Lenten Prayers

"The modern world cannot do without God. This is the root of its ills. The great truth is that we have an absolute need of God…He normally bestows His grace only in response to prayer. Since our need exists at all times....“We ought always to pray and not to faint” (Lk. 18:1)....The true nature of Christian prayer is perfectly expressed in the following definition given by St. John Damascene and St. Thomas Aquinas: prayer is “a raising of the mind and heart towards God” to offer Him our homage and to ask Him for all those things of which we stand in need" (Dom Columba Marmion, O.S.B., Abbot of Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chap. 15). Blessed Columba Marmion, born Joseph Aloysius Marmion (1858 – 1923) was an Irish Benedictine monk, and the third abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium.

More Penitential Prayers Added at the Foot of the Page

SHORT PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON
based on the Seven Penitential Psalms

SUNDAY PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON

Psalm 50 (51) : Miserere
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
My offenses truly I know them; my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done.
That you may be justified when you give sentence and be without reproach when you judge.
O see, in guilt was I born, a sinner was I conceived.
Indeed you love truth in the heart; then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
Purify me, then I shall be clean; O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear rejoicing and gladness, that the bones you have crushed may revive.
From my sins turn away your face and blot out all my guilt.
A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervor sustain me, that I may teach transgressors your ways and sinners may return to you.
O rescue me, God, my helper, and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse; my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn. In your goodness, show favor to Sion: rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice, holocausts offered on your altar.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Reading from the Book of Ezechiel, chapter 18:
“Behold all souls are Mine: as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, the same shall die. And if a man be just, and do judgment and justice ... and hath walked in My commandments: this man shall not die ... but living he shall live. The soul that sinneth, the same shall die ... But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all My commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die. I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done: in his justice which he hath wrought, he shall live. Is it My will that a sinner should die, saith the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?

“But if the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity according to all the abominations which the wicked man useth to work, shall he live? All his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered: in the prevarication, by which he hath prevaricated, and in his sin, which he hath committed, in them he shall die. And you have said: 'The way of the Lord is not right!' Hear ye, therefore, O house of Israel! Is it my way that is not right, and are not rather your ways perverse?

“For when the just turneth himself away from his justice, and committeth iniquity, he shall die therein: in the injustice that he hath wrought he shall die. And when the wicked turneth himself away from his wickedness, which he hath wrought, and doeth judgment, and justice: he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth and turneth away himself from all his iniquities which he hath wrought, he shall surely live, and not die. And the children of Israel say:' The way of the Lord is not right!' Are not my ways right, O house of Israel, and are not rather your ways perverse? Therefore will I judge every man according to his ways, O house of Israel, saith the Lord God. Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities: and iniquity shall not be your ruin.

“Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit: and why will you die, O house of Israel? For I desire not the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God, return ye and live” (Ezechiel 18:4-5; 18, 18:20-32).

MONDAY PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON

Psalm 6 : Domine, ne in furore
Lord, do not reprove me in your anger: punish me not in your rage.
Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength; Lord, heal me, my body is racked; my soul is racked with pain.
But you, a Lord, how long? Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me in your merciful love, for in death no one remembers you; from the grave, who can give you praise?
I am exhausted with my groaning; every night I drench my pillow with tears.
My eye wastes away from grief; I have grown old surrounded by my foes.
Leave me, all you who do evil; for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will accept my prayer.
All my foes will retire in confusion, foiled and suddenly confounded.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Reading from the the 3rd Book of Kings, chapter 8:
“Have regard to the prayer of Thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord my God: hear the hymn and the prayer, which Thy servant prayeth before Thee this day: ... Hear Thou in heaven: and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own head, and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his justice.

“If Thy people ... doing penance and confessing to Thy Name, shall come, and pray, and make supplications to Thee ... Then hear Thou in Heaven, and forgive the sin of Thy people ...

If Heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they praying, shall do penance to Thy Name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions: then hear Thou them in Heaven, and forgive the sins of Thy servants, and of Thy people: and show them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession.

“If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew, if their enemy afflict them besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity, whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of Thy people: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house, then hear Thou in Heaven, in the place of Thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for Thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men) that they may fear Thee all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.

“But if they sin against Thee (for there is no man who sinneth not) and Thou being angry deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies far or near; then, if they do penance in their heart in the place of captivity, and being converted make supplication to Thee in their captivity, saying: ‘We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness!’ and return to Thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they had been led captives: and pray to Thee ... then hear Thou in Heaven ... and forgive Thy people, that have sinned against Thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against Thee: and give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them.

“Blessed be the Lord ... our God ... May He incline our hearts to Himself, that we may walk in all His ways, and keep His commandments, and His ceremonies, and all His judgments which He commanded our fathers ... Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in His statutes, and keep His commandments” (3 Kings 8:28-61).

TUESDAY PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON

Psalm 31 (32) : Beati quorum
Happy the man whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is remitted.
Happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile.
I kept it secret and my frame was wasted.
I groaned all the day long, for night and day your hand was heavy upon me.
Indeed, my strength was dried up as by the summer's heal.
But now I have acknowledged my sins; my guilt I did not hide.
I said: "I will confess my offense to the Lord."
And you, Lord, have forgiven the guilt of my sin.
So let every good man pray to you in the time of need.
The floods of water may reach high but him they shall not reach.
You are my hiding place, a Lord; you save me from distress.
You surround me with cries of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will give you counsel with my eye upon you.
Be not like the horse and mule, unintelligent, needing bridle and bit, else they will not approach you.
Many sorrows has the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord, loving mercy surrounds him.
Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord, exult, you just! a come, ring out your joy, all you upright of heart.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Reading from St. Paul's Fist Epistle to the Corinthians
“Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain. And every one that striveth for the mastery, refraineth himself from all things: and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one. I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty: I so fight, not as one beating the air: but I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway.

"For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea: and did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; (and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.) But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert.

"Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ: as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur: as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

"Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, fly from the service of idols” (1 Corinthians (9:24-27; 10:1-14).

WEDNESDAY PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON

Psalm 37 (38) : Domine, ne in furore
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not punish me, Lord in your rage.
Your arrows have sunk deep in me; your hand has come down upon me.
Through your anger all my body is sick: through my sin, there is no health in my limbs.
My guilt towers higher than my head; it is a weight too heavy to bear.
My wounds are foul and festering, the result of my own folly.
I am bowed and brought to my knees. I go mourning all the day long.
All my frame bums with fever; all my body is sick.
Spent and utterly crushed, I cry aloud in anguish of heart.
O Lord, you know all my longing: my groans are not hidden from you.
My heart throbs, my strength is spent; the very light has gone from my eyes.
My friends avoid me like a leper; those closest to me stand afar off.
Those who plot against my life lay snares; those who seek my ruin speak of harm, planning treachery all the day long.
But I am like the deaf who cannot hear, like the dumb unable to speak.
I am like a man who hears nothing in whose mouth is no defense.
I count on you, O Lord: it is you, Lord God, who will answer.
I pray: "Do not let them mock me, those who triumph if my foot should slip."
For I am on the point of falling and my pain is always before me.
I confess that I am guilty and my sin fills me with dismay.
My wanton enemies are numberless and my lying foes are many.
They repay me evil for good and attack me for seeking what is right.
O Lord, do not forsake me! My God, do not stay afar off!
Make haste and come to my help, O Lord, my God, my savior!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Reading from the Book of Ezechiel, chapter 33:
“Say to them: ‘As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways: and why will you die, O house of Israel? Thou therefore, O son of man, say to the children of thy people: The justice of the just shall not deliver him, in what day soever he shall sin: and the wickedness of the wicked shall not hurt him, in what day soever he shall turn from his wickedness: and the just shall not be able to live in his justice, in what day soever he shall sin.

"Yea, if I shall say to the just that he shall surely live, and he, trusting in his justice, commit iniquity: all his justices shall be forgotten, and in his iniquity, which he hath committed, in the same shall he die. And if I shall say to the wicked: Thou shalt surely die: and he do penance for his sin, and do judgment and justice, and if that wicked man restore the pledge, and render what he had robbed, and walk in the commandments of life, and do no unjust thing: he shall surely live, and shall not die. None of his sins, which he hath committed, shall be imputed to him: he hath done judgment and justice, he shall surely live.

"And the children of thy people have said: 'The way of the Lord is not equitable!' whereas their own way is unjust. For when the just shall depart from his justice, and commit iniquities, he shall die in them. And when the wicked shall depart from his wickedness, and shall do judgments, and justice: he shall live in them’” (Ezechiel 33:11-19).

THURSDAY PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON

Psalm 130 (129) : De profundis
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness: for this we revere you.
My soul is waiting for the Lord; I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord more than the watchman for daybreak.
Let the watchman count on daybreak and Israel on the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption; Israel indeed he will redeem from all its iniquity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Reading from the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 7:
“For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and you say: ‘He hath a devil!’ The Son of man is come eating and drinking: and you say: ‘Behold a man that is a glutton and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners!’ And one of the Pharisees desired him to eat with Him. And He went into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that He sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment; and standing behind at His feet, she began to wash His feet, with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: ‘This man, if He were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him, that she is a sinner. And Jesus answering, said to him: ‘Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee.’ But he said: ‘Master, say it!’

“‘A certain creditor had two debtors, the one who owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?’
Simon answering, said: ‘I suppose that he to whom he forgave most.’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou hast judged rightly.’ And turning to the woman, He said unto Simon: ‘Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for my feet; but she with tears hath washed My feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. Thou gavest Me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less.’

And He said to her: ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee. And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves: ‘Who is this that forgiveth sins also?’ And He said to the woman: ‘Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace!’” (Luke 7:33-50).

FRIDAY PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON

Psalm 101 (102) : Domine, exaudi
O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress.
Turn your ear towards me and answer me quickly when I call.
For my days are vanishing like smoke, my bones bum away like a fire.
My heart is withered like the grass. I forget to eat my bread.
I cry with all my strength and my skin clings to my bones.
I have become like a pelican in the wilderness, like an owl in desolate places.
I lie awake and I moan like some lonely bird on a roof.
All the day long my foes revile me; those who hate me use my name as a curse.
The bread I eat is ashes; my drink is mingled with tears.
In your anger, Lord, and your fury you have lifted me up and thrown me down.
My days are like a passing shadow and I wither away like the grass.

But you, O Lord, will endure for ever and your name from age to age.
You will arise and have mercy on Sion: for this is the time to have mercy;
Yes, the time appointed has come, for your servants love her very stones, are moved with pity even for her dust.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth's kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Sion again and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers.
Let this be written for ages to come that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord; for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked down from heaven to the earth that he might hear the groans of the prisoners and free those condemned to die.
The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled, and their race shall endure before you;
So that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Sion and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem,
When peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to pay their homage to the Lord.

He has broken my strength in mid-course; he has shortened the days of my life.
I say to God: "Do not take me away before my days are complete, you, whose days last from age to age.
Long ago you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish but you will remain. They will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like clothes that are changed. But you neither change, nor have an end.
The children of your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before you.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Reading from the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 11:
And Jesus said: “For John [the Baptist] came neither eating nor drinking; and they say: He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say: Behold a man that is a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. And wisdom is justified by her children.

“Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of his miracles, for that they had not done penance. Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. And thou Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted up to Heaven? Tthou shalt go down even unto Hell. For if in Sodom had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in thee, perhaps it had remained unto this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee” (Matthew 11:18-23)

SATURDAY PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON

Psalm 143, 1-11: Domine, exaudi
Lord, listen to my prayer; turn your ear to my appeal.
You are faithful, you are just; give answer.
Do not call your servant to judgment, for no one is just in your sight.
The enemy pursues my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead, long forgotten.
Therefore my spirit fails; my heart is numb within me.
I remember the days that are past: I ponder all your works.
I reflect upon what your hand has wrought and to you I stretch out my hands.
Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you. Lord, make haste and answer; for my spirit fails within me.
Do not hide your face lest I become like those in the grave.
In the morning let me know your love, for I put my trust in you.
Make me know the way I should walk: to you I lift up my soul.
Rescue me, Lord, from my enemies; I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will for you, O Lord, are my God.
Let your good spirit guide me in ways that are level and smooth.
For your name's sake, Lord, save my life; in your justice save my soul from distress.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Reading from the Book of Numbers, chapter 14:
“And the Lord said to Moses: ‘How long will this people detract Me? How long will they not believe Me for all the signs that I have wrought before them? I will strike them therefore with pestilence, and will consume them: but thee I will make a ruler over a great nation, and a mightier than this is.’

And Moses said to the Lord: ‘That the Egyptians, from the midst of whom Thou hast brought forth this people, and the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that Thou, O Lord, art among this people, and art seen face to face, and Thy cloud protecteth them, and Thou goest before them in a pillar of a cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, may hear that Thou hast killed so great a multitude as it were one man and may say: ‘He could not bring the people into the land for which He had sworn, therefore did He kill them in the wilderness!’ Let their the strength of the Lord be magnified, as Thou hast sworn, saying: ‘The Lord is patient and full of mercy, taking away iniquity and wickedness, and leaving no man clear, who visitest the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.’ Forgive, I beseech Thee, the sins of this people, according to the greatness of Thy mercy, as thou hast been merciful to them from their going out of Egypt unto this place.’

And the Lord said: ‘I have forgiven according to thy word. But yet all the men that have seen my majesty, and the signs that I have done in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now ten times, and have not obeyed my voice, they shall not see the land for which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any one of them that hath detracted me behold it. My servant Caleb, who being full of another spirit hath followed Me, I will bring into this land which he hath gone round: and his seed shall possess it.’

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ‘How long doth this wicked multitude murmur against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Say therefore to them: “As I live,” saith the Lord: “According as you have spoken in my hearing, so will I do to you. In the wilderness shall your carcasses lie. All you that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, and have murmured against Me, shall not enter into the land, over which I lifted up my bend to make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun. Your carcasses shall lie in the wilderness. Your children shall wander in the desert forty years, and shall bear your fornication, until the carcasses of their fathers be consumed ill the desert, according to the number of the forty days, wherein you viewed the land: year shall be counted for a day. And forty years you shall receive your iniquities, and shall know my revenge: for as I have spoken, so will I do to all this wicked multitude, that hath risen up together against me: in this wilderness shall it faint away and die’” (Numbers 14:11-35).

PENITENTIAL PRAYERS OF ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI
FOR EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK

PRAYER FOR SUNDAY
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

O Mother of my God, look down upon a poor sinner, who has recourse to thee and puts his trust in thee. I am not worthy that thou shouldst even cast thine eyes upon me; but I know that thou, beholding Jesus thy Son dying for sinners, dost thyself yearn exceedingly to save them. O Mother of Mercy, look on my miseries and have pity upon me. Men say thou art the refuge of the sinner, the hope of the desperate, the aid of the lost. Be thou, then, my refuge, hope, and aid. It is thy prayers which must save me. For the love of Jesus Christ, be thou my help; reach forth thy hand to the poor fallen sinner who recommends himself to thee. I know that it is thy joy to aid the sinner when thou canst; help me now, thou who canst help. By my sins I have forfeited the grace of God and my own soul. I place myself in thy hands; oh, tell me what to do that I may regain the grace of God, and I will do it. My Savior bids me go to thee for help; He wills that I should look to thy pity; that so, not only the merits of thy Son, but thine own prayers too, may unite to save me. To thee, then, I have recourse: pray thou to Jesus for me; and make me experience how great good thou canst do for one who trusts in thee. Be it done unto me according to my hope. Amen.

Then say three Hail Mary's to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.

PRAYER FOR MONDAY
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Most holy Mary, Queen of Heaven, I, who was once the slave of the Evil One, now dedicate myself to thy service for ever; and I offer myself to honour and to serve thee as long as I live. Accept me for thy servant, and cast me not away from thee, as I deserve. In thee, O my Mother, I place all my hope. All blessing and thanksgiving be to God, Who, in His mercy, gives me this trust in thee. True it is, that, in past times, I have fallen miserably into sin; but by the merits of Jesus Christ, and by thy prayers, I hope that God has pardoned me. But this is not enough, my Mother. One thought appalls me; it is, that I may yet lose the grace of God. Danger is ever nigh; the devil sleeps not; fresh temptations assail me. Protect me, then, my Queen; help me against the assaults of my spiritual enemy. Never suffer me to sin again, or to offend Jesus, thy Son. Let me not, by sin, lose my soul, Heaven, and my God. This one grace, Mary, I ask of thee; this is my desire; this may thy prayers obtain for me. Such is my hope. Thus may it be! Amen.

Then say three Hail Mary's to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.

PRAYER FOR TUESDAY
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Most holy Mary, Mother of Goodness, Mother of Mercy, when I reflect upon my sins and upon the moment of my death, I tremble and am confounded. O my sweetest Mother, in the Blood of Jesus, in thy intercession, are my hopes. Comforter of the sad, abandon me not at that hour; fail not to console me in that affliction. If even now I am so tormented by remorse for the sins I have committed, the uncertainty of my pardon, the danger of a relapse, and the strictness of the Judgment—how will it be with me then? O my Mother, before death overtakes me, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, a true amendment, and constant fidelity to God for the remainder of my life. And when, at length, my hour is come, then do thou, Mary, my hope, be thyself my aid in those great troubles wherewith my soul will be encompassed. Strengthen me, that I may not despair when the enemy sets my sins before my face. Obtain for me, at that moment, grace to invoke thee often, so that with thine own sweet name and that of thy most holy Son upon my lips, I may breathe forth my spirit. This grace thou hast granted to many of thy servants; this, too, is my hope and my desire. Such is my hope. Thus may it be! Amen.

Then say three Hail Mary's to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.

PRAYER FOR WEDNESDAY
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Mother of God, most holy Mary, how often by my sins have I merited Hell! Long ago, perhaps, judgment would have gone forth against my first mortal sin, hadst not thou, in thy tender pity, delayed the justice of God, and afterwards attracted me by thy sweetness to have confidence in thy prayers. And O, how very often should I have fallen in the dangers which beset my steps, hadst not thou, loving Mother that thou art, preserved me by the graces thou, by thy prayers, didst obtain for me. But O, my Queen, what will thy pity and thy favors avail me, if, after all, I perish in the flames of Hell? If there was once a time when I loved thee not, yet now, next to God, I love thee above all. Wherefore, henceforth and for ever, suffer me not to turn my back upon thee and upon my God, Who, through thee, has granted me so many mercies. O Lady, most worthy of all love, let it not be that I, thy child, should be doomed to hate and to curse thee for ever in Hell. Thou wilt surely never endure to see thy servant lost, who loves thee. O Mary, say not that I ever can be lost! Yet lost I shall assuredly be, if I abandon thee. But who could ever have the heart to leave thee? Who can ever forget thy love? No, it is impossible for a man to perish, who faithfully recommends himself to thee, and has recourse to thee. Only leave me not, my Mother, in my own hands, or I am lost! Let me but cling to thee! Save me, my hope! Save me from Hell; or, rather, save me from sin, which alone can condemn me to Hell. Such is my hope. Thus may it be! Amen.

Then say three Hail Mary's to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.

PRAYER FOR THURSDAY
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

O Queen of Heaven, who sittest enthroned above all the choirs of the angels, nearest to God, from this valley of miseries, I, a poor sinner, say to thee, "Hail, Mary," begging thee, in thy love, to turn upon me those gracious eyes of thine. See, Mary, the dangers among which I dwell—and shall ever have to dwell—whilst I live upon this earth. I may yet lose my soul, Paradise, and God. In thee, Lady, is my hope. I love thee; and I sigh after the time when I shall see thee and praise thee in Paradise. O Mary, how soon will the happy day come, when I shall see myself safe at thy feet? When shall I kiss that hand, which has dispensed to me so many graces? Alas, it is too true, my Mother, that I have ever been very ungrateful during my whole life; but, if I get to Heaven, then I will love thee there every moment of a whole eternity, and make reparation to thee, in some way, for my ingratitude, by ever blessing and praising thee. Thanks be to God, for that He hath vouchsafed me this hope through the Precious Blood of Jesus, and through thy powerful intercession. This has been the hope of all thy true lovers; and no one of them has been defrauded of his hope. No, neither shall I be defrauded of mine! O Mary, pray to thine own Son Jesus—as I too pray to Him—by the merits of His Passion, to strengthen and increase this hope. Such is my hope. Thus may it be! Amen.

Then say three Hail Mary's to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.

PRAYER FOR FRIDAY
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

O Mary, thou art the noblest, highest, purest, fairest creature of God, the holiest of all creatures! O, if only all men knew thee and loved thee, my Queen, as thou deservest to be loved! Yet great is my consolation, Mary, in that there are blessed souls in the courts of Heaven, and just souls still on earth, whose hearts thou leadest captive with thy beauty and thy goodness. But, above all, I rejoice in this, that our God Himself loves thee alone more than all men and angels together. I, too, O loveliest Queen, I, a miserable sinner, dare to love thee—though my love is too little. I wish I had a greater love, a more tender love; this thou must gain for me, since to love thee is a great mark of predestination, and a grace which God grants to those who shall be saved. Moreover, O my Mother, when I reflect upon the debt I owe thy Son, I see He deserves of me an immeasurable love. Do thou, then, who desirest nothing so much, as to see Him loved, pray that I may have this grace—a great love for Jesus Christ. Obtain it, thou who obtainest what thou wilt. I covet not the goods of this earth, nor honors, nor riches, but I desire that which thine own heart desires most, which is to love my God alone. O, can it be that thou wilt not aid me in a desire so acceptable to thee? No, it is impossible! Even now I feel thy help; even now thou prayest for me. Pray for me, Mary, pray; nor ever cease to pray, till thou dost see me safe in Paradise, where I shall be certain of possessing and of loving my God and thee, my dearest Mother, for ever and for ever. Such is my hope. Thus may it be! Amen.

Then say three Hail Mary's to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.

PRAYER FOR SATURDAY
by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Most holy Mary, I know the graces which thou hast obtained for me, and I know the ingratitude which I have shown thee. The ungrateful man is unworthy of favors, and yet. for all this. I will not distrust thy mercy. O my great Advocate, have pity on me! Thou, Mary, art the stewardess of every grace which God vouchsafes to give us sinners, and, therefore, did He make thee so mighty, rich, and kind, that thou mightest assist us. I will that I may be saved: in thy hands I place my eternal salvation, to thee I consign my soul. I will to be associated with those who are thy special servants: reject me not. Thou goest up and down seeking the wretched, to console them. Cast not away, then, a wretched sinner who has recourse to thee. Speak for me, Mary; thy Son grants what thou askest. Take me beneath thy shelter, and it is enough for me; for, with thee to guard me, I fear no ill, no, not even my sins, because thou wilt obtain God's pardon for them; no, nor yet evil spirits, because thou art far mightier than Hell; no, nor my Judge Jesus Christ, for, at thy prayer, He will lay aside His wrath. Protect me, then, my Mother; obtain for me pardon of my sins, a love of Jesus, holy perseverance, a good death, and Heaven. It is too true, that I do not merit these graces; yet do thou only ask them of our God and I shall obtain them. Pray, then, to Jesus for me. Mary, my Queen, in thee I trust; in this trust I rest, I live; and with this trust I will that I may die. Such is my hope. Thus may it be! Amen.

Then say three Hail Mary's to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.

SHORT PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASONbased on the Seven Penitential Psalms

SHORT PRAYERS & READINGS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON
based on the Seven Penitential Psalms