Dear all,

You are warmly invited to join in a novena for our parish priest, Fr Patrick, beginning this Saturday 18th of April and concluding on the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the 26th of April.

This prayer has been prepared by our parish leadership team as a way of intentionally and spiritually supporting Fr Patrick in his priestly ministry.

We encourage you to incorporate it into your daily Rosary—either as an intention after the first three Hail Marys, or by praying it at the end of the Rosary—along with any personal intentions you may wish to offer.

We are truly blessed to have such a devoted priest who gives so much of himself for our parish, often in ways we may never fully see. While we so often bring our needs to our priests, this is a small but meaningful way for us to support him in return. For a priest to know he is upheld in prayer by his parishioners is a powerful encouragement, and one that can bear great fruit in the life of our whole parish.

Thank you for your generosity in prayer.

Heavenly Father,
in Your infinite wisdom and love, You have called Your servant, Fr Patrick
to share in the priesthood of Your Son.
We lift him up to You with trust and gratitude.

Grant him strength and resolve in every difficulty,
Fill him with fortitude to stand firm in truth,
and perseverance and trust in times of trial.

Lord Jesus Christ, Victim and High Priest,
conform Fr Patrick ever more deeply to Your Sacred Heart.
Teach him to embrace every cross,
to surrender wholly to Your Divine Will,
and to trust completely in Your Divine Providence.

In moments of weakness,
receive his shortcomings, anxieties, and sufferings
as an offering united to Your own.
Grant him clarity of mind and purity of intention,
and a spirit of gratitude even in the testing moments

Anoint his words, O Lord,
May his ministry in the person of Christ
extend beyond the sacred mysteries he celebrates
into every word he speaks and every action he undertakes,
so that his whole life may be a living witness to the gospel,
and lead souls ever closer to You.

May his life be a living witness
so that through the integrity of his example,
many holy men and women may hear Your voice more clearly
and respond with generous hearts,
saying “yes” to the call of their vocation

Surround him, O Lord, with Your divine protection;
set a hedge about him and St Thomas More Parish.
Send Your holy angels to guard and assist him in all things.
Let every snare and fiery dart of the enemy be thwarted,
and grant that every trial and setback, offered back to You,
be transformed into a means of magnifying Your glory.

Deepen his life of prayer.
Expand his interior life,
that he may be known in Heaven for greatness of soul
and on earth for his meekness.
Grant him perseverance in times of dryness,
and humility in times of consolation.

Bless and renew this parish,
that the seeds sown in faith may bear abundant fruit.
May his labours not be in vain,
and every work be ordered toward the growth of Your Church
and the sanctification of souls.

Bless also his family,
for the sacrifice they share in his vocation.
For the life he laid down,
for the comforts he renounced,
for choosing the Church as his bride
and your faithful as his children.

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless
and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible,
look kindly upon him and increase Your mercy within him,
that in every difficulty he may not despair nor grow despondent,
but with great confidence abandon himself
to Your holy will, which is love and mercy itself.

Grant him, O Lord,
perfect perseverance in his priesthood all his days,
that he may one day stand before You,
bruised and spent in loving service,
perfectly conformed to Christ,
and hear those blessed words:

“Well done, good and faithful servant.
Enter into the joy of your Master.”

O Mother of Good Counsel,
gently look upon him in his need;
obtain for him the strength to bear every trial,
the grace to trust more deeply in your Son,
and a steadfast heart that surrenders all things into His loving care.

Amen