Lord's Prayer (Our Father)
The prayer Jesus gave his disciples when they asked him how to pray. It is the pattern every other Christian prayer is measured against, and almost the only one shared word-for-word across Christian traditions.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is 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.
Amen.
A greeting taken from the angel Gabriel's words at the Annunciation, joined to a plea for Mary's prayers. Repeated ten times to a decade, it forms the body of the Rosary.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst 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.
A short act of praise to the Trinity. It closes each decade of the Rosary and each psalm in the Divine Office, which makes it the most frequently prayed of these texts.
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, world without end.
Amen.
The prayer of sorrow for sin, said aloud in the confessional after you have confessed and before the priest gives absolution. This is the one most people are trying to remember when they open this screen.
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong, and in failing to do good, I have sinned against You, whom I should love above 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.
Prayer Before the Examination of Conscience
Asks for the self-knowledge an honest examination needs, and for the trust to look at your own life without despairing of it.
Heavenly Father, I ask You to grant me the precious gift of self knowledge, so that I may see where I am failing in following Your commandments.
Lord, help me to never forget that Your mercy is boundless: though I have sinned, your grace is always present and will lead me on the path to holiness and union with You.
Amen.
Prayer After the Examination of Conscience
Closes an examination by handing what you found over to God's mercy, and asks for the grace to bring it to confession rather than carry it.
Lord, You give us the examples of the saints to show us the beauty of a life with You. Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on my life and to examine all the ways in which I have failed to live up to Your commandments.
I now ask that You may give me the grace and mercy to bring these sins to Confession and to sin no more, choosing instead to live Your virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love.
Amen.
The ancient baptismal profession of faith of the Church in Rome, and the shortest full statement of what Christians believe. It opens the Rosary.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come 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 life everlasting.
Amen.
The fuller profession of faith, hammered out by the councils of the fourth century to settle who Christ is. It is the creed said at Sunday Mass.
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with 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.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina)
A medieval antiphon addressing Mary as queen and mother, prayed from the standpoint of exile. It closes the Rosary and, in many communities, the day.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Amen.
A plea to Mary resting on a single claim: that no one who asked her help was ever left without it. Traditionally turned to in situations that feel beyond ordinary asking.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
A prayer for protection in spiritual conflict, composed by Leo XIII in the late nineteenth century. Long said after Mass, and still widely prayed.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Prayer to Your Guardian Angel
A short prayer for the angel entrusted with your care, usually the first prayer a Catholic child is taught after the Our Father.
Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.
An invocation of the Holy Spirit to come guide our hearts.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Anima Christi (Soul of Christ)
A fourteenth-century prayer of union with Christ crucified. St. Ignatius placed it at the front of the Spiritual Exercises, and it is a traditional thanksgiving after Communion. (USCCB Translation)
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, embolden me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Never permit me to be parted from you.
From the evil Enemy defend me.
At the hour of my death call me and bid me come to you,
that with your Saints I may praise you for age upon age.
Amen.
One of the three short prayers naming the theological virtues. This one states what the Church believes and why: on God's authority rather than one's own certainty.
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 which the Holy Catholic Church teaches because you have revealed them who are eternal truth and wisdom, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
In this faith I intend to live and die.
Amen.
The second of the three. It asks for trust in God's promises at the point where trusting them is not obvious.
O Lord God, I hope by your grace for the pardon of all my sins and after life here to gain eternal happiness because you have promised it who are infinitely powerful, faithful, kind, and merciful.
In this hope I intend to live and die.
Amen.
The third of the three, and the one the other two are for: love of God above all things, and of one's neighbour for God's sake.
O Lord God, I love you above all things and I love my neighbor for your sake because you are the highest, infinite and perfect good, worthy of all my love.
In this love I intend to live and die.
Amen.
Hands the whole of the coming day over before it starts (its work, its interruptions, its suffering) so that the ordinary hours are not left outside of prayer.
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
Amen.
A call-and-response prayer on the Incarnation, traditionally prayed at six, noon and six to a bell. It interrupts the working day on purpose.
V/. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
R/. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V/. Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
R/. Be it done unto me according to your Word.
Hail Mary, as above.
V/. And the Word was made flesh,
R/. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, as above.
V/. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R/. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts: that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Easter antiphon that replaces the Angelus from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. Where the Angelus kneels at the Incarnation, this one stands at the Resurrection.
V. Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia.
R. Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
V. Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
R. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.
Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
R. For he whom you were worthy to bear, alleluia.
V. Has risen, as he said, alleluia.
R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray. O God, who through the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, did vouchsafe to give joy to the world: grant, we beseech you, that through his Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
A short petition for mercy on all souls, added to the end of each decade of the Rosary after the 1917 apparitions at Fatima.
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Amen.
One line, repeated until it settles below thought. It comes from the Christian East and the desert monks, and is the prayer to reach for when there is no room in your head for a longer one.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
The prayer for the dead, said at gravesides, on anniversaries, and whenever the dead are named. Short enough to pray on hearing bad news.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
The blessing said over a meal, and for many households the one fixed point of shared prayer in the day.
Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The peace prayer, which asks not to be consoled, understood or loved but to console, understand and love. Associated with Francis by tradition; the text itself first appeared in the twentieth century.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Act of Spiritual Communion
Asks Christ into a heart that cannot receive him sacramentally right now (the sick, the travelling, the housebound, and anyone not yet able to go to Communion).
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.