Archdiocesan Office for Youth. Pray Witness Serve

Do Not Leave Me to Myself

God our Father, you know how weak I am. Do not leave me to myself today but take me under your protection and give me grace to act upon my holy resolution. Enlighten my understanding with a lively faith, raise up my will to a firm hope, and inflame it with an ardent charity. Strengthen my weakness and cure the corruption of my heart. Grant that I may overcome the enemies of my soul, and that I may make good sue of your grace. And if it be that I should die today, grant me the gift of final perseverance.

M.B.

Spirit of Hope

Holy Spirit, teach us today to look on the bright side of everything, so that for us even the darkest cloud has silver lining. Just as this day begins with light, so that we may reflect your light and hope to everyone we meet today the light and hope that will lift people up and give them hope that though things may be dark right now, the clouds
Will lift and give way to the brightness of a new day and more hopeful life for them.

M.B.

This is the Day

This is the day the Lord hath made,
He calls the house his own:
Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad
And praise surrounds the throne.

Isaac Watts

I Want to Know and Love God

My God, I pray that I may so know you and love you that I may rejoice in you. And if I may not do so fully in this Life let me go steadily on to the day when I come to that fullness. Let the knowledge of you increase in me here, and there let it come to its fulfilled, so that here my joy may be in a great hope, and there in full reality.

M.B.

Help My Unbelief

Father, even though we believe in you, we still need the grace to overcome our unbelief. We hope in you and yet we worry about what may happen to us throughout this day. We love you and still seek our own will in so many ways. Accept this morning our faith, hope, and love, little though they may be, and grant that throughout this day we may grow in our belief, hope, and love of you. Through Christ our Lord.

M.B.

Prayers taken from Catholic Morning Prayers (2000) by Monsignor Michael J Buckley. Published by Servant Publications.

Our Father

Our Father,
who art in Heaven,
Hallowed by Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee; 
Blessed art thou among women and 
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end.
Amen.

Blessing before Meals

Bless us O Lord,
and these Thy gifts
which we are about to receive from Thy bounty.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; 
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, 
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. 
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; 
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. 
Amen.

A Student’s Prayer
by St Thomas Aquinas

Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Thanks for Family and Friends

Blessed are You, loving Father,
For all your gifts to us.
Blessed are You for giving us family and friends
To be with us in times of joy and sorrow,
To help us in days of need,
And to rejoice with us in moments of celebration.

Father,
We praise You for Your Son Jesus,
Who knew the happiness of family and friends,
And in the love of Your Holy Spirit.
Blessed are you for ever and ever.

Amen.

http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=2823

Prayer of a Son/Daughter for a Parent

Loving God,
you watch over each and every one of your children.
Hear my prayer for my father/mother.
Be his/her constant companion.
Protect him/her no matter where he/she goes,
and bring him/her safely and quickly home to those who 
love him/her.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=1523

Jesus we forget

Jesus, we forget so easily that life means more than food and the body more than clothing, and that you have invited us to look at the birds of the air flying so gracefully and freely. They are fed by their Creator, our heavenly Father. Lord, when today we start feeling caged by worry and the stress of success, fill us with faith, give us the courage to trust you and rest in the success that only you can give the freedom of spirit that makes us soar.

M.B.

Change Me

Heavenly Father, I know you have no favorites, and each person is special to you. You love me as I am today, and You are patient in waiting for me to change for the better because you want me to be free in willing and wanting to change. Loving Father, change me. In my weakness be my strength. In my false security be my challenge. In my lukewarmness be a fire within me. And in my life, which is in a rut, raise me up so I can really live and face the future with grace and gallantry.

M.B.

Trust in God

Father, as another day begins, I renew my trust in you. Because you love me as my Father, you will guide me along the right path, even though I may not be certain where it will lead. All I desire is to do your will through out this day, and I trust that your Holy Spirit has placed this desire within me. Teach me to live one day at a time, and may I hope in you. Keep me joyful and at peace until the shadows lengthen and the day is done.

M.B.

When I Am Lonely

Holy Spirit, give me an awareness today of my heavenly Father loving presence whenever I feel so alone that even my prayers are as dry and parched as an endless barren desert. May I find an oasis in your presence so that I do not feel the need to use words, because you are already there with and for me.

Give me the assurance to listen, the serenity to be still, and the faith to believe that all I am and feel in my barrenness is a prayer. Know that in lonely quiet places, I am for me than to use words that may not express my dearest inner feelings. Teach me to still and listen.

M.B.

Prayers taken from Catholic Morning Prayers (2000) by Monsignor Michael J Buckley. Published by Servant Publications.

Father, as I thank you this morning for the blessing of my home, may I remember that no one is a stranger to you and no one is ever far from your loving care. In your kindness watch over refugees and exiles, those separated from their loved one, those who are homeless, and bring them safely to a place that feels like home to come to this our earthly home so that one day we share with him the delight of heaven.

MB

Prayers taken from Catholic Morning Prayers (2000) by Monsignor Michael J Buckley. Published by Servant Publications.