London, GB | Formerly of New York, Buenos Aires, Fife, and the Western Cape. | Saoránach d’Éirinn.

A Night Litany for London

Wanderers in central London who find themselves in the whereabouts of Piccadilly Circus or Soho of a Tuesday evening can avail themselves of the devotions offered by the Guild of Our Lady of Warwick Street.

Every week, the Rosary is said along with other prayers at this statue in Warwick Street Church. They conclude with the rather beautiful and moving ‘Night Litany for London’ imploring God’s mercy upon the many inhabitants of our capital city.

Its original form is believed to have been composed by the Rev’d H.A. Wilson, vicar of the Protestant parish of St Augustine in Haggerston. Msgr Graham Leonard — in the days when he was Anglican Bishop of London — also published a version through the Church Literature Association (a High Church body) with an introduction he wrote himself.

The version used at Warwick Street is included here:

A NIGHT LITANY FOR LONDON

OUR LADY of Warwick Street,
we plead before Thee
to present our prayers before the Throne of Grace
for all in this great city of London
who tonight need Thy merciful love and protection.

ON ALL who work tonight —— Lord, have mercy.
On the police, fire, and ambulance services —— Lord, have mercy.
On hospitals, doctors, and nurses —— Lord, have mercy.
On clergy and chaplains called out tonight —— Lord, have mercy.
On the homeless and destitute —— Lord, have mercy.
On all lost and vulnerable people —— Lord, have mercy.
On the lonely —— Lord, have mercy.
On the elderly —— Lord, have mercy.
On abused children —— Lord, have mercy.
On loveless marriages and broken homes —— Lord, have mercy.
On those who self-harm —— Lord, have mercy.
On the sick and suffering —— Lord, have mercy.
On the mentally ill —— Lord, have mercy.
On those undergoing operations —— Lord, have mercy.
On those who cannot sleep tonight —— Lord, have mercy.
On those who are depressed —— Lord, have mercy.
On those who misuse the internet —— Lord, have mercy.
On all prisoners and prison staff —— Lord, have mercy.
On all prostitutes and their clients —— Lord, have mercy.
On those addicted to alcohol and drugs —— Lord, have mercy.
On all immigrants feeling lonely and insecure tonight —— Lord, have mercy.
On all who live in fear —— Lord, have mercy.
On all victims of crime —— Lord, have mercy.
On those planning to commit a crime tonight —— Lord, have mercy.
On those who are driving tonight —— Lord, have mercy.
On all involved in accidents —— Lord, have mercy.
On those who are bereaved tonight —— Lord, have mercy.
On those for whom tonight will be their last on earth —— Lord, have mercy.
On those dying without the knowledge of Thy Love for them —— Lord, have mercy.
On those who are afraid to die —— Lord, have mercy.
On those tempted to suicide —— Lord, have mercy.
On the terminally ill —— Lord, have mercy.
On ourselves at our last hour —— Lord, have mercy.

ON BEHALF of all Londoners who today have said no prayers, let us say together:

Our Father …
Hail Mary …

℣. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: ℟. Have mercy upon us. (thrice)

The current set-up of Our Lady of Warwick Street is elegant, but one deeply regrets the clear-out they did in the 1960s or 70s. Before then, the statue was surrounded by dozens and dozens of ex-voto offerings given by those who had their prayers here answered. Where did they all end up?

Happily these days the church is in the care of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and is well looked after. As it happens, the Friends of the Ordinariate also have an excellent and interesting magazine that is worth signing up for.

If you’re around at 6 o’clock on a Tuesday, do join in the devotions.

Published at 12:05 pm on Monday 16 January 2023. Categories: Church Errant Thoughts Great Britain Tags: , , .
Comments

Well done!! N.

— Nicolas Ollivant 16 Jan 2023 1:07 pm

Very beautiful devotion.

Will I be allowed to use it (privately), but changing it to the name of my city, which is called the Metropolitan City of Our Lady of Monterrey, better known as Monterrey, Mexico?

Our patron saint is the Virgen del Roble (Virgin of Oak), which has a beautiful Roman-type basilica, but unfortunately there is not much faith here, since we have the influence of the northern border with our American neighbors.

The metropolitan population is more than four million inhabitants.

— J: R. Salazar 6 Feb 2023 6:47 pm
Leave a comment

NAME (required)

EMAIL (required)

WEBSITE (not required)

COMMENT

Home | About | Contact | Paginated Index | Twitter | Facebook | RSS/Atom Feed
andrewcusack.com | © Andrew Cusack 2004-present (Unless otherwise stated)