God our Father, fountain of all blessing,
We thank you for the countless graces that come to us
in answer to the prayers of your saints.
With great confidence we ask you in the name of your Son
and through the prayers of St John Ogilvie to help us in all our needs.
Lord Jesus, you chose your servant St John Ogilvie
to be your faithful witness to the spiritual authority
of the chief shepherd of your flock.
Keep your people always one in mind and heart,
In communion with Benedict our Pope, and all the bishops of your Church.
Holy Spirit, you gave St John Ogilvie light to know your truth,
wisdom to defend it, and courage to die for it.
Through his prayers and example bring our country into the unity and peace of Christ’s kingdom. Amen.
Let Scotland’s hills and straths and glens
acclaim their son whose praise we sing;
who died a martyr true as steel,
a faithful knight of Christ his King.
John Ogilvie, you prayed for light,
And travelled far your pilgrim way
To find in Scotland’s ancient faith
The dawn of everlasting day.
You came at last to Scotland’s shore,
A priest pursued by cruel law;
In chains you preached the Church’s faith
And died upholding Peter’s cause.
You loved God’s mother whose great name
Made holier still your dying breath.
You used her beads to win God’s grace,
Your parting gift in face of death.
In heaven’s glory pray that soon
our country may at last be one,
to preach one Gospel, break one bread,
and be One Body in God’s Son.
St John, to make all one in Christ,
His flag of freedom you unfurled.
With you we pray that all may be
One Lord, One Faith, One Hope, One World.
God we thank you for all your gifts to us. Especially for the precious gift of our Catholic faith. Grant that our country may be united once again in the unity of the Catholic Church. May the prayers of St John Ogilvie obtain for us the blessings that we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.