Our Prayers

Prayer in Preparation for World Youth Day 2005

Lord Jesus Christ,
Savior of the World,
You became man,
to give us a life in abundance.
You promised to remain with Your Church
until the end of time.
Then Your Kingdom will come:
a new heaven and earth
full of love, justice and peace.
This is our hope, our foundation.
Thanks be to You.
Lord, we pray:
Bless the young people around the world.
Reveal Yourself to those who are in search of You.
Awake the non-believers.
Strengthen the faith of those who confess You.
Let them continuously search for You
like the three Wise Men from the East.
Make them architects of a new civilization of love
and witnesses of hope for the whole world.
Through them may You be with those
who suffer from hunger, war and violence.
Inspire those who are contributing
to the World Youth Day 2005.
May they serve Your kingdom
with the power of their faith and their love
and may they welcome their brothers and sisters
from all over the world with open hearts.
Lord, You gave us Mary as our mother.
Let her be our advocate for this World Youth Day.
May it become a celebration of faith.
Bless Your Church with new strength in these days,
so that it can become a credible witness for You.
We ask this through our Lord and God,
living in the unity of the Father and the Holy Spirit,
reigning forever and ever.
Amen.

 

* * * * *

Almighty and everlasting God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: I come as one sick to the physician of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the light of eternal brightness, poor and in need of the Lord of heaven and of earth. Therefore, I beseech the abundance of Your infinite bounty that You would vouchsafe to heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness, so that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords with such reverence and humility, such contrition and devotion, such purity and faith, such purpose and intention, as shall aid my soul's salvation. Grant unto me, I beseech You, not only to receive the sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord, but also its full reality and power. O most merciful God, grant me so to receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which He took from the Virgin Mary, that I may merit to be incorporated into His mystical Body and to be numbered among His members. O most loving Father, give unto me to behold for all eternity face to face Your own beloved Son, whom now upon my pilgrimage I purpose to receive under a veil, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
 

A Rule of Life

Fear and honor, praise and bless, give thanks and adore the Lord God Almighty, in Trinity and Unity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Creator of all things.
Do penance, make fruits worthy of penance, for know that soon you shall die.
Give, and it shall be given unto you.
Forgive, and it shall be forgiven you.
And if you shall not have forgiven men their sins, the Lord will not forgive you your sins.
Confess all your sins.
Blessed are they who die in penance, for they shall be in the kingdom of heaven.
Woe to them who do not die in penance, for they shall be the sons of the devil, whose works they do, and they shall go into everlasting fire.
Beware, and abstain from all evil, and persevere up to the end in good.

St. Francis of Assisi

 
 
Country Prayer for Lent

Dear Lord, we are now in the holy season of Lent. We begin to realize anew that these are the days of salvation, these are the acceptable days. We know that we are all sinners. We know that in many things we have all offended Your infinite majesty. We know that sin destroys Your life in us as a drought withers the leaves and chokes the life from the land, leaving an arid, dusty desert. Help us now, Lord, in our feeble attempts to make up for past sin. Bless our efforts with the rich blessing of Your grace. Make us realize ever more our need of penance and of mortification. Help us to see, in our ordinary difficulties and duties, in the trials and temptations of every day, the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities. Every day we are so often reminded in field and wood, in sky and stream, of Your own boundless generosity to us. Help us to realize that You are never outdone in generosity, and that the least thing we do for You will be rewarded, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and flowing over. Then we shall see, in our own souls, how the desert can blossom, and the dry and wasted land can bring forth the rich, useful fruit that was expected of it from the beginning. Amen.

 

I Said a Prayer for You Today

I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard.
I felt the answer in my heart
Although He spoke no word!

I didn't ask for wealth of fame
(I knew you wouldn't mind).
I asked Him to send treasures
Of a far more lasting kind!

I asked that He'd be near you
At the start of each new day;
To grant your health and blessings
And friends to share your way!

I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small.
But it was for His loving care
I prayed the most of all!

© Richard J McIntyre

 

Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart

Lord Jesus, the needs of your people open your heart in love to each of us. You care for us when we are lost, sympathize with us in loneliness and comfort us in mourning; you are closest to us when we are weakest. You love us most when we love ourselves least; you forgive us most when we forgive ourselves least; you call us to spread your love in whatever way we can.

Lord Jesus, your heart is moved with compassion when we are suffering, when we need your help and when we pray for each other. I ask you to listen to my prayer during this novena, and grant what I ask (make your request silently). If what I ask is not for my own good and the good of others, grant me always what is best for me, that I may build up your kingdom of love in our world. Amen.

 
Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace
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; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.


St. Francis of Assisi

* * * * *

O Heart of Jesus, treasure of tenderness,
You Yourself are my happiness, my only hope.
You who knew how to charm my tender youth,
Stay near me till the last light.
Lord, to you alone I've given my life,
And all my desires are well known to you.
It's in your ever infinite goodness
That I want to lose myself, O Heart of Jesus.
 
Therese of Lisieux

* * * * *

Almighty and everlasting God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: I come as one sick to the physician of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the light of eternal brightness, poor and in need of the Lord of heaven and of earth. Therefore, I beseech the abundance of Your infinite bounty that You would vouchsafe to heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness, so that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords with such reverence and humility, such contrition and devotion, such purity and faith, such purpose and intention, as shall aid my soul's salvation. Grant unto me, I beseech You, not only to receive the sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord, but also its full reality and power. O most merciful God, grant me so to receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which He took from the Virgin Mary, that I may merit to be incorporated into His mystical Body and to be numbered among His members. O most loving Father, give unto me to behold for all eternity face to face Your own beloved Son, whom now upon my pilgrimage I purpose to receive under a veil, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas