Prayer to Saint Michael

Holy Michael, the Archangel
Defend us in battle
Be our safeguard against the wickedness
and snares of the Devil
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray
and do thou, oh prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan
and all the Evil Spirits
who wander through the world
seeking the ruin of Souls.
AMEN

Saint Michael the Archangel,
pray for Christ’s little ones,
and defend them from every evil influence.

St. Edith Stein

Saint Edith Stein,
bride of Christ and mother of souls,
you went to your martyrdom
united with the sacrifice of your Divine Spouse
and in solidarity with the suffering of God¹s Chosen People.

Inspired by your teaching on our feminine nature and vocation,
we seek a path to holiness that allows us
to carry out the dutiesof our state in life
with patience, gratitude and joy.

Pray that we may find in our study of your work
a compelling vision of our charism of spiritual maternity;
and may your love of learning
rouse us from mental sloth,
rebuke our ignorance of the teachings of the Church
and inspire us to use our minds to witness
with conviction and courage to the certain victory
of Christ the King over every form of evil
that plagues us in this world.

In Christ¹s name we pray. Amen.

Prayer for Troubled Youth

Immaculate Mary, Mother of Incarnate Love,
in choosing the Lord’s little ones
to be your messengers to the world
you remind us that the Father’s Kingdom
belongs to them and that He is zealous
for their welfare.

True to the Father’s good and gracious will for all His children,
we plead with you now for the future of our youth.
Confused by lies, besieged with temptation
and betrayed by the Seducer,
our children are deceived and defenseless,
dangerously adrift in a sea of sin.

Place now your foot, Holy Virgin,
upon the neck of the Deceiver
and plead their cause before the Throne of Grace.
May the power of your prayers put evil to rout
and instill in the souls of our young
a longing for purity of heart, mind and life.

We ask this for the sake and in the name
of your adorable Son who,
still in his youth, died for our sins.
Amen.

The Angelus

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary. . .

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary. . .

AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH.
And dwelt among us.  

Hail Mary. . .

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that
we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message
of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His
Resurrection, through the same Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, and make us fruitful bearers of Incarnate Love.

St. Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who wander the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Powerful Novena to the Infant Jesus

Powerful Novena to the Infant Jesus
[To be prayed from the 16th to the 24th of the month]
O Jesus, Who hast said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find,knock and it shall be opened unto you," through the intercession of Mary,Thy most holy Mother I knock, I seek, I as that my prayer be granted
[insert petition here].
O Jesus, Who hast said, "All that you ask of the Father in My Name He will grant you," through the intercession of Mary, Thy most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask Thy Father in Thy Name that my prayer will be granted:
[insert petition here].
O Jesus, Who hast said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away," through the intercession of Mary, Thy most holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted:
[insert petition here].

Prayer of Thanksgiving for Graces Received from the Infant Jesus
I prostrate myself before Thy holy image, O most gracious Infant Jesus,
to offer Thee my most fervent thanks for the blessings Thou hast bestowed upon me.
I shall incessantly praise Thine ineffable mercy and confess that thou alone art my God, my helper and my protector. Henceforth my entire confidence shall be placed in Thee!
Everywhere I shall proclaim aloud Thy mercy and generosity, so that Thy great love and the great deeds which Thou dost perform through this miraculous image may be acknowledged by all. May devotion to Thy holy infancy increase more and more in the hearts of all Christians, and may all who experience Thine assistance persevere with me in showing unceasing gratitude to Thy most holy infancy, to which be praise and glory forever. Amen.

More about W.A.Y.

"A Path to Embodied Faith"


The Women's Apostolate to Youth (W.A.Y.) is a lay Association of Christ's Faithful composed of Roman Catholic lay-women in the Diocese of Arlington. Our mission is to promote the spiritual well being of children and youth and to provide spiritual formation and moral support for women who are called to work in a variety of ministries dedicated to this end.

Just as the natural maternal function requires a safe haven for developing life in a woman's own body, so the spiritual formation of the young requires a sheltered space in which the transforming action of grace may proceed unimpeded. W.A.Y. affirms, through its apostolate of spiritual maternity, the strong desire women have to provide a wholesome and sustaining formation in the Faith for children and youth. Because we recognize that ultimately it is the character and conviction of the loved and respected adult that exercises the most convincing and lasting influence on the young, we therefore encourage, first of all in ourselves and then in our charges, a thorough knowledge of the riches of Catholic teaching, a vital prayer life and sacramental practice, and a generous spirit of service.

W.A.Y.'s particular concern to nurture an embodied faith in the young begins with the message of the Angelus-- that most exquisite summary of the central Christian doctrine of the Incarnation. From Mary's consent and the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit comes Jesus, who is Salvation in the flesh, our way to the Father. His perfect embodiment of the Father's love for us provides the primary spiritual principle for the formation of our members and of the young people we serve. Thus we seek consistently to present the truths of Catholic teaching as they have actually been embodied in the lives of the saints, those icons of grace and moral courage who serve as God's gift of encouragement to us at every stage of our development. Just as the compassionate love of God was clothed in the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth and continues to touch us bodily in the Eucharist, so do we understand ourselves to be called to "put a body on" the love of Christ for children and youth, who demand and justly deserve convincing--and living-- examples of the Faith.