Appendix
C
A Treasury of Catholic Prayers
Traditional Prayers
Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Our Father (Lord’s Prayer)
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.
The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among 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.
Glory Be
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.
Apostles’ Creed
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 power
of the Holy Spirit,
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He shall come again 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.
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry
for having offended Thee,
and I detest all of my sins
because of thy just punishments,
but most of all because they offend Thee,
my God, who art all good
and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace
to sin no more and
to avoid the near occasion of sin.
Amen.
Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,
and enkindle 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.
Let us pray.
O God, who has taught the hearts
of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant that by the gift of the same Spirit
we may be always truly wise and
ever rejoice in his consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, Holy Queen,
Mother of Mercy,
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.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Amen.
The Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.
He has shown might with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever. (cf Luke 1:46–55)
The Memorare
Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help, or sought your intercession
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto you, O virgin of virgins, my mother.
To you I come, before you I stand,
sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy hear and answer me.
— St. Bernard
Angel of God
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.
Prayer for Peace (Prayer of St. Francis)
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.
How to Pray the Rosary
1. Holding the cross on your Rosary beads, make the Sign of the Cross and recite the Apostles’ Creed.
2. On the first separate bead, say the Our Father.
3. On each of the next three beads, say a Hail Mary.
4. On the next separate bead (or medal, depending on your Rosary beads), announce the first mystery and say an Our Father.
5. On the next 10 beads, say a Hail Mary on each bead. End the decade on the next bead with a Glory Be.
6. Repeat this process for the next four decades, or forty beads: announcing the mystery, then saying the Our Father, then the Hail Marys, then the Glory Be, until you go around the entire set of beads. While going through each decade and saying each prayer, reflect or meditate on the story of the principal mystery (fixing that story or image in your mind).
7. End with the Hail Holy Queen.
Joyful Mysteries (recited on Monday and Saturday)
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Birth of Our Lord
The Presentation in the Temple
The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Luminous Mysteries (recited on Thursday)
The Baptism in the Jordan
The Wedding at Cana
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
The Transfiguration
The Institution of the Eucharist
Sorrowful Mysteries (recited on Tuesday and Friday)
The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Crowing with Thorns
The Carrying of the Cross
The Crucifixion
Glorious Mysteries (recited on Wednesday and Sunday)
The Resurrection
The Ascension of our Lord
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven
The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross, or Way of the Cross, refers to a devotion that commemorates the Passion of Jesus Christ. Typically, one would pray in front of a series of 14 pictures or sculptures in a church, shrine, or garden depicting scenes from the final events of Jesus’ life. Before each station one recites the following prayer:
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
| First Station: | Jesus is condemned to death. |
| Second Station: | Jesus takes up his cross. |
| Third Station: | Jesus falls the first time. |
| Fourth Station: | Jesus is met by his mother. |
| Fifth Station: | Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross. |
| Sixth Station: | Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. |
| Seventh Station: | Jesus falls a second time. |
| Eighth Station: | The women of Jerusalem mourn for our Lord. |
| Ninth Station: | Jesus falls for the third time. |
| Tenth Station: | Jesus is stripped of his garments. |
| Eleventh Station: | Jesus is nailed to the cross. |
| Twelfth Station: | Jesus dies on the cross. |
| Thirteenth Station: | Jesus is taken down from the cross. |
| Fourteenth Station: | Jesus is placed in the tomb. |
Catholic Basics
The Ten Commandments
1. I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt; you shall have no other gods before me.
2. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Keep holy the Sabbath.
4. Honor thy father and mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
Jesus’ “New” Commandment
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst
for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted
for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you
and persecute you and utter every kind of
evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
will be great in heaven. (Matthew 5:3–12)
The Corporal Works of Mercy
1. Feed the hungry.
2. Give drink to the thirsty.
3. Clothe the naked.
4. Shelter the homeless.
5. Visit the sick.
6. Visit the imprisoned.
7. Bury the dead.
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
1. Counsel the doubtful.
2. Instruct the ignorant.
3. Admonish sinners.
4. Comfort the afflicted.
5. Forgive offenses.
6. Bear wrongs patiently.
7. Pray for the living and the dead.