The First and Greatest Duty is Prayer
In the beautiful and holy book “How To Be Happy, How To Be Holy,” by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, he devotes a chapter to Morning and Evening Prayers. He writes, “We have our duties, our work, our various occupations, but the first and greatest duty we have is to pray to God. How can we say that we love and serve Him if we do not pray?”
Beginning the day with a Morning Offering is a very sanctifying habit to develop, because it invites God into your day right from the get-go. We ought to develop the practice of waking up and, first and foremost, thanking God with gratitude for giving us another day to serve Him in this life, and for every blessing He has bestowed on us, right down to our heartbeat and breath, since even those are pure acts of grace in each moment. We should also ask for His help, and the assistance of the entire Heavenly Court of Angels and Saints, to get us through the day’s activities and obstacles, since we know our Enemy is always nearby seeking to devour us. This is important because we never know if the day at hand could be our final day. We must always be ready and prepared to meet God should He deem it is our time to do so.
We begin each day with a set of morning prayers. But here below are some of the key ones:
First, our daily Consecration to Mary.
O Mary, my Queen, and my Mother, I give myself entirely to you. And in proof of my love and affection, I consecrate this day to you my eyes, my ears, my lips, my heart, my whole being without reserve. Since I am wholly thine, O bountiful Mother, keep me and defend me as your property and possession. Amen.
Next, a prayer to St. Joseph, with an invocation to St. Michael the Archangel. We utilize this particular prayer to ask St. Joseph's intercession for specific intentions that have been asked of us by others, as well as asking his special protection for helping our parents, siblings, Godchildren, Godparents, and our Pastor to grow in holiness. We also seek his help in obtaining graces for the conversion of family, friends, and loved ones who are either lukewarm in the faith or are unbelievers.
O glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, whose power can render possible even things which are impossible, come to my aid in my present trouble and distress. Take under thy protection the important and difficult affairs which I entrust to thee, that they may end happily.
(Pause for petitions)
My beloved Father, all my confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that I invoked thee in vain; and since thou art able to obtain everything before Jesus and Mary, show me that thy goodness equals thy power.
Amen
St. Michael, the Archangel, Prince of the heavenly host, Protect the Holy Catholic Church.
And then, our Morning Offering to Jesus.
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.
I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, the restoration of Holy Mother Church; I offer them for our Bishops and for the Holy Father.
And finally, calling upon our Guardian Angels for their intercession, as they are our constant benefactors who always behold the Face of God whilst they walk with us each moment of our lives.
Angel of God, my Guardian Dear, through whom God’s love entrusts me here, ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, and to guide. Guardian Angels, please pray for us.
We also have others prayers we recite based on which day of the week it is. For example, on Mondays, we have special prayers for our Patron Saints. Mine is St. Nicholas, and Carolanne's is St. Anne. We devote Tuesdays for our Guardian Angels, Wednesdays for St. Michael, Thursdays for St. Joseph, Fridays for the Sacred Heart, Saturdays for the Immaculate Heart, and Sundays for the Most Holy Trinity.
As well, we reflect on the life of the Saint of the Day. We utilize the classic work Butler's Lives of the Saints to reflect on on Saint a day, and then we ask their intercession for us and for the Church. I would encourage you to find a routine that works best for you. One helpful practice is to reflect on the person being addressed as being present right with you as you pray. So if you are calling upon Mary, she is right next to you or in front of you. The same with St. Joseph, St. Michael, our Guardian Angels, and our sweet Lord Jesus Christ.
We also have set prayers for our Afternoon time, normally around 12pm, wherein we recite the Angelus, the prayer to the Holy Spirit to fill the hearts of the faithful, the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel to defend us in battle, and the Golden Arrow prayer that Our Lord revealed to Sr. Mary of St. Peter.
In the evening, we pray our daily Rosary, to honor the request of Our Lady who asked us to pray the Rosary every day to help obtain peace in the world and for the salvation of souls. We conclude our Rosary by also remembering the Holy Souls of Purgatory, and we offer the prayer revealed to St. Gertrude which Our Lord said would help release a thousand souls from Purgatory every time it is prayed.
Before going to sleep at night, we call upon God to watch over us, grant us a restful night, a peaceful death, and to forgive us of any venial sins from that day. We follow this with the beautiful Memorare prayer to Our Lady. And we call upon our Patron Saints, all the Holy Souls of Purgatory, and all the Angels and Saints of the Heavenly Court to pray for us. We then finish with: “We cover ourselves Lord with Your Most Precious Blood, given to us through the hands of Our Blessed Mother, in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Fr. Paul O’Sullivan goes on to write, “Three conditions give prayer its mighty power. First of all, loving faith and confidence… Second, perseverance, for with perseverance we storm Heaven… Third, humility, which compels the Heart of Jesus to give us what we ask. Nothing pleases Him so much.” May you approach your dqily prayers, and your prayer life in general, with all these sentiments.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
