.

ST. MARTHA: To overcome all difficulties

In this most difficult moment, bless me with thy aid and protection. Let those who wish to harm me be turned back, and their strength be reduced to dust. If my cause is just, I pray to emerge from this trial with vindication of my views, and with gratitude for the growth this tribulation has given me.

ST. MARTIN: Freedom from sin

With trust and faith I beg thee to defend me against impure and evil thoughts which may stain my soul and come between my desire for true and complete satisfaction which is offered through perfect love. Rescue me from the mire lest I sink. Let not the deep swallow me up. Deliver me from those who hate me. Thy mercy is great, draw near to me and lift me up, I pray.

ST. MARY (Mother of God): For health

In my hour of need I call upon you. Look down upon the sick and suffering and enfold them in your love. Grant thy help in turning illness into health, replacing pain with blessed relief, change defeat into victory, darkness into light, discouragement into hope, sorrow into joy, and displace despondency with the knowledge that you are the strength of the weak and the comforter of the disturbed.

ST. MARY MAGDALENE: Self-improvement

Help me to mold myself in thy image, that I may be able to freely and completely give and receive love. Take away my faults of character which cause me to be sullen, selfish, and introverted. Let me turn my mind and affections outward toward others-thoughts of kindness, concern, caring, and passion. I know I must love others in order to be loved and I need thy help in my efforts to forget myself and keep my attentions directed outward toward those I encounter.

ST. MICHAEL: Courage, protection, deliverance from enemies

Thy help is my salvation, and I ask for assistance in guarding me against all danger, delivering me from all evil of body and soul. Free my enemies from the bondage of hatred, let not anger burn in their hearts, and instill in them the peace and love and forgiveness toward me which I bear toward them. Let me by my example prove my sincerity in my efforts to turn away from all rage and wrath, inviting in its place tranquility and serenity.

ST. PATRICK: For a rich, rewarding life

Help me, I pray, that I may see in others the same feelings I strive to attain in myself the love for home and family, the urge for a deeper understanding of self, and a knowledge of God and the universe. Help me to know that I harm myself when I do wrong to another. As I would wish them to forgive me my shortcomings, may I be forgiving of failings in others. I pray for the strength, the patience, the understanding, and the will to carry me forward each day, in service of my fellow human beings, so that I may do my share toward creating a finer and happier life for myself and for those I love.

ST. PETER: For spiritual growth, mercy

Hear my prayer according to thy faithfulness, answer me according to thy justice. My spirits grow faint and my heart grows numb. I stretch out my arms to thee, asking thy speedy mercy for I trust in thee. Show me the way I should walk, deliver me from my foes, teach me to do thy will. Let faithfulness spring from my heart and contentment overpower my spirit so that I may go forth restored by thy love, confident that all my undertakings which are started in sincerity and with good intentions will come to a quick and fulfilling conclusion.

ST. RAYMOND: Peace and love within the family

In the name of the Holy Father, Blessed Mary, and their son Jesus, I beseech thy blessing to enter my home, and as each one here is touched with thy love, may it spread and multiply a hundred fold. Grant each of us the grace to live peacefully, unselfishly, and with regard for one another. Let the light of understanding and love shine bright forevermore.

ST. THERESA: For humility, spirituality

I come to you for help. My vanity, my pride, and my arrogance are keeping me from knowing the love of God and of man. Grant me the simplicity which springs directly from nature and from which true greatness comes. Cause me to be truthful, resisting all temptations to falsify or indulge in exaggerations. Take from me the base instincts which cause me to wander from my goal which is to be at peace with all people, and to know God in my daily life.