The prayers of the Church
Traditional prayers, accurate texts, and a line on where each comes from. Free, always.
Essential
The Sign of the Cross
The prayer that begins and ends every other prayer, marking the body with the Trinity and the Cross.
The Our Father
The prayer Jesus himself taught (Mt 6:9-13; Lk 11:2-4). The Catechism calls it "the summary of the whole Gospel" (CCC 2761).
The Hail Mary
Built from the words of the angel Gabriel (Lk 1:28) and of Elizabeth (Lk 1:42), followed by the Church's petition for Mary's prayers.
The Glory Be
The short doxology that praises the Holy Trinity. Prayed at the end of each decade of the Rosary and each psalm of the Liturgy of the Hours.
The Apostles' Creed
The ancient baptismal creed of the Roman Church, "the oldest Roman catechism" (CCC 194). The Catechism's first pillar is built on it.
The Nicene Creed
The creed professed at Sunday Mass, from the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381). "Consubstantial" is the word that defended Christ's full divinity.
Mercy & Contrition
Act of Contrition
Prayed in the confessional after confessing your sins, and any time you turn back to God. Contrition is "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again" (CCC 1451).
Act of Contrition (contemporary form)
The form found in the current Rite of Penance. Either version may be used in confession.
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Given to St. Faustina Kowalska in 1935 and prayed on ordinary rosary beads, especially at 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy.
Eternal Rest (Prayer for the Dead)
Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy (2 Macc 12:46; CCC 1032).
Marian
Hail, Holy Queen
The great medieval Marian antiphon, sung at the end of Compline and prayed at the close of the Rosary.
The Memorare
Attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux and beloved by St. Francis de Sales and St. Teresa of Calcutta, who prayed it as a "flying novena" nine times in a row in urgent need.
The Angelus
Prayed at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. to commemorate the Incarnation. During the Easter season it is replaced by the Regina Caeli.
The Fatima Prayer
Given by Our Lady at Fatima in 1917, prayed after the Glory Be in each decade of the Rosary.
The Magnificat
Mary's song of praise at the Visitation (Lk 1:46-55), prayed every evening at Vespers.
Seasonal
Saints & Angels
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
Composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and long prayed after Low Mass. Many parishes pray it after Mass today.
Prayer to Your Guardian Angel
"From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession" (CCC 336). Often the first prayer a child learns.
Prayer to St. Joseph
Pope Leo XIII's prayer to the Guardian of the Redeemer, patron of the Universal Church, workers, fathers, and a happy death.
Daily
Morning Offering
From the Apostleship of Prayer. Offers the whole day, before it happens, in union with the Mass being celebrated all over the world.
Grace Before and After Meals
Blessing food is one of the most ancient Christian practices (1 Tim 4:4-5).
Come, Holy Spirit
Prayed before study, meetings, decisions, and at Confirmation.
Peace Prayer of St. Francis
Though first published in 1912, this prayer breathes the spirit of the Poverello and is prayed the world over.
Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love
Short prayers that exercise the three theological virtues (CCC 1812-1829).
A Short Night Prayer
A simple examen and commendation before sleep, in the spirit of Compline.
Eucharist
Anima Christi
A fourteenth-century prayer beloved by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who placed it at the front of the Spiritual Exercises. Ideal after receiving Holy Communion.
Act of Spiritual Communion
By St. Alphonsus Liguori. For when you cannot receive the Eucharist: at a Mass you watch online, when not in a state of grace, or in illness. "The desire itself unites us to Christ."
Prayer Before Holy Communion
The words of the centurion (Mt 8:8), which the Church puts on every communicant's lips.
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