The Prayer of the Who Dats

Lord God of All Victories,

With joy in our hearts and victory on our minds, we come to you, asking that you shower your blessings upon our beloved New Orleans Saints as we begin this new season of football.

Through your love, Lord, continue blessing Mr. and Mrs. Tom Benson and Ms. Rita Benson LeBlanc. Please reward them abundantly for working so hard to keep our Saints here at home in the Louisiana Superdome.

With your permission, we call on the prayers of the saints in heaven to bless and protect our Saints on Earth.

Through the intercession of St. Simon Peter, the first pope, may coach Sean Payton and all our coaches create game plans that lead and guide our players to victory.

Through the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, guardian of heaven, may Jammal Brown, Jahri Evans and the entire offensive line continue to protect Drew Brees and our quarterbacks.

Through the intercession of St. Anthony of Padua, patron of lost articles, may Reggie Bush, Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, Marques Colston and their friends continue to find the end zone.

Through the intercession of St. Joseph the Worker, patron of hard laborers, may Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith and all of our defensive players work diligently to defend our goal line and prevent our opponents from venturing too deep into Saintly territories.

Through the intercession of St. Joseph of Cupertino, patron of flight, may the kicks from John Carney fly through the uprights and the punts by Thomas Morestead fly high in the sky. Also, may our return men fly past our opponents and straight into the end zones!

Lord, through the intercession of St. Luke, the doctor, may all of our players remain healthy so that they can continue to use their God-given gifts to entertain our minds and uplift our spirits.

Thank you, Lord, that we no longer have to call on the intercession of St. Jude. At last, our team is no longer considered a hopeless case!

Through the intercession of the true Saints of New Orleans, St. Francis Cabrini, St. Katherine Drexel, Blessed Francis Seelos and Servants of God -- Mother Henriette Delille and John Paul II, may the New Orleans Saints bring to the football field the same vigor and energy that these saints brought to the streets of New Orleans.

May all of the Saints, both in heaven and here on Earth, continue to bring joy to our hearts until we are united with all the saints of God in the kingdom of heaven where the final victory has already been won.

Amen.