Seasonal Prayers
The Church's prayer life changes with the liturgical year. These are the prayers worth knowing for each season.
The Angelus
Prayed three times daily — at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM — throughout the year except during Eastertide, when it is replaced by the Regina Caeli. It meditates on the Annunciation and takes less than two minutes. Traditionally marked by the ringing of church bells.
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
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.
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary…
V. And the Word was made flesh. R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary…
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Angelus has been prayed in its current form since approximately the 13th century. Pope Urban II encouraged the practice at the Council of Clermont in 1095. The threefold structure — three Hail Marys separated by versicle and response — developed over several centuries before reaching its present form.
The O Antiphons
Prayed at Evening Prayer from December 17 through December 23 — the seven days immediately before Christmas Eve. Each antiphon addresses Christ by a different messianic title drawn from the Old Testament. Together they form the basis of the hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, whose verses correspond to each antiphon in reverse order.
They are prayed once each evening, as the antiphon before and after the Magnificat at Vespers. The format is the same for each: the invocation, a description of the title, and the petition Come.
December 17 — O Wisdom O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.
December 18 — O Lord O Lord, and leader of the house of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and you gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain. Come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.
December 19 — O Root of Jesse O Root of Jesse's stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.
December 20 — O Key of David O Key of David, O royal power of Israel, controlling at your will the gate of heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.
December 21 — O Rising Sun O Rising Sun, you are the splendor of eternal light and the sun of justice. Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.
December 22 — O King of Nations O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man: Come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.
December 23 — O Emmanuel O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people: Come and set us free, Lord our God.
The O Antiphons are among the oldest texts in the Roman liturgy, with roots in the 8th century and possibly earlier. In monasteries they were traditionally sung with great solemnity. The seven titles — Wisdom, Lord, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Rising Sun, King of Nations, Emmanuel — trace the messianic prophecies of Isaiah and form a complete theological portrait of who Christ is and what his coming accomplishes.
The Veni Creator Spiritus
Prayed at Pentecost, at Confirmations, at the opening of councils and synods, and at the beginning of significant undertakings requiring the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is one of the oldest and most doctrinally dense hymns in the Roman liturgy, dating to the 9th century and attributed, though without certainty, to Rabanus Maurus.
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High, O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God's hand we own; Thou, promise of the Father, Thou who dost the tongue with power endow.
Kindle our senses from above, and make our hearts o'erflow with love; with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead; so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know; and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son, who rose from death, be glory given, with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created. R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A partial indulgence is attached to its recitation. A plenary indulgence may be gained when it is sung or recited on the Feast of Pentecost and its Octave under the usual conditions. The Veni Creator is also prescribed at the ordination of priests and the consecration of bishops — it is prayed over every man ordained to the priesthood in the Latin Church.
The Regina Caeli
During Eastertide — Easter Sunday through Pentecost — the Church replaces the Angelus with the Regina Caeli. Where the Angelus meditates on the Incarnation, the Regina Caeli responds to the Resurrection. It is prayed three times daily and takes less than a minute.
V. O Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. R. For He whom thou wast worthy to bear, alleluia.
V. Has risen as He said, alleluia. R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray.
O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Regina Caeli has been part of the Church's liturgical life since at least the 12th century. It was formally incorporated into the Liturgy of the Hours for the Easter season and remains one of the four traditional Marian antiphons prayed throughout the liturgical year.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet
Given to Saint Faustina Kowalska through a series of apparitions in the 1930s, the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed on ordinary Rosary beads and takes about eight minutes. Jesus asked that it be prayed especially at 3 PM, the Hour of Mercy, and on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter.
Begin with the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed.
On the large bead before each decade, pray:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
On each of the ten small beads, pray:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Repeat for all five decades. Conclude by praying three times:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Divine Mercy Sunday falls on the Second Sunday of Easter each year. The chaplet can be prayed on any day, but Jesus specifically asked that it be prayed at 3 PM — the hour at which he died on the Cross, which he called the Hour of Mercy. The chaplet and the Divine Mercy devotion were formally approved for the universal Church by Pope John Paul II when he canonized Saint Faustina on April 30, 2000, and established Divine Mercy Sunday for the universal Church the same day.
The Four Marian Antiphons
The Roman liturgy assigns a different Marian antiphon to each of the four major seasons of the year. They are prayed at the close of Compline — Night Prayer — and have been part of the Church's daily prayer since the medieval period. Each one is a complete theological statement about Mary and about the season in which it is prayed.
Advent and Christmas — Alma Redemptoris Mater Loving Mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea, assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again. To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator, yet remained a virgin after as before. You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting, have pity on us poor sinners.
Christmas through Candlemas (February 2) — Ave Regina Caelorum Hail, O Queen of Heaven enthroned. Hail, by angels mistress owned. Root of Jesse, gate of morn, whence the world's true light was born. Glorious Virgin, joy to thee, loveliest whom in heaven they see: fairest thou where all are fair. Plead with Christ our sins to spare.
Lent — Salve Regina Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Easter through Advent — Regina Caeli (See above.)
The Salve Regina is the most widely known of the four. It has been sung at the close of Compline in monastic communities since the 11th century and is associated particularly with the Cistercians and Dominicans. The final three invocations — O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary — are traditionally sung more slowly and with greater solemnity than the rest of the antiphon. The Salve Regina is also prayed at the close of the Rosary.