Catholic Prayers

God be praised for the freshness of the morning and the dawning of this new day. Blessed Micheal, we call upon your special custody over us. Please shield us from all bodily and spiritual peril. Help us to be truly Christian in today’s activities and leisure moments. Inspire us to do good, to shun evil, and to remember how precious we are to the Giver of this new day. Amen.

Kneeling at your feet, sweet Mother of God and Queen of Peace, I, your loving child, confidently turn to you in my need, seeking your intercession for peace of mind and comfort to my troubled heart. (Mention your petition here.)

O listen to me, dear heavenly mother. Come to my aid and refuse me not as I cry to you. For you are my mother, and you fail no one who has recourse to you, O Consoler of the afflicted, O Queen of Peace. Amen.

O Blessed St. Joseph, who gave up you last breath in the arms of Jesus and Mary, obtain for me, I beseech you, the grace of a happy death. Defend me from all evil, especially in my final hour. Assist me by your presence, protect me by your power, and obtain for me this grace, O holy St. Joseph, that I may breathe forth my soul in praise, saying in spirit, if so I am unable to do so in words: Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and life. Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and soul.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe out my soul in peace with you. Amen

Saint Padre Pio or St. Pio of Pietrelcina (25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968) was a Capuchin priest from Italy and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was popularly known as Padre Pio after his ordination to the priesthood. He became famous after receiving the “Stigmata“. On 16 June 2002, he was canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II. Padre Pio is the Patron saint of Confessors, Catholic Adolescents and Civil Defense Volunteers.

Gracious God, you generously blessed your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of your Son, and as a stirring inspiration to many people of your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.

In the confessional, Padre Pio labored endlessly for the salvation of souls. Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease. Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts. From the blood of his wounds came a perfumed fragrance, a special sign of your Holy Presence. With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass, inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ, in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Through the intercession of Saint Pio, I confidently beseech you to to grant me the grace of (state your petition here). Help me to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion, so that I, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord, and one day rejoice in the Kingdom, where you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

The foster father of Jesus, St. Joseph, has been more a part of the church’s devotional life rather than its liturgical life. The following prayer by Blessed Pope John XXIII is a wonderful tribute to the courage and strength of St. Joseph, and all fathers.

Saint Joseph, guardian of Jesus and chaste husband of Mary, you passed your life in loving fulfillment of duty. You supported the holy family of Nazareth with the work of your hands. Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you. You know their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes. They look to you because they know you will understand and protect them. You too knew trial, labor, and weariness. But amid the worries of material life, your soul was full of deep peace and sang out in true joy through intimacy with God’s Son entrusted to you, and, with Mary, his tender Mother. Assure those you protect that they do not labor alone. Teach them to find Jesus near them and to watch over him faithfully as you have done. Amen.

Saint Paul (Paul the Apostle) is commonly known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles“. According to the Acts of the Apostles (9-:1-19), his conversion to faith in Jesus took place in a profound life-changing experience on the road to Damascus, where he experienced a vision of the resurrected Jesus after which he was temporarily blinded. Paul, whose Hebrew name was Saul confesses to having “violently persecuted” the “Church of God” prior to his conversion. St. Paul is the patron saint of Gentile Christians, Theologians, Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Missions. He is the patron saint of London.

O most glorious Saint Paul, from being a fierce persecutor of the Christians, you became an ardent apostle. In order to bring the knowledge of Jesus to the farthest bounds of the world, you suffered imprisonments, scourging, stoning, ship wrecks and persecutions of every kind and finally shed your blood upto the last drop.

Obtain for us the grace to receive from the hands of God as heavenly favors the trials and sufferings of this life, so that they may not make us cold in the service of God, but make us more and more faithful and fervent. Amen

St. Sebastian is often known as the saint who was martyred twice. He was ordered by the Roman Emperor to be shot by archers with arrows. Miraculously, the arrows did not kill him. The Emperor then had him beaten to death. He is Patron Saint of Athletes because of his physical endurance and his energetic way of spreading and defending the Faith. St. Sebastian is also patron to all soldiers. He was declared patron of plague sufferers of his reported cures of those afflicted with many diseases.

Dear Commander at the Roman Emperor’s Court, you chose to be also a soldier of Christ and dared to spread faith in the King of Kings – for which you were condemned to die. Your body, however, proved athletically strong and the executing arrows extremely weak. So another means to kill you was chosen and you gave your life to the Lord. May athletes be always as strong in their faith as their Paton Saint so clearly has been. Amen

St. Luke the Evangelist was author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. He is the patron saint of physicians, surgeons, students, butchers, and artists. The Feast of St. Luke is celebrated on 18th October.

Most charming and saintly Physician, you were animated by the heavenly Spirit of love. In faithfully detailing the humanity of Jesus, you also showed his divinity and his genuine compassion for all human beings. Inspire our physicians with your professionalism. And with divine compassion for their patients, enable them to cure the ills of both body and spirit that afflict so many of our day. Amen.

St. Anne  (Ann or Anna) was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. She is represented holding the Blessed Virgin Mary in her lap, who again carries on her arm the child Jesus.She is the patron Saint of housewives, grandmothers, cabinet makers, miners, and women in labor.

Dear Saint, we know nothing about you except your name. But you gave us the Mother of God who called herself handmaid of the Lord. In your home, you raised the Queen of Heaven and you are rightly the model of homemakers. In your womb came to dwell the new Eve, uniquely conceived without sin. Intercede for us that we too may remain free from sins. Amen.

Here is a prayer to one’s own Patron Saint – the saint after which you were named at the time of Baptism.
Saint ………. (Say the Name of your Saint), at baptism, my parents gave me that name which was also yours. You are my companion and heavenly protector. You have borne this name honourably before God and men.

May your example teach me to do the will of God, to be faithful to Christ, to go my way with the attitude and conduct of a committed Christian so that I may one day share with you the rewarding joy of having followed Christ faithfully. Amen