BLESSED FATHER FRANCIS SEELOS
INTERCEDE FOR US WITH GOD!
official portrait for Beatification in Rome
peaking about Blessed Fr. Francis Xavier Seelos (1819-1867), whose feast-day will be October 5, the Holy Father said at the Beatification ceremony in Rome on April 9, 2000:O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer,
let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight.
I offer praise to You for the grace You have bestowed
on Your humble missionary, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.
May I have the same joyful vigor
that Fr. Seelos possessed during his earthly life
to love You deeply and live faithfully Your gospel.
Amen.Divine Physician,
You infused Francis Xavier Seelos
with the gift of Your healing.
By the help of his prayers,
sustain in me the grace to know Your will
and the strength to overcome my afflictions.
For love of You, make me whole.
May I learn from the example of Blessed Father Seelos
and gain comfort from his patient endurance.
Amen.Bountiful God,
in Francis Xavier Seelos You have given Your people
a model for those who labor joyfully in Your earthly kingdom.
May the smile of Fr. Seelos in Your heavenly dominion
dwell on those who find life burdensome.
Help Blessed Father Seelos to keep continually before the eyes of Your people
the gentleness of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.
AmenText adapted from "Francis Xavier Seelos" Liguorian. © 2000 Liguori Publications. All rights reserved.
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3. "Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervor sustain me, that I may teach transgressors your ways and sinners may return to you" (Ps 51: 14-15).
Faithful to the spirit and charism of the Redemptorist Congregation to which he belonged, Fr Francis Xavier Seelos often meditated upon these words of the Psalmist. Sustained by God's grace and an intense life of prayer, Fr Seelos left his native Bavaria and committed himself generously and joyfully to the missionary apostolate among immigrant communities in the United States.
In the various places where he worked, Fr Francis Xavier brought his enthusiasm, spirit of sacrifice and apostolic zeal. To the abandoned and the lost he preached the message of Jesus Christ, "the source of eternal salvation" (Heb 5: 9), and in the hours spent in the confessional he convinced many to return to God. Today, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos invites the members of the Church to deepen their union with Christ in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Through his intercession, may all who work in the vineyard for the salvation of God's people be encouraged and strengthened in their task."
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