The Chuch asks all Catholics to celebate the Post- Millennium with fevent paye and meditation on the Incanation and the Redemption caied out by the Tiune God.
PRAYERS fo the People of God CONTAINING A MULTITUDE OF PRAYERS IN ACCORD WITH THE THEMES EMPHASIZED BY THE CHURCH FOR THE POST-MILLENNIUM Illustated CATHOLIC BOOK PUBLISHING CORP. New Jesey
CONTENTS Foewod...6 Chistian Life in the Thid Millennium...8 Official Payes of the Chuch...17 Payes to God the Fathe...18 Payes to Jesus the Redeeme...24 Payes to the Holy Spiit...30 Payes to the Blessed Vigin May...37 Payes to the Blessed Tinity...51 Payes to God the Fathe...59 Payes to God the Son...73 Payes to Jesus, Tue God and Tue Man...74 Daily Payes...82 Confession Payes...87 Payes befoe Holy Communion...88 Payes afte Holy Communion...90 Payes to Jesus in the Blessed Sacament...94 Payes to the Saced Heat of Jesus...98 Payes to Chist the King...103 Payes to God the Holy Spiit...107 Payes to the Blessed Vigin May...123 Payes in Accod with the Litugical Yea...145 Payes fo Advent - Chistmas...145 Payes fo Lent - Easte...157 Payes fo Odinay Time...175 Index of Paye Themes...190 5
FOREWORD The Chuch has called upon all Catholics to celebate the Thid Millennium in the same way that they celebated the Jubilee of 2000 in a spiit of paye and meditation on the wondous woks of the Incanation and the Redemption. She has especially asked us to emembe the themes of God the Ceato, God the Redeeme, and God the Sanctifie as well as May, the Mothe of God. This book of payes is dawn up to help us in this task. It puts at ou fingetips eadymade payes, a pecious teasuy of wods by which we can appoach God evey day and at the same time dwell on these themes. Some of the payes ae taken fom the Chuch s Litugy and ae what may be temed official. Othes ae taken fom the Chuch s living Tadition, including the wide epetoy of payes composed by Saints and holy Popes. Still othes come fom the life-situation of Catholics thoughout the ages. Payes of this type also convey a deepe knowledge and undestanding of the Chuch s teaching. In a subtle and unobtusive fashion they teach the Faith while allowing us to appoach God. By using them, we not only get close to God but also come to know Him bette with evey passing day. It goes without saying that we can also pay in ou own wods instead of wods found on a pinted page and indeed we must do so. 6
CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM A Time of Salvation On Novembe 14, 1994, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic lette entitled As the Thid Millennium Daws Nea. The lette succinctly expessed the essential connotation of the categoy of time and its fundamental impotance in Chistianity. Fo human beings ae not indiffeent to the passage of time; they contemplate inteioly the unfolding of the Histoy of Salvation. Within the dimension of time the wold was ceated, within it the Histoy of Salvation unfolds, finding its culmination in the fullness of time of the Incanation and its goal in the gloious Retun of the Son of God at the end of time. In Jesus Chist, the Wod made flesh, time becomes a dimension of God, Who is Himself etenal. With the coming of Chist thee begin the last days (cf. Heb 1:2), the last hou (cf. 1 Jn 2:18) and the time of the Chuch, which will last until the Paousia. Hence, Chist s wods and actions duing the eathly existence ae not epoduced anew, but insofa as they ae actions of the Incanate Wod they ae actual and efficacious saving actions fo those who celebate them. The sola yea is pemeated by the Litugical Yea, which 8
26 OFFICIAL PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH inexhaustible souce of all good; and to the Holy Spiit, seal of infinite love, all hono and gloy foeve and eve. John Paul II Litany of the Histoy of Salvation Lod, have mecy. Chist, have mecy. Lod, have mecy. Chist, hea us. Chist, gaciously hea us. Fathe in heaven, have mecy on us. Son, Redeeme of the wold, Holy Spiit, the Paaclete, Holy Tinity, one God, Jesus, beloved Son of the Fathe, Divine Wisdom, splendo of His gloy, Jesus, son of Adam, descendant of Abaham, holy seed of David, Jesus, fulfillment of pophecy, fullness of the Law, destiny of human beings, Jesus, gift of the Fathe, conceived by the powe of the Spiit, Son of the Vigin May, Jesus, bon fo ou salvation, evealed to shepheds, manifested to the magi, Jesus, light of the gentiles, gloy of Isael, expectation of the nations, Jesus, baptized in the Jodan, consecated by the Spiit, sent by the Fathe, Jesus, tempted in the deset, paying on the mountain, gloious on Tabo, Jesus, teache of tuth, Wod of life, way to the Fathe, Jesus, heale of the sick, consolation of the afflicted, mecy of sinnes, Jesus, way and gate of salvation, Shephed and Lamb, esuection and life, Jesus, condemned to death, cowned with thons, coveed with wounds, Jesus, nailed to the wood, entombed in the eath, aised fom the dead,
40 OFFICIAL PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH Mothe of Hope O Immaculate Vigin, pemit us, all of us who cay in ou heats the expeiences and wounds of the twentieth centuy... to appoach the inestimable gift [of peace] which Chist has offeed us by being bon of you, two thousand yeas ago! Pemit us to [live in the] Thid Millennium filled with hope! John Paul II The Magnificat My soul poclaims the geatness of the Lod, my spiit ejoices in God my Savio fo He has looked with favo on His lowly sevant. Fom this day all geneations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done geat things fo me, and holy is His Name. He has mecy on those who fea Him in evey geneation. He has shown the stength of his am, He has scatteed the poud in thei conceit. He has cast down the mighty fom thei thones,
90 PRAYERS TO GOD THE SON Act of Contition O my Savio, I am tuly soy fo having offended You because You ae infinitely good and sin displeases You. I detest all the sins of my life and I desie to atone fo them. Though the meits of You pecious Blood, wash me of all stain of sin, so that entiely cleansed I may wothily appoach the most holy Sacament of the alta. My heat yeans to eceive You in Holy Communion. Come, Bead of Heaven and Food of Angels, to nouish my soul and ejoice my heat. Come, most lovable Fiend of my soul, to inflame me with such love that I may neve again be sepaated fom You. PRAYERS AFTER HOLY COMMUNION Act of Faith Jesus, I fimly believe that You ae pesent within me as God and Man, to enich my soul with gaces and to fill my heat
PRAYERS AFTER HOLY COMMUNION 91 with the happiness of the blessed I believe that You ae Chist, the Son of the living God. Act of Adoation With deepest humility, I adoe You, my Lod and my God; You have made my soul You dwelling place. I adoe You as my Ceato fom Whose hands I came and with Whom I am to be happy foeve. Act of Love Dea Jesus, I love You with my whole heat, with my whole soul, and with all my stength. May the love of You own Saced Heat fill my soul and puify it so that I may die to the wold fo love of You, as You died on the Coss fo love of me. My God, You ae all mine; gant that I may be all Yous in time and in etenity. Act of Thanksgiving Dea Lod, I thank You fom the depths of my heat