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My Favorite Catholic Devotions
Photo from Photos.comIn the past few weeks, an internet meme has been making it’s way across Catholic communities encouraging writers to share some of their favorite prayers. When fellow Catholic Digest blogger, Becky Elderidge, suggested we throw our hats into the rings, I thought it was a great idea. Below I offer a few prayers that help me in my spiritual walk.
1. Litany of humility--Humanly speaking, the desire to be loved, honored, praised, consulted, and approved is probably important to most people (barring all of you saintly ones out there). I figure mumbling the words to this beautiful prayer will at least raise my awareness that craving respect and admiration isn’t necessary for my personal identity. Rather, all gifts I possess and any good I do with those gifts is the result of being a child of God, Who gave me all good things.
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
2. Serenity prayer: One of my personal weaknesses is my lack of trust in God. This plays out in the way in which I try to control situations and people out of fear. The serenity prayer reminds me what I am responsible for and what I am not.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
3. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24): When my son, Patrick, was two he became very sick. Severe neurological issues impeded his ability to function and we didn’t know if he would live. When I would lie awake in the middle of the night, I often doubted that Christ would or could heal Patrick. In those moments, I would simply pray, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”
Eventually, Patrick was physically healed (in a sense) and his miracle aided my spiritual healing.
So, readers, what are your favorite prayers that nurture you the most?
After receiving an M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame, Colleen dabbled for several years in education at the high school level. Retiring from her paid positions, she continues her most important work as wife to John and mom to Patrick, Meaghan, Mary Bernadette, Christopher, and Camille Duggan.
Comments
Thanks for sharing this Colleen! I especially like the first one, it reminds me of St. Francis' prayer. I hope we get lots of response to this, it is a wonderful endeavor!
Posted on Aug 31st, 2010 at 10:22 AM by Mary Breiner
Imagine my delight and surprise...as I stumble across your Favorite Devotions in the Catholic Digest! I especially love the Litany of Humility. After last week's gospel reading and Fr. Mike's homily, I realized how difficult it is to be truly humble. Thanks for sharing!
Posted on Aug 31st, 2010 at 2:09 PM by Michelle Hines
The Hail Mary and the Our Father.
Posted on Aug 31st, 2010 at 4:36 PM by unknown
When you repeated the words from the Gospel of Mark, it sounds like the Holy Spirit truly inspired you, Colleen! I recently found myself saying that over and over, too, although the situation wasn't as dire. (Or maybe there was something going on that I didn't know about!) But I felt a huge outpouring of faith when I meditated on those powerful words from Scripture. And the Litany of Humility, wow. I only recently discovered it, but I have to admit, I don't always have the courage to say it. Especially the line about "deliver me from the desire of being approved." Difficult words, but oh so needed, especially by me. Thanks for sharing all of these wonderful prayers!
Posted on Sep 1st, 2010 at 6:38 PM by Connie Clark
Colleen, how humbling that humility prayer is! That will take some working on my part but worth it. I also chose the serenity prayer but I like your additional paragraphs. I had forgotten that it was longer. Thanks for sharing!
Posted on Sep 7th, 2010 at 2:05 PM by Rich Vosler