Saint Anthony Mary Claret - Catholic Apologetics Information

First Means. Prayer
264. Because, as I have already said, I was driven to work for God's greater glory and the salvation
of souls, I shall now say something of the means that the Lord showed me were the best and most fitting
to attain that goal.
The first means I have always employed and still do is prayer. In my opinion, this is the greatest
means that can be used for the conversion of sinners, the perseverance of the just and the relief of the
souls in purgatory. Hence in my meditations, Masses, recitation of the breviary and other devotions, as
well as in my aspirations, I always asked God and the Blessed Virgin Mary for these three intentions.
265. I not only prayed myself but asked others to pray--nuns, Sisters of Charity, Tertiaries, 153 and
all virtuous and zealous folk. 154 I would ask them to attend Holy Mass, receive Holy Communion and,
both during Mass and after receiving Holy Communion, to offer to the Eternal Father his most holy Son;
and in his holy Name and through his merits, to ask for the three graces I have mentioned, namely, the
conversion of sinners, the perseverance of the just, and the relief of the poor souls in purgatory. I also
asked them to make visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to make the Way of the Cross.
266. I also exhorted them to commend themselves earnestly to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to pray
to her for the same three requests, availing themselves of the devotion to the Holy Rosary, on which I
preached to them, explaining a practical method of reciting it. Before beginning my sermon, I would
recite the rosary with all the people, both to teach them how to pray it and, by saying it together, to
obtain the three aforesaid graces. 155 I likewise taught them the devotion to the Sorrows of Mary and saw
to it that on each day of the week they meditated on one Sorrow, so that by the end of the week they
would have meditated on all seven. 156
267. I also prayed and had people pray to the saints in heaven that they might intercede with Jesus
and Mary to obtain these same graces. I especially prayed to those saints who during their earthly lives
had shown the greatest zeal for God's glory and the salvation of souls.
268. I never forgot to invoke St. Michael and the guardian angels--especially my own, and those of
the kingdom, the province, the city in which I was preaching, and of each individual present. 157
269. I have had visible knowledge of the protection of the holy guardian angels. I want to list here
some of the aspirations I say every day. I have counseled others to say them, and they have told me that
doing so has been of much benefit to them. 158
Who is like God?
Who is like Jesus Christ?
Who is like Mary, Virgin and Mother of God?
Who is like the angels of heaven?
Who is like the saints in glory?
Who is like the just upon earth?
Long live Jesus! Long live Mary Most Holy!
Long live the holy law of God!
Long live the holy evangelical counsels!
Long live the holy sacraments of the Church!
Long live the holy Sacrifice of the Mass!
153 He means the Carmelite Sisters of Charity (founded by St. Joaquina de Vedruna in Vich in 1826), whose direction he undertook
at the behest of Bishop Casadevall, from 1843 until his election as Archbishop of Cuba in 1850.
154 In a certain sense it could be said that all of his listeners formed a great association of mutual prayers, because wherever he went
he requested prayers for his intentions and his request was so well received that it became a custom with his listeners to pray for him.
155 To spread devotion to the rosary, he published several pamphlets and the following booklets: Devotion to the Holy Rosary
(1859); The Holy Rosary (1864), and Remedies against the Evils of the Present Day (1870).
156 Claret, Meditations on the Seven Dolors of Mary for the Seven Days of the Week (Vich, 1848). In Catalonia he also propagated
this devotion in his Camino Recto (The Straight Path).
157 Devotion to St. Michael was always one of the Saint's favorites. He placed the Religious Library, the Congregation of
Missionaries, and, above all, the Academy of St. Michael, under his protection. He wrote a booklet called Excellences and Novena of
the Glorious Prince, St. Michael (Barcelona, 1859).
158 He published them in his booklet The Two Standards (Barcelona, 1870), written during the f1rst Vatican Council.
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