PRAYERS
According to an ancient definition, prayer is
"keeping company with God." Prayer is you relating to God
in the deepest recesses of your personality. It is you seeking and
communing with the living God - responding to him as he made himself known to
you through the teachings of the Church.
As intimately personal as it is, prayer makes use of the word formulas. Liturgical prayer - the official community prayer of the Church - uses approved formulas. So does unofficial group prayer. Even in solitary private prayer, traditional formulas can be of great help.
At its most personal, private prayer is spontaneous or impromptu - and sometimes even wordless. Nonetheless, formulas are practical helps for breaking into prayer and expressing faith. For this reason some of the most loved, time-approved formulas of Catholic devotion are offered here - prayers that express the whole range of prayerful attitudes: adoration, thanksgiving, petition, and atonement. Also offered on this page is a suggested method of private meditative prayer.
In the name of the Father, (Touch forehead)
and of the Son, (Touch navel)
and of the Holy Spirit. (Touch left shoulder, right shoulder)
Amen
(Said at the beginning and end of prayers)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.) Amen
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
PRAYER OF PRAISE (GLORY BE TO...)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, a world without end. Amen
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen
MORNING OFFERING
Most holy and adorable Trinity, one God in three Persons, I praise you and give you thanks for all the favors you have bestowed on me. Your goodness has preserved me until now. I offer you my whole being and in particular all my thoughts, words, and deeds, together with all the trials I may undergo this day. Give them you blessing. May your divine love animate them and may they serve your greater glory.
I make this morning offering in union with the divine intentions of Jesus Christ who offers himself daily in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and in union with Mary, his Virgin Mother and our Mother, who was always the faithful handmaid of the Lord. Amen
Or...
Almighty God, I thank you for your past blessings. Today I offer myself - whatever I do, say, or think - to your loving care. Continue to bless me, Lord. I make this morning offering in union with the divine intentions of Jesus Christ who offers himself daily in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and the union with Mary, his Virgin Mother and our Mother, who was always the faithful handmaid of the Lord. Amen
ACT OF FAITH
O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths that the holy Catholic Church teaches, because you revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Amen
ACT OF HOPE
O my God, relying on your infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen
ACT OF LOVE
O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen
ACT OF CONTRITION
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy. Amen
COME, HOLY SPIRIT (PRAYER OF GUIDANCE)
All-powerful God. Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed us from sin and gave us new life.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us to be our helper and guide.
Give us the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence.
Fill us with the spirit of wonder and awe in Your presence. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen
GRACE BEFORE AND THANKSGIVING AFTER MEALS
Bless us , O Lord, and these your gifts, which we are about to receive from your bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen
We give you thanks for all your benefits, almighty God, who lives and reigns forever. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen (Spontaneous prayers may also be used at mealtime.)
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Jesus, High Priest and Redeemer forever, we beg you to call young men and women to your service as priests and religious. May they be inspired by the lives of dedicated priests, Brothers, and Sisters. Give to parents the grace of generosity and trust toward you and their children so that their sons and daughters may be helped to choose their vocations in life with wisdom and freedom.
Lord, you told us that "the harvest indeed is great but the laborers are few. Pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, to send laborers into his harvest." We ask that we may know and follow the vocation to which you have called us. We pray particularly for those called to serve as priests, Brothers, and Sisters; those whom you have called, those you are calling now, and those you will call in the future. May they be open and responsive to the call of serving your people. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER TO JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED
Behold, my beloved and good Jesus. I cast myself upon my knees in your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech you to impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, with true repentance for my sins and a most firm desire of amendment; while with deep affection and grief of soul I consider within myself and mentally contemplate your five most precious wounds, having before my eyes that which David the prophet long ago spoke about you, my Jesus: "They have pierced my hands and my feet: / I can count all my bones" (Psalm 22:17-18).
Hail, holy queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O God, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech you, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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