After a mental review of my day, and my faults of that day, I usually begin my nightly prayers with the Act of Contrition:
Oh, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,
And I detest all my sins, because of your just punishment, oh my God,
But most of all because the offend Thee, who are all good and worthy of all my love.
And I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occassion of sin.
I often say the Anima Christi at Mass after Communion.
I try to pray the rosary every night, although sometimes I’m too tired or my meditation on the Mysteries seems stale. I’ve been having trouble with meditative prayer for the last year or so. And the problem with dry spells is, without the positive emotional feedback that is possible during prayer, it’s hard to continue. So I pray less, and get less from it. It’s a vicious cycle. This Lent has helped somewhat. I’m making more of an effort, but it’s still hard. I really only perservere because my priest says that prayer is valuable, even if you don’t seem to feel it at that moment. AAnd I know from my own experience that the things that come easily are often less valued, so I keep trying.
I’m not a big one for prayer (other than as a catharsis when things are going badly – I know no one’s listening and don’t expect it to have any effect). Still, I’ve alway had a fondness for what is often called the Mariner’s Prayer:
O Lord. The sea is so great and my boat is so small.
Simple and effective, and great for what it implies instead of what it says.
I like the nice simple prayer of Peter when he was walking on the water towards Jesus… his faith took him part of the way, but then he began to doubt and found life a termoil around him - when he started to sink he cried out "Jesus, save me"
Seriously, I am rather fond of the part of the Catholic Mass where the priest displays the Host to the congregation, says “This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are we who are called to His table”, and the congregation responds:
“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
It just seems to sum up the infinite mercy of God, without which I’m a goner, as G. Gordon Liddy once observed.
May those who love us, love us
And those that don’t love us,
May god turn their hearts;
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts
May he turn their ankles
So we’ll know them by their limping.
Our Father in Heaven
Hallowed be you name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On Earth as it is is Heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil,
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
Now and forever. Amen
Some years ago I was watching a presidential inauguration on television. Can’t remember which one it was, but the reason I recall it at all were the prayers as offered by three clergy. There was a rabbi, and Protestant minister, and a Catholic priest, the latter being Father Theodore Hesburg(sp?) at that time he was president of Notre Dame University. The first two clergy gave long winded prayers that sounded more like they were making sermons, or just listening to themselves. Fr. H, going third, looked over the top of his glasses at the crowd and said, “At a time like this I can think of nothing more appropriate to say than…” and he said the Lord’s Prayer and was done.
I usually say the Sh’ma, the Jewish statement of faith, several times throughout the day. If I’m by myself, I’ll sing it aloud.
Sh’ma, Yisrael, adonai eloheinu, adonai echad.
It means:
Hear, Israel, the lord is our god, the lord is one.
Now that there are other, and more populous, monotheist religions, this may sound kind of odd, but when Judaism came into being, the concept of just one god, who is powerful enough to be everywhere was quite revolutionary. When I say Sh’ma, it reminds me of god’s omnipresence.
I’ve always been partial to the Jesus prayer, which forms the basis of Orthodox ascetic prayer, and is also quite good for meditation:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
I’m also quite fond of the Lenten prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, which encapsulates in three lines the whole process of Orthodox asceticism:
O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, love of power, and idle words grant me not.
But a spirit of continence, humility, patience, and love grant unto me Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to perceive mine own offenses, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.
There are many versions, but I like the Song Of Amergin in all the forms. It’s ancient Irish, and speaks to me about how we are part of everything. This is a pre-Christian Irish prayer
I am a stag of seven tines,
I am a wide flood on a plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a shining tear of the sun,
I am a hawk on a cliff,
I am fair among flowers,
I am a god who sets the head afire with smoke.
I am a battle waging spear,
I am a salmon in the pool,
I am a hill of poetry,
I am a ruthless boar,
I am a threatening noise of the sea,
I am a wave of the sea,
Who but I knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen ?
Google brings up many other translations and sections of this piece
Someone mentioned the Jesus Prayer! That’s one of my favourites. It seems to cover most things. There’s also a Desert Fathers prayer that goes, “Lord, as Thou wilt and as Thou knowest, have mercy on me.”
I pray the psalms occasionally. I find they’re much more honest about expressing feelings than a lot of regular prayers. Nothing beats, MyGod, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me, and art so far from my help, and from the words of my complaint?.. for yelling-at-God moods, or psalm 148’s Praise him, ye dragons and all deeps. as an antiphon of praise.
I also like St. Patrick’s Breastplate. Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me etc.
From Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva
“For as long as space endures, as long as living beings remain; then may I too abide, to ease the misery of the world.”
And a couple lines from the movie The Thin Red Line which just sent shivers down my spine the first time I heard it, and has been with me since:
“Oh my soul, let me be in you now. Look out through my eyes, look out on the things you have made. All things shining.”
“If I do not find you in this life, then let me feel the lack. One glance from your eyes, and my life will be yours.”
I have a couple of favorites, both from the Book of Common Prayer:
*O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. *
and
O God, in the course of this busy life, give us times of refreshment and peace; and grant that we may so use our leisure to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds, that our spirits may be opened to the goodness of your creation.
I have both of these taped to my computer monitor at work – they seem especially appropriate there!
“And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.”
Sorry. I’ve wanted to T. S. Eliot quote at stargazer for a while, now. Are you familiar with the rest of the Four Quartets?
Just a funny, but an old family favorite at Holiday time. It was uttered one year by my Catholic Mother and has been a tradition ever since. Normaly, she dosn’t joke about her religion.
In the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Whoever eats the fastest gets the most