Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy faithful people may ever rejoice in honoring all Thy Saints, and may be defended by their unceasing prayers (post-communion prayer, Solemnity of All Saints).
After Holy Communion has been received during the Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints, the priest asks Almighty God that the prayers of the saints be a defense to all the faithful. All the saints are our elder brothers and sisters who have been victorious over sin and death through Christ’s death and resurrection. These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (cf. Ap 7:14). They have passed through the fire and have come out the other side unscathed (cf. Dn 3:26). Now they are present to us in the Holy Spirit as our defenders and protectors.
But we must want to be protected. He who loves danger will perish in it (Eccl. 3:27). And danger is everywhere. We have a real enemy who is bent upon our destruction and all of sacred history is a chronicle of this endless war. Our enemy is our constant foe and our better in the art of war. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places (Eph 6:12). We are not strong enough to resist this enemy, unless we want to be protected by one who is stronger.
Mary Victrix 