Part
01
of one
Part
01
I am looking for Catholic prayers and meditations that are in the public domain or under commons copyright. Specifically: The Way of the Cross/Stations of the Cross, the Rosary, the Beatitudes, the Passion narrative, and Missal.
Hello! Thank you for asking Wonder about Catholic prayers and meditations in the public domain or under commons copyright.
BACKGROUND
Our sources for this project include academic databases, trusted media sites, user forums, and review sites. All of the books provided are in the public domain, and together they provide hundreds of Catholic prayers. Wonder makes an effort to use only sources that are no more than two years old. However, due to the nature of this question, the referenced books are more than two years old. Copyrighted work that was published in the U.S. before January 1, 1923 is public domain as the copyright has expired (unless the copyright has been renewed), and it may be used in the U.S. without permission. The majority of the books were written by friars or sisters in the Catholic Church and/or are identified as "Catholic books". Many of the books contain morning and evening prayers, prayers for before and after confession, and prayers to various saints, as well as the prayers that you specified.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS/STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Devotions For Public And Private Use At The Way Of The Cross, published in 1875, Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0, contains prayers for the Way of the Cross/Stations of the Cross. It is available for download, with multiple options, through this source.
Catholic Devotions: A Selection of Prayers and Devotional Exercises is a book of prayers and devotions. This book was published in 1890 and is under Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0. It includes the Way of the Cross on page 236 and can be downloaded from the Internet with various options.
Stations of the Cross are also included in With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections published in 1911 (Public Domain Mark 1.0). This book is linked in PDF form.
The Catholics Pocket Prayer Book, published in 1899, also includes the Way of the Cross on page 190. This book can be downloaded, in various formats, from the link provided.
THE ROSARY
The Blessed Sacrament Book, by by Lasance, F. X. (Francis Xavier), 1860-1946, was published in 1913 and has Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0. It contains over 100 prayers and devotions, including all the prayers for the Rosary: Our Father, Hail Mary, Apostle's Creed, and Glory Be prayers.
Prayers for the Rosary are also included in With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections published in 1911 (Public Domain Mark 1.0). This book is linked in PDF form.
The Catholics Pocket Prayer Book, published in 1899, also includes the Rosary on page 208. This book can be downloaded, in various forms, from the provided link.
THE BEATITUDES
Our research discovered no non-copyrighted form of prayers on the Beatitudes. Catholic.org provides copyrighted prayers on the Beatitudes. The linked page also includes a list with links to 22 other "litanies prayers".
Their copyright statement follows: "Copyright 2017 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2017 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited." They don't provide specific contact information for requesting written consent, but they do give the email address, "userexperience@catholiconline.email", that may be a good place to start.
THE PASSION NARRATIVE
Our research discovered no public prayers specific to the passion narrative. However, we did find a book in the public domain that deals with the passion narrative in a meditative way. "Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" was published 1862 and is now in public domain. It's author, Anne Catherine Emmerich, "was beatified on Sunday, October 3rd, 2004 by Pope John Paul II, the final step before sainthood. Her feast day is the anniversary of her death on February 9th, 1824."
THE ROMAN MISSAL
Only the Latin version of the Roman Missal is in the public domain. Missale Romanum 1962 Roman Missal Color Latin was published in 1962 and has usage Public Domain Mark 1.0. The book, in color, is scanned and available on the Internet in the Fatima Movement Digital Library. It is "filled with Masonic symbolism and liturgy".
ICEL (The International Commission on English in the Liturgy) holds the rights to several versions of English translations of the Roman Missal. Their website details their copyright information, shows how to acknowledge their copyrighted materials (including examples), and provides the following regarding requests for use of their copyrighted materials:
"Liturgical texts are made available to publishers without distinction, on a non-exclusive basis. All requests for permission should be directed to the ICEL Secretariat, 1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 710, Washington, D.C., 20036, U.S.A. Phone: 202-347-0800; Fax: 202-347-1839; permission@eliturgy.org".
MORNING AND EVENING PRAYERS
The hymn book, Hosanna : Catholic Hymn Book, by Ludwig Bonvin, includes an appendix of prayers and devotions. It specifically includes morning and night prayers. This book was published in 1914, so it's under Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0.
Catholic Devotions: A Selection of Prayers and Devotional Exercises, a book of prayers and devotions, also includes morning and evening prayers, on pages 7 and 25 respectively. Again, this book was published in 1890 and is under Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0 and can be downloaded from the Internet with various options.
CONFESSION PRAYERS
Catholic Devotions: A Selection of Prayers and Devotional Exercises also includes prayers for after Confession on page 100. Once again, this book was published in 1890 and is under Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0 and can be downloaded from the Internet with various options.
The Catholics Pocket Prayer Book, published in 1899 (Public Domain Mark 1.0), also includes prayers for Confession on page 134. This book is available for download in various forms.
GENERAL CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS
Project Gutenberg released an eBook, General Catholic Devotions, by Bonaventure Hammer, in September 2010 "for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net" It is listed under subject Catholic Devotions and Prayers and may include content that is useful to you.
PROPER REFERENCING - PUBLIC DOMAIN
It is important to note that only the specific versions of the prayers in these sources are certainly in the public domain. The books themselves, including all of their content, are public. However, the prayer in general, if listed outside of its source may not be. For example, stating that "De Profundis" is in the public domain is not correct. But, stating that "De Profundis" in "Gate of Heaven: Way of the Child Mary" is in the public domain is correct.
SUMMARY
Altogether, the referenced books include hundreds of Catholic prayers. Most of the sources are in the public domain. For those few that are not, copyright information and information on requesting permission to use has been included. Some of the sources overlap, but they each use slightly different wording. Again, the sources are obviously published more than two years ago. Expired copyrights prior to 1923 give public domain and freedom of use.
Thank you, again, for bringing your question to Wonder! We wish you well with your project, and hope that you'll come to Wonder again with future questions.