Monday

On Mondays, we honor our dear and loving Redeemer, Jesus Christ. We remember His Circumcision and His most holy Name. We also honor the holy Patriarchs and Prophets, and all the saints remembered on this day.

We thank God for redeeming the whole human race, and for giving us Heaven as our blessed end. We thank Him, too, for all the many helps He gives us along the way, so that we may reach Him safely.

We ask for a firm hope in God, and for a pure intention in everything we do. We pray that every false teaching may be rooted out. We pray for the living, for our benefactors, and for all people. And we ask God to fill us with zeal, charity, and love for the holy souls who have died.

We make reparation for every time we have mistrusted God, lost courage, or had too little hope in Him. We ask pardon for all our carelessness in His service.

And we pray especially for the faithful departed, above all those who are closest to their release and entrance into Heaven.

Amen.

This prayer comes from a very small and beautiful Catholic prayer book printed in Augsburg, Germany, in 1776, titled Auserlesenes Gebethbüchlein, meaning “A Choice Little Prayer Book.” It includes morning and evening prayers, prayers for Confession and Holy Communion, litanies, and other daily devotions. First prepared for the young nobility of Austria and later published for all Catholics, the book contains old German blackletter pages, delicate devotional engravings, and Church approval pages showing the prayers had been examined and approved in Augsburg in 1752. Nearly 250 years later, these prayers are being gently translated into clear English by Sister Mary Claire for Kathy at Camp Littlemore Farm, so they may once again be prayed slowly and reverently.