 How
to pray the Rosary
How
to receive the Sacrament of Penance
The
Lords Prayer
The Glory Be
Hail Mary
Act
of Contrition
Apostles
Creed
Fatima Prayer
Hail
Holy Queen
Grace
Before Meals
Grace
After Meals |
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| In the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen...
...Pray for us, Holy
Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us, pray, O God, whose
only begotten Son, by his Life, Death and Resurrection, has
purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we
beseech you, that we who meditate on these mysteries of the
most holy Rosary of the bless Virgin Mary, may both imitate
what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the
same Christ our Lord. Amen. |
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Mysteries |
JOYFUL
(Mondays and Thursdays)
Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity,
Presentation, Finding in the Temple
SORROWFUL (Tuesdays and
Fridays)
Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowing with
Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion.
GLORIOUS
(Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays)
Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of Holy Spirit, Assumption,
Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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How to
receive the Sacrament of Penance
You, O Lord,
according to your gentle grace, Promised forgiveness to
those who repent of their sins, And in your many mercies
Established penance for sinners as the way to salvation...
And now behold I am bending the knees of my heart before
you; And I am beseeching your kindness I have sinned, o
Lord, I have sinned; And I certainly know my sins. I beseech
you: Forgive me, O Lord, forgive me! (The Prayer of
Manasseh) |
| Sin in my
life |
| Modem society has lost a sense of sin. As a Catholic follower
of Christ, you need to make an effort to recognize sin in your
daily actions, words and omissions. The Gospels show how important is the forgiveness of our
sins. Lives of saints prove that the person who grows in holiness
has a stronger sense of sin, of sorrow for sins, and a need for
the Sacrament of Penance or Confession. A helpful check on spiritual growth is how Christlike you
are in having no enemies, forgiving others, loving and serving
others, and carrying your cross. Another helpful check is how
you are handling the Seven Capital Sins. These are: ( 1 ) Pride
(Am I serf-centered?); (2)Greed (Are money and things my real goals in life?); (3) Lust (Am I pure in act, speech and
thinking?); (4) Anger (Do I control my temper and tongue?); (5) Gluttony (Do I control my appetites and addictions?); (6)
Envy (Am I jealous of what others have or are? ); and (7) Laziness
(Am I lazy? Am I apathetic?). We Catholics are fortunate to have the Sacrament of
Penance. It is the ordinary way for us to get our sins forgiven.
This sacrament is a powerful help to getting rid of our weaknesses, grow in holiness, and
lead a balanced life. The serious Catholic, living in the state of grace, celebrates
this sacrament every month ... or every three months ... and
certainly before Christmas and the Easter Triduum every year. |
| The
differences in sins |
| There are two major kinds of sin: original and actual.
Actual sin is sin which people commit. There are two kinds of actual sin, mortal and venial.
Mortal sin is a horrible offense against God, so horrible that
it destroys the life of grace in the soul. Three simultaneous
conditions must be fulfilled for a mortal sin: ( 1 ) the act must
be something very serious; (2) the person must have sufficient
understanding of what is being done; (3) the person must have
sufficient freedom of the will. So I cannot commit a mortal sin
if the matter is not serious (e.g., if I stole a small amount of
money from my employer), or if I did not know what I was doing (e.g., if I were to hurt someone accidentally or
unthinkingly), or if I did not act with full freedom (e.g., I was under
great physical or emotional pressure). A Catholic should know well the difference between mortal
and venial sins and, if mortal sins have been committed since
the last Confession, should identify them as mortal when confessing. |
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Have mercy on me, 0 God in your kindness;
In the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me of my guilt
And of my sin cleanse me ...
A clean heart create for me, 0 Cod,
And a steadfast spirit renew within me.
(PSALM51, 3.4, 12)
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| Examination
of conscience |
Before going to Confession you should make a review of
mortal and venial sins committed since your last forgiveness
in the Sacrament of Penance, and should express sorrow to God for all those sins, hatred for sins and a firm resolution not
to sin again. A helpful pattern for examination of conscience is to review
the Commandments of God and the Precepts of the Church:
1. Have God and the pursuit of sanctity in Christ been the goal of my life?
2. Have I avoided the profane use of God's name in my speech?
3. Have I honored every Sunday by avoiding unnecessary work, celebrating the Mass, re-creating
myself?
4. Have I shown Christlike respect to parents, spouse, and family members?
5. Have I cared for the bodily health and safety of myself and all others?
6. Have I been chaste in thought and word? Have I used sex only within marriage and while open to procreating new life?
7. Have I stolen anything from another, from my employer, from government? If so, am I ready to repay it?
8. Have I spoken ill of any other person? Have I always told the truth?
9. Have I permitted sexual thoughts about someone to whom I am not married?
10. Have I desired what belongs to other people?
11. Have I been faithful to sacramental living (Communion and Penance)?
12. Have I helped make my parish community stronger and holier?
13. Have I done penance by abstaining and fasting on obligatory days?
14. Have I been mindful of the poor? |
| Confessing
my sins |
After examining your conscience and telling God
of your sorrow, go into the Reconciliation Room. You may kneel at
the screen or sit so as to talk face-to-face with the priest.
When you speak, use words such as these:
I confess to Almighty God and to you, Father, that I have sinned. My last Confession was
___ weeks (months, years) ago.
Since then I know of no mortal sins (or) Since then my mortal sins are these (and tell the sins,
number of times and important circumstances.)
My venial sins are these: (Tell the sins and the number of times) or:
Since then I know of no venial sins.
My main fault is and I am working to overcome it. In my past life there were sins of
for which I am still sorry.
For these and all the sins of my past life, I am deeply sorry.
Listen to the words of the priest. When invited, make an Act of Contrition such as:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of
heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all good and
deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the occasions
of sin.
Listen to the words of forgiveness, making the sign of the cross with the priest. If he closes by
saying, Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, answer: For his mercy
endures forever. Then say your assigned penance.
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The Lords Prayer
(Our Father)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen
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The Glory
Be
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit; as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Jesus; Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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Act of Contrition
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things; I firmly intend, with your help, to do
penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy. Amen.
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Apostles Creed
I believe in God the
Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born
of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He
arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated
at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence He shall
come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy
Spirit; the Holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the
forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and life
everlasting. Amen.
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Fatima Prayer
O my Jesus, forgive us
our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to
heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
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Hail Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen,
Mother of mercy! Hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To
you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you do we send up
our sighs, mourning and weeping in the valley of tears! Turn then,
most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us; and after
this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb,
Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
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Grace Before
Meals
Bless us, O Lord, and these Your gifts which we are about to receive
from Your bounty Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Grace After
Meals
We give You thanks, O almighty God, for all Your benefits; You who live and reign,
world without end. Amen
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