Catholic Prayers
The foundation prayers of the Catholic Church, with their Scriptural and historical sources. These are the prayers Catholics learn in childhood and pray throughout life: in the morning, in the evening, before meals, before sleep, in the rosary, in moments of need, at the hour of death.
The Catholic life of prayer
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God" (CCC 2559, citing Saint John Damascene). The Catholic life of prayer is structured by the Our Father, the prayer the Lord Jesus Himself taught, and is enriched by the prayers the Catholic tradition has developed across two thousand years to express the soul's response to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to the saints in heaven who pray with us.
The prayers below are organized in three traditional groups: foundation prayers (the prayers every Catholic learns first, from the apostolic age and the earliest Christian centuries), Marian prayers (the rich tradition of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary), and Eucharistic and devotional prayers (prayers for adoration, for the sanctification of the day, and for the sacramental life).
Foundation prayers
The prayers every Catholic learns first. Drawn from Scripture, the apostolic tradition, and the early Christian centuries.
- The Our Father
The prayer the Lord Jesus Himself taught (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4).
- The Hail Mary
Drawn from the angel Gabriel's greeting (Luke 1:28) and Elizabeth's words (Luke 1:42).
- The Glory Be
The doxology of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The shortest of the foundation prayers.
- The Apostles' Creed
The baptismal creed of the Roman Church, in essential form by the second century.
- The Sign of the Cross
The opening of every Catholic prayer: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Marian prayers
Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, drawn from the Catholic tradition's deep Marian devotion.
- The Memorare
Attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary..."
- The Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina)
The closing antiphon of the Rosary. Composed in the eleventh century, possibly by Hermann of Reichenau.
- The Angelus
Prayed at six in the morning, noon, and six in the evening, commemorating the Incarnation.
- The Regina Caeli
The Easter season's substitute for the Angelus. "Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia."
- Totus Tuus
The Marian consecration prayer of Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort, made famous by Pope Saint John Paul II.
Eucharistic and devotional prayers
Prayers for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, for thanksgiving after Communion, and for the sanctification of the day.
- The Anima Christi
"Soul of Christ, sanctify me." A medieval Eucharistic prayer recommended by Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
- The Tantum Ergo
The Eucharistic hymn of Saint Thomas Aquinas, sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
- The Morning Offering
Offering the day's prayers, works, joys, and sufferings to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- The Act of Contrition
Prayed at the conclusion of the Sacrament of Penance, expressing sorrow for sin and resolution of amendment.
- The Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity
The three theological virtues, in their traditional acts.
Praying the Catholic prayers well
The traditional prayers are prayed best when they are prayed often enough that the words are no longer something the soul has to think about. The Our Father becomes second nature; the Hail Mary becomes the breath of the soul; the Memorare becomes the prayer to which the heart returns in moments of distress. The repetition is not a vice; it is the means by which the soul learns to pray with the whole Body of Christ.
For the Catholic doctrine of prayer, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2558 to 2865 (the entire fourth pillar of the Catechism). For the prayers structured into the form of the rosary, see the Rosary. For the longer prayer cycles of the Catholic tradition, see the novenas.