November 2 is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, better known as All Souls' Day. The day after the Church rejoices with the saints in heaven, she prays for everyone who has died in God's friendship but may still be undergoing purification before seeing Him face to face. A yearly day of prayer for all the dead spread from the Benedictine abbey of Cluny, where St. Odilo established it around the year 998, and the whole month of November is traditionally devoted to

On September 29 the Church keeps the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels, long known in English as Michaelmas. For centuries the date honored St. Michael alone, recalling the dedication of a basilica in his name on the Via Salaria near Rome; since the calendar reform of 1969, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael share the feast. Scripture calls Michael "the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people" (Daniel 12:1). He disputes with the devil in the

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

Pope Leo XIII composed this prayer in 1889, in his encyclical Quamquam pluries on devotion to St. Joseph, at a time when the Church faced great hostility. He asked that it be added to the Rosary during October, and it has been a favorite ever since. It calls on St. Joseph as guardian of the Holy Family to protect the Church, which is the family of Christ, from error and every danger. Pray it after the Rosary, especially in October; on Wednesdays, the day traditionally dedicat

In 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared eighteen times to St. Bernadette Soubirous, a poor fourteen-year-old girl, in a grotto at Lourdes in southern France. She called herself "the Immaculate Conception," asked for prayer and penance, and showed Bernadette a spring that still flows today. Millions of pilgrims visit every year, and the Church has recognized many healings there as miraculous. This traditional prayer asks Our Lady, Health of the Sick, to look with mercy on ou

Archbishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the United States, composed this prayer in 1791, only a few years after the Constitution was ratified. It asks God's wisdom for the President, Congress, governors, judges, and all public officials, and his blessing on all citizens. It remains one of the finest prayers for public life ever written in America, and it asks for virtue, justice, and peace rather than for any party or policy. Pray it on national holidays such as

St. Peregrine Laziosi (1260-1345) is the patron saint of people living with cancer and other serious illnesses. As a young man in Forli, Italy, he was hostile to the Church, but after his conversion he joined the Servite Order and became known for his penance and care for the poor. Late in life he developed a painful, cancerous wound on his leg and was to have it amputated. After praying through the night before a crucifix, he awoke healed. Pray to him for yourself, for a lov

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,

St. Lucy of Syracuse was a young Christian woman martyred in Sicily around the year 304, during the persecution of Diocletian. Her name comes from the Latin word for light, and she has long been honored as patron of the blind and of anyone with eye trouble. She is named in the Roman Canon of the Mass, and her feast on December 13 falls in the darkest part of the year, when many countries celebrate her as a sign of Christ's light coming at Christmas. Pray to her for good eyesi

St. Monica (331-387) is the patron saint of mothers, wives in difficult marriages, and parents whose children have drifted from the faith. For years she prayed and wept for her brilliant, restless son Augustine, who was living far from God. A bishop comforted her with the words, "It is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish." Augustine was baptized in 387, became a bishop and Doctor of the Church, and wrote movingly of his mother's prayers in his Confessions

St. Christopher is one of the most popular saints in the world, and his medal hangs in countless cars. He was a martyr of the third century, and his name means "Christ-bearer." According to the well-known legend, he was a giant who carried travelers across a dangerous river. One night he carried a child who grew heavier with every step, and the child revealed Himself as Christ, carrying the weight of the whole world. Christopher is patron of travelers, drivers, and those in d

The Chaplet of St. Michael, also called the Angelic Crown, honors St. Michael and the nine choirs of angels. According to tradition, St. Michael revealed it to a Portuguese Carmelite, Antonia d'Astonac, and Blessed Pope Pius IX richly indulgenced it in 1851. It is prayed on a special chaplet of nine groups of three beads, but you can also use your fingers or an ordinary rosary. For each of the nine salutations, pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys, then the invocation for

St. Dymphna is the patron saint of those who suffer from anxiety, depression, and mental and emotional illness. According to her ancient story, she was a young Irish princess of the seventh century who fled her home to escape her father, who had become unstable after her mother's death. He found her at Geel, in present-day Belgium, and killed her there. Healings were soon reported at her tomb, and for centuries Geel has been known for its loving care of people with mental ill

St. Anthony of Padua is famous as the saint to call on when something is lost, whether keys, documents, a wedding ring, or even lost faith or peace. The devotion goes back to a story from his own life: a novice who took Anthony's precious book of psalms returned it after the saint prayed for it. The Si Quaeris ("If you seek") is the classic hymn in his honor, written in the thirteenth century by Julian of Speyer. Pray it whenever you have lost something, or for any need, sinc

The Litany of the Saints is one of the oldest prayers of the Church. It calls on Our Lady, the angels, the apostles, martyrs, bishops, and virgins of every age to pray for us, and then asks Christ, through the mysteries of His life, to deliver us from evil and hear our petitions. Its roots go back more than a thousand years, and it is still sung at the Easter Vigil, at ordinations, and at the consecration of churches. You can pray it privately in times of great need, on All S

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

Christians have called on the Blessed Virgin as Help of Christians (Auxilium Christianorum) since the early centuries, and the title appears in the Litany of Loreto. Pope Pius VII established the feast of Mary Help of Christians on May 24 in thanksgiving for his return to Rome in 1814 after years of captivity under Napoleon. St. John Bosco later spread the devotion around the world and built the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. This prayer places us under Mary's

"Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44) is one of the most demanding commands of the Gospel. Jesus lived it on the Cross, and Christians have been praying for their enemies ever since, in private prayer and in the liturgy. This traditional collect asks God to give our enemies true peace and charity and to forgive their sins. It doesn't require us to feel warmly toward them; it simply puts them into God's hands and asks for their good. Pray it

Jesus described His mission in simple words: "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). His parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son show the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15). This prayer asks Christ to look with mercy on sinners and to bring them back with humble and contrite hearts, through the intercession of Mary, Refuge of Sinners. Pray it for family members or friends who have drifted from the

This prayer comes from the traditional prayers for a deceased father or mother, which begin by recalling God's commandment to honor our parents. It asks God to have pity on the soul of the one who has died and expresses the Christian hope of seeing them again in the joy of eternal brightness. Although it was written for parents, you can offer it for any loved one by inserting his or her name. Praying for the dead is a work of mercy the Church has practiced from the beginning;