Prayer for Priests # 1

Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord,

keep them, for they are Thine -

Thy priests whose lives burn out

before Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, for they are in the world,

though from the world apart;

when earthly pleasures tempt, allure -

shelter them in Thy heart.

Keep them, and comfort them

in hours of loneliness and pain,

when all their lives of sacrifice

for souls seems but in van.

Keep them, and O remember, Lord,

they have no one but Thee,

yet they have only human hearts,

with human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host,

that daily they caress;

their every thoughts and word and deed,

Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

Our Father...

Hail Mary...

Glory Be...