Four Prayers by St. Alphonsus to Sanctify Your Day

Prayer is "the necessary and sure means of obtaining salvation, and [contains] all the graces we need to attain [salvation]...To save one's soul without prayer is most difficult, and even impossible…but by praying our salvation is made secure, and very easy...If we do not pray, we have no excuse, for the grace of prayer is given to everyone…if we are not saved, the whole fault will be ours, because we did not pray."

These striking words were written by St. Alphonsus Liguori in his treatise Prayer: The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection. This document was written in 1759, but its words are just as true today as they were in the 1700s.

St. Alphonsus Liguori—a bishop, doctor of the Church, and founder of a religious order (the Redemptorists)—has become one of the best-known saints of the 18th century because of his writing. His ability to portray deep truths in a simple, straightforward, no-nonsense way penetrates readers to their very core.

If Alphonsus's words are indeed true, then how crucial is prayer to our daily life, and to our eternal destiny! Do we live as though such words are true?

Here are four prayers written and prayed by Alphonsus Liguori which we can benefit from.

4 Breathtakingly Beautiful Prayers To Use Throughout the Day

To Begin the Day:

Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, Divine Consoler, I adore You as my true God, with God the Father and God the Son. I adore You and unite myself to the adoration You receive from the angels and saints. I give You my heart and I offer my ardent thanksgiving for all the grace which You never cease to bestow on me.

O Giver of all supernatural gifts, who filled the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with such immense favors, I beg You to visit me with Your grace and Your love and to grant me the gift of holy fear, so that it may act on me as a check to prevent me from falling back into my past sins, for which I beg pardon.

Grant me the gift of piety, so that I may serve You for the future with increased fervor, follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations, and observe your divine precepts with greater fidelity.

Grant me the gift of knowledge, so that I may know the things of God and, enlightened by Your holy teaching, may walk, without deviation, in the path of eternal salvation.

Grant me the gift of fortitude, so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten the salvation of my soul.

Grant me the gift of counsel, so that I may choose what is more conducive to my spiritual advancement and may discover the wiles and snares of the tempter.

Grant me the gift of understanding, so that I may apprehend the divine mysteries and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts and affections from the vain things of this miserable world.

Grant me the gift of wisdom, so that I may rightly direct all my actions, referring them to God as my last end; so that, having loved Him and served Him in this life, I may have the happiness of possessing Him eternally in the next. Amen.

Throughout the Day:

Spiritual Communion Prayer & Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Spiritual Communion:

My Jesus,

I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.

I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady:

Most Holy Virgin Immaculate, my Mother Mary, to you who are the Mother of my Lord, the Queen of the universe, the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners, I who am the most miserable of all sinners, have recourse this day.

I venerate you, great Queen, and I thank you for the many graces you have bestowed upon me even unto this day; in particular for having delivered me from the hell which I have so often deserved by my sins.

I love you, most dear Lady; and for the love I bear you, I promise to serve you willingly for ever and to do what I can to make you loved by others also. I place in you all my hopes for salvation; accept me as your servant and shelter me under your mantle, you who are the Mother of mercy.

And since you are so powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations, or at least obtain for me the strength to overcome them until death. From you I implore a true love for Jesus Christ. Through you I hope to die a holy death. My dear Mother, by the love you bear to Almighty God, I pray you assist me always, but most of all at the last moment of my life. Forsake me not then, until you see me safe in heaven, there to bless you and sing of your mercies through all eternity. Such is my hope. Amen.

To End the Day:

St. Alphonsus Liguori's Night Prayer

Jesus Christ, my God, I adore you and I thank you for the many favours you have bestowed on me this day

I offer you my sleep and all the moments of this night, and I pray that you preserve me from sin. Therefore, I place myself in your most sacred side, and under the mantle of our Blessed Lady, my Mother. May the holy Angels assist me and keep me in peace, and may your blessing be upon me. Amen.