Chair of Unity Octave

Eighth Day of the Octave

January 25
Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

Intention of the day
The missionary extension of Christ's kingdom throughout the world

In Private Recitation shall be omitted all that is herein printed in blue

The first Verse of the following Hymn shall be sung kneeling.

Hymn: Come Holy Ghost

KNEEL

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
Vouchsafe within our souls to rest;
Come with thy grace and heavenly aid,
And fill the hearts which thou hast made.

STAND

To thee, the Paraclete, we cry;
To thee, the Gift of God most high,
The Fount of life, the Fire of love,
The soul's Anointing from above.

The sevenfold gifts of grace are thine,
O Finger of the Hand Divine;
True Promise of the Father thou,
Who dost the tongue with speech endow.

Thy light to every sense impart,
And shed thy love in every heart;
Thine own unfailing might supply
To strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our ghostly foe,
And thine abiding peace bestow;
If thou be our preventing Guide,
No evil can our steps betide.

Make thou to us the Father known,
Teach us the eternal Son to own,
Be this our neverchanging creed,
That thou dost from them both proceed.

Proper Doxology
All praise be thine, O risen Lord,
From death to endless life restored;
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.  Amen.

In the name of the Father, † and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Our Father. Hail Mary.

V.  O God, † make speed to save us.
R.  O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.  (Alleluia.)
(After Septuagesima instead of Alleluia shall be said: All praise be unto thee, O Lord, King of glory everlasting.)

Prayer for the Conversion of our Brethren

Let us Pray.
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of unbelievers have been created by thee, and formed to thine own image and likeness.  Behold, O Lord, how to thy dishonour hell is being filled with these same souls.  Remember, O God, that for their salvation thy Son Jesus Christ underwent a most cruel death.  Permit not, O Lord, that thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers; but be appeased by the prayers of the Saints and of the Church, the Spouse of thy most holy Son, and forgetting their idolatry and unbelief, grant that they may at last come to acknowledge thy Son Jesus Christ, who is our Salvation, Life and Resurrection, through whom we have been saved and redeemed; to whom be glory forever and ever.
R.  Amen.

Prayer for Catholic Missions

Let us Pray.
O God, Who wouldest have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, we beseech thee, send forth labórers into thy harvest, and grant them with all boldness to preach the Word that thy Gospel may everywhere be heard and glorified, and that all nations may know thee, the One True God, and him whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord.
R.  Amen.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Blessed Mother of God, whose stainless heart is full of mercy and compassion, look down in pity upon those who have not yet heard the tidings of the Gospel. Remember that they are the work of the hand of thy Son, that they have been created in his image and redeemed by his most Precious Blood. Obtain for these poor brethren of ours the knowledge of our holy faith, and the grace to love, to embrace, and to practice it faithfully. Intercede at the throne of the Most High, O Mother, that many more missionaries may be sent to pagan lands, there to win souls for thy divine Son. O Virgin Mother of God, pray that all of us may soon be united in one and the same hope, and in one and the same love. Attentive to the words of thy divine Son, may we dwell in peace and happiness in the Church he instituted for our own salvation.
R.  Amen.

V.  Our Lady of the Atonement, intercede for us.
R.  That there may be fulfilled the prayer of thy Divine Son: "That all may be one."

Prayer to St. Paul

O glorious St. Paul, from a persecutor of the Christian name thou didst become an Apostle of burning zeal, and in order that Jesus Christ might become known to the furthermost bounds of the earth, thou didst joyfully suffer imprisonment, scourging, stoning, shipwreck, and every kind of persecution. Obtain for us now the grace at all times to pray for those who are not as yet blessed with the gift of faith. Help us to use all our strength for the conversion of those who, as yet, have not heard the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
R.  Amen.

V.  O ye Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, pray for us.
R.  That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

A short sermon or instruction

Chair of Unity Octave hymn

That all be one O dearest Lord, we pray,
That all be drawn within Thy one true Fold,
Back to Thy Church from which the wand'rers stray,
And Thy true Faith she keeps, like saints of old.
O bring them back Good Shepherd of the sheep;
And rouse the heathen nations from their sleep.

O persecutor of the Church of God,
Who when converted valiantly wrought
In missionary labours for thy Lord,
Preaching the Cross which our salvation bought:
Assist the missionaries, thou the first,
To gain the conquest of the world for Christ.

Then praise we God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Holy Spirit, Three in One,
That one in Him and one together we
In unity may praise the Trinity,
Till all the ransomed fall before His Throne
And give all glory to our God alone.  Amen.

Hymn: O Salutáris Hostia

Chair of Unity Octave Prayer

Ant:   That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  (John 17. 21)

V.  I say unto thee, that thou art Peter.
R.  And upon this Rock I will build My Church.

Let us Pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst say unto thine Apostles: Peace I leave with you, my Peace I give unto you; look not upon our sins, but on the faith of thy Church, and vouchsafe to grant unto her that peace and unity which are agreeable to thy will. Who livest and reignest God for ever and ever.
R.  Amen.

An indulgence of 300 days during the Octave of Prayers for the Unity of the Church from the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter in Rome to the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.  A Plenary Indulgence on the usual conditions at the end of the devout exercise.

Let us Pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, most gracious Saviour of the world, we humbly beg of thee by thy most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep now wandering astray may be converted unto thee, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. Who livest and reignest from this time forth for evermore.
R.  Amen.

Prayer to our Lady, Help of Christians

O Mary, Virgin Immaculate, our Mother and Mother of our God, thou seest how the Catholick Faith is assailed by the devil and the world, that Faith in which we purpose, by the help of God, to live and to die ; do thou, O Help of Christians, renew thy victories as of old, for the salvation of thy children. To thee do we entrust our firm purpose of never joining the assemblies of the hereticks. Do thou, all Holy, offer unto thy Divine Son our resolutions, and obtain from him the graces necessary for us to keep them unto the end.  Bring consolation to the Church, support and protect the Catholick clergy and people who proclaim thee Queen. Hasten, by the power of thy prayers, the day when all nations shall be gathered together in the one true Fold.
R.  Amen.

V.  O Mary, Help of Christians.
R.  Pray for us.

V.  The Lord be with you.
R.  And with thy spirit.

Prayer for Unity

Let us Pray

GOD the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divísions. Take away all hatred, prejudice, and error, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord: that, as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all; so we may henceforth be all of one heart, and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
R.  Amen.

V.  The Lord be with you.
R.  And with thy spirit.

V.  Bless we the Lord.
R.  Thanks be to God.

Benediction
May the Almighty God, the Father, † the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and for evermore.
R.  Amen.

Hymn:  Faith of our Fathers