Happy Sunday!

In honor of my husband joining the choir at a Latin Mass parish for the first time, I decided to create and share the joys of learning prayers in another language with you.

Growing up Presbyterian, Anglican, and fruity Novus Ordo Catholic (which isn’t all NO, but most of the ones I’ve had the displeasure of attending), I haven’t been exposed to a lot of Latin.

I’m so behind, in fact, that I’m thinking about searching for an online course or perhaps getting a language learning app (recommendations appreciated).

The Our Father in Latin

I started my Latin-learning journey about a year ago, but only with the “Our Father” in Latin or the “Pater Noster.”

Thanks to Dr. Taylor Marshall and the prayers at the beginning of each of his videos, I’ve actually got this one memorized in Latin . . . so only a bunch more prayers to go.

I really enjoy praying the “Our Father” in the Latin language because it is sort of intuitive. There are words that are clear etymologically cousins of modern English and Spanish words like:

• “panem” which is kind of like “pan” meaning “bread” in Spanish
• “caelis” is like “cielo” in Spanish (heaven)
• “nostra” is like “nuestro” (our)
• “tentationem” sounds really similar to “temptations” in English
• “libera” like “liberate”
• “malo” is “bad” in Spanish (and “evil” is bad)

If you had to learn Latin and Greek roots in school like me, you might see learning the Latin “Our Father” and other prayers in the language as a fun challenge instead of just plain difficult.

Regardless of how you feel about Latin prayers, learning them ensures that no matter where in the world you attend a traditional Catholic Mass, you’ll be able to recognize where you are in the Mass and pray along!

Free “Pater Noster” (The “Our Father” in Latin) Wallpapers

Without further ado, here are the “Pater Noster” phone wallpapers I designed! I hope at least one of them suits your fancy. Feel free to share these with your friends or perhaps on Pinterest😊

Free “Ave Maria” (The “Hail Mary” in Latin) Wallpapers

Another great prayer to learn in Latin is the “Ave Maria.“

Like the “Pater Noster,” the “Ave Maria” has a lot of cognates (I Googled this word. It’s the name for words that have etymological connections and sound similar).

• “gratia” sounds like “grace”
• “fructus” sounds like “fruit”
• “Sancta” is like “Santa” which means “holy” or “saint”
• “mater” sounds like “mother”

So here are a couple “Ave Maria” phone wallpapers I created!

I’m no graphic designer, but I’m pretty pleased at how these wallpapers turned out!

Happy Latin-learning!

Godspeed,

Grace