Gracious Lord,
Grant me the wisdom to discern Your will for me and the courage to always follow You. Help me to see Your face in all those I encounter this day and allow me the grace for other to see You reflected in me by my actions.
He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." Luke 11:1
From the very beginning of Christ's public ministry, His followers wanted to know how to pray. In answer to their request, the apostles were given the words to The Lord's Prayer.
Two thousand years later, we still echo the request of the apostles. We want to be taught how to pray. Our Church has responded to this request over the centuries by giving us many beautiful prayers. On these pages, you will find the words to some of these prayers.
The Rosary
Today's Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries
Pope John Paul II declared the time period from October 2002 to October 2003 as the Year of the Rosary. The Holy Father reaffirmed the importance of the rosary saying it is "a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness."
The pope also said, "I look to all of you, brothers and sisters of every state of life, to you, Christian families, to you, the sick and elderly, and to you, young people: confidently take up the Rosary once again. Rediscover the Rosary in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the Liturgy, and in the context of your daily lives."
Rediscover or learn for the first time how to pray the rosary.
On April 30, 2000 a Polish nun named Sister Faustina was canonized. She belonged to the congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. Saint Faustina saw a vision of Jesus, who requested that a copy of this vision be made. He said to her, "By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls."
Jesus asked that a day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy. The first Sunday after Easter has been designated as the Feast of Divine Mercy in response to Our Lord's request.
Saint Catherine Laboure was a novice with the Daughters of Charity in Paris. In 1830, the Blessed Mother appeared to her, telling her, "Have a medal struck as I have shown you. All who wear it will receive great graces." The purpose of this medal was to spread devotion to the Immaculate Conception.
The front of this medal has a picture of the Blessed Mother standing on a globe, crushing the head of a
serpent beneath her feet. The words "O Mary, conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee" are imprinted around her.
On the back is a cross, the letter "M", the Heart of Jesus, crowned with thorns and the Heart of Mary, pierced by a sword.
The Miraculous Medal Novena is said on Mondays following the 9 a.m. Mass.