Prayer for Wisdom and Knowledge

Lord, give me, the companion of Your throne, that it may ever be with me and labor with me, so that I may know what is acceptable to you, Lord, God. Who is there that can know Your meaning unless You give wisdom and send your Holy Spirit from on high?

Mary, Mother of fair love and fear and knowledge and holy hope, through your faithful intercession, many though otherwise of modest talent, have made marvelous progress in learning and holiness. I choose you as the guardian and patron of my studies. By your heart full of maternal love, and, above all, by that Eternal Wisdom which condescended to take our flesh from you and beyond all the saints made you shine with heavenly light, I humbly ask you to obtain for me, through your intercession, the grace of the Holy Spirit. May it enable me to grasp with my mind, retain in my memory, and express by my words and my life, all that shall give honor to you and your Son and be blessedly conducive to my eternal salvation. Amen.

Merciful God, grant me, I beg of You, ardently to desire, prudently to study, truly to understand, and perfectly to fulfill those things that are pleasing to You, for the praise and glory of Your name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~St. Thomas Aquinas 

(Excerpted from Father John Hardon's Catholic Prayer Book: with Meditations.)

Pope Leo XIII: Prayer to St. Michael

O GLORIOUS ARCHANGEL ST. MICHAEL, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.

Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist Thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men, of his depraved mind, corrupt heart, spirit of lying, impiety, blasphemy, his pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the Spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.

Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate Thee as their protector and patron; in Thee Holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to Thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, do Thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.  

V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered hostile powers. 
R. The Lion of the tribe of Juda has conquered, the root of David. 
V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord. 
R. As we have hoped in Thee. 
V. O Lord, hear my prayer. 
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

Let us pray

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy name, and we suppliantly implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel St. Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and ruin of souls. Amen.

___________________________________________

Short Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice 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 through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Sáncte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in proélio, cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium. Ímperet ílli Déus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo, divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde. Ámen.

Michael the Archangel by Guido Reni.

Santa Maria della Concezione, Rome, 1636.

"Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you"

"It is written (Mt 5:44): "Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you."

"...To pray for another is an act of charity, as stated above (A. 7). Wherefore we are bound to pray for our enemies in the same manner as we are bound to love them. Now it was explained above in the treatise on charity (25, 8,9), how we are bound to love our enemies, namely, that we must love in them their nature, not their sin. and that to love our enemies in general is a matter of precept, while to love them in the individual is not a matter of precept, except in the preparedness of the mind, so that a man must be prepared to love his enemy even in the individual and to help him in a case of necessity, or if his enemy should beg his forgiveness. But to love one's enemies absolutely in the individual, and to assist them, is an act of perfection.

"In like manner it is a matter of obligation that we should not exclude our enemies from the general prayers which we offer up for others: but it is a matter of perfection, and not of obligation, to pray for them individually, except in certain special cases."

~St. Thomas Aquinas: S.T. II-II, q. 83, a. 8.
•  Read Question 83, On Prayer

Crucifixion with Mourners and Sts Dominic and Thomas Aquinas (Cell 37),

by Fra Angelico. Fresco, 1441-42; Convento di San Marco, Florence.

To the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas To the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

O most blessed and sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God, filled with all tenderness, Daughter of the most high King, Lady of the angels, Mother of all the faithful, on this day and all the days of my life, I entrust to your merciful heart my body and my soul, all my acts, thoughts, choices, desires, words, deeds, my entire life and death, so that, with your assistance, all may be ordered to the good according to the will of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Be to me, my most holy Lady, a comfortable and an ally against the stratagems and traps of the ancient enemy and of all those who harbor ill intentions against me.

From your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, request for me the grace to resist firmly the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and a constant resolve to sin no more and to persevere in your service and the service of your beloved Son.

My most holy Lady, I also beseech you to obtain for me true obedience and true humility of heart so that I may recognize myself truly as a sinner—wretched and weak—and powerless, without the grace and help of my Creator and without your holy prayers, to do any kind of good work or even to resist the unrelenting assaults of evil.

Procure for me also, O my most sweet Lady, perpetual purity of mind and body, so that with a pure heart and chaste body I may be strengthened to serve you and your beloved Son (through the Dominican Order).

From Him, obtain for me a spirit of poverty willingly accepted with patience and tranquility of mind, so that I will have the strength to sustain the labors (of this Order) and to work for my own salvation and that of my neighbors.

Obtain for me as well, O most sweet Lady, true charity with which from the depths of my heart I may love your most holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and, after Him, love you above all other things, and love my neighbor in God and because of God.

Thereby may I rejoice in his goodness, sorrow over his evils, despise no one, never judge rashly, and never in my heart exalt myself over anyone.

Grant, O Queen of Heaven, that ever in my heart I may have fear and love alike for your most sweet Son; That I may always give thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon me not for my merits but by His kindness; And that I may ever make a pure and sincere
confession and do true penance for my sins, in order that I might deserve to obtain His mercy and grace.

I pray also that, at the end of my life, you, Mother without compare, Gate of Heaven, and Advocate of sinners, will not allow me, your unworthy servant, to stray from the holy Catholic faith but that you will protect me with your great piety and mercy, defend me from evil spirits, and obtain for me, through the blessed and glorious Passion of your Son and through your own intercession, received in hope, the forgiveness of all of my sins.

When I die in your love and His love, may you direct me into the way of salvation and blessedness. Amen.

Coronation of the Virgin (Cell 9), by Fra Angelico.
Fresco, 1440-42; Convento di San Marco, Florence.