Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers
Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy
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This revision of the 1988 edition of Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers has seventy percent new texts among its prayers and blessings for many of the most important moments in the life of a family and of an individual. There are ten parts to this book: - Basic prayers
- Daily prayers
- Days of seasons
- Family prayers from birth to death
Prayers for Catholic living- Prayers for the Church and the world
- Litanies
- God’s Word in times of need
- Stations of the Cross
- Calendar of the Saints
Part one contains familiar prayers like the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Confiteor, and other prayers; many are in English and in Latin. The Rosary is also included. Part two has morning, midday, evening, night prayers, the morning offering, Grace before and after meals, and other such traditional prayers. Part three comprises seasonal prayers of the Church year and prayers for national holidays such as Mothers’ Day. Part four has prayers and blessings for a person or family’s life, or events like births, birthdays, illness, moving to a new home, blessing of a new home, blessing of a marriage, prayers for death and grieving, and prayers for funerals. Part five contains novenas, blessing travel, prayers for work and school, meeting prayers, farm prayers, and prayers for athletic events. It also has blessings for objects and prayers for the weather and other occasions.
Part six has prayers for the Church and leaders of the Church and the world. It also has prayers for peace, social justice and other causes. Part seven is litanies: Holy Name of Jesus, Sacred Heart, Most Precious Blood, Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto), St. Joseph, Saints, and the Holy Eucharist. Part eight is made up of scripture readings on various topics like anger, forgiveness, sickness, loss and grief, love, and loneliness. Part nine has two versions of the Stations of the Cross; the first one is the traditional one, and the second is a scripture-based one. Part ten is a calendar of the saints.
Many of these prayers and blessings come from various sources like The Book of Blessings, the Sacramentary, and other traditional sources. There is a scripture index and an index of first lines and common titles. Bishop Donald W. Trautman of Erie, Pennsylvania, who is also the chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, provides the introduction to the book. Each section also has a short introduction.
This book is highly recommended for those wanting prayer and blessings in their family life and home. The binding is of brown leather and very visually appealing.
Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., 2007
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