catholic prayers for waking up

Admin Nombre de messages : 25233 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

Morning Offering Prayer

O GOD , through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the needs of all my family and friends, and in particular, for the intentions of the Holy Father. I wish to gain all the indulgences attached to the prayers I shall say and to the good works I shall do this day. In Jesus name. Amen.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, all animals and many humans of this world believe in You and hope in You.

We love You above all things.

Thank You for bringing us safely through the night.

Today, we give ourselves and everything we do to You.

Keep us from evil. Bless all the animals across the earth , our animals families, human families animal friends , human friends and all those we love.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25233 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

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Daily Catholic Prayer for a
Solid Spiritual Life

A pattern of daily Catholic prayer will help you stay close to Christ each day.

And what you practice each day, you'll do for eternity!

This article will tell you:

Common prayers for daily Catholic prayer
How to use them for maximum benefit
Why bother with daily Catholic prayer?

...because it's an essential part of the interior life!

The easiest way to start (or re-start!) a prayer life is to simply add a few quick prayers into your day.

This gets you praying
You learn in the school of some outstanding Catholic prayers
You frame the day in prayer
You turn to God in the fabric of everyday life
This last point is very important! Daily Catholic prayer must be a part of your normal life, not something "extra" that you tack onto it.

The practice of Catholic daily prayer will give you a strong basis to develop another essential part of the Catholic spiritual life: mental prayer.

So let's get started!

The daily rhythm

You pray with the flow and rhythm of your ordinary day to develop a habit of daily Catholic prayer.

It's easy to do this. There are three quick steps:

Find some major points in your day
Choose a quick prayer for each
Say the chosen prayer at the right point in your day
It helps to print out the prayers you choose. Keep them with you.

Commit to following them for one week so they become a habit.

Each daily Catholic prayer will ground you in awareness of God's presence. When your day is "framed" like this by short prayers, you get used to talking with God throughout the day. This is a good thing.

Please know that this is essential to developing a life of prayer! We are all called to holiness. Really. And to get there, you've got to live like everything depends on God. Because it does!

This path of daily Catholic prayer is deeply rooted in the Catholic Church's long tradition of prayer. It's an easy and very effective way to grow closer to God.

What could be easier?

How to use the prayers

Of course, this is not the only way to pray! But it's an outstanding start. Most Catholics use traditional Catholic prayers as some part of their daily routine.

The best advice: do not just rattle them off as fast as possible!

Let them nourish and express your own prayer. Your goal in daily Catholic prayer is to converse with God.

Think about what these Catholic prayers can teach you about God, about yourself, and about how to pray.
Listen quietly to hear the will of God. "The prayer of faith consists not only in saying 'Lord, Lord,' but in disposing the heart to do the will of the Father." (Catechism, 2611, referring to Mt 7:21)
Slow down. Feel the words with your heart. "If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain." (Catechism, 2562)
When your mind wanders off, let the words of the prayer help restore your focus on God.
Don't get hung up on these specific prayers. Traditional written prayers are wonderful: you don't struggle to find your own words, they teach you a lot, and you're united with many others using the same words all over the world.

But you may need to adapt them to your own circumstances.

Suggested prayers

Here's a suggested set of prayers to frame your day. (All of these and many more are contained in the Handbook of Prayers, edited by James Socias.)

This outline follows the traditional points of the day for daily Catholic prayer: morning, before meals, the beginning of work, noon, and night.

Again, you should adapt this to fit your own circumstances.

So let's start daily Catholic prayer first thing in the morning!

Morning prayer

Morning prayer is a quick way to offer yourself and your whole day to God.

It is a choice to begin anew each day, and to clearly choose God at the very start of the day.

Some people make a simple and informal prayer as soon as they wake up: "I will serve you, Lord"; or "Lord, help me to love and serve you today"; or even just "serviam" (Latin for "I will serve"). These are all great parts of daily Catholic prayer.

This traditional Catholic morning prayer is also very common:

Catholic morning prayer
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in thanksgiving for your favors, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Grace before meals

Most Christians say grace before meals to give thanks to the Lord. Grace is an important part of daily Catholic prayer. This is often the first way that children are exposed to a life of prayer.

Grace before meals
Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Beginning of work

A brief minute just before starting work is another important opportunity for prayer. This daily Catholic prayer is from an ancient form of the Litany of the Saints:

Prayer Before a Day's Work
Direct, we beg you, O Lord, our actions by your holy inspirations, and grant that we may carry them out with your gracious assistance, that every prayer and work of ours may begin always with you, and through you be happily ended. Amen.

This is an alternate prayer to use at the beginning of work, or at the beginning of the day. This traditional daily Catholic prayer helps us acknowledge the presence of God, ask for his help and protection, and dedicate the day's work to him.

Prayer to Keep the Presence of God
Lord, God Almighty, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day. Defend us today by your mighty power, so that we may not fall into any sin, and that all our words may so proceed and all our thoughts and actions be so directed as to be always just in your sight. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Noon: The Angelus

The Angelus is a traditional daily Catholic prayer that's often said at 12 noon. This prayer is a beautiful meditation on the Incarnation, and on Mary's role in it.

This is often said as a group prayer, with the leader speaking the V parts and the group responding with the R lines. If you're saying it alone, just read both parts together.

The Angelus
V — The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R — And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary... (Say The Hail Mary here.)
V — Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R — Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary...
V — And the Word was made Flesh.
R — And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary...
V — Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R — That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY: Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we to whom the incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Saying the Angelus at noon is a wonderful way to mark noontime, the center of each day. It helps us return our focus to the eternal. The Angelus steeps us in the spirituality of Mary, with its complete and humble service to the Lord.

If you're at work during this time, it's easy to say it quietly to yourself before heading to lunch.

The Angelus is also discussed in the article on prayers to the Blessed Mother.

Night: The daily examination

In developing a habit of daily Catholic prayer, one very important time is just before going to bed.

This is an opportunity to spend a few brief minutes reviewing the day with the Lord. We call this the "daily examination of conscience."

This simple exercise helps you see the events of your day from the perspective of a child of God. This really amounts to only three quick "words" to say in the examination itself.

Daily Examination of Conscience
Place yourself in the presence of God, and ask for his help in examining your day.
Examine your day (the three "words"):
"Thank you": Thank the Lord for the blessings of the day.
"I'm sorry": Acknowledge your faults specifically and directly.
"Please help me more": Ask the Lord for help for tomorrow. Make specific resolutions.
Make an act of contrition (see below).
End with an Our Father and a Hail Mary.
It's generally recommended to take only about 2 or 3 minutes for the examination part itself, or up to 1 minute for each "word." A short time like this can help you keep focused when you're tired.

Here's a traditional Act of Contrition:

Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

I can't recommend this strongly enough: The daily examination of conscience is an essential part of the Christian life. Make it one of the first things you add to your pattern of daily Catholic prayer.

It helps you develop your awareness of how you're doing day-to-day in your life as a follower of Christ. Only by clearly seeing the details of each day, can we hope to improve.

One week to a new life!

Now you have everything you need to let God breathe new life into your faith:

A wonderful set of Catholic prayers
A strategy for making daily Catholic prayer a part of your life
So start now!

Form a specific plan that will work for you. Pick the prayers you'll use. Then commit to just one week.

Follow your plan every day. I know, it may seem a little strange on the first day. It's new; that's to be expected.

But the second day will feel more natural. And then you'll realize that your habit of daily Catholic prayer is comforting! It brings peace and order even to a hectic day. Your awareness of God's presence in your daily life is growing.

And suddenly...

...you have a habit of praying! You do it throughout your day, from morning to night, and it's great. It takes only a few seconds here & there, and you've made your life richer.

More than that, you've brought God into your life.

And you'll never turn back!

This article on daily Catholic prayer is only one from a set of articles on Catholic prayers. See the other articles for many other wonderful Catholic prayers. You'll also find sound guidance for easily developing your prayer life in How to Pray.

The Web site CatholicCulture.org also has many more prayers that are ideal for daily Catholic prayer (opens a new browser window). CatholicCulture.org is a major Catholic site, and has many outstanding resources.

See our home page for more articles for the beginning Catholic.

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Admin Nombre de messages : 25233 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

The Best Part of Waking Up
By Christopher Heffron

Q U I C K S C A N
The Blank Canvas
What's the Story, Morning Glory?
Morning Offering

It’s one of the most unbearable sounds that I have ever known: the blaring of my alarm clock. It’s 6:30 and, yet again, I am jolted from sleep by that intolerable noise.

“Gotta find that snooze button and hit it...hard.”

I wake to the same noise a brief 10 minutes later. Thus, my routine begins: I stumble out of bed, shower, put on my poorly ironed clothes and leave for work.

As tradition holds, I battle traffic. Angry drivers weave around me, glaring as they make their hurried way. But I’m too tired to care. My eyes are strained and weary. It’s bumper-to-bumper now, with little hope of eas-ing. Quietly, amid the chaos, an old favorite rises from the landscape of my half-slumbered mind: the Morning Offering.

I have known this prayer since I was 11. In the sixth grade, we were each assigned a prayer to read in front of the class and evaluate its meaning. The memory lingers still: With a pounding heart, apprehensive voice and shaky hands buried in my corduroys, I dove into my interpretation of the prayer. After 17 years, it hasn’t changed.

The Blank Canvas
I see the Morning Offering as a prayer of new beginnings. Derived from the League of the Sacred Heart of Jesus’ “Apostleship of Prayer,” it was begun in 1844 in Vals, France. For me, its origin only goes so far. The significance, however, travels much further.

Simply, it’s my daily appeal for a clean slate. My sins of yesterday cower in the face of my potential for good today. This is my chance. The day ahead is a large, blank canvas. To God, I offer my finest paints and my greatest effort to create a work of art.

Some days I’m more creative than others. Still, the Morning Offering is my solemn promise: To God, who graced me with life, I will do my part to make it shine; to Mary, who gives warmth to the colder corners of my heart, I will use my gifts to make her smile.

I do this not only for myself: For my friends and family, those who bring color to my life, I am unyielding in my efforts to make this day a thing of beauty.

Of course, I’m not always successful. Try as I might, I am far from perfect. I am crammed with imperfections but I am also full of promise. I am a stumbling, sinning, redeeming, work-in-progress—a kind of graceful wreck. God knows this and, quite often, has caught me when I’ve lost my footing. And Lord knows, I fall often.

What's the Story, Morning Glory?
A great deal can happen in a day’s time. The moment I walk out of my front door, I throw myself, freely, to the wolves of the day. I am vulnerable, but shielded.

With this prayer, I have offered it up. I have pledged allegiance and loyalty to God, to the large family of believers we call the Church, to our Holy Father and to those around me: my family, my friends and my colleagues.

This beloved prayer is my motivation to make the day ahead of me a meaningful, worthwhile undertaking. It is my conversation with God—my way of saying, with tired eyes, a willing heart and a sea of irritated drivers all around me, “Good morning.”

Next month: Act of Contrition

Morning Offering
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings of this day,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world.
I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart:
the salvation of souls, reparation for sin,
the reunion of all Christians.
I offer them for the intentions of our bishops
and of all Apostles of Prayer,
and in particular for those recommended
by our Holy Father this month. Amen.

Christopher Heffron is an assistant editor and poetry editor of this publication. In 1997, he graduated with dual majors in English and communication arts from the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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