Anyone who lives an experience of faith knows well (and knows it precisely “from experience”) that prayer is something one cannot do without. Not a duty, therefore, but a necessity. Just as eating, drinking, and sleeping are necessary. Faith speaks the language of love, and when one loves, one desires nothing more than to be in the presence of the beloved, to listen to them, to speak to them… All this is prayer, which must arise spontaneously from the heart, but which sometimes may need a little “external” help. That is why it is good to have a few prayers written by others at hand. They are words that are “suggested” to us when our heart seems unable to express them.
Summer, with vacations and its rhythms somehow altered compared with ordinary life, could be a time when prayer risks becoming a little more difficult. That is why we thought of offering a handy resource with a few simple prayers that can help us keep our dialogue with God alive at the main moments of each day.
Download the prayers directly to your smartphone so you can always carry them with you, even while on vacation, and share them with your loved ones.
MORNING PRAYER
I bless you, Father
I bless you, O Father, at the beginning of this new day.
Accept my praise and my thanks for the gift of life and faith.
With the strength of your Spirit, guide my plans and actions: may they be in accordance with your will.
Deliver me from all evil and from discouragement in the face of difficulties.
Make me attentive to the needs of others.
Protect my family with your love. Amen.
BLESSING BEFORE MEALS
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Father • Hail Mary
Before the meal
Bless, Lord, this food,
that by your goodness we are about to receive.
Help us to give it also to those who have none
and make us sharers in your blessing.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
After the meal
We thank you, our God,
for the nourishment you have given us:
through this bread, which we have shared together,
may communion with you be rekindled in us,
with our brothers and sisters and all creatures.
Amen.
Magnificat
Canticle of the Blessed Virgin (Lk 1:46-55)
The Magnificat is Mary's masterpiece, a prayer loved and prayed for centuries. It is a prayer that foreshadows the values of the Beatitudes, alluding to the kingdom of God that belongs to the poor, the meek, the afflicted, the needy and the merciful, the peacemakers and the persecuted.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord *
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
because he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. *
From now on all generations
they will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me *
and holy is his name:
his mercy is from generation to generation *
he is on those who fear him.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
he has lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things, *
he has sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of Israel, his servant, *
remembering his mercy,
as he promised our fathers, *
to Abraham and his descendants forever.
Glory to the Father
EVENING PRAYER
Grant me your blessing
Father, here I am. My day is over, and I present it to you.
May your presence and your kindness accompany me in sleep,
so that it may be, for me and my loved ones, a relief from weariness and a recovery of strength;
so that the new day may be filled with good works.
May your grace grant us rest in your love,
safe from all evil, and to awaken in joy, to sing your praise.
Through Jesus, your Son and our Redeemer,
and for Mary, his and our mother, grant us your blessing.
Amen.
