Catholic Holy Cards: What to do with them all?

Last year I received a comment on my decluttering post asking, 

"How do you pray with your holy cards?"

That's a great question!  Besides using them as bookmarks, holy cards can be a tremendous spiritual aid.  I really like to use ones that have my favorite prayers, quotes, and images on them when I'm praying at church or sitting in quiet meditation at home.  

I keep the bulk of my holy card collection in a box from my Little Flower's Girls Group growing up.  The box was part of our project for the virtue of orderliness.  I have to chuckle a little bit because, while the box keeps my holy cards all in one place and is not visibly a mess, the inside of the box is a little chaotic.  But there is a method to the madness.

Usually, these holy cards are out of sight and out of mind but I do rifle through this box whenever I need to find a certain prayer, image, or even a card for a letter or a gift!  I also keep some extra brown scapulars in here, as you can see.

Now to the ones I pray with!  I have this lovely little holy card album I purchased while visiting the Norbertine Canonesses.  It's perfect for keeping my most favorite prayer cards and carrying them in my purse/backpack.  I whip this out after every Mass and nearly every time I visit a church or chapel!  The most important way we can remember to use holy cards in our prayer is to have them readily available at any time!  (Here's one from Full of Grace USA!)

                   

This picture of St. Thérèse is my grandfather's memorial card.  

It reminds me to pray for him and all my departed family whenever I open this album.

I had an aversion to this image of Christ after the scourging when I was younger as I thought it gratuitous.  But in the last 5 or so years, I read some of the book, "Revelations of St. Bridget: On the Life and Passion of Our Lord and the Life of His Blessed Mother" (affiliate link) in which Our Lord's sufferings are described.  Our Lady speaks,

"...I beheld His body bruised and beaten to the very ribs, so that His ribs could be seen; and what was still more bitter, when the scourge was raised, His very flesh was furrowed by the thongs. ... my Son stood thus, all bloody, all torn, so that no soundness could be found in Him nor any spot to scourge..."

Venerable Fulton Sheen also wrote in his book, "The Life of Christ" speaking of Our Lord, 

"He will find Himself without a friend in the world, an outcast on a hill, with mobs shouting His death, and His flesh hanging from Him like purple rags."

So you see, this image of Our Lord could be very accurate and I find it so helpful in meditation on Our Lord's suffering and passion.  Now to the praying part!!  I have this picture opposite The Litany of Humility.  A great pairing, right?  (You can find both of these holy cards here!)

Other holy cards included in my album are these wedding remembrance cards!  These are so beautiful for meditating on parts of the Holy Family's life that are hidden but they're also good reminders to pray for the couples whose weddings I've attended and for all married couples.

These images are so beautiful.  I use the left one of Mary, Jesus, St. Dominic, and St. Catherine while praying the Rosary.  It is a remembrance of a priest's ordination so I pray for him too!  The right one is my uncle's funeral card.

I try to pray this prayer every time I use this album.  This is The Golden Arrow prayer as given by Our Lord to Sr. Mary of St. Peter.  He said that it delightfully wounds His heart in reparation for the blasphemies He receives.  (Copies of this card can be found here!)

The card opposite is one from Catholic to the Max.  The prayer is so beautiful and has helped me so much in my vocation discernment.  Or at least, it has helped me to pray for patience and resignation.

Then in the front of my missal under the flap of the cover, I keep all the priestly ordination cards I've collected.  These priests are all very special to me so having their cards in the front of my missal allows me to pray for them at every Mass.

Then at the back of my missal, I have a few random cards.  These were given to me by friends so I often remember to pray for them as well.  The one of Mary and Baby Jesus is the card from the profession of a Carmelite nun!  

I usually grab this nice small card of Our Lady of Guadalupe to use as an extra bookmark if the Mass is from the common of the Blessed Virgin.  It was given to me by my dear Carmelite pen-pal whose title is "of Our Lady of Guadalupe!" 💙  Please pray for her as she will be making her final profession in July!! 🎉

Finally, I also have holy cards as bookmarks in my Catholic Girl's Guide by Father Lasance.  This book is full of beautiful meditations, lessons, and prayers so I have lots of pages bookmarked.  It really is a little powerhouse of prayer that I carry with me almost everywhere in my purse!

I also keep a few holy cards that I've received from pen-pals in my writing desk.  This one is very special as it's a relic of the Infant of Prague statue!  😊  

Even if you don't have room for all of your most important holy cards in your missal or prayer album, get creative and put them around the house in places you'll see them!  Your desk, bathroom mirror, car, and kitchen are all great places to put little prayer reminders!

I hope you enjoyed reading this and that you got even a little inspiration about how to use your holy cards!  They can be a very helpful and handy tool for memorizing prayers and praying for others.  

Where do you keep your holy cards and how do you use them?  I'd love to hear in the comments below!

In cordibus Jesu et Mariae,

Sarah