St. Nicholas of Tolentino
Feast Day: September 10th
St. Nicholas of Tolentino
The heavens are
not pure in the sight of Him Whom I serve; how then shall I, a sinful man, stand
before Him?
-Saint Nicholas of Tolentino
Profile
Born at Sant' Angelo, near Fermo, in the March of Ancona, about 1246; d. 10 September, 1306. He is depicted in the black habit of the Hermits of St. Augustine -- a star above him or on his breast, a lily, or a crucifix garlanded with lilies, in his hand. Sometimes, instead of the lily, he holds a vial filled with money or bread. His parents, said to have been called Compagnonus de Guarutti and Amata de Guidiani (these surnames may merely indicate their birth-places), were pious folk, perhaps gentle born, living content with a small substance. Nicholas was born in response to prayers, his mother a model of holiness. He excelled so much in his studies that even before they were over he was made a canon of St. Saviour's church; but hearing a sermon by a hermit of St. Augustine upon the text: "Nolite diligere mundum, nec ea quae sunt in mundo, quia mundus transit et concupiscentia ejus", he felt a call to embrace the religious life. He besought the hermit for admittance into his order. His parents gave a joyful consent. Even before his ordination he was sent to different monasteries of his order, at Recanati, Macerata etc., as a model of generous striving after perfection. He made his profession before he was nineteen. After his ordination he preached with wonderful success, notably at Tolentino, where he spent his last thirty years and gave a discourse nearly every day. Towards the end diseases tried his patience, but he kept up his mortifications almost to the hour of death. He possessed an angelic meekness, a guileless simplicity, and a tender love of virginity, which he never stained, guarding it by prayer and extraordinary mortifications. He was canonized by Eugene IV in 1446; his feast is celebrated on 10 September. His tomb, at Tolentino, is held in veneration by the faithful.
Acta SS., Sept. III, 636; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, III (Baltimore), 440; HAGELE in Kirchenlex., s.v.
The Catholic Encyclopedia,
Volume XI
Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1911, Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Text Courtesy of TraditionalCatholic.net
Prayers in honor of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino
Hymn to Saint Nicholas
From lonely field, from thronged street,
Our prayerful chants in heaven meet,
Our children's voices blending sweet,
To bless thee, Saint of Tolentine.
To thee the dumb one comes to speak,
Thee the maimed and crippled seek,
To thee appeals the sinner weak,
O gentle Saint of Tolentine.
The cry to Heaven for sympathy,
Arising wild from storm-tossed sea,
Brings wondrous calm and safety,
Through thee, O Saint of Tolentine.
Fetters fall from the slave of sin,
The crushed with new hope begin
The light of life and hope to win,
Through thee, O Saint of Tolentine.
Reigning with Christ, thy soul's delight,
Win for our souls new grace and light,
Through earth's dark ways lead us aright,
O gentle Saint of Tolentine.
To the Triune God your praises tell,
Glory to the Father Eternal,
To the Son and Paraclete that dwell
For endless days in paradise. Amen.
Prayer to Saint
Nicholas
O God,
source of strength and courage,
you gave your beloved preacher,
Saint Nicholas of Tolentino,
the conviction of faith to the
very end.
Grace us with the ability
to translate your teaching into
action,
remain patient amid hardship,
serve the poor and those who
suffer,
and live as your true and faithful
servants.
Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, pray for us.
Prayer for the
Deceased by Saint Nicholas
Lord, God of holiness and light.
You do not allow any shadow of
darkness or evil in your sight,
and so in your mercy you grant to
those who have left this world burdened with sin,
a time of purification,
applying to them the spiritual treasurers of your holy Church.
Hear my prayer
and through the merits of Christ,
the Blessed Virgin, the saints,
and all your faithful people
bring to an end this time of
waiting
for our beloved dead, especially
_____.
In your providence
you have chosen Saint Nicholas
as a special intercessor
on behalf of the departed.
Hear also his fervent prayer for those whom I
recommend to you through his intercession. Amen.
THE ARCH CONFRATERNITY OF TOLENTINO
The famous Augustinian, Saint Nicholas of Tolentine fostered a profound devotion
of prayer for the faithful departed: so much so that he has merited, by the
Church, the title "Patron Saint of the Souls in Purgatory". He strongly
encouraged the practice of having Masses Offered for the souls in Purgatory.
Further, it is to him that the Augustinian Tradition attributes the great
devotion of the "Septinarium": the seven days of prayer for the dead.
FIRST DAY
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas,
Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O good Jesus,
mystically present upon our altars, renewing the oblation of
We plead, dear
Jesus, for the for the release of the poor souls now detained in the prisons of
purgatory. We plead through the memory of that moment when Thy agonizing Heart
ceased to beat on the cross. We plead through the merits of the angels that
serve Thee, through the merits of the Saints who surround Thee, through the
merits of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, the efficacy of whose great charity
towards the poor souls is our encouragement to approach Thy Divine Bounty.
In Thy compassion
and mercy for those whom Thou hast redeemed, deign, once again, through the
intercession of Saint Nicholas, to open the gates of purgatory that the heavens
may see the passing of multitudes to eternal happiness.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech
Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made illustrious with the glory
of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by
his merits and intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
SECOND DAY
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas,
Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
Remember, O gentle
and compassionate Lord, the mercy that stirred Thy heart when the cry of misery
and sorrow came to Thine ears in Israel, how Thine eyes searched the rocks for
the poor lepers who called out to Thee, how Thou didst reach out Thy hand to the
daughter of Jairus, and the widow’s son of Naim, how tears came to Thine eyes at
the tomb of Lazarus. Look down upon the land of sufferings, where souls that
love Thee await for the touch of Thy healing mercy. Through the merits of Thine
own great sufferings which appeased the Eternal Justice, reach out Thy Hand once
more in its infinite power to save and relieve the Holy Souls in their
sufferings. O Lord, hear our prayers, unworthy though they be. We unite with
the prayers of Thy holy servant, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, in the grotto of San
Angelo, with the prayers which he offered to Thee though the silent hours of the
night, with the prayer with which he bless Thine infinite goodness and mercy for
Thy miraculous aid in his ministry. Hear our prayers for those who cannot plead
for themselves, and grant to the poor souls in purgatory happiness and rest. .
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech
Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made illustrious with the glory
of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by
his merits and intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
THIRD DAY
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas,
Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
Remember, O Divine and merciful Lord,
Thy compassion to the soul of the Gentile Jodiani, for whom Saint Nicholas
besought Thy mercy. Thou didst give the dying sinner the grace of repentance.
Though didst suspend the rigour of Thy justice, and, accepting the merits and
suffrages of the Saint, Thou didst remit the punishment deserved by his sins.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, the same gentle pity to the poor penitent souls in purgatory,
who, in human frailty, offended Thy majesty and holiness. List once more to the
prayer of Thy Saint, to which we, in our lowliness, unite our supplications, and
grant the poor souls relief from their sufferings, so that, with the Blessed in
Heaven, they may join their voices in exultant praise of Thy mercy.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech
Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made illustrious with the glory
of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by
his merits and intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
FOURTH DAY
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas,
Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O ever blessed and adorable God, we
remember how Thou didst permit Thy servant Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, to see a
multitude of the poor sufferers expiating their sins in purgatory, how the
vision overwhelmed him with grief, and how his heart pour out its gratitude to
Thee, when Thou didst accept the penances and prayers which He offered Thee in
union with the infinite merits of the Holy Sacrifice. On the seventh day of
his continual appeal to Thy mercy, Thou didst open wide the gates of purgatory
and paradise, permitting his eyes to behold the great multitudes that were
passing to their eternal rest with Thee. Vouchsafe now, O Lord, to show forth
the wonders of Thy mercy. Grant, through the devotion of the Septenarium of
the Saint, that the faithful departed may pass, this day, from the plains of
darkness and suffering to the light of the Beatific Vision of heaven.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech
Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made illustrious with the glory
of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by
his merits and intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
FIFTH DAY
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas,
Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O ever bountiful and merciful Lord,
Thou hast glorified the memory of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine by countless and
extraordinary miracles, giving to his prayers a wondrous efficacy, and to his
hand an astonishing healing power. Though Thee he solaced and healed the
afflicted, through Thee, he restored the dead to a disconsolate mother’s
embrace. To Thy pitying mercy he led the despairing and the penitent. Though
the holiness, the virtues, and the miracles of Thy saints, may the poor souls be
admitted to Thy mercies, and to the embrace of Thy compassionate love. Grant
them the solace of Thy clemency, and eternal happiness and rest, with Thy
glorious saints in paradise.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech
Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made illustrious with the glory
of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by
his merits and intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
SIXTH DAY
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas,
Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
Remember, O Lord,
the cry of the poor victim who found no pity in the cruel human hearts but found
pity in heaven, because he invoked Thy All-Holy Name, and venerated the name of
the Saint of Tolentine. Death or sin on the unshriven soul became no obstacle
to Thy pitying mercy. O Good Jesus, how wonderful are Thy ways in dealing with
human souls. A boundless ocean of merit and mercy surrounds Thy Calvary and Thy
Cross, upon which Thou wert immolated by cruel hands. Behold, we turn our eyes
to Thee upon the Cross, and upon the altar, and our hearts overflow with a happy
confidence. In that confidence we appeal to Thee for mercy upon our own
unworthy souls, and for the souls of all the faithful departed. Hear our cry in
the moment of death, hear our prayers for the souls in purgatory. Let neither
death nor sin, O good Jesus, be an obstacle to their enjoyment of the full
blessings of Thy Redemption. Let Thine own merits make amends for the their
failings, and now, in death take them to Thy Heart in the land of eternal
happiness.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech
Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made illustrious with the glory
of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by
his merits and intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
SEVENTH DAY
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas,
Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O blessed Mother of our Redeemer,
remember that dark hour beneath the Cross when the dying lips of Jesus
consecrated human souls to thy motherly love, and through the tender
commiseration enkindled within thy heart at that moment, bear to the Eternal
Throne the supplications which we offer for thy suffering children in
purgatory. In humility we lift our mind to thy Divine Son. We see Him through
the eyes of faith in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or abiding in the hallowed
shelter of the tabernacle, and we remember, dear Mother, that thine own pure
heart was the first altar upon which he reposed here on earth.
O, that we could
bring into His presence, a faith and love like thine. Help us, dear Mother,
supplement our weak efforts, give thy powerful aid to our supplications for the
release of the suffering souls in purgatory. Though the merits of the Cross and
the Blessed Sacrament, though thin own great pity for the souls of all thy
children, through thine own love, and the love of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine
for Jesus abiding in the adorable Sacrament of the Latar, we pray for the
release of the souls in purgatory this day.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech
Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made illustrious with the glory
of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by
his merits and intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
