from His Eminence Renato Raffaele, Cardinal Martino
Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George
Dear Knights and Dames
Even during this difficult time this year I would like to send you a short message on the occasion of our patronal feast of Saint George, which is at the heart of Easter.
So far we have been able to prepare it through various initiatives, which have involved us personnally, allowing us to experience intense moments in fraternity and communion. Unfortunately this year we won’t be able to do it, for all the reasons we know.
Even though the health precautions we were given impose a physical distancing and prevent us from celebrating the liturgy together in honour of Saint George, we should not feel discouraged: on the contrary, this situation must encourage all of us to be very close to one another and experience a more intense and fraternal relationship.
During these days we have noticed that many people were comforted since they rediscovered faith and devotion and recovered lots of deep signs of the tradition of the Church; these moments, even if they were spent in the solitude of the churches and of our cities by the Holy Father Pope Francis and by many bishops and priests, they allowed a deep and very emotional participation, through the media, of a large part of the people of God and of many people who have benefited greatly from it.
In this period even our houses can regain their dignity as domestic churches: I therefore invite you to exhibit, on Saint George Day, an image of our patron, by putting a flower and a small lamp near it and to join all together in the intimacy of your families, to request his intercession and to invoke to our Heavenly Father the end of this pandemic, by also reciting the prayer that I propose again below.
Let’s ask the Lord, through the intercession of Saint George, to support our faith and to reinvigorate our hope and our charity, so that the desire to return with joy to the sacraments and to the celebration of the Holy Mass, during which the Risen Jesus keeps on spreading the gift of His salvation to us and to the whole world, may always remain alive in us.
Dear friends, under the gaze of Saint George, we all feel like a real family, the “Constantinian family”, where we remember and support each other in prayer.
May my fatherly blessing accompany you.
Renato Raffaele Card. Martino
Grand Prior
PREGHIERA A SAN GIORGIO
O San Giorgio, la Milizia Costantiniana a te si volge
per chiedere la tua protezione.
Ricordati di noi, tu che hai sempre aiutato
e consolato chiunque ti abbia invocato nell’ora della prova e della necessità. Animati da grande confidenza
e dalla certezza di non pregare invano,
ricorriamo a te, che sei così ricco di meriti davanti al Signore:
fa che la nostra supplica giunga, per tua intercessione,
al Cristo che sulla Croce ha offerto la Sua vita divina per la salvezza del mondo. Benedici tutti coloro che hanno promesso di testimoniarla e difenderla. Benedici le nostre famiglie, i nostri cari, gli ammalati, chi li assiste, tutti i bisognosi. Allontana i pericoli dell’anima e del corpo.
E fa che, nell’ora della prova,
possiamo rimanere fedeli e forti nella fede e nell’amore di Dio
Amen!