May the grace of the Holy Spirit be present with us, may Mary, Star of the Sea, lead us to the harbour of salvation. Amen
Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Father, eternal God, omnipotent, omniscient Creator, Bestower, kind Ruler and most tender lover, pious and humble Redeemer; gentle, merciful Saviour, Lord! I humbly beseech Thee and implore Thee that Thou may enlighten me, free me and preserve the brothers of the Temple and all thy Christian people, troubled as they are.
Thou, O Lord, who knowest that we are innocent, set us free that we may keep our vows and your commandments in humility, and serve Thee and act according to Thy will. Dispel all those unjust reproaches, far from the truth, heaped upon us by the means of tough adversities, great tribulations and temptations, which we have endured, but can endure no longer.
Omnipotent, eternal God, who hast so loved the blessed John the Evangelist and Apostle, that he reclined upon Thy bosom at the Last Supper, and to whom Thou revealed and showed the Mysteries of Heaven, and to whom, while suspended on the Holy Cross, for the sake of our redemption, Thou commended Thy most Holy Mother and Virgin, and in whose honour our Order was created and instituted; through Thy Holy mercifulness, deliver us and preserve us, as Thou knowest that we are innocent of the crimes that we are accused of, so that we may take possession of the works, by which we may be guided to the joys of Paradise, through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen.
In 2008 the Vatican published for the first time the prayer which was composed by the Knights Templar while they were "unjustly imprisoned" by King Philip IV of France. In L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, Vatican archivist Barbara Frale said that the prayer was proof that the Order was not heretical and that the knights were innocent of the charges levelled against them, which had been trumped up by King Philip to avoid paying his debt to them.
It is a beautiful prayer which we all have a copy of in our booklet 'A Brief History of the Knights Templar' and might be said by anybody finding themselves in moments of despair and difficulty. I urge you to revisit it and use it often.
It also tells us a lot about the particular theology of the Order. John the Evangelist is specifically named in the prayer as one to whom Jesus "revealed and showed the mysteries of Heaven". Scholars have long argued that the Templars were 'Johannite', following the teachings of John the Baptist, to whom Jesus went for Baptism. In the early Medieval period the many expressions of Christianity were still vying for supremacy and unfortunately any theology which fell short of the Church of Rome's orthodoxy became branded as heresy. It is a complicated subject, and many learned scholars believe that there is evidence to suggest that the Order's theology was rooted in a much older form of Christianity than the one which became the official version. However in 2007 the Vatican published a book based on the Chinon parchment, a fragment of the trial proceedings against the Templars. It shows that the Templars had already been absolved of heresy by the Pope before the Order was officially disbanded.
perhaps more surprising for an order which was dedicated to holy war and which forbade relationships with women, the virgin mary is tenderly addressed as the 'Most Holy Mother and Virgin in whose honour our Order was created and instituted' . and most specifically she is named mary, star of the sea, a title invoked by seafarers since the 4th century. stella maris Star of the Sea was the name given to the North Star, fixed in the night sky as a guiding light to travellers across both land and sea, a sure reference point in the Heavens.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux guided the Temple Brothers, and teaches us also
If the winds of temptation arise, if you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary; If you are tossed on the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary. Should anger or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look to the star, call upon Mary.
May Mary, Star of the Sea, lead us to the harbour of Salvation. Amen