Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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." "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...". Within

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, some common ejaculations include the

Jesus Prayer The Jesus Prayer, also known as The Prayer, is a short formulaic prayer and is especially esteemed and advocated in Eastern Christianity and Catholicism. There are multiple versions of this prayer, however the most widely used version is as follo ...

(more frequently used in Eastern Orthodoxy), the Fatima Prayer of the Holy Rosary, Come Holy Spirit, and

Eternal Rest Eternal Rest or ''Requiem aeternam'' is a Western Christian prayer asking God: (1) to hasten the progression of the souls of the faithful departed in Purgatory to their place in Heaven (in Catholicism) (2) to rest in the love of God the souls of ...

. In

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, some common ejaculations include " Praise the Lord!", "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

!" and "

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

!". The

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

William Perkins urged his pupils to "pray continually" through "secret and inward ejaculations of the heart". The

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

rite for corporate Confession and Absolution includes the pastor offering ejaculatory prayers after penitents recite the

Confiteor The (; so named from its first word, Latin for 'I confess' or 'I acknowledge') is one of the prayers that can be said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. It is also said in the Luther ...

. Ejaculatory prayers have been used for

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

s, decreasing the number of days spent in

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

. They are collected in the ''

Enchiridion Indulgentiarum ''Indulgentiarum Doctrina'' is an apostolic constitution about indulgences issued by Pope Paul VI on 1 January 1967. It responds to suggestions made at the Second Vatican Council, it substantially revised the practical application of the tradition ...

''. The ''

Raccolta The ''Raccolta'' (literally, "collection" in Italian), is a book, published in many editions from 1807 to 1952, that collected the texts of Roman Catholic prayers and briefly described other acts of piety, such as visiting and praying in particul ...

'' (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". The following is a prayer consisting of two parts, given in the Raccolta (1943 version):

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 The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions. History Before the Council of Trent (1570) ...
).

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

Christian prayer Interjections {{Christianity-stub