Praying and the Sacraments

"When you have free moments, go faithfully to prayer. The good God is waiting for you there."
— St. Julie Billiart

Psalms for Protection

Good pastoral advice from one of the lesser-known American Saints of the 20th Century.

We Catholics pray for all to see, embrace and enjoy the love we feel from God. Simply put, Prayer is our intimate connection and conversation with God where we thank, worship, repent, and petition Him for His love. mercy and protection.

The Mass, of course, is the consummate community prayer of the Church and the central focus of our Faith. It is the perfect prayer of adoration, contrition, thanksgiving and petition to Our Lord present in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

But there are many other prayers – some of which are prayed within the Sacraments, some not –that have evolved over the years, and which are practiced by Catholics.

No matter whether your prayers are "formal" like the Our Father, the Hail Mary, or the Rosary, or whether they are deeply personal – or combination of both –  communicating with Jesus in prayer is at the very heart of "being Catholic."

While we are all encouraged to compose our own personal prayer to God to express and deepen our relationship with Him, there are some of "favorite" formal prayers the Church prays everyday. Here are some thoughts on a few of them.

The "Our Father" is the prayer given us by Jesus Himself and the principal prayer of most Catholics, followed by the "Hail Mary," which expresses our appeal to the Blessed Mother for help and protection. The "Glory Be," like the "Sign of the Cross," is our constant remembrance that we were Baptized and now live in the light of the Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PRAYERS WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN.

Click on any prayer below for more information.

The Sign of the Cross
The Our Father
The Hail Mary
The Glory Be
The Apostles Creed
The Morning Offering
The Rosary
The Memorare
The Angelus
 

The prayer program includes the Holy Rosary and a Scriptural reading. A short fellowship will follow after the prayers. All are welcome to join us as we gather together. For more information, please contact the parish office.
Link to the Prayer Group