Prayers specifically addressed to God, the Son.
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Iesu Infans (Infant Jesus)
"And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will.'" (Luke 2:12-14)
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Iesus Crucifixus et Sancta Crux (Jesus Crucified & the Holy Cross)
"For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness: but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God." (1 Cor. 1:18 )
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- Commemoratio Crucis
Commemoration of the Cross
- Per signum Crucis
By the Sign of the Cross
- Adesto nobis
Assist us, O Lord
- Deus, qui pro nobis
O God, Who for Our Sake
- Deus, qui unigeniti Filii
O God, Who Didst Will
- Ave, crux sancta, virtus nostra
Hail, Holy Cross, Our Strength
- Oratio ante crucifixum
Prayer Before a Crucifix
- O Bona Crux
O Good Cross
- Salva me, sancta crux
Save Me, O Holy Cross
- Tibi offerimus
We Offer Thee, Lord Jesus
- Horae Sanctae Crucis
Hours of the Holy Cross
See also the Via Crucis below.
Sacratissimum Cor Iesu (The Sacred Heart)
"Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: And you shall find rest to your souls." Mt 11:29.
The earliest record of the devotion to the Sacred Heart is from the 11th and 12th centuries. The devotion grew out of the much more ancient devotion to the Holy Wounds of Christ. Recognizing the link between the love of Christ, symbolized by the heart, and the wound in Christ's side, the devotion to the Sacred Heart was a natural extension. It cannot be ascertained exactly who originated the idea, but it is clear that to saints such as St. Gertrude (d 1302) and St. Mechtilde (d 1298), the devotion was already known. These two saints composed many prayers and exercises devoted to the Sacred Heart. The next important stage in the development of the devotion was Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), whose visions and devotion to the Sacred Heart are well known.
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Pretiosissimus Sanguis (Precious Blood)
"And if you invoke as Father him who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every one's work: converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled."(1 Pet 1:17-19)
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Sanctissimum Nomen Iesu (Holy Name of Jesus)
"For which cause, God also hath exalted him and hath given him a name which is above all names: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." (Phil 2:9-11)
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus certainly had its origins in the earliest times. In Scripture we read from Paul's letter to the Philipians "Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(2:9-11). And then again in Revelation 15:4, "Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name?" The 14th century saw the start of veneration of the Holy Name with liturgical celebration. St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) and his followers promoted this devotion tirelessly. The Franciscans added a celebration to their calendar in the 16th century, and in 1721 Pope Innocent XIII added a celebration of the Holy Name to the Universal Calendar. In the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, the feast was deleted, though a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus had been retained for devotional use. With the release of the revised Roman Missal in March 2002, the feast was restored as an optional memorial on January 3.
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Passio Christi (Passion of Christ)
"That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings: being made conformable to his death," (Philippians 3:10)
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Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross)
The Stations of the Cross is a pious exercise commemorating the Passion and Death of Christ. While the Stations as we have them today are of more recent origin, the practice is very much based upon the ancient custom of visiting the scenes of Christ's Passion and Death in Jerusalem. Such pilgrimages were popular from the time of the Emperor Constantine (4th century) onward. It is not until the 15th century, however, that such devotions begin to resemble the current Stations of the Cross. At that time the number of stations varied greatly, anywhere from 12 to 39. In 1584, a book by Adrichomius (Christiaan van Adrichem) contains a set of twelve stations that match the first twelve of our current set. Due to its widespread popularity at the time, some believe that this work greatly influenced the development of our modern set of Stations. In any case, it was in 1731 that Pope Clement fixed the number at the current list of 14 and in 1742 Pope Benedict XIV exhorted all priests to add a set of Stations to their churches. For a good article on the subject see the Catholic Encyclopedia.
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Divina Misericordia (Divine Mercy)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy hath regenerated us unto a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1Pet. 1:3 )
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Miscellaneos
Items that do not quite (yet) fit under the above categories.
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