There is no growth in the spiritual life without prayer. The highest form of prayer is, of course, the Mass, but the Church also offers many other ways of praying. Listed below are just a few of them, more will be added over time.
See a list of Daily and Monthly Devotions on a separate page.
Daily Prayers
Sign of the Cross: The sign that, as a result of our baptism, the Trinity dwells within us, and reminds us of our baptismal promises. Usually prayed at the opening and closing of all Catholic prayers and blessings.
Our Father: The prayer given to us by the Lord Himself. Catholics pray it many times a day, in the Divine Office, in the Rosary, and many other devotions.
Hail, Mary: This prayer consists of words from Scripture and words added by the Church. For more on the history of the Hail, Mary, see the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Glory Be: The Doxology, a trinitarian prayer, is one of the basic prayers of the Rosary and of many other devotions as well.
Morning (or Daily) Offering: A good (and traditional) way to begin the day is by praying the Morning Offering. This way we unite ourselves and our sufferings to Christ’s Redemptive Suffering. What difference does it make? All the difference in the world.
Morning Offering to the Sacred Heart by St. Thérèse.
Morning Prayer: Benedictus, Canticle of Zechariah at the birth of St. John the Baptist. Part of Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office).
The Angelus: Composed largely of Scripture verses from the New Testament, the Angelus is prayed three times a day: morning, noon, and evening or 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m.
The Regina Caeli: This prayer replaces The Angelus during the Easter season.
Three O’Clock Prayer to the Divine Mercy: Jesus asked St. Faustina–and through her, all of us–for “a special prayer and meditation on His Passion each afternoon at the three o’clock hour, the hour that recalls His death on the cross.” See also the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.
Evening Prayer: Magnificat, Canticle of Mary. The Blessed Virgin’s great song of praise during her visit to St. Elizabeth. All generations will call her Blessed! Mother of Mercy, pray for us!
Night Prayer: Nunc Dimittis, Canticle of Simeon. Simeon gave his song-petition, thanksgiving, and prophecy after seeing the Christ Child. He had been promised that he would live to see the Messiah.
St Michael Prayer: Pope Leo XIII’s great prayer to St. Michael the Archangel to defend us from our ancient enemy. Two versions are given here. See also the Chaplet of St. Michael.
Guardian Angel Prayer: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.’ Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 336.
Eternal Rest Prayer: for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Includes links to articles and videos to help you learn more about this ancient tradition of praying for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed.
Come, Holy Spirit Prayer: Read more about the Holy Spirit at EWTN. The Come, Holy Spirit is traditionally prayed before reading the Bible and is an indulgenced prayer. (Roman Missal, Partial indulgence, from The Enchiridion of Indulgences.) (Catholic Answers has a good tract on the subject of indulgences. I’m currently preparing to write a post about them here, too. I’m researching it now. It’s too important for me to write something off the cuff about it.)
Apostles’ Creed: The deposit of the faith was handed on to new Christians via “formulas, prayers, hymns, and rules of faith delivered orally“. Read more.
Act of Spiritual Communion: Circumstances may make it difficult or impossible to attend the Mass in person, as we’ve seen with the lockdowns, and also with illness or disability. In these situations one may make a devout act of spiritual communion. The coronavirus has led to a widespread lifting of the Sunday obligation, but hopefully that is coming to an end. Read more about spiritual communion, what it is and what it isn’t.
The Divine Praises, prayed traditionally after Benediction and many people pray it after the Mass.
Sub Tuum Praesidium: “Beneath Thy Protection” (Greek: Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν; Latin: Sub tuum praesidium) is a Christian hymn. It is the oldest preserved extant hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Theotokos. The hymn is well known in many Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox countries, and is often a favorite song used along with Salve Regina. (Text quoted from Wikipedia.)
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sacred Heart of Jesus prayers, aspirations, consecration.
“Although the revelations to St. Margaret Mary of Alacoque in the 17th century promoted this devotion, the origins of the honoring of Jesus and His love for man trace back to Scripture and many other saints and sacred writings throughout the history of the Church.”
Read more at Catholic Culture.
The Rosary
Rosary Project: The traditional Rosary plus the optional Mysteries suggested by Pope St. John Paul II. Includes optional opening and closing prayers. I’ve also included the Five Special Intentions given by St. John Paul II, originally intended for use with the Divine Mercy chaplet, aimed at ending the culture of death. He only gave us five, so they are repeated for each set of Mysteries.
Other Prayers
Prayers for the Defeat of Communism and Freemasonry
- There is one prayer on the page now with links to more at the end of the page, which includes links to more information about the threat of communism and Freemasonry, and a link to the encyclical Humanum Genus, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII On Freemasonry, April 20, 1884. I’ll add to this page as I can.
- The Memorare: A traditional Catholic prayer asking for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession.
- Litany to the Divine Mercy: “Let the doubting soul read these considerations on Divine Mercy and become trusting.” Diary, 949. “On the basis of the invocations that follow [Diary, 949], Father Sopocko composed a Litany to The Divine Mercy, correcting a few invocations and adding some of his own (See letter of Fr. Sopocko, May 14, 1972).”
- Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus: One of only six litanies approved for public use
- Litany of Loreto: Also known as the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and often prayed at the end of the completion of the Rosary, after the Glorious Mysteries.
- Litany of the Precious Blood of Jesus
- Litany of the Saints
Thanks for visiting. I’m slowly building this section of the site. Stay tuned.
Catholic Heart and Mind 