Here are some ways you can strengthen your prayer life:

Holy Mass.
As Catholic Christians living in a free country, we have the plriviledge of listening to God's Holy Word and receiving His Body and Blood at Holy Mass as often as we desire. God nourishes and strengthens us each time we receive Him; this is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus! There is no greater grace in overcoming the temptations of this world, and growing in authentic holiness. Although Catholics are only required to participate in Holy Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, many Catholics choose to participate in Holy Mass every day.

Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Attending Mass is certainly the most powerful of all prayers. Nothing can replace this. But in addition to participating at Holy Mass, you can spend time being with and adoring Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. This is most assuredly time well spent. He waits for you to come and sit with Him. Bring Him your gratitude, joys, sorrows, and petitions. He will most faithfully hear and answer you. And your reward will be great.

The Rosary. Popes have called this devotion "praying the gosples". The rosary consists of meditating on events in the life of the church. While we pray the rosary, we reflect on the lives of Jesus and Mary in order to become more like them. And Meditating on the mysteries of the rosary pleases Almighty God. Our Holy Father has said that the rosary is a great weapon against evil. Ask Our Lady to accompany you as you pray.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades.

Optional Opening Prayers
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

or

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Begin with the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed:

Our Father
Our 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.

Hail Mary
Hail 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.

The Apostle's Creed
I 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 arose 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 Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Then, on the large bead before each decade:

Eternal Father,

I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

On the ten small beads of each decade, say:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Conclude with (Say 3 Times):

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Optional Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion -- inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina:

Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you ... Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death ... When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between my Father and the dying person, not as the Just Judge but as the Merciful Savior ... Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last home of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from my infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy ... Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.

Sacred Scripture.

Catholics believe God speaks to his Church through the Bible and through sacred Tradition. (Sacred Tradition includes those things first taught by Jesus to the apostles and verbally passed down to us through the Church, under the leadership and guidance of the popes and bishops who are the successors of the apostles. Please see 2 Thessalonians 2:15 and 1 Corinthians 11:2.)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church,107, citing Dei Verbum 11 states:

"Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures."

Make a commitment to spend some time with the Sacred Scriptures each day. Perhaps you can begin by prayerfully reading the Bible five minutes each day.

Liturgy of the Hours

The Liturgy of the Hours is the official prayer of the Church. They are prayers, recited at various hours throughout each day. Each time we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, we can be assured that other people are praying the exact same prayers in their own languages throughout the world. You can buy the Liturgy of the Hours prayer book at most Catholic book stores. You may need to ask someone who knows how to pray it to "show you the ropes."

Note: These days, you can also buy a copy or a subscription to the Magnificat, in order to help you get started. Also, you can pray the Liturgy of the Hours online at...

Stations of the Cross - Also known as the Way of the Cross

This is a very popular prayer at many Catholic Churches during the Season of Lent, but it is a good idea to make a habit of praying the Stations of the Cross other days, throughout the year. In this prayer, we "walk" with Christ during His Passion and Death. Many Christians travel to the Holy Land to see the places where Jesus walked while on the way to Calvary to be crucified; since we all can not be there each day, we honor Christ by prayerfully joining Him with these prayers.

Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

"Whosoever dies clothed in this (scapular) shall not suffer eternal fire." This is the Virgin Mary's promise made July 16, 1261 to Saint Simon Stock.

Buy a brown Scapular. Ask a Priest to "enroll you in the brown scapular", and wear it. Our Holy Father has requested that all the faithful be consecrated to Jesus through His Holy Mother. This is the best way we can show our Blessed Mother that we "belong to her".

The Virgin Mary: "Wear it devoutly and perseveringly," she says to each soul, "it is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life."

The devils revealed to Francis of Yepes, the brother of St. John of the Cross, that three things especially tormented them. First, is the Name of Jesus. The second is the Name of Mary. And, the third is the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. "Take off that habit," they cried to him, "which snatches so many souls from us. All those clothed in it die piously and escape us."

Don't Forget to Pray for the Souls in Purgatory. They Can Pray for YOU!

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

This is called the Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great. It was dictated by Our Lord to release 1,000 souls from purgatory each time it is said.

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in Battle; Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke Him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

(This powerful prayer of exorcism was composed by Pope Leo XIII; in a vision, he had been shown the fearful battle to be waged between satan and St. Michael, over the Church of the future. Now, as never before, the Church needs the intercession of St. Michael! Please pray this prayer every day.)

Prayer of Mother Theresa

"Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a Mother to me now."