Prayers for the Last Half Hour of 2023 and the First Half Hour of 2024

An indulgence of 7 years is granted to all the faithful with a contrite heart, during the last half hour of the year and the first half hour of the following year, shall pray to the Most Holy Trinity in thanksgiving for benefits received; beseeching the same Holy Trinity for peace among Christians nations, for concord among Christians princes, for the conversion of sinners, and for the triumph of holy Mother Church and its visible head, the Roman Pontiff. [In our case, the traditional intentions of a true Pope were we to have one]

OLD YEAR AND NEW YEAR (From Lapsus est Annus) 

A year is dead, a year is born;

Thus time flies by on silent wing:

Thou, Lord, alone canst guide our course

And safe to heaven Thy people bring.

For all past gifts we render thanks;

For graces new we humbly pray.

Oh, grant that we and those we love

May ne'er from faith and duty stray.

O Lord, our daily wants supply;

Protect from sickness and disease;

And deign to give, O God of love

The blessings of unbroken peace.

Oh, blot out all our ancient sins

And give us strength to fall no more;

When fight is o'er and victory won,

Then crown us on the eternal shore.

For all the old year's sins we grieve;

Our hearts we consecrate to Thee.

Grant us, when all our years are sped,

Our heavenly father's face to see.

ACTS OF THANKSGIVING TO THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

We offer to the Most Holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ in thanksgiving for the Precious Blood which He shed in the Garden for us; and by His merits we beseech the divine majesty to grant us the pardon of all our sins.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

 We offer to the Most Holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for His most precious death endured on the cross for us; and by His merits we beseech the divine majesty to free us from the punishment due to our sins.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father

We offer to the Most Holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for His unspeakable charity, by which He descended from heaven to earth to take upon Himself our flesh, and to suffer and die for us on the cross; and by His merits we beseech the divine majesty to bring our souls to the glory of heaven after our death.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father. (Indulgence of 100 days each time. His Holiness Pope Pius IX, June 18, 1876)

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, behold us prostrate in Thy divine presence. We humble ourselves profoundly and beg of Thee pardon for our sins. We adore Thee, omnipotent Father, and with the outpouring of our hearts we thank Thee for having given us Thy divine Son Jesus to be our Redeemer, and for having left Him with us to the consummation of the world in the most august Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, in which mystery of faith and love He reveals to us the wonders of His Sacred Heart.

Glory Be to the Father...

O Divine Word, most adorable Jesus, our Redeemer, we adore Thee in Thy Sacrament, and with the outpouring of our hearts we thank Thee for having taken human flesh and for having made Thyself, for our redemption, both Priest and Victim in the sacrifice of the Cross, a sacrifice which, by an excess of the love of Thy adorable Sacred Heart, Thou dost renew every moment on our altars throughout the world. O Supreme Priest, O divine Victim, grant us the grace to honor Thy holy sacrifice in the most adorable Eucharist with the homage of Mary most holy and of all Thy Holy Church, triumphant, suffering and warfare. We offer ourselves wholly to Thee, and since Thou dost deign to have victims associated with Thee, accept our offering, and, uniting it with Thine, bless us. 

Glory Be to the Father...

O Divine Spirit the Paraclete, we adore Thee and with the outpourings of our hearts we give Thee thanks that Thou hast, with such great love for us, wrought the ineffable blessings of the Incarnation of the Word of God, a blessing which is being continually extended and enlarged in the most august Sacrament of the Eucharist. Ah, by this adorable mystery of love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, do Thou grant unto us and all poor sinners Thy holy grace. Pour forth Thy holy gifts upon us and upon all redeemed souls, and in an especial manner upon Holy Church, the spouse of Jesus Christ and our mother, upon its visible head, the supreme Roman Pontiff, upon all Cardinals, Bishops and Pastors of souls, upon Priests and all other ministers of Thy sanctuary. Amen.

Glory Be to the Father... An indulgence of 3 years (S. C. Ind., Mar. 22, 1905; S. P. Ap., Dec. 9, 1932). Raccolta No. 45

ACT OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE BLESSINGS OF THE PAST YEAR

O God, the beginning and the end of all things, Who art always the selfsame, and Whose years fail not, we now, at the close of another year, kneel in adoration before Thee, and offer Thee our deepest gratitude for the fatherly care with which Thou has watched over us during the past, for the many times Thou hast shielded us from evils of soul and body, and for the numberless blessings, both temporal and spiritual, which Thou hast showered upon us. May it please Thee to accept the homage of our grateful hearts which we offer Thee in union with the infinite thanksgiving of Thy divine Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth forever and ever. Amen.

SUPPLICATION AND RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR

O Eternal Father, after having thanked thy infinite bounty for thy exceeding benefits in the past, we humbly implore pardon for our manifold sins and negligences, for the time we have consumed and wasted in vanities and in things that profit not unto salvation, and for the woeful want of correspondence with Thy graces which we have so habitually manifested.

But filled with confidence in Thy mercy, so lavishly displayed in a multitude of ways, we ask Thy blessings upon our good purposes and resolutions. For now we renew the sacred promises we made in Baptism, when we first became Thy children and heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and we renounce Satan with all his works and pomps.

Firmly convinced that the salvation of our immortal souls is the one great business of life, the purpose for which we have come into the world, we solemnly resolve for the future not only to do all in our power to avoid every grievous sin in thought, word, and deed but also to shun every unnecessary occasion that might imperil our souls. We further resolve to fulfill with greater exactness and fidelity the duties of our station in life, to give more attention to our progress in things spiritual, to be more devoted to holy Mass, to receive the Sacraments more frequently, and to pray more often and more fervently.

Bless, O my God, these good resolutions which we offer to Thee at this, the threshold of a new year. Give us Thy precious grace and make us truly wise. The days and years of our life are passing so swiftly away. Help us, in Thy mercy, to utilize them, as we ought to do, for Thy greater honor and glory, for the good of our neighbor, and for our sanctification. The night cometh in which no man can work longer; soon, at best, we shall have to appear before Thee to render an account of our stewardship. May we then be found worthy to receive from Thee that divine welcome: "Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of thy Lord."

HYMN OF THANKSGIVING Te Deum)

Holy God, we praise Thy name!

Lord of all, we bow before Thee!

All on earth Thy scepter claim,

All in heav'n above adore Thee:

Infinite Thy vast domain,

Everlasting is Thy reign.

Hark! The loud celestial hymn,

Angel choirs above are raising!

Cherubim and seraphim,

In unceasing chorus praising,

Fill the heavens with sweet accord;

Holy, holy, holy Lord.

Holy father, holy Son,

Holy Spirit, three we name Thee,

While in essence only one,

Undivided God we claim Thee;

And adoring bend the knee,

While we own the mystery.

V. Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Ghost.

R. Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Let us Pray

O God, Whose mercy is without measure and the treasure of Whose goodness is infinite, we give thanks to Thy most comforting Majesty for the gifts conferred upon us, and we beg Thee continually through Thy clemency, that Thou Who grantest the request of those who ask Thee, mayest not abandon them now but rather dispose them for future rewards. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR A BLESSING ON THE NEW YEAR

O sacred and adorable Trinity, hear our prayers on behalf of our holy Father the Pope, our Bishops, our clergy, and for all that are in authority over us. Bless, we beseech Thee, during the coming year, the whole Catholic Church; convert heretics and unbelievers; soften the hearts of sinners so that they may return to Thy friendship; give prosperity to our country and peace among the nations of the world; pour down Thy blessings upon our friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and upon our enemies, if we have any; assist the poor and the sick; have pity on the souls of those whom this year has taken from us; and do Thou be merciful to those who during the coming year will be summoned before Thy judgment seat. May all our actions be preceded by Thy inspirations and carried on by Thy assistance, so that all our prayers and works, having been begun in Thee, may likewise be ended through Thee. Amen.

THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE (Psalm LXXXIX)

Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation. Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity to eternity Thou art God. Thou makest man to return to atoms, and sayest, return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in Thy sight are as yesterday when it is past, And as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them (men) away as with a flood; they are as a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which growth up. In the morning it flourisheth and growth up; in the evening it fadeth, growth dry, and withereth. For in Thine anger we are consumed, and in Thy wrath we are troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before Thine eyes, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance. For all our days are past away in Thy wrath; our years are consumed as a sigh.

The days of our years are threescore and ten; and if in the strong they are fourscore years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for it is soon past, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of Thine anger, and Thy wrath according to the fear that is due Thee? So teach us to number our days, that we may have a heart of wisdom. Return, O'Lord, how long? And be entreated in favor of Thy servants. O satisfy us in the morning with Thy loving-kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days in which we have been afflicted and the years wherein we have seen evil. Look upon Thy servants and upon their works, and direct their children. And the gracious kindness of the Lord Our God be upon us, and direct Thou the works of our hands upon us; Yea, the work of our hands, do Thou direct.

THE EVENING OF LIFE (From the Rerum Deus) 

O Strength, and stay upholden all creation,

who ever dost Thyself unmoved abide, 

yet day by day the light in due gradation

from hour to hour through its changes guide: 

Grant to life's day a calm, unclouded ending,

and eve, untouched by shadows of decay,

the brightness of a holy death-bed blending

with dawning glories of th' eternal day.

Hear us, O Father, gracious and forgiven,

And Thou, O Christ, the co-eternal Word, 

Who, with the Holy Ghost, by all things living

Now and to endless ages art adored.

PRAYER TO CONSECRATE THE NEW YEAR

O Sweet Savior of my Soul! From the depths of my heart I salute Thee at the beginning of this year. O my Infant Savior, I most confidently approach Thy crib and implore Thee to give efficacy by Thy Precious Blood to the resolutions I now make, of living from this moment in the manner I shall wish to have done when time shall be about to close forever on me.

May each action of the coming year be offered in union with the adorable actions of Thy mortal life; may every intention be renounced save that of laboring for Thy love and glory. O merciful Jesus! By the helplessness of Thy Holy Infancy, strengthen my weakness and fortify my resolution nevermore to offend Thee. Amen.