Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace (Prayer attributed to Saint Francis)

Lord, 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; 

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; 

it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

Amen

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE by Saint John Paul II

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

O Virgin of Guadalupe,

Mother of the Americas,

grant to our homes the grace of loving

and respecting life in its beginnings,

with the same love with which

you conceived in your womb 

the life of the Son of God.

Blessed Virgin Mary,

Mother of Fair Love,

protect our families so that 

they may always be united 

and bless the upbringing of our children.

Our hope, look upon us with pity,

teach is to go continually to Jesus,

and if we fall 

help us to rise again and return to Him 

through the confession of our faults 

and our sins in the Sacrament of penance, 

which gives peace to the soul.

We beg you to grant us a great love 

of all the holy Sacraments,

which are, as it were,

the signs that your Son left us on earth.

Thus, Most Holy Mother,

with the peace of God in our consciences,

with our hearts free from evil and hatred,

we will be able to bring to all others 

true joy and peace,

which come to us from your Son, 

our Lord Jesus Christ,

who with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen.

- (Pope John Paul II.)

PRAYER FOR THE BELOVED DECEASED

Lord Jesus, our Redeemer,
You willingly gave Yourself up to death
so that all people might be saved
and pass from death into a new life.

Listen to our prayers;
look with love on Your people
who mourn and pray for their dead brothers and sisters.
Lord Jesus, You alone are holy and compassionate;
forgive our brothers and sisters their sins.

By dying You opened the gates of life
for those who believe in You.
Do not let Your brothers and sisters
be parted from You,
but by your glorious power
give them light, joy and peace in heaven
where you live for ever and ever.
Amen.

Why do Catholics pray for the dead? by Bishop Barron

Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank you for calling me to serve You and Your people
in this community as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.
You know that I could never be worthy of such honor.
Help me to be less unworthy by remaining free of sin.
Let me nourish Your people with the witness of my life
as I feed them with the Body of Christ.
Grant Your strength and holiness to all Your extraordinary ministers
and make them worthy to bring Christ to others.  
Amen

A PRAYER FOR ALTAR SERVERS

Loving Father, creator of the universe,
you call your people to worship,
to be with you and with one another at Mass.
I thank you for having called me
to assist others in their prayer to you.
May I be worthy of the trust placed in me
and through my service bring others closer to you.
I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
who is Lord for ever and ever.
Amen.

A PRAYER FOR LECTORS

Praise to you, Lord God,
king of the universe,
and all glory to your name.
I praise you and thank you for calling me
to proclaim your word to your beloved people.

Open the hearts of all who worship with us,
so that they may hear your voice when I read.
Let nothing in my life or manner disturb your people
or close their hearts to the action of your Spirit.

Cleanse my heart and mind,
and open my lips so that I may proclaim your glory.
All praise to you, heavenly Father,
through the Lord Jesus in the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Amen.

A PRAYER FOR USHERS AND GREETERS

Lord Jesus, You welcome those who seek you
with a kindness and gentleness that wins souls.
You welcomed conversation with the Samaritan woman.
You welcomed the lame, the blind, the broken.
You were a friend of sinners that the self-righteous people rejected.
You displayed the greatest love of all,
that you laid down your life for your friends.

As people come to church, help me to be kind to them.
Help me to give them a welcome that is worthy of your Name.
Help me to display kindness in a way that will prepare the way for them
to encounter Jesus in his word, body and blood.
Help me to set aside my preoccupations and worries and focus on them.

Allow kindness to show forth in me,
blocking all negative judgment because of what a guest wears,
apparent social status, or ethnic background.
Allow kindness to show forth in as I greet each and every person who walks in the door.
Allow kindness to help me see an unspoken need and meet it today.

Let my ways be pleasing in your sight.
May the kindness I share help a person calm down from a stressful morning,
a nervous first time visitor to feel safe,
and share an expression of Your love for someone who needs it today.
May the kindness I show help everyone who enters today be at peace.

As I walk in kindness today,
I will bless each guest and member who walks into our church.
I want to help them to experience your presence.
In Your Name,
Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS DAY (November 1st)

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Prayer to St. Jude for All Souls

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Prayer for our beloved deceased: "Father of mercy..."

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PRAYER FOR GRANDPARENTS by Benedict XVI

Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary,
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardians of noble domestic ideals,
living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits
of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus,
help families and society
to value the presence and role of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care,
accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity
for the great embrace of life without rest. Amen!

By Pope Benedict XVI

BLESSING FOR GRANDPARENTS

Lord Jesus, you were born of the Virgin Mary,
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on all the grandparents
who are gathered here this evening/morning.

We ask you to send your blessings upon them,
for they are a source of strength
for their families, for the Church and for all of society.

Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardians of noble family values,
and living treasuries of sound religious traditions.

Enable them to be teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to their grandchildren
the ability to hear God’s voice speaking in their hearts.

Lord Jesus, help all families and all members of our society
value the presence and role of grandparents.

May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.

Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
all the years of their life.

 We pray this in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
AMEN.

A PRAYER FOR MOTHERS

All-loving God,
we give you thanks and praise
for mothers young and old.

We pray for young mothers,
who give life and count toes and tend to our every need;
May they be blessed with patience and tenderness
to care for their families and themselves with great joy.

We pray for our own mothers
who have nurture and cared for us;
May they continue to guide
in strong and gentle ways.

We remember mothers who are separated
from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict;
May they feel the loving embrace of
our God who wipes every tear away.

We pray for women who are not mothers
but still love and shape us
with motherly care and compassion.

We remember mothers, grandmothers,
and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us
but who live forever in our memory
and nourish us with their love.

Amen.

WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES PRAYER

God and Father of us all,
in Jesus, your Son and our Savior,
You have made us Your sons and daughters
in the family of the Church.

May Your grace and love help our families
in every part of the world be united to one another
in fidelity to the Gospel.

May the example of the Holy Family,
with the aid of Your Holy Spirit,
guide all families, especially those most troubled,
to be homes of communion and prayer
and to always seek Your truth and live in Your love.

Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
pray for us!

PRAYER: Silence of Mary

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
you who treasured things
and pondered them carefully in your heart,
teach us that deep, interior silence
which enfolded you throughout your lifetime

the silence of the Annunciation, of faith, mission and obedience;
the silence of the Visitation, of humility, service and praise;
the silence of Bethlehem, of birth, incarnation and wonder;
the silence of the flight into Egypt, of perseverance, hope and trust;
the silence of Nazareth, of simplicity, intimacy and communion;
the silence of Mt. Calvary, of courage, death and abandonment;
the silence of Easter, of resurrection, jubilation and glory;
the silence of Ascension, of fulfillment, transformation and new creation;
the silence of Pentecost, of peace, power and love.

Mary, in your wisdom, teach us that silence
which enables us to listen to the small, still voice of our God;
which compels us to worship Him alone in spirit and in truth;
which empowers us to acknowledge our nothingness and exult confidently in our Savior;
which frees us to lose ourselves in unceasing adoration of the God who is Infinite Love.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us now and always,
that we may enter into that silence of yours
which unites us to Jesus, your Son,
in he mistery of His silence before the Father of mercies.

Amen.

THE ANGELUS

The Angelus derives its name from the first word of the Latin version of the prayer Angelus Domini nuntiavit Maria, "The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary." Each response is followed by reciting the Hail Mary. Traditionally the Angelus is prayed three times a day, at 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m., to honor the incarnation of Jesus. 

- The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
- And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary...

- Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
- May it be done unto me according to your word.
Hail Mary...

- And the Word became flesh.
- And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary...

- Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
- 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 the angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection. Through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To you we cry, the children of Eve;
to you we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this land of exile.
Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
lead us home at last
and show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus:
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

THE APOSTLES´ CREED

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

At the words that follow, up to and including
“the Virgin Mary”, all bow

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand
of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come 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.

HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY

1. Pray the Sign of the Cross and the Apostles´ Creed
2. Pray the Lord´s Prayer
3. Pray three Hail Marys
4. Pray the Glory Be.
5. Say the first mystery; then pray the Lord´s Prayer
6. Pray ten Hail Marys while meditating on the mystery.
7. Pray the Glory Be
8. Say the second mystery; then pray the Lord´s Prayer

Repeat 6 and 7 and continue with the third, fourth, and fifth mysteries of the day in the same manner.

9. Pray the Hail, Holy Queen

THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY
– The Joyful Mysteries
(Pray on Mondays and Saturdays)

The Annuntiation
The Visitation
The Nativity
The Presentation in the Temple
The Finding in the Temple

– The Luminous Mysteries
(Pray on Thursdays)

The Baptism of Jesus
The Wedding at Cana
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
The Transfiguration
The Institution of the Eucharist

– The Sorrowful Mysteries
(Pray on Tuesdays and Fridays)

The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Crowning with Thorns
The Carrying of the Cross
The Crucifixion and Death

– The Glorious Mysteries
(Pray on Wednesdays and Sundays)

The Resurrection
The Ascension
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Assumption of Mary
The Coronation of Many in Heaven

Source: Prayers for Our Catholic Family
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