Ejaculatory prayer

In Christian piety, an ejaculation, sometimes known as ejaculatory prayer or aspiration, is "a short prayer, in which the mind is directed to God, on any emergency."^[1] “A sigh, a devout aspiration, a holy ejaculation, will oftener pierce the sky, and reach the ear of Omnipotence, than a long set exercise of prayer...”.^[2]

Within Roman Catholicism, some common ejaculations include the Jesus Prayer, the Fatima Prayer of the Holy Rosary, Come Holy Spirit, and Eternal Rest.^[3][4] In Methodism, some common ejaculations include "Praise the Lord!", "Hallelujah!" and "Amen!".^[5] The Puritan theologian William Perkins urged his pupils to "pray continually" through "secret and inward ejaculations of the heart".^[6] The Lutheran rite for corporate Confession and Absolution includes the pastor offering ejaculatory prayers after penitents recite the Confiteor.^[7]

Ejaculatory prayers have been used for indulgences, decreasing the number of days spent in purgatory. They are collected in the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum. The Raccolta (1866 version) states that "these prayers may be said in any language, provided the version be correct, and approved by the S. C. of Indulgences".^[8]

The following is a prayer consisting of two parts, given in the Raccolta (1943 version):^[9]: 7

a) Holy God, Holy Strong One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. b) To Thee be praise, to Thee be glory, to Thee be thanksgiving through endless ages, O Blessed Trinity (Roman Missal).

According to the Raccolta, it grants a partial indulgence of 500 days, for each complete recitation, even if the two parts are recited separately. If recited daily with devotion for an entire month, it grants a plenary indulgence.

References

1. Brown, John Newton (1844). The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Brattleboro, VT: Joseph Steen and Company. p. 493. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
2. Stedman, D.D., John (1830). Sermons on various subjects. John Upham, Bath, and J. Hatchard and Son. pp. 120. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
3. Glavich, Mary Kathleen (2010-01-01). For Catechetical Leaders: Teaching Catechists to Pray: A Companion to the Catholic Way to Pray. Twenty-Third Publications. p. 275. ISBN 9781585957781. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
4. Stedman, John (1830). Sermons on various subjects. p. 120. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
5. "Shouting Methodists". Jesus Fellowship. 20 January 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
6. Black, Vicki K. (1 January 2011). Welcome to Anglican Spiritual Traditions. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 82. ISBN 9780819227225.
7. Brown, John Newton (1844). Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge. p. 1259.
8. "Raccolta - On Holy Indulgences". www.liturgialatina.org. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
9. Catholic Church. Poenitentiaria Apostolica (1943). The raccolta; or, Prayers and devotions, enriched with indulgences in favor of all the faithful in Christ or of certain groups of persons, and recently revised, edited and in part newly translated into English from the 1938 official edition "Preces et pia opera" issued by the Sacred penitentiary apostolic and with later additions. Internet Archive. New York : Benziger, printers to the Holy see and the Sacred congregation of rites.