Oratio Imperata ad Petendam Pluviam

From www.rcam.org:

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales has issued an Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam (Obligatory Prayer to Request for Rain) and Intercessory Prayers for Rain to be prayed in all masses in the Archdiocese of Manila starting on August 3, a First Friday, the day devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In a circular to all parish priests, shrine rectors, chaplains and school directors, the Cardinal said that the crisis of lack of rain in what is already the rainy season of the country calls for divine intervention. “Our relief will come from nature. And so we implore the Master of all creation, God, our Father, at whose command the winds and the seas obey, to send us rain,” the Cardinal said.

The Oratio Imperata must be prayed after Communion before the Post Communion Prayer.

According to the Catholic dictionary, an oratio imperata is “an ordered prayer for a special intention besides the ones prescribed by ritual that the Pope or the bishop of a diocese may require to be said at Mass.”

Jaime L. Cardinal Sin also issued an Oratio Imperata in 1998 at the height of the El Niño phenomenon.

Intercessory Prayers
to be inserted in the Prayers of the Faithful

Lord, hasten to send the rain we badly need especially in Luzon so that the damage to crops and other livelihood and an impending power shortage may be averted, we pray…

Lord, inspire us in this time of crisis to share in the name of Jesus what we have and to take responsibility for one another and for the environment and resources that you have generously provided us, we pray...

Oratio Imperata ad Petendam Pluviam
to be said after the Post-Communion Prayer

God our loving Father, creator of our earth and of the universe, and all the wondrous elements of nature that sustain your living creatures, we humbly ask you to send us the rain that our country needs so badly at this time, to irrigate our fields, to stave off a power shortage, to provide water for our bodily health, and to refresh our parched lands. At your command the wind and the seas obey, raise your hand Almighty God to commence the normal rainy season that has now been long delayed so that crisis may be averted.

Merciful and generous God, open our eyes to the richness and beauty of your creation and instill in us a deep love for this earth and all that is in and around it. Teach us to be wise stewards of your creation so that we may always use them responsibly and protect them from abuse and exploitation. At this time of crisis, dear Lord, move us to share more, to serve more and to love more.

Loving God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you entrusted the Filipino people to the special care of Mary our Mother, listen to the prayers that we bring up to her, our Blessed Mother, to intercede for us, for the protection of our land and our people, whom she loves.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you in the unty of the Holy Spirit, One God for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us.
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.


Click here for the Tagalog version.