The Angelus. A traditional prayer honoring the Incarnation, prayed at morning, noon, and evening.
The Sign of the Cross. The first prayer, made with the hand and the voice together.
The Our Father. The Lord’s Prayer, in the words he gave the Apostles.
The Glory Be. One line of praise, said after each decade of the Rosary and at the end of the psalms.
The Apostles’ Creed. The faith of the Church in twelve articles, said at the start of the Rosary.
The Morning Offering. Thirty seconds on waking that give the whole day to God.
The Act of Contrition. Said in Confession before absolution, and every night before sleep.
Angel of God. The guardian angel prayer, short enough for a two year old.
Grace Before Meals. The blessing of the table, said together before eating.
Grace After Meals. Thanks for the meal, and a prayer for the dead.
Eternal Rest. The prayer for the dead, said at a graveside, a funeral, or when passing a cemetery.
Spiritual Communion. For when you cannot receive Communion: at home, when ill, or not yet able to.
The Responses at Mass. The short answers the whole church says together, in the order they come.
The Three O’Clock Hour. A minute at the hour of the Passion, asking mercy for one person who needs it.
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Five decades of pleading the Passion of Christ for the whole world.
The Litany of Humility. The hardest prayer in the book, asked line by line, for a heart free of its own reputation.
The Universal Prayer. One prayer that asks for everything a Christian life needs, from belief to a good death.
Anima Christi. The prayer said kneeling after Communion, asking to be hidden in the wounds of Christ.
The Suscipe. Four lines that hand back everything: liberty, memory, understanding, will.
Prayer of Saint Francis. A prayer to be the one who gives first, in a house or an office where nobody is.
Prayer to Saint Michael. The short prayer of protection, said after Mass for most of the last century.
Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition. The four short acts every Catholic is meant to know by heart.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit. The prayer said before study, work, a decision, or anything you cannot see the end of.
Prayer Before a Crucifix. Knelt before a crucifix, the prayer that looks at the wounds and says what it sees.
The Litany of the Sacred Heart. Thirty three invocations of the Heart of Jesus, one for each year of his life.
The Litany of Saint Joseph. The litany of the guardian of the Holy Family, prayed for work, provision, and a peaceful death.
The Creeds. What the Church actually believes, in the two forms she says it.
Guardian Angel and Grace at Meals. The angel prayer and the grace before and after meals, short enough for a two year old.
Prayers in Trouble. Short prayers for the hours nobody plans for: illness, fear, and the end.
The Hail Mary. Scripture and the Church joined in one petition to the Mother of God.
Hail Holy Queen. The antiphon of exile and hope, sung from Pentecost until Advent.
Loving Mother of the Redeemer. The antiphon of the waiting Church, from Advent to the Presentation.
Hail, Queen of Heaven. The antiphon of the penitential weeks, from 3 February to Holy Saturday.
Queen of Heaven, Rejoice. The Easter antiphon, and the Easter replacement for the Angelus.
The Memorare. The prayer to reach for when you are out of other options.
Beneath Thy Protection. The most ancient prayer to Mary we possess, from third century Egypt.
The Magnificat. Mary's own song, prayed by the whole Church every evening.
Hail, Star of the Sea. The great hymn of guidance for anyone navigating rough water.
Litany of Loreto. Fifty titles of Our Lady, prayed as a slow call and response.
The Fatima Prayer. The short plea Our Lady asked to be added after each decade of the Rosary.
Act of Consecration to Mary. A daily renewal of entrusting yourself entirely to Our Lady.
O Saving Victim. The hymn sung as the Blessed Sacrament is placed on the altar.
Down in Adoration Falling. Sung immediately before the priest blesses the people with the Blessed Sacrament.
Sing, My Tongue, the Saviour’s Glory. The full Corpus Christi hymn, sung in procession on Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi.
Godhead Here in Hiding. A personal hymn of adoration, prayed kneeling before the tabernacle.
Come, Creator Spirit. The hymn the Church sings whenever she needs the Holy Spirit to act.
We Praise Thee, O God. The great thanksgiving of the Church, sung when something has gone right.