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Saturday Prayers

Saturday has been Our Lady's day since the Middle Ages. Pray St Philip Neri's Saturday prayer for perseverance, a Saturday prayer for the holy souls, which asks through Mary's sorrows, the Memorare and the Hail, Holy Queen.

St Philip Neri's Prayer for Saturday: For Perseverance

St Philip, my holy patron, who, ever constant in good works and full of merit, didst receive from the Most High God the crown of glory in reward of all thy labours, obtain for me grace never to weary in his service. St Philip, who didst recompense those who loved thee by acquiring for them the gift of perseverance in good, ask of God this gift for me; stand by me, dear father, at the last moment of my life, and pray for me that I may depart this life strengthened with the grace of the Holy Sacraments. Meanwhile, intercede for me, that I may do penance for my sins, and deplore them bitterly all my days. St Philip, who from on high beholdest all my miseries, and the chains which yet bind me to my sins and to this earth; pray for me that I may be liberated from them, and be constantly devoted to my God. Obtain for me an ardent desire to co-operate in my own salvation, and unshaken firmness in the good which I have begun; that so, by thy intercession, I may deserve to be for ever in thy company in an eternity of bliss.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

From the Raccolta (1910)

On Saturdays the rosary's joyful mysteries are prayed. Start the rosary

More prayers

For the Holy Souls on Saturday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee, by the Precious Blood which gushed forth from the side of thy Divine Son Jesus, in the sight of, and to the extreme pain of his most holy Mother, deliver the souls in purgatory, and especially that one amongst them all which was the most devout to her; that it may soon attain unto thy glory, there to praise Thee in her, and her in Thee, world without end. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and the De profundis (Psalm 130).

From the Raccolta (1910)

The Memorare

Traditionally attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Latin

Memorare, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.

Latin from the Raccolta (1910)

From the Little Manual of the Sacred Heart (1887)

Also on The Memorare

Hail, Holy Queen

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy; our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

℣.Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.℟.That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Latin

Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Latin from Manuale sacerdotum ad altare (1889)

Line by line with the English: Salve Regina in Latin

From the Key of Heaven (1901)

Also on Hail, Holy Queen

Questions

Why is Saturday dedicated to Our Lady?

Catholic custom gives each day of the week a devotion: Sunday the Holy Trinity, Monday the holy souls, Tuesday the angels, Wednesday St Joseph, Thursday the Blessed Sacrament, Friday the Passion and Sacred Heart, and Saturday Our Lady. The customs are old and vary from place to place; none is required.

Who was St Philip Neri?

A priest of Rome (1515-1595) who founded the Oratory and was loved for his cheerfulness and his care for the young. His prayers for the week ask for a different virtue each day: humility, patience, purity, the love of God, love of neighbour, detachment and perseverance.

Do I have to pray all of them?

No. Choose one or two: for example, St Philip's prayer for the day's virtue in the morning and the prayer for the holy souls in the evening.

Prayers for the other days of the week