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We must respond with humility, trust, and
perseverance to these temptations which cast doubt on the usefulness or even
the possibility of prayer. |
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(Catechism of the Catholic Church #2753) |
Bedtime Prayers
| Sign of the Cross |
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| In the name of the Father (touch your forehead) |
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| And of the Son (touch your chest- your heart) |
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| And of the Holy (touch your left shoulder) |
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| Spirit (touch you right shoulder) |
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| Amen (fold your hands) |
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| Our Father |
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| Our Father, Who art in Heaven |
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| Hallowed be thy name |
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| Thy kingdom come |
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| Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven |
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| Give us this day our daily bread |
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| And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us |
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| And lead us not into temptation |
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| But deliver us from evil |
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| Amen |
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| Hail Mary |
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| Hail Mary, full of grace |
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| The Lord is with thee |
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| Blessed art thou among women |
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| And blessed is the Fruit of your womb, Jesus |
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| Holy Mary, Mother of God |
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| Pray for us sinners |
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| Now and at the hour of our death |
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| Amen |
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| Glory Be (Lesser Doxology) |
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| Glory be to the Father |
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| And to the Son |
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| And to the Holy Spirit |
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| As it was in the beginning |
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| Is now |
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| And ever shall be |
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| World without end |
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| Amen |
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| Children's Blessing |
| A blessing can be done at any time, but is often ideal after bedtime
prayers. Although there are many choices for prayers of blessings, we simply
make a Sign of the Cross on the child's
forehead and pray, "May the Lord bless you and give you peace." If
you have a small container of Holy Water in your home, which you can usually
get from your local church, you can dip a finger in the water, then make the
Sign of the Cross on the child's forehead.
We were amazed (rather silly of us) how powerful this simple
blessing was for our children. They absolutely love it; it seems to
relax them and give them joy and peace. It is extra special because
they always give us a blessing in return.
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Grace
The basic Catholic prayer before meals is "Bless us O Lord". We also enjoy
some variations, all of which were taught to us by wonderfully inventive
priests. It is an easy way to remember that God wants us to be joyful in His
creation.
| Bless us O Lord |
Rub-a-Dub-Dub |
| Bless us O Lord |
Rub-a dub-dub |
| And these Thy gifts which we are about to receive |
God bless this grub |
| From Thy bounty |
Ye Lord |
| Through Christ our Lord |
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| Amen. |
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| Superman (sing this to the tune of the Superman theme) |
Let's eat |
| Thank the Lord |
Good bread |
| For giving us food |
Good meat |
| Thank the Lord |
Good God |
| For giving us food |
Let's eat |
| For the food we eat |
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| And the friends we meet |
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| Thank the Lord |
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| For giving us food |
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Prayer of Thanksgiving
(traditionally said after a meal)
| We give thanks for all your benefits, |
| Almighty God, |
| Who lives and reigns forever. |
| May the souls of the faithful departed, |
| through the mercy of God, |
| rest in peace. Amen. |
Guardian angel
| Angel of God |
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| My guardian dear |
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| To whom God's love |
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| Commits me here. |
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| Ever this day |
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| Be at my side |
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| To light, to guard, to rule, to guide. |
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| Amen. |
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Prayer to St.
Michael the Archangel
| St. Michael, the Archangel, |
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| Defend us in battle, |
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| Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the
devil. |
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| May God rebuke him, |
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| We humbly pray. |
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| And you, Prince of the heavenly host, |
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| By the power of God, |
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| Thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl
the world |
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| For the ruin of souls. |
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| Amen. |
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Act of Contrition
| Oh, my God, I am heartily sorry |
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| For having offended you. |
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| And I detest all my sins |
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| Because your just punishments. |
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| But most of all because they offend you my God |
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| Who are all good and deserving of all my love. |
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| I firmly resolve, with the help of your Grace, |
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| To sin no more |
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| And to avoid the near occasion of sin. |
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| Amen. |
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| Act of
Faith |
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| O my God, |
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| I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine
Persons, |
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| Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; |
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| I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our
sins, |
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| And that he will come to judge the living and dead. |
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| I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic
Church teaches, |
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| Because you revealed them, |
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| Who can neither deceive nor be deceived. |
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| Amen. |
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Act of Hope
| O my God, relying on your infinite goodness and promises, |
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| I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, |
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| The help of your grace, |
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| And life everlasting, |
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| Through the merits of Jesus Christ, |
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| My Lord and Redeemer. |
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| Amen. |
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| Act of Love |
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| O my God, I love you above all things, |
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| With my whole heart and soul, |
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| Because you are all good and worthy of all love. |
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| I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. |
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| I forgive all who have injured me, |
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| And I ask pardon of all whom I have injured. |
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| Amen. |
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Suspice (A
Prayer of Self-Offering)
| Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, |
| My memory, |
| My understanding, |
| And all my will, |
| All that I have and possess. |
| You have given all of these things to me; |
| To you I restore them. |
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| All are yours; |
| Dispose of them according to Your will. |
| Give me Your love and Your grace; |
| Having but these I am rich enough |
| And ask for nothing more. |
| Amen. |
The Ten Commandments
I learned the 10 Commandments in second grade while preparing for First
Communion. I have no idea who wrote this version. I would appreciate any
information on the adapter.
| First, I must honor God, |
| Second, honor His Name, |
| Third, on His day be holy, this will be my aim. |
| Fourth, I must be obedient, |
| Fifth, be kind and true, |
| Sixth, be pure in all I say and see and hear and do. |
| Seventh, I must be honest |
| Eighth, be truthful in all things I say |
| Ninth, be pure in mind and heart and all I think and desire
each day. |
| Tenth, I must be satisfied, not be jealous come what may |
| These are God's Ten Commandments, |
| These I must obey. |
Prayer before a Crucifix
| Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, |
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| While before Thy face I humbly kneel, |
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| And with burning soul pray and beseech Thee |
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| To fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope,
and charity, |
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| True contrition for my sins, |
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| And a firm purpose of amendment; |
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| While I contemplate with great love and tender pity |
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| Thy five wounds, pondering over them within me, |
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| And calling to mind the words which David, Thy Prophet, |
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| Said of Thee, my Jesus: |
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| "They pierced my hands and my feet; |
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| They numbered all my bones." |
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Prayer for Peace and Joy
| Jesus, I want to rejoice in you always. |
| You are near. |
| Let me have no anxiety, |
| But in every concern, |
| By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, |
| I wish to let my petitions be known |
| In my communing with God. |
| May the peace of God, |
| Which surpasses all understanding, |
| Guard my heart and my thoughts in You. |
| Amen. |
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| Prayer for the Dead |
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Into your hands, O Lord,
we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters.
In this life you embraced them with
your tender love;
deliver them now from every evil
and bid them enter eternal rest.
The old order has passed away;
welcome them into paradise,
where there will be no sorrow,
no weeping nor pain,
but fullness of peace and joy
with your Son and the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever.
Amen. |
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| Apostles' Creed
Our children had some difficulty memorizing this prayer until a friend, a
math teacher, pointed out that the topics can be grouped into 3s. We made 8
triangles (one for each stanza), wrote each line of the stanza in one angle
of the triangle, then took the stanzas one at a time to learn. We made up
simple games, like put the triangles in the correct order, and within a week
the children knew the creed by heart. |
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| I believe in God, |
| The Father Almighty |
| Creator of heaven and earth; |
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| And in Jesus Christ, |
| His only Son, |
| our Lord; |
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| Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, |
| Born of the Virgin Mary, |
| Suffered under Pontius Pilate, |
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| Was crucified |
| Died |
| And was buried. |
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| He descended into hell; |
| The third day He rose again from the dead; |
| He ascended into heaven, |
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| Sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty |
| From thence He shall come to judge the living |
| And the dead. |
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| I believe in the Holy Spirit, |
| The holy Catholic Church, |
| The communion of Saints, |
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| The forgiveness of sins, |
| The resurrection of the body, |
| And life everlasting. |
| Amen. |
| Doxology |
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We've often heard the term
doxology, and never really knew what it meant.
Are there
different doxologies? If so, what is the difference?
We thought it was about time to figure it out!
Doxology is defined simply as words (logos)
of praise (dox). The doxology is a hymn of praise used at the
end of prayers, especially the Eucharistic Prayer during Mass,
Liturgy of the Hours, psalms, canticles, novenas, and even the
Lord's Prayer. This hymn of praise originated in the Jewish
synagogues, however, we usually hear doxologies refer to the Trinity. The
Greater Doxology is what we pray during the introductory
rite at Mass, except during the season of Lent. It is commonly known
as the Gloria, and begins, "Glory to God in the Highest..."
The
Lesser Doxology is the prayer which begins, "Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit..." It is said alone
or with many other prayers, including the rosary.
The
Eucharistic Doxology concludes the Eucharistic Prayer during
Mass. The
Final
Doxology concludes the Lord's Prayer during Mass.
The
Doxology
for Liturgy of the Hours is a slightly different translation
of the Lesser Doxology.
Practically anything we say can
be a doxology, a hymn of praise! |
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