A Beginner's Book of Prayer: An Introduction to Traditional Catholic Prayers

A Beginner’s Book of Prayer

@ An Introduction to Traditional Catholic Prayers

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi How the Book Is Organized. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii A School of Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Prayers for New Catholics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv External and Internal Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Second-Century Directions for Prayer. . . . . . . . . xvi

1. Foundations of Our Faith. . . . . . . . . . . .

1

The Gospel in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Word of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Word of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Greatest Commandment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The New Commandment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Gentle Mastery of Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Shepherd Psalm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Prayer of Commitment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 3 4 4 5 6 7

2. Basic Christian Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

The Sign of the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Apostles’ Creed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Lord’s Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The Lesser Doxology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Greater Doxology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Hail Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 v

The Angelus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Queen of Heaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 A Universal Prayer for Peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Grace at Meals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. . . . 17 Prayer of Abandonment to God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3. Morning and Evening Prayer . . . . . . . 21 A Brief Morning Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Three O’clock Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 A Brief Evening Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Prayer in the Special Seasons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Advent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Christmastide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Lent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 The Sacred Triduum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Eastertide: The Great Fifty Days. . . . . . . . . . . 58

4. Prayers to the Lord Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Hymn to Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Faith and Trust in Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Jesus Help Me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Peace Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Jesus Needs Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Jesus My Friend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Invocations to Christ Our Lord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

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The Real Presence of Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 A Prayer before Holy Communion. . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Holy Communion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 For True Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. . . 76 Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. . . . . . . . . 77 Visit to the Blessed Sacrament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Prayer in Full Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 To Our Most Holy Redeemer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Doxology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 A Prayer for Deliverance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . 81 The Jesus Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 The Most Holy Name of Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

5. Devotions to Christ Crucified . . . . . . 85 The Holy Face of Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Prayer to Jesus Crucified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 To Jesus Crucified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Christ Crucified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Three Holy Cross Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Prayer to Christ’s Wounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Hail, Sacred Heart of Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Litany of the Precious Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 The Paschal Mystery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Easter Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Holy Father of Glory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

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6. Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. . 99 We Turn to You (Sub tuum praesidium) . . . . . . 100 Hail, Holy Queen (Salve, Regina). . . . . . . . . . . 100 Salutation to the Blessed Virgin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Memorare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 To Mary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 To Our Lady of Consolation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 To Our Sorrowful Mother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 To Our Lady of Guadalupe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Prayer to Our Lady of Combermere . . . . . . . . . . 105 Litany of Loreto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 A Prayer to St. Joseph in Time of Need . . . . . . 109

7. The Holy Rosary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Suggestions for Praying the Rosary . . . . . . . . . .

I. The Joyful Mysteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

II. The Luminous Mysteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

III. The Sorrowful Mysteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IV. The Glorious Mysteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

111 112 114 116 119

8. Hymns and Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 The Canticle of the Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Hymn of Praise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 The Divine Praises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 The Canticle of All Creatures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Act of Praise (Psalm 117). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 viii  Contents

Thank You Jesus!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Prayer of Thanksgiving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Litany of Praise and Thanksgiving. . . . . . . . . . . . 132

9. Prayers of Repentance and Forgiveness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 The Act of Contrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 I Confess (Confiteor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 May I Know Myself and Know You (Noverim me, noverim te). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 For the Fullness of Our Baptism . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 For the Gift of Repentance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 For Repentance and Forgiveness. . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Prayer for Holiness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Christ in the Universe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 The Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies. . . 142 For the Forgiveness of Sins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Who Is There to Understand?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

10. Prayers for the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 A Living Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Dies Irae. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 The Hope of Rising in Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Prayers for the Faithful Departed. . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 For Our Dear Departed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Psalm 130 (De profundis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Prayer for a Dead Child. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 For Those Who Survive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Litany of the Faithful Departed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Contents  ix

11. Short Prayers for Daily Life. . . . . . . . 159 12. Resources for Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

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Introduction “Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5:18–20 This book is a collection of Christian prayers intended for new Catholics and for all others seeking a renewed experience of Catholic prayer. It is meant to give a firm grounding in the Church’s ancient traditions of prayer. It includes prayers drawn from scripture, from the liturgy of the church, from the saints, and from ancient devotional traditions. They are all traditional prayers of the Church. Most of them have been prayed in some form for centuries. Taken together they unfold the paschal mystery—Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, and his continuing presence among us.

This book includes prayers that can be prayed both individually and communally. In a sense these are all communal prayers because they emerge from and draw us into the community of faith that is the Catholic Church. Many of them are explicitly communal. These include the morning and evening prayer in part 3 and several litanies, which are designed to be prayed by couples, families, and other groups of Christians. But xi

these prayers can all be prayed privately as well. They can help an individual develop and sustain a habit of regular daily prayer that draws on the Church’s great traditions and unites the individual with the Communion of Saints. At every instant, our lives reside within the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1), with the Virgin Mary, with all the angels and saints, and in union with every person who prays in Christ and through Christ.

How the Book Is Organized The first two parts of the book present prayers that are foundational for a life of prayer. They are drawn from scripture and from the Church’s tradition. Many of them can be memorized. One of the best ways to develop a life of prayer is to say prayers over and over again until they become firmly fixed in our minds and hearts.

Part 3 presents morning and evening prayer, and prayers the Church prays during the special seasons of Advent, Christmastide, Lent, and the Easter season.

These are derived from the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church’s formal cycle of prayers said five times a day.

These prayers can be said by individuals and groups.

They can be prayed out loud or silently.

The prayers in parts 4 and 5 center on Jesus. As Christians we are followers of Jesus. We strive to be like him, to understand him, to act as he acts. Jesus is the center of our faith, our Savior and Lord. The prayers in part 5 unfold the paschal mystery—Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.

Parts 6 and 7 invite us to pray with Mary, the Mother of God and our mother in faith. Devotion to Mary is one of the richest and most spiritually rewarding aspects of Catholic prayer. xii Introduction

Parts 8, 9, and 10 focus on three central aspects of Catholic prayer: praise, repentance, and prayers for the dead.

Part 11 contains short prayers that help us pray constantly throughout the day. The book concludes with some suggested resources for a deepening prayer life.

A School of Prayer The Catholic Church is a school of prayer. Those who enter it by faith and baptism are immersed in the high priestly prayer of Jesus and filled with the Spirit of prayer who constantly calls out to Abba, our heavenly Father (Galatians 4:6–7). The Holy Trinity is the goal of our existence and the heartland of our prayer.

Jesus was a person of prayer, raised in a nation of prayer, and in a family of prayer. He prayed in the Temple on the three great pilgrimage feasts each year, in the synagogue of Nazareth each Sabbath, and in the midst of his family each day. He learned and prayed the psalms in each of these locales and discovered his mission in life from them.

In the Gospels we also find Jesus at prayer at his baptism, in the company of his disciples, as he performed his exorcisms and miracles of healing, when he chose his twelve apostles, on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration, during the long nights of his public ministry, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the Cross.

St. Paul the Apostle extended this vision of prayer: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and the Church has learned how to apply this teaching in rich and varied ways. The community of faith feels a deep responsibility to teach newcomers to the faith how to Introduction xiii

pray on the model of Jesus and in the tradition of the Catholic liturgy and piety.

Pope John Paul II said this about the centrality of prayer in the life of the Church: The Church encounters Christ in prayer in the depths of her being. In this way she discovers the truth of his teachings and assumes his mentality. Seeking to live a personal relationship with Christ, the Church fully realizes the personal dignity of her members. In prayer the Church focuses on Christ; she takes Christ; she takes possession of him, she tastes his friendship, and thus is able to communicate it. Without prayer, all this would be lacking and the Church would have nothing to offer the world. But through the exercise of faith, hope, and charity in prayer, her capacity to communicate Christ is strengthened.1

Prayers for New Catholics This book is especially useful for introducing new Catholics to the riches of Christian prayer. It can be used to immerse them in a wide variety of prayers and forms of prayer that derive from and lead back to the Church’s cycle of prayer, Sunday Mass in particular.

This annual cycle of communal worship unfolds for us the full paschal mystery of Christ.

For candidates and catechumens in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, these forms of prayer should be introduced no later than the first days after the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens.

Initiation ministers may decide that this prayer book

xiv  Introduction

might be useful even before candidates begin their ­formal catechumenate. By exposing them to this tradition of Catholic praying early on, the community of prayer will have enough time to help catechumens make it their own.

Most of us live in Christian families, and know that we are called to common prayer each day.

Unfortunately, many of us do not belong to a Christian family or community that cherishes common prayer. In such a case the individual Christian will have to pray in private, so to speak, but in constant awareness of the Communion of Saints.

External and Internal Prayer Prayers are Spirit-filled gifts that demand to be prayed from the heart. Saying prayers well is a good beginning. But as Spirit-filled gifts they demand to be prayed from the heart. We must allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to inspire us as we recite them, that is, breathe in or through the psalms, readings, and set prayers and so enlighten and inflame our minds and hearts until we gain the mind of Christ.

What we are saying has to be taken into our minds, understood, assented to, appropriated. No matter how holy the words might be in themselves, the words are only empty signs unless they become our very own.

Words that are full of meaning created by saints are mere empty formulas when we only say them.

Our personal life of prayer begins with holy words said reverently, then we assent to what we say, and, finally, we embrace the God who is beyond all words.

Our prayer is of time but it is also of eternity, external but also internal. It is a matter of words, gestures, and Introduction  xv

postures but, above all, it is a call from God to enter more and more deeply into the very heart of the Spiritfilled life.

Second-Century Directions for Prayer Good prayer demands time and energy. Regular daily prayer at set times is not only the backbone of our practice but establishes a consistent pattern of life that supports and nourishes us. Tertullian, an early Church theologian, said this: The only thing that is prescribed about prayer is to pray always and everywhere. . . . But we do, of course, owe God our obligatory prayers at the beginning and end of each day. It is also fitting that faithful Christians pray before eating or bathing, for the refreshment of the spirit should take precedent over that of the body, just as heavenly matters take precedent over worldly ones.” 2 Such prayer requires energy too. Hasty or listless prayer is unworthy of a Christian, an impediment to growth in prayer, and a bad example to all around us.

Prayer is a form of spiritual work; it is often hard and requires attention, dedication, and perseverance.

To begin a life of prayer, listen to the wise counsel of Origen, the great Church Father: “The person who is about to come to prayer should withdraw for a little and prepare himself, and so become more attentive and active for the whole of his prayer. He should cast away all troubling thoughts and remind himself so far as he is able of the Majesty whom he approaches, and that it is impious to approach Him carelessly, xvi Introduction

sluggishly, and disdainfully; and he should put away all extraneous things. . . .

“Although there are a great many positions for the body, he should not doubt that the position with the hands outstretched and the eyes lifted up is to be preferred before all others, barring any chance circumstances.

“Kneeling is necessary when someone is going to speak against his own sins before God, since he is making supplication for their healing and their forgiveness. . . .

“Now concerning the place, let it be known that every place is suitable for prayer if a person prays well. For “ in every place you shall offer incense to me . . . says the Lord” (Malachi 1:11) . . . but everyone may have a holy place set aside and chosen in his own house, if possible, for accomplishing his prayers in quiet and without distraction. . . .

“And a place of prayer, the spot where believers assemble together is likely to have something gracious to help us, since angelic powers are placed near the throngs of believers, as well as the powers of our Lord and Savior Himself, and the spirits of the saints—I think both of those who have already fallen asleep and clearly those who are still alive. . . . As a result, when the saints are gathered together, there is a double Church, one of men and the other of angels.” 3 William G. Storey

Introduction xvii

1. Foundations of Our Faith These prayers from Scripture center our prayer on the good news of Jesus Christ. We pray these words through the Holy Spirit, given us in baptism, who dwells in our hearts and prays in us continuously, even when we are not aware of it. When we consciously join the unceasing prayer of the Spirit, we enter a communion of prayer that lifts our hearts to the Father, to the holy ones who have gone before us, and to our fellow Christians across the world.

The Gospel in Brief God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

John 3:16 nab

The Word of God This prologue to John’s Gospel is the foundation of our belief in the Incarnation, the central and distinctive doctrine of Catholic Christianity. This life-giving doctrine is the root of our hope, takes away all fear, and fills us with joy and gratitude for our membership in the people of God! 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him, he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. John 1:1–5, 10–14 nab

2 Foundations of Our Faith

Prayer Lord Jesus, eternal Word of God, become flesh for our sake, we accept you and thank you for all we receive from you.

By your gracious gift, we have every right to complete confidence in your love for us and, by believing in your name, have the power to partake of your divine nature.

Blest are you, O Savior of the world, now and for ever. ~Amen.

The Word of Life We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1–3

The Word of Life 3

The Greatest Commandment One of the scribes asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28–31 nab

Prayer Lord Jesus, teacher of holiness, your basic law is love of God and neighbor.

Help us to build on these two foundations without evasion or scrupulosity until we are recognized as your disciples in spirit and in truth.

Your reign is a reign for all ages. ~Amen.

The New Commandment At the Last Supper Jesus said to his disciples, “I give you a new commandment: Love one another.

As I have loved you, 4 Foundations of Our Faith

so you also should love one another.

This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34–35 nab God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 1 John 4:16

Prayer Lord Jesus, Teacher of Righteousness, you complete even the great commandments by giving us the new commandment of love.

Help us to dedicate ourselves to loving and serving the Body of Christ in this world in order to find perfect bliss in the next.

You live and reign for ever and ever. ~Amen.

The Gentle Mastery of Christ Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. Matthew 11:28–30 nab The Gentle Mastery of Christ 5