Prayers for Lent

The one thing I have grew to use and appreciate since I started to learn more about the Catholic church last year is the abundance of prayers available to us including prayers by the Saints. During this season of lent, let us recite prayers that reflect penance and sorrow as we fast and abstain from our favorite things.

Penitential Prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,

take away from me my sins,

and mercifully kindle in me

the fire of thy Holy Spirit.

Take away from me the heart of stone,

and give me a heart of flesh,

a heart to love and adore Thee,

a heart to delight in Thee,

to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake, Amen

St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)

  

Psalm 6 Domine, Ne In Furore

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger,
nor chasten me in thy wrath.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

My soul also is sorely troubled.
But thou, O Lord -- how long?

Turn, O Lord, save my life;
deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love.

For in death there is no remembrance of thee;
in Sheol who can give thee praise?

I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.

My eye wastes away because of grief,
it grows weak because of all my foes.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil;
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.

All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled;
they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment. Glory...

More lent prayers here and more penitential psalms here.