We draw closer to the world’s suffering as we are united with Jesus. A central part of how we accomplish this in the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer) is through a daily prayer of self offering. Through this prayer we ask the Father to make us available to the mission of his Son, offering him what we are and possess.

This offering can be done in our own words or following a written prayer. We ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to the needs and challenges that confront humanity and the mission of the Church, and pray for them following the Pope’s intentions for the month.

When we offer ourselves to God we do with the intention of allowing God work through us, using us as an instrument. This means it is not simply a pious prayer we pray in the morning, but a sincere offering where we pledge ourselves to God, promising that we will “practice what we preach,” allowing God’s light to shine through us and our actions.

Throughout history a countless number of saints have offered their lives to God on a daily basis in a similar way. Many of them composed beautiful prayers that can inspire us in our daily offering, encouraging us to “fight the good fight” and “run the race” to reach our ultimate destination of Heaven.

Here are five daily offering prayers from five different saints to help you make that complete offering of self to God each and every day.

Saint Therese of Lisieux (A member of the Apostleship of Prayer)

Oh my God!  I offer you all my actions of this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to his infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them in the furnace of his merciful love.

Oh my God!  I ask of you for myself and for those dear to me the grace to fulfill perfectly your holy will, to accept for love of you the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in Heaven for all eternity.  Amen.

Saint Mechtilde

Dear Lord, I adore your Sacred Heart, which I desire to enter with acts of love, praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. I offer you my own heart as I sigh to you from its very depths, asking that you will work through me in all that I do this day; thus may I draw you closer to me than you were before. I offer you all the crosses and sufferings of the world, in union with your life on earth, in expiation for sins. Please join my every action and heartbeat to the pulsations of your Heart. I unite all my works of this day to those labors you did perform while you were on earth, bathing them in your Precious Blood, and I offer them to the Heavenly Father so that many souls may be saved. Amen.

Saint Patrick

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

(For the rest of this lengthy prayer, click here).

Saint Ignatius Loyola

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.

Saint Josemaria Escriva

Serviam — I will serve you, [Lord] I will be faithful!

Read More: This is why we make a “Daily Offering”