ST ROCHE, PILGRIM - 16th AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 16th of August

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 ROCHE, PILGRIM, PATRON AGAINST CONTAGIOUS ILLNESSES 

Saint Roche, who is amongst the most illustrious saints in the fourteenth century, was born of a noble family at Montpellier. Making a pilgrimage to Rome, he devoted himself in Italy to serve the sick during a raging pestilence [He was also working miracles among the sick]. 

GOD WAS PLEASED TO RESTORE HIM TO HIS HEALTH

Falling himself sick, and unable to assist others, he withdrew into a neighbouring forest, where a dog kept him company. He bore incredible pains with patience and holy joy, and God was pleased to restore him to his health. 

He returned into France, and in the practice of austere penance, and the most fervent piety and charity, he wore out his last years at Montpellier where he died, as it is commonly said, in 1327.

MANY CITIES HAVE BEEN SPEEDILY DELIVERED FROM THE PLAGUE THROUGH HIS INTERCESSION

Many cities have been speedily delivered from the plague by imploring his intercession, in particular that of Constance during the general council held there in 1414. 

(From Fr Butler's "Lives of the Saints") 

PRAYER:

O blessed St Roche, patron of the sick, have pity on those who lie upon a bed of suffering. Your power was so great when you were in this world, that by the Sign of the Cross, many were healed of their diseases. Now that you are in heaven, your power is not less. Offer, then, to God our sighs and tears and obtain for us that health we seek, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Repeat the following 3 times:

“Saint Roche, pray for us, that we may be preserved from all diseases of body and soul. Amen."