AtonementOnline: To Our Lord and the Saints

17 August 2012

To Our Lord and the Saints

This prayer was written by an Anglican priest, Fr. Henry Albert Wilson, Vicar of St. Augustine's, Haggerston, from 1925 to 1954.

Jesus, thou art my only need,
Without thee I am poor indeed:
So let me never lose thee.

Without thee I cannot be good,
Or ever do the things I should:
So, Jesus, never leave me.

Holy Mary, be a Mother to me;
Saint Joseph and all the Saints, pray for me;
My Guardian Angel, watch over me to keep me from all sin;
Jesus have mercy on me;
Mary, pray for me.

May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Fr. H. A. Wilson

"With all my heart, I bless you and your people..."

In 1983 I was a newly-ordained priest. In November of that year, it was my privilege to be in Rome to take part in developing The Book of Divine Worship. During that time an invitation was extended to celebrate Mass with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, in his private chapel. After we had said Mass, and in those few moments I had with the Holy Father, he told me that he remembered considering the request for my ordination, and he described how he came to an affirmative decision. For me, our brief conversation was an experience which will be treasured forever. At the conclusion of our time together, I asked him if I could take his blessing back to the people of my parish. His very simple words remain precious to me: "With all my heart, I bless you and your people." He then embraced me, and I knew that I was forever "home in my Father's house."