Novena to St. Peter Damian

As sent by father Michael Rodriquez:


Novena to St. Peter Damian
Feb 21 - 29, 2012

V. O Blessed Saint Peter, Cardinal and Doctor of the Church,
R. Thy soul was inflamed by holy zeal for God's House. * God gave
thee to His Church in those sad times when the wickedness of the
world had robbed her of her beauty. * Thou wast a chief instrument
used by God to bring back to His one Church its ancient beauty. *
Thee, who bore the glorious name of Peter Damian! The Mystical
Body of Christ, which God intended to be free, was but a slave, in
the power of the rulers of this world; * and the vices, which are
inherent to human weakness defiled His Sacred Temple.
V. Yet God had pity on the Perfect Spouse of Christ,
R. And for her deliverance He chose thee, Saint Peter, as His principal cooperator in restoring
order. * Thy example and thy labors prepared the way * and the work of regeneration was
completed. * Thou hast fought the good fight; thou art now in thy rest; * but thy love of the
Church, and thy power to help, are greater than ever. * Watch, then, over her interests. *
Obtain for her pastors that apostolic energy and courage, which alone can cope with enemies
so determined as hers are. * Obtain for her priests the holiness which God demands from
them that are to be salt of the earth. (cf. Mt 5:13)
V. Obtain for the Faithful the respect and obedience they owe to those who direct them in
the path of salvation.
R. Thou wast not only a Prince and Successor to the Apostles, thou wast moreover the model of
penance in the midst of a corrupt age. * Pray for us, that we may be eager to atone for our
sins by works of mortification. * Excite within our souls the remembrance of the sufferings
of our Redeemer, that so His Passion may urge us to repentance and hope. * Increase our
confidence in our Blessed Mother, the Ever Virgin Mary, the Refuge of Sinners, * and make
us, like thyself, full of filial affection towards her, * and fill us with zeal that she may be
honored and loved by those who are around us. * Amen. *
(mention special intention)
V. Assist us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, through the merits of St. Peter Damian.
R. That what our endeavors cannot obtain may be given us by his intercession.
V. Our Father... R. Give us this day...
V. Hail Mary... R. Holy Mary...
V. Glory Be... R. As it was in the beginning...
V. Let us pray. Grant unto us, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, so to follow the counsels
and example of blessed Peter, Thy Confessor and Bishop, that we may, by despising
earthly things, obtain everlasting joys. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.


St. Peter Damian (1007-1072), Feast Day: Feb 23
He was the youngest of a very large family and nearly starved to
death as an infant because his mother refused to feed him as she
thought it may tax the already minimal family resources. He was
raised as an orphan and employed as a swineherd. One of his
brothers, a priest, helped give him an education and by age 25 he
was a famous teacher. Seeking to escape the immoral university
life, he made a forty day retreat and then took the habit of hermit
monks. He helped bring great learning, discipline, and reform to
numerous monasteries In 1049 he published a terrible treatise
exposing the vices of the clergy, the Liber Gomorrhianus, which
he dedicated to the Pope. In 1057, the new Pope Stephen X named him a cardinal. Peter did
want to accept, agreeing only once the Pope threatened to excommunicate him otherwise. He
helped reform Milan, where the clergy openly bought and sold benefices and even publicly
‘married’ the women they lived with. He was an ardent defender of the Pope, challenged
various antipopes, battled the political powers threatening the Church, helped end schisms,
and brought about reconciliation among various ecclesial groups. In 1072, he was sent to
Ravenna to reconcile its inhabitants to the Holy See; there he died of illness at a monastery.

Condemnation of the Sin of Sodomy from Liber Gomorrhianus
by St. Peter Damian, Doctor of the Church
The vice of sodomy "surpasses the enormity of all others," because "Without fail, it brings death to the
body and destruction to the soul. It pollutes the flesh, extinguishes the light of the mind, expels the Holy
Ghost from the temple of the human heart, and gives entrance to the devil, the stimulator of lust: It
leads to error, totally removes truth from the deluded mind ... It opens up Hell and closes the gates of
Paradise ... It is this vice that violates temperance, slays modesty, strangles chastity, and slaughters
virginity ... It defiles all things, sullies all things, pollutes all things ...”
“This vice excludes a man from the assembled choir of the Church ... it separates the soul from God to
associate it with demons: This utterly diseased queen of Sodom renders him who obeys the laws of her
tyranny infamous to men and odious to God ... She strips her knights of the armor of virtue, exposing
them to be pierced by the spears of every vice...”
“She humiliates her slave in the Church and condemns him in court; she defiles him in secret and
dishonors him in public; she gnaws at his conscience like a worm and consumes his flesh like fire ... this
unfortunate man is deprived of all moral sense, his memory fails, and the mind's vision is darkened.”
“Unmindful of God, he also forgets his own identity. This disease erodes the foundation of faith, saps the
vitality of hope, dissolves the bond of love. It makes way with justice, demolishes fortitude, removes
temperance, and blunts the edge of prudence."


Suggested Requests:
(1) We beseech Thee O God to send El Paso and Las Cruces holy and courageous bishops who will promote and
defend the Catholic Faith, shepherding their flocks in charity and truth
(2) We beg Thee for the restoration & growth of traditional Catholic parish life in El Paso & Las Cruces
(3) And implore Thy intercession for the return of Fr. Rodriguez to El Paso, Texas.