Prayer is an important part of life no matter what faith we profess or what walk of life we are in. As Christians and Catholics we are called upon to pray daily following the example of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. He himself, as is found in Sacred Scripture, prayed often in the synagogue and also went off on his own to pray to God the Father. The prayer which he left us – the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer – is probably the best known prayer around the world. We are called upon to begin and end our day with prayer to God. These prayers need not be long and lavish but may be quite simple taking but a couple of minutes of our time. They may also be quite personal and in our own words rather than having to recite prayers which we have learned. The choice is ours but the important thing is that we pray.

DAILY PRAYERS

The Our Father Also known as "The 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 amongst 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.

 

The 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.

 

MORNING PRAYERS

Prayer on Waking

O God, and Mary, your mother,
who have brought me and mine safe
from the depths of sleep to another day,
bring us safely
through every trouble of this day and protect us,
body and soul from all evil. Amen.

Morning Prayer

I rise up with God,
may He rise up with me,
may his arm be round me,
waking, sleeping and working. Amen.

O my God, you love me,
you’re with me night and day.
I want to love you always in all I do and say.
I’ll try to please you, Father.
Bless me through the day. Amen.

 

Morning Offering

Father in heaven,
I give you today,
all that I think and do and say.
And I unite it with all that was done,
by Jesus Christ, your dear Son.

Prayer to your Guardian Angel

O Angel of God,
my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light, to guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.

EVENING PRAYERS

Night Prayer

May I lie down with God,and may God lie down with me.
May I not lie with evil, nor evil lie with me.
Brigid’s girdle round me,
Mary’s mantle beneath me,
Blessed Michael, hold my hand,
and make my peace with the Son of Grace.
If any evil thing pursue me,
may the Son of God protect me for a year from this night,
and this night itself, and ever and always. Amen.

Thanksgiving at the End of the Day

Thank you, O God
for everything that has happened today:
for the good things which have made me happy;
for the not so good things which have taught me
that I can’t always be getting my own way;
for successes, to give me happy times to remember;
for failures, to keep me humble;
for time at school, at games, with my friends
and in my own home.
And thank you for this minute with you. Amen.

For Others

Before I sleep tonight,
I want to say a prayer for all the people –
known to me and unknown to me –
for whom this has been a special day of gladness or of grief,
of trouble or of joy.
Bless all the homes in which today
life has ended or life has begun.
Amen.

Acts of Contrition

O my God,
I am very sorry for all my sins,
because they offend you who are so good,
and with your help I will not sin again.
Forgive me, O God,
for all the wrong things
which I have done today.
Forgive me for
careless work,
inattentive study,
wasted time,
duties shirked.
Forgive me for anyone whom I have hurt,
or failed, or disappointed today,
and for anything I have said or done wrong today.
Thank you for the new things I have learned today
and for all the things I have enjoyed.
Amen.