Prayers (A-Z)

Holy Mary, mother fair,
Filled with love for God,
Pray for us in all our needs.
Pray for us today.

O my God, Thou who art the God of wisdom and of counsel, Thou who readest in my heart the sincere will to please Thee alone, and to govern myself with regard to my choice of a state of life, entirely in conformity with Thy most holy desire; grant me, by the intercession of the most blessed Virgin, my Mother, and of my holy patrons, especially of Saint Joseph and Saint Aloysius, the grace to know what state I ought to choose, and when to embrace it, so that in it I may be able to pursue and increase Thy glory, work out my salvation, and merit that heavenly reward which Thou hast promised to those who do Thy holy Will.

Amen.

From all eternity, O Lord, 
You planned my very existence and my destiny. 
You wrapped me in Your love in baptism 
and gave me the Faith 
to lead me to an eternal life 
of happiness with You. 

You have showered me with Your graces 
and You have been always ready 
with Your mercy and forgiveness 
when I have fallen. 

Now I beg You for the light 
I so earnestly need 
that I may find the way of life 
in which lies the best fulfillment of Your will. 
Whatever state this may be, 
give me the grace necessary 
to embrace it with love of Your holy will, 
as devotedly as Your Blessed Mother did Your will. 

I offer myself to You now, 
trusting in Your wisdom and love 
to direct me in working out my salvation 
and in helping others 
to know and come close to You, 
so that I may find my reward 
in union with You for ever and ever. 

Amen.

O Lord, I beseech Thee to grant me Thy Divine Light, 
that I may know the designs of Thy providence concerning me, 
and that, filled with a sincere desire for my soul’s salvation, 
I may say, with the young man in the Gospel: 
What must I do to be saved? 
All states of life are before me; but,
still undecided what to do, I await Thy commands, 
I offer myself to Thee without restriction, 
without reserve, with a most perfect submission.

Far be it from me, O Lord, 
to oppose the order of Thy wisdom, 
and, unfaithful to the inspiration of Thy grace, 
to strive to subject the will of the Creator 
to the caprice of the creature. 

It is not for the servant to choose the way 
in which he will serve his master: 
do Thou lay upon me what commands Thou pleasest. 
My lot is in Thy hands. 
I make no exception, 
lest perchance what I accept be that which Thou willest, 
and because I am too short-sighted 
to discover in the future the different obstacles I shall meet with, 
if, without Thy guidance, 
I make myself the arbiter of my own conduct. 

Speak, Lord, to my soul; 
speak to me as Thou didst to the youthful Samuel: 
Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth. 
I cast myself at Thy feet, 
and I am ready, 
if it be Thy will, 
to sacrifice myself as a victim to Thee 
for the remainder of my days, 
in such wise as Thou shalt deem most worthy of Thy greatness.

O my God, inspire the affections of my parents, 
and guide their projects according to the counsels of Thy wisdom. Lord, 
I sincerely desire to consult Thee who art the Eternal Truth; 
grant that my parents also may submit themselves to its decrees, 
faithfully and without reserve.

Amen.

You are Christ, my Holy Father, my Tender God, my Great King, my Good Shepherd, my Only Master, my Best Helper, my Most Beautiful and my Beloved, my Living Bread, my Priest Forever, my Leader to my Country, my True Light, my Holy Sweetness, my Straight Way, my Excellent Wisdom, my Pure Simplicity, my Peaceful Harmony, my Entire Protection, my Good Portion, my Everlasting Salvation. 

Christ Jesus, Sweet Lord, why have I ever loved, why in my whole life have I ever desired anything except You, Jesus my God? Where was I when I was not in spirit with You? Now, from this time forth, do you, all my desires, grow hot, and flow out upon the Lord Jesus: run… you have been tardy until now; hasten where you are going; seek Whom you are seeking. O, Jesus may he who loves You not be an anathema; may he who loves You not be filled with bitterness. 

O, Sweet Jesus, may every good feeling that is fitted for Your praise, love You, delight in You, adore You! God of my heart, and my Portion, Christ Jesus, may my heart faint away in spirit, and may You be my Life within me! May the live coal of Your Love grow hot within my spirit and break forth into a perfect fire; may it burn incessantly on the altar of my heart; may it glow in my innermost being; may it blaze in hidden recesses of my soul; and in the days of my consummation may I be found consummated with You!

Amen.

O Lord Jesus, I adore you, Son of Mary, my Saviour and my Brother, for You are God. I follow You in my thoughts, O first-fruits of our race, as I hope one day by Your grace to follow You in my person into heavenly glory. Until then, do not let me neglect the earthly task which You have given me. Let me labour diligently all my life with a greater appreciation for the present. Let me realize that only by accomplishing true human fulfillment can I attain Divine fulfillment and ascend to You at the completion of my work.

Amen.

Let us all with one voice cry, Lord, have mercy. 
Thou who wert led as a sheep to be crucified, 
Lord, have mercy.

Thou who from the Cross didst look down upon Thy Mother and Thy disciple, 
look with pity from heaven upon us, 
Lord, have mercy.

Thou who by shedding Thy blood hast redeemed the world, 
Lord, have mercy. 

Thou who didst commend Thy spirit to the Father, 
Lord, have mercy.

Make us by Thy Cross to obtain forgiveness, 
Lord, have mercy. 

Christ, the only-begotten Son of the unbegotten Father, 
who this day was slain for us, 
the innocent for the ungodly, 
remember the price of Thy Blood 
and blot out the sins of all Thy people; 
and as Thou west pleased to endure for us reproaches, 
spitting, bonds, blows, the scourge, 
the Cross, the nails, the bitter cup, 
death, the spear, and lastly burial, 
vouchsafe to us wretched ones, 
for whom Thou didst suffer this, 
the infinite blessedness of the heavenly kingdom, 
that we who bow down in reverence for Thy Passion 
may be raised up to things heavenly 
in the joys of Thy resurrection.

Amen.

Hail, sweet Jesus! 
Praise, honor, and glory be to Thee, O Christ, 
who of Thine own accord didst embrace death, 
and, recommending Thyself to Thy heavenly Father, 
bowing down Thy venerable head, didst yield up Thy spirit. 

Truly thus giving up Thy life for Thy sheep, 
Thou hast shown Thyself to be a good shepherd. 

Thou didst die, O only-begotten Son of God. 
Thou didst die, O my beloved Saviour, that I might live forever. 

O how great hope, 
how great confidence have I reposed in Thy death and Thy Blood! 
I glorify and praise Thy Holy Name, 
acknowledging my infinite obligations to Thee. 

O good Jesus, 
by Thy bitter death and Passion, 
give me grace and pardon. 

Give unto the faithful departed rest and life everlasting.

Amen.

O Christ, who for us didst take upon Thyself 
the yoke of the Cross and of death, 
so as to drive from us the power of death 
and to free us at the cost of Thy Blood, 
have mercy upon me, 
who am Thy most lowly servant, 
and grant me pardon for all my sins, 
and rescue from all evils me who lie prostrate before Thine adorable Cross, 
and mercifully establish me again in Thy benefits.

Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, 
after You had created heaven and earth, 
and all the living beings, 
plants and animals, 
then You created man. 

You made him king of Your whole creation. 
You put everything in the whole round world at his disposal. 
You gave to him alone, 
of all the creatures on this earth, 
the power to think and the power to will. 
Everything else was made to serve man.

Then, when man sinned, 
You sent Your Son to be the King of mankind, 
and the Redeemer of the human race. 
He is now King, 
not only of mankind, 
but of the whole universe. 

He is the “firstborn of every creature.” 
He is our King, 
and everything that we have is made and given us to serve Him. 
We are to use it, 
not in selfishness and greed, 
but in gratitude and generosity, 
realizing that we are all subjects of the great King Jesus.

Help us to keep this in mind, 
as we plough His fields, 
lent to us for a time, 
and as we reap His crops, 
given to us by His generous hand. 

Help us to use with care the goods He here gives us, 
so that we may gain the eternal goods 
that He has won for us. 
Help us always and everywhere to be good, 
loyal subjects of Christ, our King, 
so that we may be with Him, 
our victor and King, 
forever in heaven.

Amen.