Every week, Jen from Conversion Diary hosts 7 Quick Takes. It’s a chance for bloggers to link up and have bloggy fun. You should go on over and check it out…she’s sure to make you snort your coffee, think a bit, and, in general, enjoy your visit.

For some of us, the weekly Quick Takes is a chance to come up with a theme (because random is baaaaad…sometimes). My brain’s been pretty tied up this week, but when Sherry, of the delightfully named Chocolate for Your Brain, tagged me in a blog-tag-meme the other day, challenging me to list my five favorite devotions, I immediately saw my theme for this week. Thanks, Sherry! 🙂

1. Hail Mary – It’s my go-to prayer, the one I turn to when I don’t have words, when I know I just need to pray. It’s also the prayer that I “fill” my time with…going up and down stairs, during an odd moment or two of silence, in the midst of frustrations so big I could scream. It is, hands down, my favorite prayer.

2. St. Michael Prayer and the Guardian Angel Prayer – I learned the St. Michael prayer recently, because my five-year-old was having such difficulty with bad dreams. We started praying it together, and she memorized it. (She loves that she knows it better than I do.) The Guardian Angel prayer, which we also pray regularly at bedtime, is one that I turn to especially in times of fear and it is a reminder to talk to my angel.

3. Morning Offering – Danielle Bean mentioned this enthusiastically in one of the Faith & Family Livecasts a long while back, and I printed it off after she did. (I’m a sucker for trying things other people rave about.) It’s the prayer I pray every morning before I pray for the specific people, by name, on my intentions list. I like it. And I like her idea about praying it throughout the day too. (I might have to try that.)

4. Divine Mercy Chaplet – I’m especially hooked on the sung version of this. It has a special place in my life and usually precedes my podcast listening.

5. Rosary – Though I have been away from it for a while, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the rosary is just not optional for me, for my life, for my sanity. I need to hold Mary’s hand every single day, and this devotion helps me to do that. As I hold her hand, I’m drawn to her Son, and there I find myself fulfilled, refreshed, able to continue my work.

6. The Holy Cloak of St. Joseph – This was introduced to our parish by our priest a few years ago, but though I took one of the booklets from the back of the church, I never prayed it until my mother-in-law raved about it and a huge, looming intention sent me looking for a special way to ask God for help. It has, in the last year, become a well-worn devotion, a favorite way for me to plead with God…and a sure way for me to be at peace with God’s answer. It’s a doozy of a devotion — a 30-day novena that has me investing about 20 minutes a day. I usually start it with one or two intentions and end it with a minimum of seven. I have reflected that perhaps God needs me to pray about far more than I do, and this devotion is one of the ways He gets my attention to focus on those other things.

7. Night Prayer – I love the Liturgy of the Hours, but of all the different hours of the day, Night Prayer is my favorite. I don’t have a natural tendency toward praying at night. I’m tired and I’m done for the day. I just want to tell God “nighty night” and tuck myself into bed…which is about what Night Prayer does.

What are YOUR favorite devotions?