Every Saint- A Prayer for the End of the Year

To close the year, below is the epilogue to the Martyrology of Gorman, a beautiful prayer to all the saints, asking for their intercession and protection. The Martyrology of Gorman is a metrical calendar of the saints compiled in the late 12th century by the abbot of an Augustinian friary in Louth, Mael-Muire or Marianus O'Gorman. This prayer appears as the epilogue to the work, following the final entry on December 31.

Epilogue.

I. Let every saint who hath been, who shall be, in the greentopped mournful world, let all the dear and gracious host forgive me.

5. The noble, beloved army—little of their sea is this number—to protect me from battle, from bane, (and) from demons.

9. In their hosts, in their hundreds, let them ask for me pardon, repentance before death, and protection of me from every hardship.

13. May they guard me from the Devil, for he is always doing evil—the noble sages with knowledge, every saint who hath been, who shall be!

Every saint.

The End.