We fly to thy protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
“With this request for intercession the Holy Father asks the faithful of all the world to pray that the Holy Mother of God place the Church beneath her protective mantle: to preserve her from the attacks by the devil, the great accuser, and at the same time to make her more aware of the faults, the errors and the abuses committed in the present and in the past, and committed to combating without any hesitation, so that evil may not prevail” states the Holy See’s communique released on September 29.
Pope Francis is asking for a daily ‘trifecta’ of prayer from the world’s faithful during the month of October, which the Church dedicates to Mary under her title, Our Lady of the Rosary. The three prayers are the Rosary, the Sub Tuum Praesidium (Under Your Protection) seen above, and the Saint Michael Prayer. The Holy Father chose the traditional Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel (September 29) to release his request.
A hundred years ago Pope Leo XIII made a similar request for the same reason – to combat the activity of the devil in the world. It was Leo XIII that gifted us with the Saint Michael Prayer, with a request that Priests pray it with their flocks at the conclusion of every Mass. The practice is being resurrected as many Priests are beginning to lead their congregations in a renewal of the devotion.
No one can make the case that intense spiritual warfare is not needed today. Nor can any deny that tremendous results were achieved in the past when Popes have called their people to prayer.
Pope Francis is calling. Let us answer.
THE CRACKED SPINE 