28 comments
We are getting such a great, growing readership on Fallible Blogma! And I really do love and value everyone’s feedback and comments that you leave – even when we disagree! It’s such an awesome way to share, learn, and grow with each other.
A few weeks ago I asked for you to share any of your favorite books. We had a great response and many new books made it onto my “to read” list!
I thought I would do the same with favorite prayers this week. Whether it is a little blurb from your favorite Saint, a classic prayer from scripture or the Church, or just something you wrote on your own…please share!
What are your favorite prayers?
Posted Feb 3, 2009 Tags: On Being Catholic, Prayer
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorites are the Prayer of St. Francis (Serenity)
Hail Mary is a daily must for me and I actually love our prayer before meals (grace) Bless us, Oh Lord, and these our gifts… my children, Andrew (3 1/2 and Joseph age 2) are learning this and lead the prayer at our meals and its absolutely beautiful. I cherish their little mispronounciations and the concentration on remembering the words…I could go on. Thanks for asking!
the memorare!
The Memorare. Definitely.
Learned it as a Cub Scout for Parvuli Dei award. Still pray it.
John
My favorite prayer is the Mass, of course!
The Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary and the Prayer of St. Frances and listening to my grandkids learning their prayers too. So funny and innocently sweet.
I unknowingly wrote this one at Christmas that Fr. Padrini has asked to use in the IBreviary!
May Jesus’ humble birth remind you of your own humanity and humility.
As the innkeeper, may you welcome Him into the simple manger of your heart every day.
As the angels, may you continue to announce His presence to all.
As the magi, may you never cease to seek Him.
As Joseph, may you Love and protect that which God has given.
As the Blessed Virgin, may you see the face of God in every child, especially the unborn.
As His people, May you graciously accept and use the gift He has given us;
His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Who lives and reigns with God the Father,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
Forever and ever. Amen.
(http://catholicconservativeamerican.blogspot.com/2008/12/hallelujah-he-is-born.html)
Bob
Hail Holy Queen brings me such peace at the end of the rosary. Also, my 6 year old son loves the Prayer to St. Michael. We say it every night before bedtime.
This one.
Seriously…I taught high school kids how to do the Roman Collect with this one. :)~
pehaps it is just my name, but I like the prayer to st.michael…also the tantum ergo, there eucharistic hymn written by Thomas Aquinas
“Preach the gospel at all times — If necessary, use words.”
-St Francis
This quote is attributed to St Francis, but in reality he never said exactly those words, just the idea …Still, what a great saying and a great way to live life.
My all time favorite:
Unfailing Petition
Holy St. Joseph, spouse of Mary, be mindful of me, pray for me, watch over me. Gaurdian of the paradise of the new Adam, provide for my temporal wants. Faithful guardian of the most precious of all treasures, I beseech thee to bring this matter to a happy end, if it be for the glory of Godand the good of my soul.
Amen.
Daily Consecration to Mary:
My Queen, my Mother,
I give myself entirely to you.
And to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart,
my entire self without reserve.
As I am your own, my Good Mother,
guard me and defend me as your property and possession.
Amen.
Anything about Our Lady of Sorrows!
7 sorrows rosary(chaplet)
The Memorare! Also the prayer to St. Michael and the Fatima Prayer. And the following i learned from a priest- i say it before i go to bed at night–
O Mary, I pray that you will wrap me in your mantle of protection, and place at the four corners of my bed, the three archangels and my guardian angel, to protect me while I sleep and keep my always close to you and your Son.
My personal favorite, especially as a liturgical musician, is the Exsultet from the Easter Vigil liturgy.
It requires a lot of commitment, but The Little Office of The Blessed Virgin Mary (1961 Edition, republished in 2007 by Baronius Press following Pope Benedict XVI’s Moto Proprio “Summorum Pontificum) is wonderful.
If someone does not have the time (a bit over an hour a day, but broken up into seven 10 to 15 minute offices), another good approach is to pick a Psalm and pray it. Psalms are the prayers that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph said.
My favorite prayer is the rosary, especially after visiting the Holy Land last year! We visited, prayed, walked and had mass at so many of the locations where the mysteries of the rosary took place – all are accessible to pilgrims – except, of course, the last! And if you go, stay at the Notre Dame Centre right outside the old city. Check it out: http://www.notredamecenter.org
My favorite prayers:
Praying the Mass
APOSTLES’ CREED (Profession of faith)
Jesus I trust in You!
John Paul II’s favorite verse: “Be not afraid..”
The Act of Contrition:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because I have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.
ANIMA CHRISTI
Soul of Christ, make me holy. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, fill me with love. Water from Christ’s side, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. Good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds, hide me. Never let me be parted from you. From the evil enemy, protect me. At the hour of my death, call me. And tell me to come to you. That with your saints I may praise you. Through all eternity. Amen.
And of course St. Francis’ of Assisi’s prayer: Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace…
krissy knox :)
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The Fatima prayers….they are so beautiful!
Holy Mass.
Then my all time favorite is the Memorare.
I am learning this now in Latin.
Lord, have mercy.
Amen!
My very favorite it Cardinal Mercier’s Prayer to the Holy Spirit. Pray it daily and see how the Holy Spirit works in your life. This is what the prayer card says:
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to the things of sense and your ears to all the noises of the world, in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctity of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:
“Oh, Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul…I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do…give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will.”
If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.
As the Holy Mass and rosary have already been mentioned, I’d like to add a prayer that is most often associated with the Eucharistic Adoration devotion. Matthew, perhaps next week you could poll people’s favorite devotions?
O Saving Victim opening wide
The gates of heaven to man below!
Our foes press on from every side;
Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.
To Thy great name be endless praise,
Immortal Godhead, One in Three;
O, grant us endless length of days,
In our true native land with thee.
St. Thomas Aquinas Acts 7:54-60
On second thought, I suppose O Salutaris Hostia is more properly known as a hymn (Matthew, favorite hymns?). So on that note I’ll change my entry to the Angelus. Pope Benedict says this prayer in St. Peter’s at noon. I’m not sure if other popes did as well. The prayer is often said morning, noon, and night.
A few:
*Get Us Out of Here!!” – Maria Simma Speaks with Nicky Eltz—Awesome book!!You can get it thru amazon secondary seller.
*The Gospel Without Compromise by Catherine De Hueck Doherty
*Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer (Madonna House Classics)
*The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality by Kyriacos C. Markides
*Consecration to Mary: St. Louis De Montfort’s True Devotion : Complete Five-Week Preparation : Prayers, Daily Meditations, Spiritual Guidance, Ceremony by Louis-Marie Grignion De Montfort and Helmuts Libietis—This version is a great one.
The Memorare since I was a little girl.
If I had to choose just one, it would be The Memorare.
Other favorites include:
The Angelus
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Prayer to St. Michael
Prayer of St. Francis
Before I would run in track I’d say, “Our Lady of the Track, pray for us.”
I’m trying to find the longer latin prayer from which The Memorare has been extracted from. I’ve spent hours on Google without success. Would anyone have any idea where else I should be looking?
- Mike