Saints' Catholic chaplain hoping 0-4 team gets Divine intervention vs. Chargers

NEW ORLEANS — Some teams throw Hail Marys. Others say them.

Rev. R. Tony Ricard, Catholic chaplain for the 0-4 New Orleans Saints, wrote a prayer for the team in Sunday morning's edition of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune.

"God of all Grace," it begins. "On this sacred day, the Who Dat Nation comes before you giving all honor and praise to you. Standing proud on the gridiron of life, we are grateful for the many highs and lows of our journey in the National Football League."

Ricard, director of campus ministry at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, doesn't mention the low of Bounty-gate by name, but appears to invoke it.

"Like the many saints in the kingdom of heaven, we cannot expect our players and staff to be perfect. None of your saints were perfect. ... We have come to realize that a saint is just a sinner who fell down and got up. Well, like your heavenly saints, we need our New Orleans Saints to rise up from their troubles and claim their places of glory."

The Saints get that chance tonight against the San Diego Chargers on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

"Right now," the prayer says in part, "our team needs your strength and unwavering support to resurrect their season."