Catholic Daily Prayers

Daily Practices

The staples of a Catholic rule of life — the routines that hold the day together.

Morning Offering 1 min Holy Mass 40 min–1h15 Holy Rosary 20 min Angelus 3 min Regina Caeli 3 min Mental Prayer 15 min Spiritual Reading 15 min Gospel of the Day 5 min Daily Liturgy 10 min Grace Before & After Meals 1 min Examination of Conscience 5 min Night Prayer 5 min Confession 10 min Holy Hour 1h Stations of the Cross 30 min Catechetical Formation 8 min

Foundational Prayers

Every Catholic learns these by heart. The core prayers, creeds, and acts the faith returns to again and again.

Sign of the Cross 1 min Our Father Hail Mary Glory Be 1 min Apostles' Creed Nicene Creed 1 min Athanasian Creed 5 min

Acts

Act of Contrition 1 min Act of Contrition 2 min Act of Faith 1 min Act of Hope 1 min Act of Charity 1 min Acts of Faith, Hope & Charity 3 min

At Table

Grace Before Meals 1 min Grace After Meals 1 min

Devotions

Prayers and practices the tradition has woven around Our Lord, Our Lady, and the saints.

Chaplets

Short prayers counted on beads, each keeping one mystery or one patron before the heart.

Chaplet of Divine Mercy 10 min Chaplet of St. Michael 15 min Chaplet of the Precious Blood 20 min Chaplet of the Five Wounds 10 min Chaplet of the Infant Jesus of Prague 8 min Franciscan Crown 25 min Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows 25 min

Prayers of the Saints

Prayers the saints left us, and that the faithful have kept praying after them.

St. Patrick's Breastplate 4 min Canticle of the Creatures 3 min St. Teresa's Bookmark 1 min Prayer of the St. Benedict Medal 1 min Prayer of Abandonment 1 min Radiating Christ 2 min Lead, Kindly Light 1 min Breathe in Me, O Holy Spirit 1 min Cardinal Mercier's Prayer to the Holy Spirit 5 min

Marian Antiphons

The four ancient antiphons that close the day across the seasons of the Church year.

Sub Tuum Praesidium Hail, Holy Queen Regina Caeli 3 min

Hymns and Canticles

The voice of the Church in its great moments — the Gospel canticles, the hymn of thanksgiving, the breath that calls down the Spirit.

Benedictus Magnificat Nunc Dimittis 1 min Te Deum Come, Holy Spirit, Creator Blest 5 min Come, Holy Spirit 1 min Prayer of St. Francis (Peace Prayer) 1 min Prayer Before a Crucifix 1 min Opening Verse 1 min Veni, Sancte Spiritus 3 min The Divine Praises Gloria in excelsis Deo 2 min The Seven Penitential Psalms 20 min

For the Faithful Departed

From the depths the Church cries out for those who have gone before us in the sign of faith.

De Profundis (Psalm 130) 1 min Eternal Rest 1 min

Scripture for Times of the Heart

Short scripture practices for what the day brings — anxiety, gratitude, suffering, joy.

When Anxious 10 min Gratitude 10 min In Suffering 10 min Joy 10 min Forgiveness 10 min Courage 10 min Trust in God 10 min Love 10 min

Catechetical Index

The structure of the Catholic life at a glance — what to believe, how to live, the means of grace.

The Ten Commandments The Decalogue — God's covenant written on the heart The Beatitudes The heart of Christ's preaching The Precepts of the Church The minimum of Catholic life The Seven Sacraments Efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ The Works of Mercy Corporal and spiritual acts of charity The Virtues Theological and cardinal — the habits of a holy life The Capital Sins and Opposing Virtues Seven roots of sin — and the remedies that uproot them Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit Seven gifts that perfect the virtues; twelve fruits that manifest the Spirit's work

Formation Library

Short readings on prayer, conversion, the Christian life, and the seasons when prayer is hard.

How to Pray

How to Pray A primer on the life of prayer — vocal, meditative, contemplative Mental Prayer The prayer that is friendship — and the many roads into it Lectio Divina Praying with Scripture — Guigo's four rungs The Ignatian Examen Fifteen minutes that sanctify the rest of the day How to Pray the Rosary Well Not to recite it, but to live inside its mysteries

Confession & Conversion

How to Make a Good Confession The sacrament of mercy — preparation, confession, and after Returning to Confession After a Long Time For the Catholic who has not been in years — and the Father who is running toward you The Predominant Fault Naming the one passion that stands between you and God

The Christian Life

A Plan of Life A rule for daily fidelity — and how to build one The Baptism You Already Have For the baptized who never practiced The First Year After Reception What no one warned the convert about The First Mass Back On returning after a long absence

Prayer in Difficulty

When Prayer Goes Dark On dryness, distraction, and the long silence Feeling and Faith On consolation, desolation, and the movements beneath them The Book and the Silence When you have studied the faith but have not yet prayed it Pacing One thing at a time, kept for a year Measuring What Cannot Be Measured For the faithful soul tempted by the dashboard The Psalter in the Dark When your own words fail

Marian and Liturgical

Marian Devotion from Scratch For the soul who never learned to love her What the Mass Is The source and summit of the Christian life — one Sacrifice, made present The Form and the Fire When the traditional soul mistakes the crust for the loaf

Books

Full catechetical works for sustained study.

My Catholic Faith: A Catechism in Pictures Bp. Louis LaRavoire Morrow The Catechetical Instructions St. Thomas Aquinas Catechism of Christian Doctrine Pope Saint Pius X Catechism of the Council of Trent Council of Trent (promulgated by Pope St. Pius V, 1566) The Imitation of Christ Thomas à Kempis