SAINT FEAST DAY 20 JULY: ST APOLLINARIS

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY

Saints celebrated on the 20th July

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST APOLLINARIS, BISHOP AND MARTYR

Early accounts report that Saint Apollinaris was ordained bishop by Saint Peter himself and sent as a missionary bishop to Ravenna during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. Renowned for his powers to heal in the name of Christ, he was frequently exiled, tortured, and imprisoned for the faith, and finally, martyred.

PRAYER:

Direct your faithful, Lord,

in the way of eternal salvation,

which the Bishop Saint Apollinaris

showed by his teaching and martyrdom,

and grant, through his intercession,

that we may so persevere

in keeping your commandments

as to merit being crowned with him.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen.