our_prayers

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC PARISH
OUR PRAYERS

Home

Leadership & Ministry

A Look Inside

Our Worship Space

Our Symbols & Sacraments

Our Seasons

Our Devotions

Our Liturgical Items

Our Prayers

Lord's Prayer (a.k.a. Our Father)

The Lords prayer, or the "our Father prayer" is prayed daily by thousands of Christians, and can be seen both as a model for prayer, and as to be repeated as part of our daily prayer.
It starts by addressing God as our Father in heaven, that although His name is honoured, and above all other names, we are His children. As such, we occupy a place of privilege, and He wants us to spend time in prayer with Him.
The Lords prayer then moves on to pray that God's Kingdom, or rule, will become the norm on earth, replacing human rules and governments, which too often are driven by greed and power. Only then do we turn to our own needs, and ask our Father for our basic human needs to be satisfied, and that He would forgive the wrong things that we have done. We ask for God's guidance and protection as we journey through life. Finally we turn back to God, and acknowledge His supremacy and position as the Almighty ruler.

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.
[For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory
now and for ever.] Amen.

The Creed

The Apostles� Creed is so called not because it was composed by the apostles themselves, but because it expresses their teachings. The original form of the creed came into use around A.D. 125, and the present form dates from the 400s. It reads this way:

"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 the Father. 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 the life everlasting. Amen."

Traditional Protestants are able to recite the Apostles� Creed and see it as embodying basic Christian truths as they understand them.

The Rosary

The word rosary comes from Latin and means a garland of roses, the rose being one of the flowers used to symbolize the Virgin Mary. If you were to ask what object is most emblematic of Catholics, people would probably say, "The rosary, of course." We�re familiar with the images: the silently moving lips of the old woman fingering her beads; the oversized rosary hanging from the waist of the wimpled nun; more recently, the merely decorative rosary hanging from the rearview mirror.

After Vatican II the rosary fell into relative disuse. The same is true for Marian devotions as a whole. But in recent years the rosary has made a comeback, and not just among Catholics. Many Protestants now say the rosary, recognizing it as a truly biblical form of prayer�after all, the prayers that comprise it come mainly from the Bible.

The rosary is a devotion in honor of the Virgin Mary. It consists of a set number of specific prayers. First are the introductory prayers: one Apostles� Creed (Credo), one Our Father (the Pater Noster or the Lord�s Prayer), three Hail Mary�s (Ave�s), one Glory Be (Gloria Patri). Click here to view more detailed instructions.