Sample pages from The Little Children's Prayer Book

The Little

Children’s Prayer Book

The Little

Children’s Prayer Book

by Mother Mary Loyola

2015

St. Augustine Academy Press Homer Glen, Illinois

This book is newly typeset based on the 1911 edition published by P.J. Kenedy & Sons. All editing strictly limited to the correction of errors in the original text, minor clarifications in punctuation or phrasing and some additions as detailed in the Editor’s note. Any remaining oddities of spelling or phrasing are as found in the original.

Imprimatur: X JOHN M. FARLEY, D.D., Archbishop of New York.

October 6, 1911.

Imprimatur: X JOSEPHUS ROBERTUS, Epūs Loïdensis.

Die 22 Junii, 1911.

This book was originally published in 1911

by P.J. Kenedy & Sons.

This edition ©2012 by St. Augustine Academy Press.

All editing by Lisa Bergman.

Second printing with new illustrations September 2015

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-936639-01-4 Softcover ISBN: 978-1-936639-25-0 Unless otherwise noted, all illustrations in this book, including the cover, are public domain images.

Images on pages viii, 48, 78, 81, 93, 114 and 118 are from Holy Card Heaven. [online] http://holycardheaven.blogspot.com, October 23, 2012.

C ont e nts Prayers

1

Morning Prayers

2

Night Prayers

5

Holy Mass

7

Going to Confession

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Examination of Conscience

52

Holy Communion

83

Mass Before Communion

95

At Benediction

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Things that will Help Me to Love God and to Be Good

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Manner of Serving a Priest at Mass

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Updated Form for Confession

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Solve calceamentum de pedibus tuis: locus

enim, in quo stas, terra sancta est. Ex.3:5

Porta haec clausa erit: non aperietur

et vir non transibit per eam. Ez. 44:2

O

Our Father

UR FATHER who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

H

Hail Mary

AIL MARY, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

I

I Believe

BELIEVE in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

1

G

Glory Be

LORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I

I Confess

CONFESS to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever a virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the Saints, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever a virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, to pray to the Lord our God for me. Amen.

MOR NING PR AYER S Kneel down and make the sign of the Cross nicely:

X N the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Our Father w Hail Mary w I Believe My God, I believe in Thee, because Thou art truth itself.

My God, I hope in Thee, because of Thy promises to me.

My God, I love Thee, because Thou art so good. Teach me to love Thee daily more and more,

I

2

and to love everybody for Thy sake.

My God, because Thou art so good, I am sorry for all my sins; help me not to sin again.

“My God, I offer Thee this day, All I shall think, or do, or say, Uniting it with what was done On earth by Jesus Christ, Thy Son.”

I wish to gain all the Indulgences I can.* Holy Mary, be a mother to me.

My Good Angel, take care of me.

My Patron Saints, pray for me. * Indulgence means letting people off punishment. Indulgenced prayers let us off some of the punishment of our sins which we must bear here or in Purgatory. After we have been to communion we can gain more Indulgences than before.

3

4

J

PRAYERS AT MASS

ESUS is now going to offer His Great Sacrifice, He wants me to join with Him in offering it. If my prayers go up with His, they will please God more and be much stronger than if I prayed by myself.

Dear Jesus, please put my prayers with Yours.

Then God will like them more and give me all the things He sees it will be good for me to have.

I will offer this Mass: (1) for God’s honour and glory, that everybody may know Him and love Him; (2) to thank Him for all He has done for us; (3) to get forgiveness for all my sins; (4) to get all the graces and blessings I need for myself and others.

(Say what you want our Lord to give you through this Mass)

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12

THE BEGINNING OF MASS Make the Sign of the Cross with the priest and say:

I

X N the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

I confess to Almighty God, etc. (see p. 2) When I think, O dearest Jesus, What my sins have done to Thee, How they in the lonely Garden Made Thee sad as sad could be, I am very, very sorry To have given Thee such pain, Do forgive, and bless, and help me That I may not sin again.

When the Priest goes up to the altar say:

D

ear Jesus, who hast said “Suffer little children to come unto Me,� help me to know Thee better and to love Thee more.

13

26

“Orate Fratres” This means: “Brethren, pray.” The Priest turns to the people and asks them to pray with him.

B

RETHREN, pray that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty.

The server answers for us:

May the Lord receive the sacrifice from thy hand, to the praise and glory of His Name, to our benefit and that of all His holy Church.

M

The Secret Prayers

Y God, I pray to Thee for all the people who will die today. Have mercy on them and keep them from harm. Heart of Jesus, once in agony, pity the dying.

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28

The Preface The most solemn part of the Mass is near now.

When the bell rings, we say the same words the Angels sing in Heaven:

H

OLY, Holy, Holy, Lord God of armies. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord.

Blessed be God. Blessed be His holy Name.

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the altar.

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30

THE CANON OF THE MASS

A

LL is still round the altar now. Many Angels have come down from Heaven, and are waiting to adore their God when He comes. The Priest prays in a low voice. We must be very quiet and pray with him.

Prayer for the Living

M

Y God, bless our Holy Father the Pope and all our Bishops and Priests. Bless my father and mother, brothers, sisters, and relations, and all for whom I ought to pray. Take care of our schools. Have mercy on our dear country, on all poor sinners, on the sick and the sorrowful. My Jesus, mercy. My Jesus, mercy.

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48

L

G OI NG TO C ON F ESSION

OOK at this picture. See where that little child is kneeling and whose arm is round him. He has done some naughty things, but he is sorry, and has come to tell our Lord he wants to be good and not do the naughty things any more.

And our Lord has taken him on His knee and said to him: “Come, now, and tell Me all about it.� See, he is not afraid. He is glad to be there quite by himself with Jesus. What he has done I cannot tell you. No one will ever know. It is a secret between himself and Jesus. He knows our Lord will not tell. He knows He will be kind and forgive him. See how he makes his confession.

He does not look about. He joins his hands. He tells our Lord just what he has done. And Jesus listens and says he is a good child to have told Him all so bravely. And He forgives him and sends him away quite happy.

You would like to have been that little child.

You would like to make your confession to our Lord Himself. He would help you to say all you have to say, and then He would lay His hand on your head and forgive everything, and tell you to run away and be happy, and He would not think of the naughty things any more.

49

Well, you are going to Him now. You will not see or hear Him. You will kneel down at the feet of His Priest. But He will be in the Tabernacle close by and will hear all you say. You will be as near to Him as the little child in the picture, and He will say to you too: “Come, now, and tell Me all about it.” He is very kind, and He has told His Priest who is in His place, that he must be kind too. So the Priest will not scold you, no matter what you say. Our Lord never tells anyone what we say to Him. And the Priest will not tell. So there is nothing to be afraid of. The Priest has to go to confession himself, and knows how hard it is sometimes to be good. He will not be surprised at anything you say. Many other children have told him the same sins that you have to tell. Think that you are kneeling at the feet of Jesus and you will not be afraid.

We have four things to do when we go to confession: I.—We must ask God to help us to make a good confession.

II.—We must carefully examine our conscience.

III.—We must take time and care to make a good act of contrition.

IV.—We must make up our mind to be better for the future and not to do those sins again.

50

I. I must ask God to help me to make a good Confession

T

he first thing to do is to find out my sins.

When I want to find a thing after dark, I take a light into the room. My heart is a dark little place, and sins may be hiding there in the corners.

Only God can bring light into my soul. I will ask Him to help me to find out my sins, to tell them to the Priest, and to be sorry for them.

M

y God, I want to make a good confession.

But I cannot do anything good by myself.

Please help me. Help me to find out my sins and to tell them to the Priest. Help me to be sorry for them. Help me not to do them again.

II. I must carefully examine my conscience

T

his means I must find all my sins. God does not do all by Himself. He is very glad to help me, but I must do my part. I can see the naughty things other children do, but perhaps I do not know what I do myself. I must think what I have done that was naughty. I cannot think if my eyes are looking about everywhere. So I will look at my book whilst I am finding out my sins. When I come to the full stops‌I will put my finger on them—and stop. I will think if I have done that sin, and once or often. Then I will go on.

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(2) Duties to my Neighbour TO PARENTS AND TEACHERS ◆ Have I been disobedient to my Parents or to anyone else I ought to obey…? ◆ Have I done what I was told at once, or been angry and answered back…? ◆ Have I been obstinate, sulky, or disrespectful…? How often…? ◆ Have I tried to make others disrespectful…? ◆ Have I deceived my Parents or Teachers? Or spoken badly of them…?

TO COMPANIONS ◆ Have I quarrelled or struck any one…? Once, or often…? ◆ Have I called people names, or made them angry…? ◆ Have I wished harm to any one or refused to forgive…? ◆ Have I taken or kept anything that was not mine…? ◆ Have I kept my school money or spent it?

Once or more often…?

(If I can, I must give back what I have taken, or ask the Priest what to do.) ◆ Have I destroyed or wasted school books or other things, or in any way been unjust to my Parents or others…?

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◆ Have I paid back anything I owed, and given back what was only lent me…? ◆ Have I cheated my companions…? ◆ Have I told lies, or got others to tell them?

Once or often…?

(A lie of excuse that does not harm anyone, is a venial sin. A lie that I knew would harm someone is a much worse kind of lie, and is called calumny.) ◆ Have I told anyone’s secret faults…?

(This is detraction.) ◆ Have I listened willingly to unkind talk…? ◆ Have I laid blame on others unjustly…? ◆ Or judged anyone rashly—that is, thought ill of him without cause…?

(If I have hurt others by speaking ill of them, I must repair, or put right as well as I can, the harm I have done, and ask the Priest how to do this.) ◆ Have I given bad example, or helped to do anything wrong…?

(3) Duties to Myself ◆ Have I been proud, or vain of myself or of my dress…? ◆ Have I been in a passion, or kept up bad temper for a long time…? ◆ Have I been jealous of others, or vexed when others were praised…? ◆ Have I wished to get unfairly what belonged to another…?

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◆ Have I read other people’s letters or anything else I ought not to have read…? ◆ Have I been greedy…? ◆ Have I eaten meat on a Friday, or day when it was forbidden…?

(If it because I was ill my mother told me to eat meat on Friday, or not to go to Mass on a Sunday or Holyday of Obligation, there was no harm.) ◆ Do I rise quickly in the morning, or am I lazy…? ◆ Have I stayed away from school, or kept others away…? ◆ Have I been idle at my lessons or made others idle…? ◆ Have I gone with bad companions…? ◆ Have I said naughty words, or taught them to others…? ◆ Have I got others to do what was wrong…?

Or listened willingly to what was wrong…?

(Tale-telling to make mischief, or out of spite, is wrong. But if I know of any wrongdoing or wrong talk being carried on I must at once make it known to my Parents or to those over me, and not be afraid of being called “tell-tale.” Unless I do this, I shall share in the wrong done.) ◆ Have I thought of naughty things on purpose…?

(If I tried not to think of them, there was no harm.) ◆ Have I done anything else I ought to tell…?

56

It is a good sorrow, but not the best. We can be sorry for ourselves, for the harm we have done to our souls, or we can be sorry for the sake of our dear Lord and the harm we have done to God. This is the best kind of sorrow, and we should always ask God to give it to us when we are going to confession. He wants to give it, but we must do our part to get it. If I think what it cost our Blessed Lord to save me from the punishment my sins deserve, I can hardly help being sorry for my sins.

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(2) How Sin hurt our dear Lord in the Garden

T

he night before He was crucified He went into a garden to wait for the soldiers who were coming to take Him. And whilst He waited there in the dark and prayed, the sins of all the men and women and children that have ever been or will be in the world came before Him quite plainly.

He had asked that they might all be laid on Him, and that He might be punished for them just as if He had done them Himself. But as He knelt there alone there in the dark, and saw how many these sins were and how bad they were and what dreadful pain He would have to suffer for them, He was so afraid, that great drops of blood came out upon His forehead and trickled down His face, and the pain in His heart was like the pain of a dying man.

He saw me then. He saw me come with my sins and fling them like a load of horrible mud on His white Soul. Oh, how ashamed He was, ashamed for His Father and the holy Angels to see Him like that, all covered with horrid sin. He could not bear to look up to Heaven. He fell on His Face to the ground. Had I been there, should I not have crept up to Him and said:

O

dearest Lord, indeed, indeed, I am sorry for my sins that have made You sad like this!

Do let me comfort You; I promise You I will try not to sin again, and I will love You with all my heart for loving me so and bearing such dreadful pain and shame for me.

67

(3) How Sin hurt our dear Lord on the Cross

L

ook at this picture of Jesus on the Cross.

Think what that pain must have been— from the sole of His foot to the crown of His head, nothing but wounds and bruises and swelling sores. Look at His head. The sharp thorns beaten into it with sticks, prick it on every side, and through His hair the blood trickles down His face. See that beautiful face all spoilt, the cheeks bruised with blows, the lips parched, the eyes growing glazed and dim. See His poor hands and feet. The nails tear wider and wider the bleeding Wounds on which He hangs. All the sore places made by the scourges are smarting in the cold wind. And His gentle, loving Heart—how sad it is! No one to pity Him in that immense crowd. No one to give Him a drink of water in His burning thirst. Of all the hundreds He had healed and helped, only four or five friends to stand by Him in His disgrace.

Only words of hate for Him who had comforted so many! And why did He suffer all this? His enemies laughed at Him and told Him to come down from the Cross. He could if He had liked.

But He thought of me and stayed there for me.

I had done the harm and He hung there three hours to be punished instead of me.

All that pain for me! Have I ever thought of this? Oh, if I had been there on Calvary, and seen

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B

AT BE N EDIC TION

ENEDICTION means “blessing.� Our dear Lord is not content with offering Himself for us every morning at Mass, He likes to gather us round Him in the evening to give us His Blessing.

Be glad to go to Him for His Blessing whenever you are able.

Have you ever seen a hen calling her chickens when she thinks there is danger near? They run to her as fast as they can and get under her wings; there they are safe and warm.

Our Lord has said that He likes to gather us round Him as the hen gathers her little brood, that

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He may keep us safe from our cruel enemies, and give us the good things we want and ask for.

When a king is expected anywhere, a great deal of trouble is taken to get ready for him.

People bring out their best things and make the streets bright with lights and flowers. Our dear Lord is our King. When He comes amongst us to give us His Blessing, we try to show we are glad to see Him. Flowers and light are His, for He made them. They are the most beautiful things He has given us. So we bring them to Him and set them all about His little throne on the altar to show Him honour.

But He cares much more for our loving words to Him. He likes to hear us tell Him we love Him. He likes us to look up at Him and say with all our hearts: “My Lord and my God!” We can gain an Indulgence when we say this looking at the Sacred Host at Benediction and Mass.

We may say any prayers we like at Benediction.

You may look up at the Sacred Host and say:

O

Jesus really hidden Within that Sacred Host, Who Heaven’s gates hast opened At such a bitter cost, Fierce foes surround us daily, Lord, shield us with Thy care, From Heaven’s heights defend us And bring us safely there.

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Jesus, Eternal God and King Who made this world and everything, How small Thou art within the Host, Yet there, I think, I love Thee most, Because it is to gain my heart That Thou a little Prisoner art.

Or you may say the Litany of our Lady, or the Rosary.

Bow your head low when the Priest turns to the people with the monstrance in his hand.

Our Lord looks then to see those who have been doing Him honour in a better way than the lights and the flowers, who have been telling Him, perhaps, of their troubles, or asking Him for the things they want. Ask Him to bless you and those you ought to pray for, and to bring you all safe to Heaven some day. There you will see Him, not for a few moments only and beneath His little white veil, but in all His beauty—and for ever.

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T H I NG S THAT W IL L H EL P ME TO L OVE G OD A N D TO BE G O OD

W

alking with our Father—There was a little child who was often taken by her father as his companion in his walks. The two loved each other dearly. But he was a silent man, and so it often happened that they walked along, hand in hand, for a long time without speaking. Then,

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