By Claire, Philippines

I was born into a Catholic family, and since I was young, I observed all kinds of religious rituals with my parents, among which various prayers impressed me most. Rosary prayer was the most basic one we Catholic had to keep. Every night we would pray the Rosary. First, we made the sign of the cross with the crucifix on our fingers and prayed the Apostles’ Creed; next, we prayed the Our Father, ten Hail Marys, the Glory Be, and prayed mysteries for each of the five sections of the rosary, and then prayed a Hail Mary. The prayers were very long, and it was really not easy to finish all of them.

“Nine-day prayer” was also another kind of prayer in Catholicism, which meant praying for the same wish for nine days in a row so as to gain the Lord’s favor and help. We also had a prayer-book, in which there were different pray ... Read more »