A number of prayers to Jesus Christ exist within the Roman Catholic tradition. These prayers have diverse origins and forms. Some were attributed to visions of saints, others were handed down by tradition.

Some such prayers are provided in the Raccolta

Raccolta

The Raccolta is a book, published from 1807 to 1950, that listed Roman Catholic prayers and other acts of piety, such as novenas, for which specific indulgences were granted by Popes...

 Roman Catholic prayer book, first published in association with the Roman Catholic Congregation of Indulgences in 1807.

Various prayers listed in this article are due to saints, or have been used by saints (e.g. Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...

, Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...

, Louis de Montfort

Louis de Montfort

St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....

, etc.) but they are usually not associated with a specific Catholic devotion with a feast day. They are therefore grouped separately from the prayers that accompany Roman Catholic devotions to Christ such as Holy Face of Jesus

Holy Face of Jesus

The Holy Face of Jesus is a title for specific images which some Catholics believe to have been miraculously formed representations of the face of Jesus Christ...

 or Divine Mercy

Divine Mercy

The Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion to the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one's own heart towards those in need of it...

.

In many cases specific promises and powers are attributed to specific prayers or devotions to Jesus although some prayers of reparation include no petition.

Anima Christi

Anima Christi

The Anima Christi is an medieval prayer to Jesus in the tradition of the Catholic Church.The sequence of sentences in Anima Christi have rich associations with Catholic concepts that relate to the Holy Eucharist , Baptism and the Passion of Jesus .Jean-Baptiste Lully composed a Motet called Anima...

Literary meaning Soul of Christ, this is an ancient and very well known Catholic prayer. It dates back to the early fourteenth century or perhaps before. At some point in history it was attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola, who used it in his Spiritual Exercises

Spiritual Exercises

Spiritual exercises may refer to:* Any spiritual practice dedicated towards increasing one's personal spirituality* Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, a book of spiritual practices of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order...

, but it was later found in texts that predated St. Ignatius.

The sequence of sentences in Anima Christi have rich associations with Catholic concepts that relate to the Holy Eucharist (Body and Blood of Christ), Baptism (water) and the Passion of Jesus (Holy Wounds

Holy Wounds

The Five Holy Wounds or Five Sacred Wounds refer to what are believed to be the five piercing wounds that was suffered during the crucifixion of Jesus....

).

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...

 composed a Motet

Motet

In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...

 called Anima Christi, and musicians such as Giovanni Valentini

Giovanni Valentini

Giovanni Valentini was an Italian Baroque composer, poet and keyboard virtuoso. Overshadowed by his contemporaries, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, Valentini is practically forgotten today, although he occupied one of the most prestigious musical posts of his time...

 performed it.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic prayer by Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque. It is was part of the private revelations reported by her regarding the Sacred Heart of Jesus.-Words of the prayer:...

This 17th century prayer is by Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque

Marguerite Marie Alacoque

Marguerite Marie Alacoque or Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French Roman Catholic nun and mystic, who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form.-Early life:...

. It was part of the private revelations reported by her regarding the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Morning offering

Morning offering

In Roman Catholicism, the Morning Offering is a prayer said by an individual at the start of the day in order to consecrate the day to Jesus Christ. It serves the purpose of preparing the Catholic to focus completely on Christ and give to him all that he or she does during the day...

The Morning offering

Morning offering

In Roman Catholicism, the Morning Offering is a prayer said by an individual at the start of the day in order to consecrate the day to Jesus Christ. It serves the purpose of preparing the Catholic to focus completely on Christ and give to him all that he or she does during the day...

 to the Sacred Heart of Jesus prayer is meant to be prayed first thing in the morning. It was composed by Fr. Francois Xavier Gaulrelet in 1844 and reflects the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary refers to the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary...

 by referring to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Immaculate Heart of Mary originally The Sacred Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God, her maternal love for her Son, Jesus, and her compassionate love for...

:

O Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer you my prayers, works, joys, sufferings of this day,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.

I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart:

the salvation of souls, the reparation for sin, the reunion of Christians;

and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.

Amen.

Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

 composed this prayer in 1899 and included it in his 1899 encyclical Annum Sacrum

Annum Sacrum

Annum Sacrum is an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on the consecration of the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on the 25th day of May, 1899, the twenty-second year of his pontificate....

 which consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The consecration was motivated by letters sent to the Pontiff by a Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd may refer to:In Christianity:* The Good Shepherd , pericope found in John 10:1-21, and a popular image in which the Good Shepherd represents Jesus...

 nun, Mary of the Divine Heart

Mary of the Divine Heart

Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart , born Maria Droste zu Vischering, was a German Roman Catholic nun best known for influencing Pope Leo XIII's consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus...

, who stated that in a vision of Jesus Christ

Visions of Jesus and Mary

Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary until today, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited...

 she had been told to request the consecration.

Prayer of repentance

Denial of Peter

The Denial of Peter refers to three acts of denial of Jesus by the Apostle Peter as described in the three Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament....

Bishop Lancelot Andrewes

Lancelot Andrewes

Lancelot Andrewes was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the...

 composed the following prayer:

O Lord Jesus Christ, look upon us with those eyes of thine where-with thou dist look upon Peter in the hall; that with Peter we may repent and, by the same love be forgiven; for thine
mercy's sake. Amen.

Prayer to the shoulder wound of Jesus

Prayer to the shoulder wound of Jesus

This Roman Catholic prayer is variously attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux or to St. Gertrude or St. Mechtilde. In English:According to St. Bernard, he asked Jesus which was His greatest unrecorded suffering and the wound that inflicted the most pain on Him in Calvary and Jesus answered:In...

This prayer is attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...

 According to St. Bernard, he asked Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 which was His greatest unrecorded suffering and the wound that inflicted the most pain on Him in Calvary

Calvary

Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...

 and Jesus answered:

"I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound which was more painful than the others and which is not recorded by men. Honor this Wound with thy devotion and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through its virtue and merit".

In the twelfth century Pope Eugenius III approved of the promises with regards to this prayer . The modern version of the prayer bears the imprimatur

Imprimatur

An imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...

 of Bishop Thomas D. Bevan .

Saint John Vianney's prayer to Jesus

Saint John Vianney's prayer to Jesus

Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, composed his prayer to Jesus in the 19th century.The prayer reflects Vianney's deep religious feelings, which were praised by Pope John XXIII in his encyclical Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia in 1959.The prayer is quoted in the Catechism of the...

 

Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, composed his prayer to Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 in the 19th century.

The prayer reflects Vianney's deep religious feelings, which were praised by Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

 in his encyclical

Encyclical

An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...

 Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia

Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia

Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia was the second encyclical issued by Pope John XXIII, and was issued on 1 August 1959. It commemorated the 100th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests....

 in 1959.

The prayer is quoted witin the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

You are Christ

You are Christ

You are Christ is an ancient Roman Catholic prayer to Jesus attributed to Saint Augustine of Hippo, in the 4th or 5th century.The title of the prayer is reminiscent of the statement of Saint Peter to Jesus: "You are the Christ" ....

This ancient prayer was composed by St. Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...

. This is a somewhat long prayer in three parts.

The first part is a list of titles and salutations to Jesus, namely: "my Holy Father, my Tender God, my Great King, my Good Shepherd... my Everlasting Salvation."

The second part involves a set of conversational questions, e.g. ".. why have I ever loved, why in my whole life have I ever desired anything except You, Jesus my God?..."

The third part is a list of petitions, namely "...may every good feeling that is fitted for Your praise, love You, delight in You,.... may I be found consummated with You!"

Prayer of St. John Gabriel Perboyre to Jesus

Prayer of St. John Gabriel Perboyre to Jesus

Saint John Gabriel Perboyre, priest and martyr composed this prayer in the 19th century.This transformational prayer builds towards Saint Paul's statement in Galatians 2:20: "I live - now not I - But Christ lives in me".-Words of the prayer:...

Saint John Gabriel Perboyre, priest and martyr composed this prayer in the 19th century.

The theme of the prayer is to help transform oneself to be more like Jesus and to banish all that in unlike Jesus from one's heart, soul and memory. This transformational prayer builds towards Saint Paul's statement in Galatians 2:20: "I live - now not I - But Christ lives in me".

Saint Louis de Montfort's Prayer to Jesus

Saint Louis de Montfort's Prayer to Jesus

Saint Louis de Montfort's Prayer to Jesus is a reflection of his philosophy of "total consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary" a theme that centuries later influenced the development of Roman Catholic Mariology....

This prayer is a reflection of Saint Louis de Montfort's philosophy of "total consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary" a theme that centuries later influenced the development of Roman Catholic Mariology..

Although St Louis is perhaps best-known for his Mariology and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, his spirituality is founded on the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and is centered on Christ, as reflected in his collected works God Alone

God Alone

God Alone is the title of the collected writings of Saint Louis de Montfort, one of the leading figures in Roman Catholic Mariology.-Description:...

.

As the prayer suggests St. Louis introduced the key concepts that underlie Roman Catholic Mariology today: that Jesus and Mary are son and mother, redeemer and redeemed and that the path to Jesus is through Mary. Theologically, the prayer reflects the inherent inclusion of Mariology in Christology

Christology

Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...

.

Prayer before a Crucifix

Prayer before a Crucifix

The Prayer before the Crucifix is a Roman Catholic prayer to Jesus which is said while kneeling before a crucifix. It is often said by Roman Catholics after Communion or after Mass....

This prayer is usually said while kneeling before a crucifix

Crucifix

A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....

. It is often said by Roman Catholics after Communion or after Mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

.

The faithful receive a partial indulgence

Indulgence

In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...

 if they recite the prayer after Communion before a crucifix. On the Fridays of Lent

Lent

In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...

, the indulgence is a plenary indulgence.