In our home, we pray daily for the conversion of souls----for those in our community, in our family, and for our own----from disbelief to belief, from bland faith to dynamic, from fear of God to becoming a conduit of His love. Mary and the rosary have played a central role in our faith and family, and we can't help but share that love with you. The prayers we share here have changed our lives and faith; we hope they will change you as well.

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just in case----how to pray the Rosary:

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a .pdf with a very clear explanation. We can't say it better!

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prayer attributed to Saint Francis:

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Almighty, eternal, just, and merciful God, grant us in our misery the grace to do for You alone that which we know You want us to do, and always to desire what pleases You. Thus, inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened, and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footprints of Your beloved Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, and by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You, Most High, who live and rule in perfect Trinity, and simple unity, and are glorified, God, all powerful, forever and ever, Amen.

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also Saint Francis:

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Let the whole of mankind tremble, the heavens exalt, the whole world shake, when Christ, the Son of the Living God, is present on the altar in the hands of a priest. Oh, admirable heights! Oh, sublime lowliness! Oh, sublime humility! Oh, humble sublimity, when the Lord of the Universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides himself in the little form of bread. Look, brothers, at the humility of God, and pour out your hearts before Him. Humble yourselves as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, so that He who gives Himself totally to you, may receive you totally.

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for purity:

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Almighty God, to You all hearts are open, all desires known, and from You no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts, Lord, by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, so that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy name, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.

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the Divine Mercy novena:

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a .pdf from EWTN with this nine-day prayer is found here.
 

the 54-day Miraculous Novena:

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Approach the Blessed Mother with patience and persistence when something overwhelms you. When we petitioned Our Lady with this prayer, we presented her with actual roses for each of the six novenas in addition to the roses within the prayer. Her answer was not what we had imagined; even though painful, it was everything we needed and more. May she intercede for you as well in your times of greatest need. Instructions here.

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Below is my Ladder to Heaven, my own prayers that have supported me on my conversion journey. I apologize for their faults. Some of them are adaptations from famous prayers. I pray that these lines may be a help to you as well. - Grant

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Level 1 - Gratitude

Thank you, God for all the good things in this life, and thank you, God, for struggles, for I know that all things are yours and serve your great purpose, and I am grateful for all of this life, and for the countless opportunities to return your Love for me in loving those around me, amen.

I give you, God, all credit for the good things that have happened today, for the love I have received and for the love I have given. Thank you for your divine purpose, and therefore also for frustrations, trials, and the things you use to teach me to love as you do. Thank you, God, for my family, for my spouse, and for their love. And thank you, God, most especially for your Love, infinitely deep, and forever enduring. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

O God, my creator, I thank you for my wife, who is your great gift of Love, the completion of my flesh. May I with body and soul love her humbly, sacrificially, intrinsically. May I treat her as your daughter and heir, the most beautiful of your creations. May I love our children as an extension of her, as the blessed mixing of our flesh, the compliment and validation of our union. May our deepest roots intertwine and our highest branches connect, so that we rest in each other, and no storm can shake us. I love her, Lord, as I love myself, and your creation in us is very good, amen.

O infinitely wise and infinitely loving Jesus, we thank you for our priests, for their preparation of your Eucharist, and for their shepherding us through the Sacraments. We pray especially for (current priest), for his wisdom, fortitude, and direction, that he may serve you with joy, and that he may be surrounded with love. We pray likewise for our former priests, Fathers (list), for their spiritual nourishment, and that they see you in everyone and everything. And we pray for our future priests, for their faith and for your gentle preparation of their souls. May every priest feel your love today, may every priest channel your love today, may every priest exemplify your love today. In your name, forever, amen.

O God, you have sacrificed so much for us. You sent the very Love through which you created the universe, the Word spoken at the beginning of time, as an eternal offering to forgive our disobedience, a multiplication of the body and essence of that Love, Christ, who through transubstantiated matter, enters substantially into each of us who participate once again in that holocaust. Though our sins wound that Love, your very Son, daily, its vastness, the greatness of your eternal love, will never be out-measured, and for that we owe you everything, our very selves, and our lives, amen.

Level 2 - Seeking

My God, teach me true contrition. May I see plainly the depth of my faults. May I in humility see the pain I cause others and the pains I heap upon your Son, through my actions, through my inactions, through my words, through my silence, through my thoughts, and through my thoughtlessness. May my heart yearn for you, and only you—not just because of what you have done for me, but because you are Love itself—-may I let nothing come between us. Nothing big. Nothing small. Not pride. Not fear. Not anger. Not envy. Not lust. Nothing. For you are perfectly good, and I must aspire to be likewise to draw closer to you, closer to Love, and I must cut off all that stands between us. In Christ, through Christ, my Lord, my Savior, amen.

Almighty God, my Lord and Father, please drain me of my pride. I am small and sinful, and it is only by you that I may be cleansed and complete. You are the one I serve in serving others, and that makes me the least among men, for it is you who I see in their faces. I cannot control my fate, for my very life is in your hands. I must open my ears, my eyes, and my heart to you, for they are yours. I cannot claim myself, nor may I lie to myself, for in doing so I deny your sanctuary within me. Rest in me, Lord, and quiet my mind and my tongue. May my every action be for love of you. Fill my heart with your Love, and never abandon me to myself. In your Holy Name, amen.

My shepherd and protector, I am in a dark place, and I fear for my soul. My faith feels tenuous—-I cannot handle this moment and crave distraction. I consider all too deeply the lies of the fallen one. In callousness and self-pity I try weakly to justify what I know is wrong, and my pride and self-malice motivate action. Find me now, I beg, and return me to your fold. Protect me before the wolf strikes, and I am broken. I know you will find me here, and not hand me over to sin. I know this cloud will pass if I hold onto you as you carry me. I know that even when the greatest enemy prowls within me, you are closer to me still, and will shield me from harm. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind and inspire within proper discernment, love of truth, and the need to know you more, so that I may always and in all things think in accordance with your Divine Word. Ever present and faithful Holy Spirit, enlighten the darkness of my heart and mold in me a true faith, a firm hope, and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all things act according to your Holy Will. Christ, my Savior, my Lord, enlighten the darkness of my soul and lead me to honest repentance, the depths of your love, and the cross that you bear, so that I may always and in all things follow your glorious example. By the power, love, and glory of the Holy Trinity, I pray, amen.

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Level 3 - Contrition

My Lord and God, I am unworthy of your love, for I am a sinner living a life of sin. I beg you to invade my life, to crush my ego, and to reform me as you first formed Adam from the dust. For you are wise, I am ignorant; you are mighty, I am weak; you are Holy, and I am unclean. Without you, my actions are trivial; without you, my life is temporary; without you, my intentions fail. I am nothing, and control nothing. My life is yours, even when I refuse to acknowledge it, and my efforts, my will, and my thoughts founder your grace and subvert your love and all that you wish to accomplish through me. Like Jonah, I have run from you. Like Adam, I have hidden from you. Like Peter, I have denied you. I have done horrible things, and I can only do things horribly without you. Forgive me, Lord; I have wasted myself. Take back my life from me; it was never mine to begin with. From the depths of my iniquity I pray, please, Lord, walk into my unworthiness and save me from myself. From the darkness of my sin, I pray, please, Lord, shine on me now, as in Purgatory, to cleanse me, no matter how painfully. From the bleakness of my heart, I pray, please, Lord, overtake me now, before I render further harm to your glorious creation. By your grace, set me on your true path; I cannot find it on my own. I need you as I need water, as I need air, and I am dying without you. I beg you, Father, to forgive me; I beg you, Christ, to redeem me; I beg you, Holy Spirit, to lead me home to you, amen.

Holy Father, I repent the lies of “my,” “myself,” “mine.” They deny all that I have, all that I am is yours, and move the center of this, your life in me, away from you and your will. The pride of these words is great, and are no different than the first great sin of Adam. With the help of your grace, I will treat the things and people of this world as Your own, and remember that I am but a temporary steward, obliged to make great returns for your Kingdom during the time I am given them. In your Holy Name, amen.

God, who am I to judge myself, for you are closer to me than I can ever be, and know me more completely than I ever will. Judge not, you say, lest I be judged, for you are higher and more powerful than anything I can imagine. May I show myself mercy, patience, and charity, as you have commanded, for whatever I do unto the least of these, I do unto you. I thank you for my creation, and for the graces you have provided through joys and sufferings. You dispense these as you see fit, and it is not my role to add to either without your blessing. I find dignity in you alone, and in humility, I acknowledge the holiness of your temple within me. My sins are not me, but that which separates me from you, and if I am far from you, then I am even further from myself, discordant, drawn apart in pain, longing to be whole. I will find you through Christ alone—-in contrition and repentance, in sacrifice and love—-and in finding you, I will grow into the person you created me to be. In your Holy Name, amen.

God, my Father, I repent the horrible ambiguity, far-reaching malice, and easy answer of “they”. They didn’t do anything, because “they” are no one other than an indiscriminate reflection of my anger. “They” is an excuse for remaining angry, for not forgiving, as I blind myself to the true problem and any hope of reconciliation. To “other” someone is to remove their humanity and deny a fruitful connection. It profanes your creation in them and in myself and is unworthy of your presence in me. To be your child, I must love “them” most of all. Thank you, God, for them, and for this chance to grow and reconcile. In Christ, who is Love, amen.

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Level 4 - Metanoia

O God, I lay aside my sin. I lay aside my fear. I recognize my fault, my fault, my most grievous fault, and I turn to you. I see your Love, and I reach out for your hand to grasp it as a lifeline, to preserve my soul and to fall into the boat you have prepared for my journey. I have no other course, but rely on the winds of your grace to guide me. I will follow you, and only you. I have no other God before you. I have no other Love before you. I have no other Word before you. Take my heart, take my mind, take my body, take my soul, and use me as you will. In Christ, Amen.

My God, your forgiveness inspires me also to forgive. I forgive both others and myself, for the wrongs I have received, for the wrongs I have carried out, and for the wrongs I have imagined. I am sinful and fallen, but your grace carries me to you, Christ’s wounds heal me, and I am more whole every day I walk the path you set for me. Through forgiveness I will learn humility, and through humility will I find you in everyone and everything. Thank you, God, for this opportunity to love again, for this renewed opportunity to follow Christ, and for this renewal of our bond. I will love you more with every step closer I take. Through Christ, always, amen.

Christ, you are the only bread that sustains me, my Bet-lehem, and I will make my home in you. You are so much more to me than manna, for I am not lost as I cling to you, the Body and Blood of my thanksgiving, the soul and divinity of my Creator. By your Testament, the covenant of your Living Word, it is solely through your flesh that I may pass into God’s good grace and travel one day into the storehouse of God’s infinite love. Thank you, Jesus, Word and Love, for calling me home. Thank you, Jesus, Brother and Shepherd, for dying so that I may live. Thank you, Jesus, Lamb of God and Eternal Offering, for the bridge of your flesh that leads me to the Father. I am humbled by your love for us in laying down your body in torment and sacrifice as the path for us to Him. Bread of Heaven, I tremble as I consume you. Please I pray, consume me as well, so I may diminish until I fit through the needle’s eye, and your burden will be all the lighter in carrying me to Heaven. amen.

 

Oh God, I have no need for comforts, only you. You are the solace that brings joy and the balm that heals me, body and soul. There is nothing to place before my eyes but your Son, nothing to place in my mind but your Majesty, and nothing to place in my heart but your Love. I humbly pray, amen.

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Level 5 - Discipleship

You are great, Lord, and we are small. In our weakness is your strength. In our frailty is your power. In our powerlessness can you accomplish all things. For your redemption cleanses our sin, your grace enlightens our path, and your Love covers all creation. May we have all hope in you, all faith in your Word, and all love for you alone, so that your love may build in us and proceed uncorrupted through us, now and until the moment of our deaths, amen.

My happiness is in the Lord, the unwavering rock of my life, for the joys, the pleasures, the sorrows, and the angers all pass away. My heart belongs to the Lord, the eternal, for the things and the people of this world are imperfect and fleeting. My body belongs to the Lord, the sustainer, for food and sensual things will never fulfill me. My soul rests in the Lord, my shepherd and protector, for dangers and pains cannot touch me in His arms. You are great and almighty. You are powerful and compassionate. My Lord, my Savior, my God. Amen.

Stay with me Lord, and be my eyes, so I may see you in all.
Stay with me Lord, and be my voice, so I may bless you with all that I say.
Stay with me Lord, and be my hands, so each of my actions is yours.
Stay with me Lord, and be my mind, so my thoughts will be guided by you.
Stay with me Lord, and multiply in me, that you may fill and forever live in my heart.

My God, creator of the universe, of galaxies and stars, planets and moons, of oceans and land, mountains and rivers, of trees and whales, rodents and insects, of bacteria and viruses, atoms and quarks, may I see in this moment of creation as you see, creating from Love and for Love. Bless this moment and effort to create as you do. May the fruit of this sacrifice bring you joy and serve some utility in your plan for creation and for your people. May I never idolize this time or this work, but instead may it be one of many ways I devote myself entirely to you, in my family and in others. The act of creation is yours alone, and it is only through your work in me that this effort is worthwhile. I therefore give myself to you fully, and pray you will guide my hands. Amen.

Holy Spirit, be with me always in my place of work. Remind me to keep love in my actions, love in my words, and love in my thoughts. May I work diligently, be slow to anger, quick to help, and eager to improve. I pray that my devotion to my role at work will resemble my devotion to God and my family, but will never take priority over them. In Christ our Lord, Amen.

God, my creator, thank for the glorious paradox of my body, for though I, body and soul, am a sinner, it is your temple. Please don’t abandon your dwelling within me as in Ezekiel or Christ on the cross, but allow me to once again restore this house of prayer, making sacrifices day and night for your Kingdom. Guide me, please, in confession as I clear out that which is unpleasant to you. Lead me, please, not into temptation, that I might never overindulge in pleasures. Fill me, please, on the path of righteousness, that I might carry your Love back to its storehouse having made many returns. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.
 

Oh, God, you know more than I ever will what I should be praying for. I pray for that with all of my heart. I trust you, God. You will be done, always and forever, amen.

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Lord, may this conversion reach its end! May none of my desires remain, that I have swept clean my heart, making a pleasing home for you, that you may rule it and direct it for the rest of my days, that this house may remain undivided, an unblemished sacrifice in communion with the body of your Son, a refuge of peace spreading your love amongst the darkness, amen.

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God, grant me the humility to live in each moment you provide, for every second of my life is your gift of love, for me and through me. May I not seek out distractions or entertainments, but dwell deeply in the present time, place, and company. May I fully recognize myself and my limitations, entrusting to you each of my weaknesses, so that you may fully use my strengths. May I abandon myself to your love, to listen for your voice, and trust you always to work through me for the creative splendor of your heavenly kingdom. Through the majesty of the Holy Spirit, amen.

 

Level 6 - Leadership

As Father is to our congregation, so I am to my family. At mass, may I lead them soundly with my voice, may my prayers be sincere, may I make the Ordinary extraordinary. Let my vestments be reverent; let my silence be reverent; let my gestures be reverent. All focus on God alone; all love for love of God alone; all joy in God alone. We come to honor Our King; we come to sacrifice Our Savior; we come in awe and humility before Our God.

Loving Father, lead kindly in my raising of my children. May they believe, in the deepest sense, in your compassionate Love through my every interaction with them. In my relationship with my spouse, may I model your Divine Love, so that they may recognize your true Love when it is given. May I model your eternal Love in my treatment of myself, the greatest of sinners, who yet finds absolute dignity in you, that they may see that no matter where they are on the path of righteousness, they are your beautiful sons, daughters, and heirs. Through Christ, today and always, amen.

God, o great Father of the Son, I thank you for the blessed creation of my children. I pray that your loving and glorious purpose for them may be fulfilled, and that I will do nothing to stand in its way. May I raise them in Love, may I raise them to love, and may your Love surround them in their darkest moments. I trust you in them, and I trust them to you. In your Holy Name, amen.

God, you are Love itself. Thank you for blessing my enemies, and for raining on the just and unjust alike. Like them, I am a sinner, and like me, they are your amazing creation. May I love them always as you love, without holding back, no matter the hurt, for they are yours, and in loving them, I am serving you. I pray for their wholeness, for them to feel your love through me, and for their souls to find their way to you. May I never hinder them, may I never seek retaliation, and may I see them as my brothers and sisters as we journey from this life into the next. Through the incredible ecstasy of Christ’s love, amen.

God, you led the very creation of the universe and have guided the church unerringly over all history. Thank you for the great example of leadership in Your Son, Jesus, the Living Word. May I look to his example always in my own actions of leadership, for you have trusted me, a sinner, with the great responsibility of a family and the beautiful and terrifying yoke Christian faith. I can only succeed with the leading light of your grace, and I must trust you always, or I will drown. May I see my own great faults before correcting, may I see you absolutely in those I serve, and may I never look away from You as I step out above the deep waters. Trusting the immense love and power of the Holy Spirit, I pray, amen.

 

Oh God, turn me inside out. May your love in my heart transform the thoughts of my mind, May your love in my heart temper the words of my mouth. May your love in my heart guide to work of my hands. May your love in my heart surround all that I see. Multiply in me, fill me, and overflow out through me, that your love might be my spirit, my body, my life. Amen.

 

Level 7 - Magna Anima

May I know Thee, my God, Savior and Creator, Word and Love. May I know myself, my frailty and faults, limits and sinfulness. May I lose myself as my roots grow into you, as my body and soul draw nourishment from you, diminishing forever until you shine forth from me—-Christ before me, behind me, in me, beneath me, above me, on my right and my left—-burning as Elijah’s chariot, carrying souls to Heaven. In you alone, all things are possible. Amen.

Eternal and Loving Father, in your love for all sinners, wrap your Divine Mercy around those who harm me. Forgive them, and let their punishment for these actions fall instead upon me. May my contrition serve as their own, and may my confession suffice for their fault, for I love them as myself, and I wish your every grace to fall upon them. In Christ’s name, amen.

Oh Glorious God, I am dust and to dust I will return. May this earthen vessel, as in Cana, be filled to the brim and transformed through your glory, and poured out in the great Wedding Feast of your love for all sinners, every drop bringing delight to the banquet. Use me as you will, in any way you say, so that this temporary creation may serve the Eternal before I once more return to the earth, amen.

God, all Creation proclaims your name, what we see and what we cannot see. I pray to see more, to understand the invisible, not out of doubt, but out of wonder, curiosity, and love, to love you more, as you love me. You see me at my worst and at my best. You see every hair of my head and the number of my days. You see my heart beat and the dust to which I will return. To love is to trust—-I trust my imagination is a pale shadow of even the slightest glimpse of your Kingdom. In awe at the enormity of your love, amen.

Oh God, turn me inside out. Guide me as I travel inward deeper and ever deeper, through my heart, through my soul, into the very heart of you. May your glory be my horizon as I cut away the grasping vines and break down walls. May it shine forth brighter still as I find my Savior’s path. May it overtake me finally as I embrace you, welcoming me Home. In the turning and in the travel, your deep inward glow shines forth through me, first in joy, then in contentment, and finally in ecstasy. Your guiding hand redirects my life from apostasy to discipleship. Your healing touch transforms my suffering to grace. Your loving embrace transfigures me, body and soul. In enraptured Love, I pray and I pray, amen.

Oh Father, I weep on the path to Golgotha. Your Divine Son, falling three times, left an unmistakable trail of blood, Love itself poured out as sacrifice, our Passover, and I am unworthy to follow. May I attend Mass in the deepest reverence as we return to that hill and that cross, witnesses and participants in that timeless and immortal holocaust at the moment of transubstantiation. May I tremble as I consume you, Body, Soul, and Divinity, as your flesh becomes my own. Stay with me, please, and fill me with your spirit of sacrifice and love for the most unworthy, the lowliest, the forgotten. Brim over in me until it is not I who follows you, but Christ within me forging ahead on that original immortal path, carrying me in pain, in ecstasy, in Love and service for the Father and for sinners, through the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.

Thank You, God, for the blessing of my troubled soul. Allow me to feel it deeply, that it may carry me in times of necessity, and be my companion in times of magnanimity. I pray that this guilt and solemnity means I am drawing closer to You, and that it will continuously humiliate me and refine me. May it help to diminish me until only You remain, and I am finally home. In Christ, forever, amen.

 

God, our Father, your wrath, too, is love, for you are all good, love itself. Therefore withhold it not from me, rage and ecstasy pouring forth from the same deep well, that in the flames I may proclaim your name all the louder, not in presumption, for I am a terrible sinner, but in total trust in your Son’s grace and mercy. Cleanse me, Lord, in your love and fire, that this dust and these ashes might one day shine forth, reflecting the light of your love in brilliant splendor, amen. 

Holy Jesus, allow to me the path of ever greater humility. Make me please your slave, that I might serve and be nourished by even the slightest portion of your love, for I have been starving and so far from you. Make me please then your sheep, that I might surrender my thoughts and desires and with total trust follow you, for my humanity leads me to sin. Make me please finally your clay, that in complete surrender I might give all, renouncing even my life for your sake, that I may, in complete faith, through your creative Spirit be conformed to the body of your glory, amen.

 

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