We beg you, Lord, to help and defend us

We beg you, Lord, to help and defend us. Deliver the oppressed, pity the
insignificant, raise the fallen, show yourself to the needy, heal the sick, bring
back those of your people who have gone astray, feed the hungry, lift up the
weak, take off the prisoners' chains. May every nation come to know that you alone
are God, that Jesus Christ is your Child, that we are your people, the sheep
that you pasture.

St. Clement of Rome, c. 100