A SEMINARIAN'S PRAYER

O Holy Virgin, our Lady of Trust,
Kind and loving Mother of seminarians
Throughout the world,
Your presence once brought joy
To the first apostles of Gospel
As they waited tensely and eagerly
In the Cenacle
For the coming of the Divine Spirit.
Look down upon us now,
As we stir with the same eager longing for grace
And for a priestly zeal that will be holy
And bring holiness to others.
Just as you have been our morning star,
So always remain the serene joy
Of our vocation,
The safeguard of our purity,
The flame of our work
In the service of Jesus
And of the souls redeemed by his Blood
And of his Church,
Which suffers at times
But always remains glorious
And unbowed.
What joy it brings each of us
And all of us together,
The seminarians of the whole world,
To repeat:

"Opus tuum nos, O Maria."

What a sense of exultation always,

To be able to add, at every turn in our lives:

We are not afraid of anything, O Mary,

For you are and will be our tust,

Our Mother, "in aevum et aeternum,"

By Pope John XXIII