The Society of St Justin

I was visiting various blogs early this morning when I came across a post by Fr Tim Finigan. He had recently visited Salisbury Cathedral and in response to his post concerning what he had seen on his visit he had received a comment tell him about the Society of St Justin.

No doubt with the popularity of Fr Finigan's being as it is many of you would have already come across the post. Nonetheless I wanted to mention it on here as it is very pertinent to many of the different churches, cathedrals, etc that I visit. I visited the Society of St Justin website to find out more and below have included an extract of their aims and activities.

Throughout these islands and across Europe there are many buildings in which for centuries Holy Mass was offered and the other sacraments were celebrated; places hallowed by the prayers of countless of Catholic priests, monks and lay faithful. Some of these have fallen into disuse and are now secular tourist attractions while others are used by Christians of other denominations.

In visiting these places, members of the Society of St Justin recall the Catholic history and re-hallow the buildings and locations with Catholic prayer for those who worshipped there in times past, offering acts of reparation for past neglect and venerating ancient shrines and the relics of the saints.

Whenever visiting medieval churches, cathedrals, chapels or shrines which had once been Catholic places of worship members are to say a Pater Nostor, Ave Maria and Gloria Patri (in Latin) In doing so they are to pray to Almighty God for those who worshipped there in former times, especially the loyal Priests who offered mass there. They are to make an act of reparation for those who abandoned the Faith of our fathers and for the wrongs which may have been committed there. If the relics of the saints or venerable images are preserved in such places, members are to venerate them in a manner appropriate to Catholic practice. An intention should be offered for those who currently worship God in those places that they may come to the knowledge of the Truth and that all Christians may soon be united with the See
of Peter.

I like the idea that the prayers should be said in Latin as this language has the ability to travel through time and space and would be just as familiar to the Catholics who once used these places as it is for us today. Nonetheless my Latin is not that great so for myself and anybody who would like to have them in writing to read while they continue to memorise them I have included them below:

+ In nòmine Patris, et Fìlii, et Spìritus Sancti. Amen

Pater noster:
Pater noster, qui es in caelis: sanctificètur nomen tuum; advèniat regnum tuum; fiat volùtas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidiànum da nobis hòdie; et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimìttimus debitòribus nostris; et ne nos indùcas in tentatiònem; sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

Ave Maria
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedictu tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventri tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis pecatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen

Gloria Patri
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Sictu erat in principio et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.