The Catholic Sistas are joining bloggers from all around the blogosphere in the weekly series of 7 Quick Takes posts hosted at ConversionDiary.com. We thought this would be a great way for our readers to get to know the ink slingers better. We hope you enjoy this debut post where we polled all the CS writers to find out what our favorite prayers are collectively. A survey was set up with a list of 19 common Catholic prayers and 30 of our 50 writers responded (an excellent turnout!) by each voting for their favorite 7 (or fewer) prayers. Continue reading to find out more about what prayers we pray, why certain ones are special to us and much more. Enjoy!
—7—
Novenas
Coming in at number 7 in our poll was novenas. Though not a specific prayer but a class of prayers, I included it in the poll because I knew we had some “novena junkies” amongst the ink slingers. I was pleased to see that it made it into the top 7 with 12 of the ink slingers voting for it. In the comments to the poll several people mentioned the novena to St. Joseph as a favorite with the novena to St. Monica getting several mentions as well. Only one ink slinger, Emily, admitted to be a novena junky, but I know there are others out there! More thoughts from the ink slingers:
“I like novenas because you can focus on one particular saint/intention. Sometimes, I do multiple novenas at once 🙂 Our family has special devotions to particular saints and I find that there’s always a saint for whatever intention I have. So if I need a particularly special request, then I find the saint’s novena and do it.” ~ufgatormama
“The novena to St. Joseph is our go to for almost anything. He was charged with caring and providing for Mary and Jesus so we turn to him when we are in need.” ~Hannah
“My favorite novena is to the Infant Jesus because he is so vulnerable as an infant and I see myself so vulnerable and needing help. I can relate to needing someone (Jesus) to take care of me completely… to fill all my needs and to make sure I am safe, just as an infant needs the same.” ~Michelle
—6—
A tie between the Act of Contrition and the Guardian Angel prayer
Both these prayers received 13 votes from our writers. I loved the comments the ladies shared about these two prayers:
“We have a devotion to the holy angels, which is why we pray the guardian angel prayer daily.” ~Misty
“Act of Contrition is obvious – just to make sure I have small confessions between the times I get to actually go to the full Sacrament of Confession.” ~Molly G.
“I use the Act of Contrition when I’m feeling anxious about things because I feel that my anxiety is exacerbated by feelings of guilt for sins. I love the simplicity of the Guardian Angel Prayer for my children.” ~Erika
—5—
The Hail Holy Queen/Salve Regina
With 14 votes the fifth most popular prayer was this beautiful one in which we ask Mary to bring us to her Son after our death. Results of the poll overall showed a deep devotion from the ink slingers to Mary. Molly G.’s comment sums it up nicely:
“I always like the prayers devoted to Mary (Hail Mary, Rosary..etc.) because I feel our Blessed Mother has special guidance for us and can interceded to her Son.” ~Molly G.
—4—
The Divine Mercy Chaplet
This amazing chaplet is a favorite among just over half (16) of the ink slingers. We had some beautiful words from our ink slingers about this devotion:
“The Divine Mercy Chaplet really speaks to me and I go to it often. It portrays a child-like innocence by offering something that is not of our making – the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus – to God. It reminds me that everything we have and everything that we can offer to God, has its origin with Him, not with us.” ~BirgitJ
“My favorite prayer is the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I feel it is a very powerful prayer (just listen closely to the words in the prayers!). I think the DMC and rosary prayed by the faithful is what continues to gain God’s great mercy for us and our world. God will give you whatever you ask (be it his will) through these magnificent prayers. I plan on naming my first daughter Faustina after St. Faustina as I have such a great love for the DMC.” ~Natalie
“I adore the Divine Mercy Chaplet – it’s a good length and is easy to get to the root of my intentions with that prayer.” ~Emily
“Our local Catholic radio station (1060AM, Boston area) has a 3:00 Holy Hour, beginning with The Divine Mercy Chaplet, followed by the Rosary. I fell in love with The Divine Mercy Chaplet listening to it!” ~Jeanne
—3—
Our Father/Pater Noster
It’s a prayer we all know, we say it every time we attend Mass. It can start to lose its power and meaning because we know it so well and say it so much (or maybe that’s just me?). But with 63% of the vote, it rose to being close to the top of our list!! Obviously it is a well-loved prayer by many. Here are a few words on why our ink slingers love it:
“When I need to refocus, I like to pray the “Our Father” – “Thy will be done” and “Give us this day our daily bread” really help me to focus and accept God’s Grace in that moment.” ~Amy M.
“The Our Father is compelling to me because it is the only time Jesus teaches us how to pray. It is the perfect prayer.” ~Sheila
“The Our Father is a favorite of mine because it was a prayer specifically drafted by Jesus for us to use.” ~Adrienne
—2—
Another tie!! The Hail Mary and the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
What can we say, we love these two powerful prayers! And who wouldn’t? Who better to call upon in times of need than the Blessed Mother and St. Michael the Archangel? Twenty-two ink slingers out of 30 voted for these two prayers, here are some of their comments:
“I also like the St. Michael the Archangel prayer because I feel a lot is thrown at us these days and I like the words of that prayer to ground me again and remind me that our faith is also our protection against evil.” ~Molly G.
“We are a police family so we particularly like to pray to St. Michael the Archangel, who is the patron of police officers. We often pray the prayer to him when my husband is walking out the door to work, and it helps to give me peace, knowing that he is being protected by a mighty warrior.” ~Mary
“The Hail Mary is my go-to prayer when I need a prayer and words escape me. Through the Hail Mary I feel closer to our Blessed Mother and I know she hears my intentions and brings them before her Son. It’s also the prayer I pray repeatedly to calm my brain so I will fall asleep at night; works every time!” ~Kerri
And finally … the number 1 prayer of the Catholic Sistas ink slingers:
—1—
The Rosary
Eighty percent of us voted for the Rosary! Honestly, I’m not surprised.
“I love the Rosary because it decreases my anxiety and puts me in a better frame of mind.” ~Erika
“The Rosary is easy for my drive home from work.” ~Emily
“I love the Rosary. I find it eliminates stress and calms my spirit. I pray with my five year old daughter every night, doing it has become tradition for us. I remember my grandmother always praying it and how much peace it brought her.” ~Charla
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What do you like about any of the prayers listed here? Do any of them have a special place in your heart? Do you have a favorite not on this list? Share with us in the comments.
If this is your first time visiting Catholic Sistas, thank you for stopping by!! We hope you’ll come back soon and read more of our amazing posts.
Interested in more Quick Takes posts? Hop on over to Conversion Diary by Jen Fulwiler, Quick Takes hostess extraordinaire and friend of Catholic Sistas foundress Martina, and check out the amazing list of Quick Takes links from lots of great bloggers.