O God, Who brought our fathers through the Red Sea
and carried them safely through the deep
as they sang praises of Thy name,
we humbly beseech Thee
to guard Thy servants aboard ship,
and having repelled all adversities,
bring them to the desired port after a calm voyage.
Through ouR Lord, Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
Who livest and reigneth with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end.
Amen.
King David was known as “a man after God’s own heart.” David loved God, lived with passion and prayed with poetic and transparent honesty. But David was also a sinner. He stole the wife of one of his most loyal soldiers, conceived a child by her and then to cover his deceit, murdered the man. But once this crime was exposed by Nathan, the prophet, David turned again to God. His prayer asking for forgiveness is written in the Bible as Psalm 51. Here’s a portion of that prayer.
O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions. Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again. For I admit my shameful deed-it haunts me day and night. It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just. Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires. Don’t toss me aside, banished forever from your presence. Don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (Psalm 51:1-12 TLB)
All of us need forgiveness. If something is separating you from God, repeat this ancient prayer. Jesus came to make the hope expressed in this prayer a reality for anyone who will ask!
O Lord, Jesus Christ,
Redeemer and Saviour,
forgive my sins,
just as You forgave Peter’s denial
and those who crucified You.
Count not my transgressions, but,
rather, my tears of repentance.
Remember not my iniquities, but,
more especially,
my sorrow for the offenses I have committed against You.
I long to be true to Your Word,
and pray that You will love me
and come to make Your dwelling place within me.
I promise to give You praise and glory in love
and in service all the days of my life.
My Jesus, I place all my sins before you. In my estimation They do not deserve pardon, But I ask you To close your eyes To my want of merit And open them To your infinite merit.
Since you willed To die for my sins, Grant me forgiveness For all of them. Thus, I may no longer feel The burden of my sins, A burden that oppresses me Beyond measure.
Assist me, dear Jesus, For I desire to become good No matter what the cost Take away, destroy, And utterly root out Whatever you find in me That is contrary To your holy will. At the same time, dear Jesus, illumine me So that I may walk in your holy light.
O merciful God,
take pity on those souls
who have no particular friends and intercessors
to recommend them to Thee, who,
either through the negligence of those who are alive,
or through length of time are forgotten
by their friends and by all.
Spare them, O Lord,
and remember Thine own mercy,
when others forget to appeal to it.
Let not the souls which Thou hast created
be parted from thee, their Creator.
May the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
Yo quiero celebrar el Santo Sacrificio de la Misa y hacer el Cuerpo y la Sangre de nuestro Seńor Jesucristo, según el rito de la Santa Iglesia Romana, para alabanza de Dios omnipotente y de toda la Iglesia triunfante, para mi beneficio y el de toda la Iglesia militante, para todos los que se encomendaron a mis oraciones en general y en particular, y por la feliz situación de la Santa Iglesia Romana. Amén. El Seńor omnipotente y misericordioso nos conceda la alegría con la paz, la enmienda de la vida, tiempo de verdadera penitencia, la gracia y el consuelo del Espíritu Santo, y la perseverancia en las buenas obras.
Amén.
Forty days alone,
a wilderness of thoughts,
tempting and inviting thoughts,
which could so easily have distracted you
from your task, your mission,
your vision.
Yet you emerged, stronger and more attuned
to all that had to be done,
despite a time constraint
that to our eyes would have seemed hopeless.
We too live in stressful times.
Demands are made of our time,
that leave so little
for the important things of life.
We are easily distracted
in the wilderness of our lives,
by every call to go this way or that,
to turn stone to bread
leap from mountains,
and do all that would keep us from the truth.
We listen to the voices of this world,
and ignore the one who endured all this
and so much more,
and emerged triumphant,
that we might not have to suffer so.
Forgive us, Father,
when we get distracted from our task.
Forgive us those times when we try
to be all things to all men,
and fail to be anything to anyone.
O God Almighty, who suffered death upon the cross, particularly for my sins, be with me.
Holy Cross of Jesus, have pity on me.
Holy Cross of Jesus, be my protector.
Holy Cross of Jesus, take away all bitter pains.
Holy Cross of Jesus, take away all evil.
Holy Cross of Jesus, let me walk in the way of salvation.
Preserve me from any temporal accidents, take away any danger of sudden death. I always adore the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ: Jesus of Nazareth crucified, have pity on me; make the spirit of evil leave me for all times.
O Mother of Perpetual Succour. I come before Thy Sacred picture and with a child-like conscience invoke thine aid. Show Thyself a Mother tO me now. Have pity of me. O, dearest Mother of Perpetual Succour, for the love Thou bearest to Jesus and in honour of His Sacred Wounds, help me in this my necessity..
Mention your intentions here…
O Loving Mother, I leave all to thee in the Name of the Father. I leave all to thee in the Name of the Son. I leave all to thee in the Name of the Holy Spirit.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.
Amen.
This prayer is designed to be said within the family before a Crucifix during the fourth week of Lent.
Mother or a child:
From the words of St. Paul [Hebrews 9:13-14].
Dearly beloved, if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkled ashes of a heifer sanctify unto the cleansing of the flesh (according to Old Testament religion), how much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the Holy Spirit offered Himself unblemished unto God, cleanse Your conscience from dead works to serve the living God!
Father:
We ought to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Family:
in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection.
Father:
Let us pray.
We want to serve You, Lord. By Your grace may our good desires bear their fruits; for the penances we have undertaken will be useful only if they please Your loving heart. This we ask of You through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.
Family:
Amen.
Favor this dwelling, Lord, with Your presence. Far from it repulse all the wiles of Satan. Your holy angels, let them live here, to keep us in peace. And may Your blessing remain always upon us. This we ask of You through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.
Father:
Let us bless the Lord.
Family:
Thanks be to God.
Father:
May the almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless and keep us.
Family:
Amen.
O great and glorious God, you imbued your holy priest, Father Michael J. McGivney, with deep priestly virtue and especially with pastoral concern for the poor, the orphan, the widow, for the Christian education of youth, for the protection of the faith of the working man of his day.
Now that his priestly ministry continues to spread to countless millions throughout the world through the efforts and influence of the Order of the Knights of Columbus, which Father McGivney founded, we beseech you, Heavenly Father, to raise your faithful servant, Michael, to the honours of the altar. We ask this favour through our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy mother, Mary and our mother.
Amen.
