Testimonies

A Fresh Breeze of the Spirit

I often treated litanic prayers superficially, not thinking much about particular invocations, as praying or singing them together in community has its own rhythm and doesn't leave much time for deeper reflection on their content. When I encountered the Litany to the Most Holy Mind of Our Lord Jesus Christ, I was intrigued by the plea "transform us." From that moment, I began to approach this prayer differently. This very plea became an inspiration to enter into the depths of the litany's message. I felt that to be transformed, I needed to allow myself to be transformed and engage. One must make an effort for something to change in one's heart, thinking, and actions. The litany became for me a kind of novelty, a fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit, who finds the right time to reach our hearts and minds. The Litany to the Most Holy Mind of Christ is now my meditation, which I can spread across the individual days of the month. Each invocation in a way compels one to stop, reflect, search through Sacred Scripture and commentaries in order to deepen their content. The litany is also an impulse and an aid for verifying life attitudes, convictions, thoughts, and daily choices. It teaches me to enter into the thinking of Jesus, who so deeply desires that we think divinely and not merely in human terms.

Begin to Think

The first impression that comes when I pray the Litany to the Most Holy Mind of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the message — "begin to think." I am accustomed to praying other litanies in a certain rhythm; a kind of melody. But this litany is different. At first, this was surprising and somewhat uncomfortable for me during its recitation. Nevertheless, when I enter into the logic of this litany, new horizons of prayer and thought open before me. What I value most in this litany are those dimensions of existence where I perceive God's immense love, which was revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ. In His incarnation, and thereby in the adoption of every human being — including myself. Following the successive invocations of the litany, I look as if from the side at this reality of God's love for every person. This awareness greatly enriches me because I know that I too am His beloved child. The second very clear attribute of this litany is concrete help in working on oneself. The individual invocations of the litany provide the opportunity to stand in truth. To verify one's attitudes, behavior, motives for action, and especially one's thinking. After all, conversion depends on a change of thinking (cf. Eph 4:23). Praying this litany, I feel deep gratitude to God for His love. His fatherly presence manifests in the fact that He takes me very seriously. As a free person, He forces me to do nothing but waits for my decision and response. At the same time, He gives me the possibility of growth by following the path of His Son, who apart from sin was like us in everything. This path is the shaping of thinking in the image of His thinking and with His help. And so, glory to the Lord for the gift to the Church in the form of the Litany to the Most Holy Mind of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Prayer of Transformation

I came across this litany during a retreat and was struck by how different it is from most prayers I know. It doesn't ask for things — it asks to be transformed. After praying it for several months, I notice that I catch myself in patterns of thinking that I now recognize as "not the mind of Christ." That recognition itself feels like grace.

A Doorway into Contemplation

I have introduced this litany into our parish's Friday evening prayer group. The meditations have become the basis for our lectio divina. What strikes me most is how each invocation opens into the whole mystery of the Gospel — a single line becomes a doorway into contemplation that can last an entire week.

Part of Our Daily Breath

In our community we have incorporated the Litania Christi into our Liturgy of the Hours. The rhythm of the invocations and their responses has become part of our daily breath. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, we find our community conversations shaped by the questions the litany raises: is this how Christ would see this person? Is this how He would respond?

A Prayer of Transformation, Not Petition

Students who struggle with the idea of prayer as petition have responded well to this litany because it is fundamentally a prayer of transformation. It asks not "give me this" but "make me like this." Many have told me it has changed how they understand what prayer is for.

Aspirational, Not Moralistic

I use the English translation with my sixth-form students. They are surprisingly receptive to it — perhaps because it is not moralistic but aspirational. It doesn't tell them what not to do; it shows them who they could become. Several students have begun praying it privately.

Naming What Could Not Be Named

Working with the sick and dying, I find the invocations about Christ's compassion toward the suffering and His hope in the face of death particularly profound. I have shared the Italian version with patients and families. For many, it names something they could not quite name before — the conviction that Christ does not look on their suffering with indifference.

Tubadilishe — Transform Us

The Kiswahili translation has been received with great joy by our community. We pray it at Sunday Mass once a month. The response "tubadilishe" — transform us — has become something of a watchword in our community. It is a prayer we carry into our week.

Accessible Contemplative Practice

I recommend this litany to many of my directees as a way of introducing contemplative practice without the complexity of centering prayer or lectio divina. It is accessible, rooted in Scripture, and touches something in the person who prays it honestly — a recognition of how different Christ's thinking really is from our own.