BL. THOMAS FORDE, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 28 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 28th of May

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.

BL. THOMAS FORDE, PRIEST AND MARTYR 

⬅️ Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

Thomas, surnamed Forde, was a secular priest who died for the Catholic faith by hanging at Tyburn. This happened in 1582 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The holy priest's last words were: "Jesus, be Jesus to me!" 

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that we who know how courageously your holy priest and martyr Thomas confessed the faith, may experience his goodness as he intercedes for us with you. 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.