PRAYER FOR A DEAD PRIEST

You may find a prayer below to be offered for a deceased priest. As you prepare to offer this prayer, think of a priest you knew who has died, and pray it for him. 

O God, Thou didst raise Thy servant, N., to the sacred priesthood of Jesus Christ, according to the Order of Melchisedech, giving him the sublime power to offer the Eternal Sacrifice, to bring the Body and Blood of Thy Son Jesus Christ down upon the altar, and to absolve the sins of men in Thine own holy Name. We beseech Thee to read his faithfulness and to forget his faults, admitting him speedily into Thy holy presence these to enjoy forever the recompense of his labors. This we ask through Jesus Christ Thy Son Our Lord. Amen. 

When I went to offer this prayer, my thoughts flew to Father Peter Lessiter, an English priest. I never met Father Lessiter, but he was held in the absolute highest esteem by my friend Richard Collins who hailed him as a living Saint and felt in his bones that Fr Lessiter would be raised to the altars one day. I firmly believe Father Lessiter is already in Heaven (this is the boldest of bold claims), but I offered the prayer for him because tis what he would have wanted. I am assured by my Spiritual Father, Padre Pio who said that if you think a soul is in Purgatory and you pray for them, but they are already enjoying Paradise, then Our Lord applies the grace to another needy soul. I prayed the prayer for Father Lessiter, but my hope is that the grace was applied to a priest in Purgatory who is forgotten by the living. 

FATHER PETER LESSITER