Prayers (A-Z)

O Mary, you are praying for us, you are always praying for us. We know it, we feel it. Oh what joy and truth, what sublime glory, in this heavenly and human interchange of sentiments, words and actions, which the rosary always brings us: the tempering of our human afflictions, the foretaste of the peace that is not of this world, the hope of eternal life!

O Mary, your name has been on my lips and in my heart from my early infancy. When I was a child I learned to love you as a Mother, turn to you in danger, and trust your intercession. You see in my heart the desire to know the truth, to practice virtue, to be prudent and just, strong and patient, a brother to all.

O Mary, help me to keep to my purpose of living as a faithful disciple of Jesus, for the building up of the Christian society and the joy of the holy Catholic Church. I greet you, Mother, morning and evening; I pray to you as I go on my way; from you I hope for the inspiration and encouragement that will enable me to fulfill the sacred promises of my earthly vocation, give glory to God, and win eternal salvation. O Mary! Like you in Bethlehem and on Golgotha, I too wish to stay always close to Jesus. He is the eternal King of all ages and all peoples.

Amen.

Mary, show that you are our Mother; may our prayer be heard by that Jesus who willed to be your Son.

As a little child, I loved you like a mother. Now that I am old, my love for you has grown. Receive me in heaven as one of the blessed, and I will proclaim that I have obtained such a great prize through your patronage.

Amen.

It is sweet music to the ear to say: I honour you, O Mother! It is a sweet song to repeat: I honour you, O holy Mother! You are my delight, dear hope, and chaste love, my strength in all adversities. If my spirit that is troubled and stricken by passions suffers from the painful burden of sadness and weeping, if you see your child overwhelmed by misfortune, O gracious Virgin Mary, let me find rest in your motherly embrace. But alas, already the last day is quickly approaching. Banish the demon to the infernal depths, and stay closer, dear Mother, to your aged and erring child. With a gentle touch, cover the wary pupils and kindly consign to God the soul that is returning to him.

As a little child,
I loved you like a mother.
Now that I am old,
my love for you has grown.
Receive me in heaven
as one of the blessed,
and I will proclaim
that I have obtained
such a great prize
through your patronage.

Amen.

Look down with maternal clemency, most Blessed Virgin, upon all your children. Consider the anxiety of bishops who fear that their flocks will be tormented by a terrible storm of evils. Heed the anguish of so many people, fathers and mothers of families who are uncertain about their future and beset by hardships and cares. Soothe the minds of those at war and inspire them with “thoughts of peace.” Through your intercession, may God, the avenger of injuries, turn to mercy. May He give back to nations the tranquility they seek and bring them to a lasting age of genuine prosperity.

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow-men throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.

O Mary,
look upon the church,
look upon the most responsible members
of the Mystical Body of Christ
gathered about you to thank you
and to celebrate you as their Mystical Mother.

O Mary,
bless the great assembly of the hierarchical church,
which also gives birth to brothers and sisters of Christ,
the firstborn among redeemed humankind.

O Mary,
grant that this church of Christ,
in defining itself,
will acknowledge you as its most chosen mother, 
daughter, and sister,
as well as its incomparable model,
its glory, its joy, and its hope.
We ask you now
that we may be made worthy of honouring you
because of who you are
and because of what you do
in the wondrous and loving plan of salvation.
Grant that we may praise you, 
O holy Virgin!

O Mary,
look upon us who are your children,
look upon us who are brothers and sisters,
disciples and apostles and continuation of Jesus.
Make us aware of our vocation and our mission;
may we not be unworthy to take on,
in our priesthood, 
in our word,
in the offering of our life
for the faithful entrusted to us,
the representation and personification of Christ.
O you who are full of grace,
grant that the priesthood that honours you
may itself also be holy and immaculate.

O Mary,
we pray to you
for our Christian brothers and sisters
who are still separated
from our Catholic family.
See how a glorious group of them
celebrate your cult with fidelity and love.
See also how among another group,
who are so intent on calling themselves Christians,
there now dawns the remembrance
and the veneration of you,
O most holy Lady.
Call these children of yours to the one unity
under your motherly and heavenly aid.

O Mary,
look upon all mankind,
this modern world in which 
the Divine Will calls us to live and work.
It is a world that has turned its back 
on the light of Christ;
then it fears and bemoans the frightening shadows
that its actions have created on all sides.
May your most human voice,
O most beautiful of virgins,
O most worthy of mothers,
O blessed among women,
invited the world to turn its eyes
toward the life that is the light of man,
toward you who are the precursor-lamp of Christ,
Who is the sole and the highest Light of the world.
Implore for the world
the true understanding of its own existence;
implore for the world
the joy of living as the creation of God
and hence the desire and the capacity
to converse, by prayer, with its Maker,
whose mysterious and blesses image
it reflects within itself.

Implore for the world
the grace to esteem everything as the gift of God
and hence the virtue to work with generosity
and to make use of such gifts wisely and providently.
Implore peace for the world.
Fashion brothers and sisters
out of persons who are so divided.
Guide us to a more ordered and peaceful society.
For those who are suffering,
today there are so many and ever new ones,
afflicted by current misfortunes,
obtain solace;
and for the dead, obtain eternal rest.
Show yourself a mother to us;
this is our prayer,
O clement, O loving, 
O sweet Virgin Mary!

Amen.

Consecration of the Sick to Mary
O kind and good Mother, 
whose own soul was pierced by the sword of sorrow, 
look upon us while, 
in our sickness, 
we arraign ourselves beside you 
on the Calvary where your Jesus hangs.

Dowered with the high grace of suffering, 
and hopeful of fulfilling in our own flesh 
what is wanting in our sharing of Christ’s passion, 
on behalf of his Mystical Body, the Church, 
we consecrate to you ourselves and our pain. 
We pray that you will place them 
on that Altar of the Cross to which Jesus is affixed. 
May they be little victims of propitiation for our salvation, 
for the salvation of all peoples.

O Mother of Sorrows, 
accept this consecration. 
Strengthen our hopeful hearts, 
that as partakers of Christ’s sufferings 
we may also share in his comfort now and for evermore. 

Amen.