Evening prayers

Remembering God’s Presence, Lord’s Prayer, worship

So we come to our evening prayers.  If possible, you should say them during the evening before you get too tired to say them properly.  You don’t have to wait until you go to bed.  You begin your evening prayers in the same way as your morning prayers.  Make the sign of the Cross, remember God’s Presence, say the Our Father and make an act or worship or adoration.

Thanksgiving

Now, just as in the morning you thank God for all his goodness to you all through your life, so in the evening you thank him for the past day.  Think of all the different ways in which he has been good to you and then, in your own words or from a book or by using the Prayer of St Richard of Chichester, thank him for them as well as for your home and your friends.

Self-examination, confession and saying sorry

After we have thanked God for his goodness to us, we think of the sins which we have committed.  This is called self-examination, and we do it by going over in our minds the various happenings of the day and finding out all the things we have thought or said or done that were wrong in God’s eyes.  Then, when we have confessed them to him, we tell him we are sorry for them and we promise to try hard to avoid them on the following day.

Praying for other people

The next thing we do is to pray for other people.  You’ll remember that it is a good thing to make out a list for every day of the week.  Some people you will pray for every day, others on one day in the week according to your list.  And you might remember to pray for your parish priest.  And don’t forget to pray for yourself, and ask God to bless you and help you become the kind of person he wants you to be.  If any of your relations have died, pray for them too, using your own words or these words. ”Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them”.

Asking for help and giving yourself to God

Then, just as you did in the morning, ask your patron Saint to pray for you, and your Guardian Angel to protect you during the night.  Lastly give yourself to God and say, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit this night and for evermore”.  Make the sign of the Cross, and say the Grace.