St. Agnes was a girl of about twelve or thirteen who was martyred in Rome around the year 304 because she refused to give up her faith or her consecration to Christ. Her courage astonished the pagan city, and she became one of the most honored martyrs of the early Church. She is named in the Roman Canon of the Mass, and her name is linked to the Latin word for lamb, agnus. Lambs blessed on her feast provide the wool for the pallium worn by archbishops. Her feast is January 21

Psalm 63 (Psalm 62 in the Douay numbering) has been the Church's morning psalm since ancient times, and it is still prayed on Sundays and feasts at Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. It opens with a cry of longing, "O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day," and compares the soul's thirst for God to a dry and waterless land. Pray it as soon as you wake, before the day's noise begins, or during a morning holy hour. It is especially fitting in times of spiritu

Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier (1851-1926), Archbishop of Mechelen in Belgium, was a philosopher, a pastor, and a symbol of courage during the First World War. He recommended this brief prayer as "the secret of sanctity and happiness," promising peace to anyone who would quiet the imagination for five minutes each day, enter into the sanctuary of the soul, and speak to the Holy Spirit in these words. Pray it every day in a moment of silence, especially when you need guidance,

St. Cecilia was a Roman noblewoman martyred in the early centuries of the Church, and she is one of the virgin martyrs named in the Roman Canon of the Mass. According to her ancient acts, on her wedding day, while the musicians played, she "sang in her heart to the Lord alone." From that line she became the patron of music, musicians, singers, and composers, and many choirs and music schools bear her name. Her feast is November 22. Pray to her before a rehearsal, performance,

The Rosary is built around twenty mysteries from the lives of Jesus and Mary, grouped into four sets of five: the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries. Most people pray one set (five decades) at a time, so the Church has a customary pattern that assigns a set to each day of the week. That way, over the course of a week, you walk through the whole Gospel with Our Lady. The current pattern was set out by St. John Paul II in 2002, when he added the Luminous Myster

Devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague centers on a small wax statue of the Christ Child that was given to the Discalced Carmelites of Prague in 1628. When the city was sacked and the statue damaged, Fr. Cyril of the Mother of God found it and restored it. He reported that he heard the words, "The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you," and devotion to the Holy Infant spread across the world. This prayer, traditionally attributed to Fr. Cyril, is prayed in any urgent n

Honor the Holy Face of Jesus wounded for our sins. The Prayer O Lord Jesus Christ, in presenting ourselves before Thine adorable Face to ask of Thee the graces of which we stand most in need, we beseech Thee, above all, to grant us that interior disposition of never refusing at any time to do what Thou requirest of us by Thy holy commandments and Thy holy inspirations. Amen. Traditional Holy Face prayer; classic devotionals, public domain. If these prayers help you, you can s

"Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit" (Luke 23:46) is the seventh and final Word of Jesus from the Cross. It is His last prayer, drawn from Psalm 31, and it shows complete trust in the Father at the very moment of death. Christians have made these words their own for centuries. They are part of Night Prayer (Compline) in the Liturgy of the Hours, and many saints died with them on their lips. This short meditation asks for the grace to surrender ourselves to God both no

"It is consummated" (John 19:30), in some translations "It is finished," is the sixth of the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross. It is not a cry of defeat. It announces that the work the Father gave Him, the redemption of the world, has been accomplished to the end. This brief meditation applies that Word to our own lives: each of us has work God has given us to do, in our vocation, our family, and our daily duties, and we ask for the grace to finish it faithfully. It i

The Seven Last Words are the seven sayings of Jesus from the Cross recorded in the Gospels. They have been prayed and preached on for centuries, especially on Good Friday, when many parishes hold a three-hour service from noon to three o'clock. "I thirst" (John 19:28) is the fifth Word. Jesus' thirst was real and physical after hours of suffering, but spiritual writers have long seen in it a deeper thirst: His longing for souls and for our love. This short meditation asks for

"My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46) is the fourth of Jesus' Seven Last Words, cried out in the darkness that covered the land. It is the opening line of Psalm 22, a psalm that begins in anguish and ends in trust and praise. In this Word, Jesus takes on the experience of abandonment that so many people feel in grief, depression, doubt, or spiritual dryness. This brief meditation asks for faithfulness in desolation and the grace never to despair of God'

"Woman, behold thy son... Behold thy mother" (John 19:26-27) is the third of the Seven Last Words. From the Cross, Jesus gave His mother to the beloved disciple John, and the Church has always understood that in John He gave Mary to all of us as our spiritual mother. This short meditation accepts that gift personally and asks Mary to be a mother to us now and at the hour of our death. It is a good prayer on Good Friday, on the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15), b

"Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43) is the second of the Seven Last Words. Jesus spoke it to the repentant thief, often called St. Dismas, who asked only to be remembered when Jesus came into His kingdom. This Word is one of the most hopeful moments of the Passion: it shows that it is never too late to turn to Christ. This brief meditation echoes the good thief's request and asks for the grace of final perseverance and the hope of hea

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34) is the first of the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross. While He was still being crucified, He prayed for the very people who were putting Him to death. No Word is harder to live. This short meditation asks forgiveness for our own sins and a merciful heart like Christ's toward those who have hurt us. Pray it on Good Friday, before Confession, when you are struggling to forgive a family member, coworker,

During Benediction, adore and ask blessing from Jesus in the monstrance. The Prayer O God, Who under a wonderful Sacrament hast left us a memorial of Thy Passion; grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, that we may ever feel within us the fruit of Thy Redemption. Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen. Blessed be God. Blessed be His holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus. Bl

The Litany of Loreto is the Church's best-known litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It takes its name from the Holy House shrine at Loreto in Italy, where it was sung in the sixteenth century, and Pope Sixtus V approved it for the whole Church in 1587. Its titles for Mary, such as Mother most pure, Seat of Wisdom, Mystical Rose, Tower of Ivory, and Refuge of Sinners, are drawn from Scripture and the Church Fathers. Popes have added new invocations over the centuries. It is tra

Eucharistic aspirations are short acts of praise to Jesus truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. "O Sacrament most holy" in particular has been sung and recited for generations and is often said at Benediction, during adoration, and at the close of a Holy Hour. These lines are easy to memorize and can be prayed at any moment: when you pass a Catholic church, as you genuflect before the tabernacle, while waiting in line for Communion, or during your thanksgiving after Mass.

The Te Deum is the Church's great hymn of praise and thanksgiving. It dates from the fourth or fifth century; a beautiful legend says Sts. Ambrose and Augustine composed it together at Augustine's baptism in 387, though many scholars credit Niceta of Remesiana. It is sung at the end of the Office of Readings on Sundays and feasts, and for centuries it has been sung at coronations, consecrations, and victories, and whenever the Church wants to thank God for a great blessing. P

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus honors His human heart as the sign of His infinite love for us. It spread widely after Our Lord's revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 1670s, and the whole month of June, along with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, is dedicated to it. These short aspirations are meant to be repeated often, especially "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee." Pray them when you feel worried or tempted, before work, on First Fridays,

An aspiration is a very short prayer, just a few words, that you can repeat throughout the day. This one, "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee," is among the most loved in the Catholic tradition. It sums up the whole devotion to the Sacred Heart: Jesus loves us with a human heart, and we answer that love with complete confidence in His goodness and mercy. Say it when you wake, when you begin a task, when worry rises, or when you pass a church or a crucifix. Some p