Written by Kathy Clubb
15th January 2025
As our supporters would have realised by now, FLI considers Freemasonry to be a major part of the crisis currently being experienced by the Church both in Australia and overseas. Our efforts to seek clarification from the Australian bishops regarding the apparent permission given on their behalf in 2016 for Catholics to be Masons while continuing to receive the Sacraments have so far borne little fruit. Far from being deterred, we are doubling down on our efforts and have several avenues for action in play at the moment.
Whilst we continue to seek clarification, and hopefully, a wider condemnation from the bishops of Masonic membership for Catholics, we thought it would be timely to have recourse to prayer. Not only should Catholics be praying regularly for the protection of Holy Mother Church, but we should also be praying in reparation for the sins committed by Masons and other enemies of the Church.
Remember, just because an individual Freemason may be a good person in many respects, and just because he may not realise what he is involved in, this does not make his sin any less an offence to God, objectively speaking. Freemasonry and similar subversive movements have as their aim the downfall of the Catholic Church. They spread the error, either overtly or implicitly, that the Truth is relative, that all paths lead to heaven, that all religions are equal: this are the heresies of indifferentism and universalism. These are violations of the first Commandment and for these, reparation needs to be made to God.
Below are three powerful devotions which both make reparation for the errors of Freemasonry, Communism and other dangerous movements while also pleading for protection of the Church.
Pope Leo XIII’s Prayer for Freemasons
The Raccolta, or ‘Collection of Indulgenced Prayers and Good Works’ is a classic book of prayers from the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. It contains a prayer for the conversion of Freemasons written by Pope Leo XIII, to which is attached an indulgence of 100 Days, once a day.
Prayer for the Conversion of Freemasons
O LORD JESUS CHRIST, who showest forth thy omnipotence most manifestly when Thou sparest and hast compassion; Thou who didst say, “Pray for those who persecute and calumniate you”, we implore the clemency of thy Sacred Heart on behalf of souls, made in the image of GOD, but most miserably deceived by the treacherous snares of Freemasons, and going more and more astray in the way of perdition. Let not the Church, thy spouse, any longer be oppressed by them; but, appeased by the intercession of the blessed Virgin thy Mother and the prayers of the just, be mindful of thy infinite mercy; and, disregarding their perversity, cause these very men to return to Thee, that they may bring consolation to the Church by a most abundant penance, make reparation for their misdeeds, and secure for themselves a glorious eternity; who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Holy Face Devotion
The Holy Face prayers were given by God to the French Carmelite nun, Sr. Marie de St. Pierre, as a reparation for the sin of blasphemy which Our Lord told her is more grievous than any other sin. Since blasphemy is one of the more grievous aspects of Freemasonry, it is fitting that these prayers be said as a defence against that sect.
The Golden Arrow prayer forms the basis of the reparative work of the Holy Face devotion. Two other prayers are included here: one is an aspiration which may be said throughout the day; the other is for the defeat of Communism and some versions also include Masonry as a specific intention.
Golden Arrow Prayer
May the Most Holy, Most Adorable, Most Incomprehensible and Ineffable Name of God be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.
Holy Face Aspiration
Eternal Father, we offer Thee the Holy Face of Jesus covered with blood, sweat, dust and spittle, in reparation for the crimes of communists, blasphemers, Freemasons and for the profaners of the Holy Name and of the Holy Day. Amen.
Prayer for the Defeat of Communism and all “Revolutionary Men”
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Cross of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and all the instruments of His Holy Passion, that Thou mayest put division in the camp of Thy enemies, for as Thy Beloved Son hath said, “a kingdom divided against itself shall fall.”
St. Michael Prayer
Most Catholics know that the St. Michael prayer was composed by Pope Leo XIII after a famous vision he experienced, in which Satan was given power from God to wreak havoc on the earth for a hundred years. However, there is reason to believe that this prayer was also a direct response to the threat of Freemasonry against the Catholic Church.
In his book, Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael: An Historical and Theological Examination, author Kevin Symonds points out that Pope Leo added the St. Michael prayer to a set ordered by his predecessor, Pius IX, which were to be said at the end of Low Mass. Pius had asked for these prayers to be offered for the protection of the Church.
Leo formally requested of his priests to lead the faithful in these prayers in Humanem Genus, his encyclical against Freemasonry. At traditional parishes, this custom continues after every Low Mass and many of the faithful choose to make this prayer after every Mass they attend. If it’s not already part your daily prayers, then make sure to pray the St. Michael prayer at least once throughout your day.
St. Michael Prayer
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the enemy. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the heaveny host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl through the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Miraculous Medal
St. Maximilian Kolbe is well-known and beloved saint of the twentieth century. From a young age, Maximilian (his name prior to religious vows was Raymond) had a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, particularly to Her Miraculous Medal. He witnessed Freemasons threatening publicly to destroy the Church whilst in Rome and founded the Militia of the Immaculata to spread devotion to Our Lady and also to defeat Freemasonry.
St. Maximilian cared about the souls of Masons very deeply, and after reading of the conversion to Catholicism of the Freemason, Alphonse Ratisbonne, he added a prayer for Masons to the aspiration which accompanies the Miraculous Medal devotion:
Miraculous Medal Prayer
Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee, and for all those who do not have recourse to Thee, especially the Masons and all those recommended to Thee.
