A litany is a prayer of many short invocations, each answered by the same response: 'pray for us', 'have mercy on us', 'deliver us, O Lord'. The form is ancient; the Litany of the Saints is already found in the liturgy of the first millennium, and it is still sung at the Easter Vigil, at ordinations and at the consecration of churches. The Directory on Popular Piety counts litanies among the devotions most in harmony with the liturgy, because their rhythm of invocation and response is the rhythm of the Church's own prayer, and because they are so easily prayed together.

What you need

• The text of the litany — several are in every Catholic prayer book
• For a group: one leader to sing or say the invocations, and everyone else to answer
• About ten minutes

When to pray it

At any time; in public devotions the Litany of Loreto is sung at May crownings and after the Rosary, the Litany of the Sacred Heart in June and on First Fridays, the Litany of Saint Joseph in March, and the Litany of the Saints on All Saints' Day, at the Easter Vigil and in processions.

Steps

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   Step 1: Understand the shape of a litany

   Every litany has the same architecture. It opens with the Kyrie: 'Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy,' and invocations of the Trinity answered 'have mercy on us.' The body is a series of titles or names — of Christ, of Our Lady, of a saint, or of the saints in order — each answered by the same response. It usually ends with invocations of the Lamb of God, a versicle and response, and a closing collect said by the leader. Once you know this shape, you can pray any litany without a rehearsal.

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   Step 2: Know the litanies approved for public use

   The Church has approved six litanies for public liturgical use: the Litany of the Saints▾, the oldest and the one used in the liturgy itself; the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary▾, called the Litany of Loreto▾; the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus; the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus▾; the Litany of the Most Precious Blood; and the Litany of Saint Joseph▾. Any of these may be sung or said in church, in processions and at public devotions. Other litanies exist and may be prayed privately, but these six are the Church's own.

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   Step 3: Praying with a leader and people

   The leader says or sings each invocation and the people answer with the response. For the Litany of Loreto▾: 'Holy Mary — pray for us. Holy Mother of God — pray for us. Mother of Christ — pray for us.' For the Litany of the Sacred Heart: 'Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father — have mercy on us.' For the Litany of the Saints▾: 'Saint Peter — pray for us. Saint Paul — pray for us,' and, in the petitions, 'From all evil — deliver us, O Lord' and 'That you would be pleased to grant us peace — we ask you, hear our prayer.' Keep one steady pace throughout; the leader sets it, and the people match it.

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   Step 4: Praying a litany alone

   Alone, say both the invocation and the response yourself, quietly and without hurry: 'Mother most pure, pray for us. Mother most chaste, pray for us.' Some prefer to say only the invocations and let the response be silent in the heart. Either way, let a title occasionally stop you; a litany is a rosary of names, and any one of them can become a meditation. Stand or kneel as you would in church, and end with the closing prayer.

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   Step 5: The closing prayer

   After the last invocations of the Lamb of God — 'Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord... graciously hear us, O Lord... have mercy on us' — the leader says the versicle and the people the response: for the Litany of Loreto▾, 'V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.' Then the leader prays the collect given with the litany, and all answer 'Amen.' The closing prayer is not optional: it gathers the whole litany into a single petition through Christ.

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   Step 6: When to pray the litanies through the year

   The litanies have their seasons. May, the month of Mary, and every Marian feast call for the Litany of Loreto▾, often after the Rosary or at a May crowning; it is also the customary conclusion of the Rosary in many places. June, the month of the Sacred Heart, and the First Fridays call for the Litany of the Sacred Heart, which is prayed publicly before the Blessed Sacrament. March and the feast of Saint Joseph on the 19th belong to the Litany of Saint Joseph▾. The Litany of the Saints▾ is sung at the Easter Vigil before the baptisms, at ordinations and religious professions, and on All Saints' Day; it is also the Church's litany for times of great need, prayed in processions of petition.

Tips

• Do not rush. The repetition of the response is meant to still the mind, as the repetition of the Hail Mary does in the Rosary.
• Sung litanies carry better than spoken ones; the simple chant tones are easily learned.
• In a group, the leader alone says the invocations and the people alone say the response. Everyone saying everything defeats the form.
• Litanies not on the approved list, such as the Litany of Humility, may be prayed privately with profit; they are simply not used in public liturgical worship.