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Nov 25, 2025
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The Catholic Church has a long history of formalizing doctrine and developing resources to help individuals grow in the faith. Catholic prayers and creeds are especially helpful in learning important teachings and growing in your spiritual walk.
Over the centuries, ministry leaders and friends of the Church have created guiding prayer templates—a few are included in this article. In most cases, the prayers are not specifically Catholic Prayers—that is, for Catholics only—they are helps for all who desire to share needs, concerns, and praises to God.
Prayer and personal study (discipleship) are essential keys to growing in the faith. The Catholic Prayers are organized (below) by category. We encourage you to use these sample prayers as a guide and personalize or customize them as you feel led. Remember, God is more concerned with your heart than your words. Pray with sincerity, with passion, and with precision. Pray often, and utilize the Manna App resource to maximize efforts to grow in your spiritual walk.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited before or during meals or fellowship celebrations.
Bless us, oh Lord: Bless us, Oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
May all be Fed: May all be fed. May all be healed. May all be loved.
An Invocation: Loving God, bless all those gathered here today as we come together in friendship and fellowship. Thank you for the blessings of our individual and collective God-given gifts.
Place in our hearts the desire to make a difference to our families, to our community, to our country, and to the many cultures and peoples worldwide.
Give us balance in times of distraction and uncertainty. Help us move towards our goals with determination and always with an abundant sense of humor.
Thank you for food in a world where many know only hunger; for our faith in a world where many know fear; for friends in a world where many know only loneliness.
Please bless this food we are about to share, those who prepared it, those who serve it,
and those who have worked to make today the special occasion that it is.
For all of this, we give You thanks.
Giving Thanks: For food in a world where many walk in hunger; for faith in a world where many walk in fear; for friends in a world where many walk alone. We give you thanks, O Lord.
Meal Prayer: Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this food. Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus' name.
Humble Hearts: In a world where so many are hungry, may we eat this food with humble hearts; in a world where so many are lonely, May we share this friendship with joyful hearts.
Bless our Food: Bless us, O God. Bless our food and our drink. Since you redeemed us so dearly and delivered us from evil, as you gave us a share in this food so may you give us a share in eternal life.
Restore Us: May this food restore our strength, giving new energy to tired limbs, new thoughts to weary minds. May this drink restore our souls, giving new vision to dry spirits, new warmth to cold hearts. And once refreshed, may we give new pleasure to you, who gives us all.
Bless this Food: Blessed are you, Lord our God, maker of heaven and earth, and Father of all Your people. We give you glory for your goodness and for your loving care for us. Bless this food [this bread] and grant that all who eat it may be strong in body and grow in your love. Blessed are you, Lord our God, forever and ever.
May we Eat Well: Blessed are You, Lord God, King of the universe: You raised Your beloved Son from the dead, and made Him Lord of all. We turn to You in prayer and ask You to bless us and this food You have given us. Help us to be generous toward others, and to work with them so that they, too, may eat well.
Loving Father, may we all celebrate together around your table in heaven. We praise You and give You glory through Christ our Lord.
Praise be to You: Loving Father, we thank you for bringing us together for this meal:
may we continue to live in Your friendship and in harmony with one another.
Bless this food, a sign of Your loving care for us, and bless us in our daily lives.
Bless your Church throughout the world, and all those who seek to do your will today.
Father of mercy, all praise be to You through Jesus Christ our Savior, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
We Are Grateful: Lord God and giver of all good gifts, we are grateful as we pause before this meal, for all the blessings of life that You give to us. Daily, we are fed with good things, nourished by friendship and care, feasted with forgiveness and understanding. And so, mindful of your continuous care, we pause to be grateful for the blessings of this table. May Your presence be the extra taste to this meal which we eat in the name of Your Son, Jesus.
Food As A Symbol: Earth maker and Lord of all creation, we are mindful that this food before us has already been blessed by the sun, earth and rain. We pause to be grateful for the hidden gifts of life in this food.
Bless our eyes and taste so that we may eat this food in a holy and mindful manner. We lift up this bread; may it be food and symbol for all of us who shall eat it.
Picnic or Barbeque: Lord Jesus, our brother, be with us today. Bless our happy gathering, and bless this meal that we share. Protect us all, and help us to grow in your love. Lord Jesus, we praise your holy name forever.
Banquet Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are your brothers and sisters, and we gather here in Your name. In your love, give us your blessing, and bless this food for us. Help us to grow in Your love, and work with you to build up the kingdom of God.
For the Good of all: May we be strong in virtue, firm in time of trouble, and always ready to help others in time of need. May we be blessed by God as we share this food and as we work and live together for the good of all.
For Wonderful Gifts: Father of mercy, we praise You and give You glory for the wonderful gifts You have given us: for life and health, for faith and love, and for this meal we have shared together. Father, we thank you through Christ our Lord.
Grace After Meals: Father, for our food we thank You , and for our joys: help us love You more.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited before guiding believers in giving thanks for friends and family, special occasions and God’s many blessings. Note: Some of these prayers reference sacred holidays and happenings (such as Easter, the crucifixion, Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, etc.). We encourage you to learn more about these important events by utilizing the Manna App as a study resource. We believe, the more you know, the more blessed you will be.
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 forever and ever.
May the seal of God's love rest upon this food and upon this day now drawing to a close.
May we and our gifts of food be under the tent of God's peace.
May our eyes be opened, and, in this act of common sharing, may we see the risen Lord in one another.
May we see the Lord of Life in our food, our conversation and lives shared in common.
May the blessing of God, His peace and love, rest upon our table.
God Is Great: God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. By His hands, we are fed. Let us thank him for our bread.
Beloved Stranger: Dear and beloved stranger, please eat this food with us that we may all be nourished. Please share this walk with us that we may all know nature's peace.
Please rest in this warm house that we may come to know each other.
Please sleep under these soft blankets that we may all know safety.
Please pray this prayer that all our names of God may guide us on.
Make Us Worthy, Lord: Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow men throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.
Traditional Blessing: For food that stays our hunger, for rest that brings us ease. For homes where memories linger, we give our thanks for these.
Easter Table Prayer: Creator God and Lord of Life, You who call forth from the darkness of death all those who love You. We rejoice, on this Easter Sunday, in the resurrection from the dead of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Visit our home and this table with Your bright blessing of peace and life.
We pause in the midst of this prayer to remember all the holy dead of our family
who live now in You and who await the final and glorious resurrection of the dead.
Pause for silent reflection to remember those who have died.
May they and we, because of our faith in You, our God, taste in the victory of life over death. May the Risen Christ, our Lord and Savior, be our guest as we celebrate His resurrection with this Easter Sunday dinner. Bless those whose work to prepare this meal
has truly been a work of prayer, and bless all of us who shall share it with Easter love and joy.
May You, then, bless this table and this food, and each of us in Your holy name.
Amen.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking guidance, clarification, and wisdom from the Lord.
A Prayer for Wisdom and Peace When Making Big Decisions: Dear heavenly Father, you number our hairs and determine our days; you hang the stars and feed the sparrows; you open doors no one can shut and shut doors no one can open. Surely, we can trust you when the time comes for making big decisions, or for that matter, any decisions. We are in just such a season again, Father, and we know we are not alone. We will trust you for generous wisdom, straight paths, and peaceful hearts, all for your glory.
How we praise you for being the decision-making-God. It’s not our decisions, but Yours that make all the difference. We will plan, but we trust You to order our steps. We will pray, but ask you to fix our prayers en route to heaven. We will seek counsel, but count on you to overrule faulty or incomplete input from our most trusted friends and mentors. We will search the Scriptures, but not looking for proof texts, but for You, Father. All we want and need is You.
Free us from the paralysis of analysis—wanting to make the right decision, more than we want to be righteous people; wanting to be known as wise people, more than we want to know you. Free us from the idolatry of assuming there’s only one perfect choice in any given situation. Free us from making decisions primary for our comfort and other’s approval, or fear their disapproval. Free us to know that good choices don’t always lead to the easiest outcomes, especially at first. Free us from second and twenty-second guessing our decisions.
Father, no matter if it’s wisdom about buying or selling, vocation or vacation, this place or that place, this person or that person, we know that in ALL things, Your will is our sanctification—our becoming more and more like Jesus. Give us this passion; make it our delight.
So, Father, make us more and more like Jesus, even as we trust you for the opening and closing of doors that are in front of us. All for your glory—in our eating and drinking; and in our whatever’s, whenever’s and wherever’s. Amen.
Deep Listening: God of silence and God of all sound, help me to listen.
Help me to do the deep listening to the sounds of my soul, waiting to hear your soft voice calling me deeper into you.
Give me attentive ears that begin to separate the noise from the sounds that are You;
You who have been speaking to me and through me my whole life, for so long that you can seem like background noise.
Today, help me hear You anew.
Give me a glimpse of others the way you see others: loving them, forgiving them,
and delighting in the way they give glory to God through their very existence.
Help me to discern out of that open place of deep affection so that I too might be a useful vessel of your love in the world.
Lord, grant me courage, Lord, grant me strength, Grant me compassion that I may be your heart today.
Where there is hate, I can confront. Where there are yokes I can release.
Where there are captives, I can free and anger, I can appease:
Lord, grant me courage, Lord, grant me strength.
Grant me compassion, that I may be your heart today. When comes the day I dread to see our broken world.
Protect me from myself grown cold, that your people I may behold.
And when I've done, all that I could, yet, there are hearts I cannot move.
Lord, give me hope, that I may be your heart today.
And once I have begun to read You aright, give me the generosity to help others to read You, to sound you out one letter, one word of radical giving at a time.
Prayer for Communal Discernment in a Meeting: Good and loving God, our source of love and light - Thank you for bringing us together today in a spirit of generosity.
May we honor one another by keeping an open mind.
May we voice our truth and listen with an open heart.
May we discern your will to unite in fruitful outcome.
We ask for your wisdom and grace, to use our talents for the betterment of others.
With gratitude, we offer this prayer in your name.
Help Me Learn To Read My Heart: Almighty God, author of my life, help me learn to read what you have written on my heart. Give me discerning eyes and an untiring spirit to look within me in order to understand how to reach outside of me.
And once I have begun to read you aright, give me the generosity to help others to read you,
to sound you out one letter, one word of radical giving at a time.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking information on what the Bible says about unity and compassion. Additionally, we encourage you to utilize the Manna App for additional information on important biblical topics.
An Invocation of Metta/Compassion: As we are gathered here today in friendship and community, taking a moment out of our busy lives,... to learn, share and reflect on the insights, experiences and wisdom of others, we are reminded of how blessed we all are.
In the current world around us there are many who suffer and face grave challenges.
We stand in solidarity with them in compassion and by practicing loving kindness to ourselves and all those around us.
Taking a couple of stanzas from Metta or compassion meditation, let us engage in the power of prayer that connect us - irrespective of religion - with our beliefs and ideals more deeply helping us to hold them in our minds as we go about our daily business, and helping us to develop a stronger sense of conviction.
Let us pray the following in the name of all that is good. May we all be well, happy and peaceful, may no harm come to us, may we all also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
May our parents, our teachers and mentors, our friends and may all living beings across the world...be well, happy and peaceful, May no harm come to them, may they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
Prayer For Oneness: I rest in you, Spirit of Life. I place in you my feet, my legs, my torso, my arms, my shoulders, my head, and allow you to support all that I am. I rest in you, Spirit of Life, and give to you my worries, my fears, my doubts, my hopes, my joys, my pains, my anger, my love, my hate, and allow you to take in all that I am.
And as I give all that I am, I find the place of truth, stillness, still, eternal, where you and I are one.
I breathe in, deep, deeply, down, up, all that we are, as I stand on my toes at the edge of the universe, in oneness.
And all that we are expands, until forever.
Ephesians 4:25: Oh Lord, as we work together to build your empire, let us be the light that leads the world to you.
God, teach us to be good role models to the people around us, so that when they see you and your love within us, they would want to know you more and more.
God grant us the patience to work together, bring us all together as a family.
Let us work together with understanding and compassion in our hearts. Let us not be rude or arrogant towards one another, as we light the way to your heavenly kingdom.
A Sufi Prayer of Oneness: Most gracious lord, Master, messiah, and savior of humanity, we greet Thee in all humility. Thou art the first cause and the last effect, the divine light and the spirit of guidance, alpha and omega. Thy light is in all forms, Thy love in all beings... allow us to recognize thee in all thy holy names and forms, as Rama, as Krishna, as Shiva, as Buddha.
Let us know thee as Abraham, as Solomon, as Zarathustra, as Moses, as Jesus, as Mohammed...Let the star of the divine light, shining in thy heart be reflected in the hearts of thy devotees.
May the message of God reach far and wide, illuminating and making the whole of humanity as one single brotherhood in the fatherhood of God.
John 17:20. I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
A Christian Prayer for Unity: One only Holy Spirit, Father and Son, in whom all are baptized; one giver of many gifts.
O
One tree of many fruits; one speaker of every tongue, renew in our day.
The wonder of Pentecost, grant that people of every race and nation may understand one another, and as one, proclaim the praises of God.
Grant that all may be one, as you, Spirit, with the Father and the Son, are one God, one Lord. Grant unity to the body of Christ; grant unity to the human family. Sole breath of every living thing, may all be one who, in you, live and move and have their being.
Jesus Prays for Unity: Jesus, looked up to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify You, I have made your name known to those whom You gave Me from the world.
They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Now they know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words that You gave to Me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
All mine are Yours, and Yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You .
Holy Father, protect them in your name that You have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one. As You , Father, are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me. The glory that you have given Me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one. Righteous Father, the world does not know You , but I know You ; and these know that You have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
United in Your Love: Almighty God, look upon your planet Earth divided. Help us to know that we are all Your children, that all nations belong to one great family, and that all of our religions lead to You.
Multiply our prayers in every land until the whole Earth becomes your congregation, united in your love. Sustain our vision of a peaceful future and give us strength to work unceasingly to make that vision real.
In One Family: Send thy peace, O Lord, which is perfect and everlasting, that our souls may radiate peace. Send thy peace O Lord, that we may think, act, and speak harmoniously.
Send thy peace O Lord, that we may be contented and thankful for Thy bountiful gifts.
Send thy peace O Lord, that amidst our worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss.
Send thy peace O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of thy grace and mercy.
Send thy peace O Lord, that our lives may become a divine vision, and in thy light, all darkness may vanish.
Send thy peace O Lord, our father and mother, that we thy children on Earth
may unite in one family.
A Prayer for Unity: In this century and in any century, our deepest hope, our most tender prayer, is that we learn to listen. May we listen to one another in openness and mercy.
May we listen to plants and animals in wonder and respect.
May we listen to our own hearts in love and forgiveness.
May we listen to God in quietness and awe.
And in this listening, which is boundless in its beauty, may we find the wisdom to cooperate
with a healing spirit, a divine spirit who beckons us into peace and community and creativity.
We do not ask for a perfect world, but we do ask for a better world.
We ask for deep listening.
Be One In Unity: Give us a blessing so that our words and actions be one in unity, and that we be able to listen to each other, in so doing, we shall with good heart walk hand in hand to face the future.
In the presence of the outside, we are thankful for many blessings.
I make my prayer for all people, the children, the women and the men.
I pray that no harm will come to them, and that on the great island, there be no war,
that there be no ill feelings among us.
From this day on, may we walk hand in hand. So be it.
We Are One With You: O God, we are one with you. You have made us one with you.
You have taught us that if we are open to one another, you dwell in us.
Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection.
O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept you, and we thank you, and we adore you, and we love you with our whole being, because our being is your being, our spirit is rooted in your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes you present in the world, and which makes you witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious.
Baha'i Prayer for Mankind: O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household.
In Thy Holy Presence, they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.
O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all. Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.
O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony.
O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.
O God! Establish the Most Great Peace. Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.
O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.
Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of all mankind.
Amen.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking God’s blessings on meetings, special gatherings, and fellowships. Prayers can illuminate and inspire the mind. Learning more about the Bible, when coupled with prayer, is a wonderful combination that goes a long way to ensure success. To help you position for success, invite you to investigate the multiple prayer and_ Bible study _resources available on the Manna App.
Prayer To Open A Working Retreat: We ask your intercession throughout our retreat as we reflect on our challenges and respective responsibilities. We ask you to help us commit to trust and collaboration so that we may grow as a team for the future of our University.
Enlighten our minds to the ways we can best serve those we are entrusted to educate and form.
Bless our conversations with good will, sincerity, and truth.
Help us see and understand issues which face our institution with clarity and charity.
Give us wisdom to find solutions and the courage to see them through.
May we be a team united with one goal: To honor You through the noble work of educating our students in the Jesuit Catholic tradition.
We humbly ask in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Looking Back: God and Loving God, as we come to the end of this season, we look back with joy on all of the accomplishments that we have achieved. We look back and acknowledge losses that have been moments of mourning and remembrance. We look back with some relief on all of the challenges that we have had to undertake.
We look upon the faces of our students whom we have taught, supported, and guided throughout the semester. We look upon the faces of our colleagues whose work has brought breadth and depth to our own work.
We look upon the faces of our retirees whose legacies will be remembered.
We look upon your face O God, and see your loving countenance looking back upon us.
In celebration for this past year, we thank you for our students, colleagues, and all who contribute to and support the important work of Xavier University.
May all this, bear fruit to make the world a better place. Amen.
A Prayer for All at Xavier
God, we do good work, important work.
Instill in us a spirit of gratitude for community, for this community, and for the good work we do – together. Instill in us a spirit of service. Help us to see you, God, in all of our students and staff and faculty.
And instill in us too, a drive to passionately pursue our mission: the pursuit of God, and the good and the common good.
In this season of gratitude, there is much to celebrate.
We offer thanks for the many senior leaders who have recently departed Xavier, and those who will leave in the not-so-distant future. Thank you for the counsel, the very good counsel, they have provided us over so very many years.
And we too we offer thanks for the many leaders, in and outside of this room, who have built the systems that have served our students, staff and faculty through COVID and our national reckoning with racism. We honor their boundless generosity, their boldness, their smarts and their perseverance.
As we look to the future, we are filled with hope and thanksgiving for our new President and Provost, for their vision, gifts and love of Xavier.
Fill us all with faith, hope and love as we face the challenges that lie ahead and as we pursue new opportunities to more fully embody our mission. And finally, God, as we move into the future. May we be a We. Unite us. Inspire us. Sustain us. Help us to—together—see you and seek you in all that we do. For this we pray, Amen.
These guiding Catholic prayers help believers recall and give thanks for God’s wonderous work of creation. Please read Genesis 1, Colossians 1:16, and Revelation 20-21 (and access the fine learning tools on the Manna App) to learn more about God’s creative work in the past, how He sustains it in the present, and how things will change in the future.
Canticle of Creation II
In the beginning, Lord my God, You alone existed: eternally one, yet pregnant in the fullness of unity. Full to overflowing, You, Father of all life, exploded outward in a billion bits and pieces.
Your word became flesh, whirling in shining stars, shimmering suns and in genesis glimmering galaxies. You, my God, spoke and Your Words became flesh: In sun and moon, earth and seas,
mountains and gentle hills, rolling rivers and silent streams.
You, my God, spoke and Your Words became flesh: in winged bird, in deer and elephant, in grazing cow, racing horse, and fish of the deep. Your Words, so unique and so varied, filled the Earth also with rabbit, squirrel and ant.
And all Your Words were beautiful, and all were good. From each of these Holy Words arose a prayer of praise and adoration. To You, their Creator and Wondrous Womb. Praise You, rang out the redwood. Blessed be You, chimed in the cedar. Holy are You, prayed the prairie grasses.
From all four corners of this earth, rose up a chorus of perpetual adoration.
O Sacred Spirit, O Divine Breath of Life, unseal my ears that they may ever listen to Your continuous canticle of creation; open my heart and my whole self, to sing in harmony with all its many voices.
Teach me to commune with Your first Word made flesh, Your Son, through whom, with whom, and in whom all creation is held together. To Your glory and honor.
The Canticle of the Creatures
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through brother wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through sister water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through brother fire, through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our sister mother Earth, who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our sister bodily death, from whom no one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.
God Bless the World
Mighty God, Father of all, compassionate God. Bless every person I met, every face I have seen, every voice I have heard, especially those most dear;
Bless every city, town and street that I have known, bless every sight I have seen, every sound I have heard, every object I have touched.
In some mysterious way these have all fashioned my life: all that I am, I have received.
Great God, bless the world.
Creation Prayer
God our Father, You created the world and sent your own Son to live among us,
made of the same stuff, breathing the same air, marveling at sunrise and sunset just as we do.
Help us to participate in the life around and within us as your life, as you living in us and we living in you and in each other. God of love and life, restore us to your peace, renew us through your power and teach us to love all that you have created and to care for the earth as your gift and our home.
The Earth is the Lord's
This we know: the earth does not belong to us. The earth is the Lord’s and so are all its people. This we know: we did not weave the web of life. The earth is the Lord’s and so is all that breathes on it.
This we know: we are called to till and work the earth. The earth is the Lord’s and so are all who work the land. This we know: that we are called to take care of creation.
The earth is the Lord’s yet we have polluted and abused it.
This we know: that whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons and daughters of the earth
This we know: that the earth is the Lord’s. And so we will serve Him in it. Amen.
Prayer of Gratitude for the Beauty of Creation
God, our Creator of heaven and earth, how blessed we are to be surrounded by the beauty of your creation. We lift our prayer of gratitude as we see the stars of heaven, and the beauty of the sunset. We are amazed by the seas and waterways and all that are in them.
We are enchanted by the flowers and trees which are clothed by you.
We are awed by all the animals you created. For the beauty of the earth, the mountains and valleys, the sun and the moon – we give you praise. Amen.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking God’s blessings family members and relationships. We pray these thoughtful expressions of faith will be a blessing to you.
Interactions
Holy One, I ask You to help each member of our family to be completely humble and gentle in our interactions with each other; and to be patient, bearing with one another's faults in love - even when we're tired, frustrated, angry, or hurt. Help us to make every effort to remain united in the Spirit in this home.
Please bind us together in peace.
Loving Each Other
Gracious God, help us to love each other fervently.
Grow our love so deep that it is able and willing to overcome and forgive a multitude of misgivings. Inspire a spirit of hospitality in each of us and enable us to cheerfully share our home.
We acknowledge that you have given each of us spiritual gifts. Help us to put our own needs aside and use those gifts to serve one another well. We will rely on the strength and energy You supply. We pray that everything we do within this family unit will bring you glory through the One who lives in us.
For My Family
Lord God, I give you all the members of our family. You know them all so well and love them all. I ask that You would cover us with a rainbow of hope.
Hope that draws us together to work out our differences. Hope that helps us to celebrate together and care for one another. Hope that rides like a banner in our lives and watches over us wherever we go. Hope that overcomes adversity and gathers strength to overcome.
Hope that guides us and gives us vision for our future alone and together.
Hope filled with love. Hope that fuels faith. Hope that breathes peace.
May our family live in You, underneath your promises.
For a Family Reunion
Thank you so much for bringing us all here together today.
Thank you for the wonderful blessing of family.
Thank you for the similarities we have and the differences we enjoy.
Thank you for the wisdom of age and the energy of youth.
Thank you for the way you watch over us as individuals and the way you release your love into us as a unit.
Come bless our time together.
Unity
Dear Lord God, You created balance.
The night to follow the day. The sea to touch the earth.
All the wonderful animals, fish and birds. You are the great creator of variety and diversity.
Thank you that you made us all to be unique and reflect your love.
Come draw our family together in all its wonder and beauty. Help us to love and respect each other. Show us how to support and encourage one another.
Inspire us to work together to become a picture full of your perfect love.
Unity and Peace
Restore unity and peace, and may love, faith and hope invade the hearts of each of them.
Mend the broken relationships within each circle.
Let love never run dry for one another and let all situations be resolved.
Allow all the lost ones who have been led astray by the world discover You again.
Continue to bless us daily.
These guiding Catholic prayers were crafted to help believers maintain an attitude of praise and thanksgiving before the Father. Key to this is knowing, then focusing on what God has done and what He is going to do. To learn more about what God has done, what God expects of you, and what He will do in the future, please check out the study resources available on the Manna App.
Thankful for Today
We thank You God, for creating the world
and for preserving it until now.
We thank You for the regular return of day and night, and of the seasons, and for the dependability of nature and of time.
We thank You for memory, which enables us to build on the experiences of the past;
for imagination, which admits us to a wider world than we could otherwise know;
and for foresight, by which we plan for the future.
We thank You for your patience with us in our failings; for friends and family with whom we can celebrate our successes; and for those closest to us who support us in our times of need.
Bless this meal and us gathered here. Bless those who have little food or friends to comfort them in body or spirit. Bless those who are unable to be with us this day,
and those who have gone before us in faith. We ask this in your name.
Thanksgiving for Healing
Omnipotent and eternal God, You watch over your children, with your tender and loving care. I thank you this day for your mercy and grace.
I am grateful for your healing power, and for the abundant blessings You have given me.
But most of all, I am thankful for the promise of salvation, given through your Son, our Lord. Through him, when all is completed, there will be no more sickness or pain.
I pray in his name.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Holy and Living God, when we are separated from family and friends, when it’s hard to travel and gather together,and celebrate Thanksgiving as we’ve done in the past, help us to embrace what is.
Help us to give thanks within the uncertainty.
Help us to give thanks within our sorrow, within our fears.
In all things, may we open our hearts and give You thanks.
Amen.
These guiding Catholic prayers help believers understand the importance of, pray for, and extend forgiveness. In the faith, forgiving others is a requisite to being forgiven by the Father. Prayer, confession, and continual study can help you grow in your spiritual walk. Also, we encourage you to take advantage of the many Bible study resources available on the Manna App.
Psalm 25:6–7
Remember, Lord, Your compassion and mercy which You showed long ago.
Do not recall the sins and failings of my youth. In Your mercy remember me, lord,
because of your goodness.
Forgive All My Sins
Lord Jesus, You opened the eyes of the blind, healed the sick, forgave the sinful woman,
and after Peter's denial confirmed him in your love.
Listen to my prayer: forgive all my sins, renew Your love in my heart.
Help me to live in perfect unity with my fellow Christians, that I may proclaim Your saving power to all the world.
Mercy
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Friend of Sinners
Lord Jesus, You chose to be called the friend of sinners.
By your saving death and resurrection, free me from my sins.
May your peace take root in my heart and bring forth a harvest of love, holiness, and truth.
Luke 15:18; 18:13
Father, I have sinned against You and am not worthy to be called your son (daughter).
Be merciful to me, a sinner.
Father of mercy, like the prodigal son, I return to you and say: I have sinned against You
and am no longer worthy to be called Your son.
Christ Jesus, Savior of the world, I pray with the repentant thief to whom You promised paradise: Lord, remember me in your kingdom. Holy Spirit, fountain of love, I call on You with trust: Purify my heart, and help me to walk as a child of the light.
Psalm 50:4–5
Wash me from my guilt and cleanse me of my sin.
I acknowledge my offense; my sin is before always.
Forgiveness
Jesus, I believe You love me.
Please forgive me for my sins.
Help me to be a better person. Amen.
Penance
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong, and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should
love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.
In His name, my God, have mercy.
Lamb of God
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the lamb of God; You take away the sins of the world.
Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, restore me to friendship with your Father;
cleanse me from every stain of sin in the blood You shed for me, and raise me to new life for the glory of your name.
Similar to the category above, these guiding Catholic prayers are designed to help believers be positive, hopeful, and maintain an attitude of gratitude. For more information regarding the WHY and the HOW, please check out the resources on the Manna App.
Teach Me Gratitude
Holy Spirit, open my heart to understand how precious I am to you, how loved I am by you.
Open the eyes of my soul, to see the gifts you have put before me this day.
Give me the grace to recognize each encounter with you.
Teach me to respond in gratitude, to grow in gratitude.
Teach me to be generous, as you are generous with me, and to collaborate with you in serving my sister and my brother for your greater glory.
Gratitude to You
Loving Lord,
As I express my gratitude to you in prayer, may it be a pleasing, joyful sound to you.
Thank you, Lord, for your love. It brings me acceptance and significance.
Thank you, Lord, for your truth. It brings me guidance and direction.
Thank you, Lord, for your mercy. It brings me help and comfort.
Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness. It brings me stability and strength.
Thank you, Lord, for your beauty displayed in the earth. It brings me joy and delight.
Thank you, Lord, for your way of redemption - the cross. It brings me salvation and regeneration.
Making Our Souls Great
To pray is to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings,
the divine margin in all attainments.
Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living.
It is all we can offer in return.
Who is worthy to be present at the constant unfolding of time? Here we are amidst the meditation of the land, the songs of the water, the humility of the flowers, flowers wiser than all alphabets – Suddenly we feel embarrassed, ashamed of our complaints and clashes in the face of tacit glory.
How strange we are in the world! Only one response can maintain us:
gratefulness for the gift of our unearned chance to serve, to wonder, to love life and each other.
It is gratefulness which makes our small souls great.
Show My Gratitude
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on my life. You have provided me with more than I could ever have imagined. You have surrounded me with people who always look out for me. You have given me family and friends who bless me every day with kind words and actions. They lift me up in ways that keep my eyes focused on you and make my spirit soar.
Also, thank you, Lord, for keeping me safe. You protect me from those things that seem to haunt others. You help me make better choices and provide me with advisors to help me with life's difficult decisions. You speak to me in so many ways so that I always know you are here. The Catholic Church has a long history of formalizing doctrine and developing resources to help individuals grow in the faith. Catholic prayers and creeds are especially helpful in learning important teachings and growing in your spiritual walk.
Over the centuries, ministry leaders and friends of the Church have created guiding prayer templates—a few are included in this article. In most cases, the prayers are not specifically Catholic Prayers—that is, for Catholics only—they are helps for all who desire to share needs, concerns, and praises to God.
Prayer and personal study (discipleship) are essential keys to growing in the faith. The Catholic Prayers are organized (below) by category. We encourage you to use these sample prayers as a guide and personalize or customize them as you feel led. Remember, God is more concerned with your heart than your words. Pray with sincerity, with passion, and with precision. Pray often, and utilize the Manna App resource to maximize efforts to grow in your spiritual walk.
Bless us, oh Lord: Bless us, Oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
May all be Fed: May all be fed. May all be healed. May all be loved.
An Invocation: Loving God, bless all those gathered here today as we come together in friendship and fellowship. Thank you for the blessings of our individual and collective God-given gifts.
Place in our hearts the desire to make a difference to our families, to our community, to our country, and to the many cultures and peoples worldwide.
Give us balance in times of distraction and uncertainty. Help us move towards our goals with determination and always with an abundant sense of humor.
Thank you for food in a world where many know only hunger; for our faith in a world where many know fear; for friends in a world where many know only loneliness.
Please bless this food we are about to share, those who prepared it, those who serve it, and those who have worked to make today the special occasion that it is.
For all of this, we give You thanks.
Giving Thanks: For food in a world where many walk in hunger; for faith in a world where many walk in fear; for friends in a world where many walk alone. We give you thanks, O Lord.
Meal Prayer: Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this food. Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus’ name.
Humble Hearts: In a world where so many are hungry, may we eat this food with humble hearts; in a world where so many are lonely, May we share this friendship with joyful hearts.
Bless our Food: Bless us, O God. Bless our food and our drink. Since you redeemed us so dearly and delivered us from evil, as you gave us a share in this food so may you give us a share in eternal life.
Restore Us: May this food restore our strength, giving new energy to tired limbs, new thoughts to weary minds. May this drink restore our souls, giving new vision to dry spirits, new warmth to cold hearts. And once refreshed, may we give new pleasure to you, who gives us all.
Bless this Food: Blessed are you, Lord our God, maker of heaven and earth, and Father of all Your people. We give you glory for your goodness and for your loving care for us. Bless this food [this bread] and grant that all who eat it may be strong in body and grow in your love. Blessed are you, Lord our God, forever and ever.
May we Eat Well: Blessed are You, Lord God, King of the universe: You raised Your beloved Son from the dead, and made Him Lord of all. We turn to You in prayer and ask You to bless us and this food You have given us. Help us to be generous toward others, and to work with them so that they, too, may eat well.
Loving Father, may we all celebrate together around your table in heaven. We praise You and give You glory through Christ our Lord.
Praise be to You: Loving Father, we thank you for bringing us together for this meal: may we continue to live in Your friendship and in harmony with one another. Bless this food, a sign of Your loving care for us, and bless us in our daily lives. Bless your Church throughout the world, and all those who seek to do your will today.
Father of mercy, all praise be to You through Jesus Christ our Savior, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
We Are Grateful: Lord God and giver of all good gifts, we are grateful as we pause before this meal, for all the blessings of life that You give to us. Daily, we are fed with good things, nourished by friendship and care, feasted with forgiveness and understanding. And so, mindful of your continuous care, we pause to be grateful for the blessings of this table. May Your presence be the extra taste to this meal which we eat in the name of Your Son, Jesus.
Food As A Symbol: Earth maker and Lord of all creation, we are mindful that this food before us has already been blessed by the sun, earth and rain. We pause to be grateful for the hidden gifts of life in this food.
Bless our eyes and taste so that we may eat this food in a holy and mindful manner. We lift up this bread; may it be food and symbol for all of us who shall eat it.
Picnic or Barbeque: Lord Jesus, our brother, be with us today. Bless our happy gathering, and bless this meal that we share. Protect us all, and help us to grow in your love. Lord Jesus, we praise your holy name forever.
Banquet Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are your brothers and sisters, and we gather here in Your name. In your love, give us your blessing, and bless this food for us. Help us to grow in Your love, and work with you to build up the kingdom of God.
For the Good of all: May we be strong in virtue, firm in time of trouble, and always ready to help others in time of need. May we be blessed by God as we share this food and as we work and live together for the good of all.
For Wonderful Gifts: Father of mercy, we praise You and give You glory for the wonderful gifts You have given us: for life and health, for faith and love, and for this meal we have shared together. Father, we thank you through Christ our Lord.
Grace After Meals: Father, for our food we thank You , and for our joys: help us love You more.
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 forever and ever.
Evening Meal: We have come to the last meal of this day, to our supper meal. Let us be mindful of how our Lord, at such a meal as this, washed his friends’ feet in an act of holy service. As this food is about to serve us as nourishment, may we also serve one another. May the seal of God’s love rest upon this food and upon this day now drawing to a close. May we and our gifts of food be under the tent of God’s peace.
Blessings Of God: The day is coming to a close, and, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we pause to break bread together. May our eyes be opened, and, in this act of common sharing, may we see the risen Lord in one another. May we see the Lord of Life in our food, our conversation and lives shared in common. May the blessing of God, His peace and love, rest upon our table.
God Is Great: God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. By His hands, we are fed. Let us thank him for our bread.
Beloved Stranger: Dear and beloved stranger, please eat this food with us that we may all be nourished. Please share this walk with us that we may all know nature’s peace.
Please rest in this warm house that we may come to know each other. Please sleep under these soft blankets that we may all know safety. Please pray this prayer that all our names of God may guide us on.
Make Us Worthy, Lord: Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow men throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.
Traditional Blessing: For food that stays our hunger, for rest that brings us ease. For homes where memories linger, we give our thanks for these.
Easter Table Prayer: Creator God and Lord of Life, You who call forth from the darkness of death all those who love You. We rejoice, on this Easter Sunday, in the resurrection from the dead of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Visit our home and this table with Your bright blessing of peace and life. We pause in the midst of this prayer to remember all the holy dead of our family who live now in You and who await the final and glorious resurrection of the dead.
Pause for silent reflection to remember those who have died.
May they and we, because of our faith in You, our God, taste in the victory of life over death. May the Risen Christ, our Lord and Savior, be our guest as we celebrate His resurrection with this Easter Sunday dinner. Bless those whose work to prepare this meal has truly been a work of prayer, and bless all of us who shall share it with Easter love and joy.
May You, then, bless this table and this food, and each of us in Your holy name. Amen.
A Prayer for Wisdom and Peace When Making Big Decisions: Dear heavenly Father, you number our hairs and determine our days; you hang the stars and feed the sparrows; you open doors no one can shut and shut doors no one can open. Surely, we can trust you when the time comes for making big decisions, or for that matter, any decisions. We are in just such a season again, Father, and we know we are not alone. We will trust you for generous wisdom, straight paths, and peaceful hearts, all for your glory.
How we praise you for being the decision-making-God. It’s not our decisions, but Yours that make all the difference. We will plan, but we trust You to order our steps. We will pray, but ask you to fix our prayers en route to heaven. We will seek counsel, but count on you to overrule faulty or incomplete input from our most trusted friends and mentors. We will search the Scriptures, but not looking for proof texts, but for You, Father. All we want and need is You.
Free us from the paralysis of analysis—wanting to make the right decision, more than we want to be righteous people; wanting to be known as wise people, more than we want to know you. Free us from the idolatry of assuming there’s only one perfect choice in any given situation. Free us from making decisions primary for our comfort and other’s approval, or fear their disapproval. Free us to know that good choices don’t always lead to the easiest outcomes, especially at first. Free us from second and twenty-second guessing our decisions.
Father, no matter if it’s wisdom about buying or selling, vocation or vacation, this place or that place, this person or that person, we know that in ALL things, Your will is our sanctification—our becoming more and more like Jesus. Give us this passion; make it our delight.
So, Father, make us more and more like Jesus, even as we trust you for the opening and closing of doors that are in front of us. All for your glory—in our eating and drinking; and in our whatever’s, whenever’s and wherever’s. Amen.
Deep Listening: God of silence and God of all sound, help me to listen. Help me to do the deep listening to the sounds of my soul, waiting to hear your soft voice calling me deeper into you.
Give me attentive ears that begin to separate the noise from the sounds that are You; You who have been speaking to me and through me my whole life, for so long that you can seem like background noise. Today, help me hear You anew.
Help Me To Discern: Today, O God of all days, give me an experience of your heart. Draw me deep into your very being, into the core of your love for me, others, and the world. Give me a glimpse of others the way you see others: loving them, forgiving them, and delighting in the way they give glory to God through their very existence.
Help me to discern out of that open place of deep affection so that I too might be a useful vessel of your love in the world.
Your Heart Today: Where there is fear, I can allay. Where there is pain, I can heal. Where there are wounds, I can bind, and hunger I can fill: Lord, grant me courage, Lord, grant me strength, Grant me compassion that I may be your heart today. Where there is hate, I can confront. Where there are yokes I can release. Where there are captives, I can free and anger, I can appease: Lord, grant me courage, Lord, grant me strength.
Grant me compassion, that I may be your heart today. When comes the day I dread to see our broken world. Protect me from myself grown cold, that your people I may behold. And when I’ve done, all that I could, yet, there are hearts I cannot move. Lord, give me hope, that I may be your heart today.
Give Me Discerning Eyes: Almighty God, author of my life, help me learn to read what you have written on my heart. Give me discerning eyes and an untiring spirit to look within me in order to understand how to reach outside of me. And once I have begun to read You aright, give me the generosity to help others to read You, to sound you out one letter, one word of radical giving at a time.
Prayer for Communal Discernment in a Meeting: Good and loving God, our source of love and light - Thank you for bringing us together today in a spirit of generosity. May we honor one another by keeping an open mind. May we voice our truth and listen with an open heart. May we discern your will to unite in fruitful outcome. We ask for your wisdom and grace, to use our talents for the betterment of others. With gratitude, we offer this prayer in your name.
Help Me Learn To Read My Heart: Almighty God, author of my life, help me learn to read what you have written on my heart. Give me discerning eyes and an untiring spirit to look within me in order to understand how to reach outside of me. And once I have begun to read you aright, give me the generosity to help others to read you, to sound you out one letter, one word of radical giving at a time.
An Invocation of Metta/Compassion: As we are gathered here today in friendship and community, taking a moment out of our busy lives,… to learn, share and reflect on the insights, experiences and wisdom of others, we are reminded of how blessed we all are.
In the current world around us there are many who suffer and face grave challenges. We stand in solidarity with them in compassion and by practicing loving kindness to ourselves and all those around us.
Taking a couple of stanzas from Metta or compassion meditation, let us engage in the power of prayer that connect us - irrespective of religion - with our beliefs and ideals more deeply helping us to hold them in our minds as we go about our daily business, and helping us to develop a stronger sense of conviction.
Let us pray the following in the name of all that is good. May we all be well, happy and peaceful, may no harm come to us, may we all also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
May our parents, our teachers and mentors, our friends and may all living beings across the world…be well, happy and peaceful, May no harm come to them, may they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
Prayer For Oneness: I rest in you, Spirit of Life. I place in you my feet, my legs, my torso, my arms, my shoulders, my head, and allow you to support all that I am. I rest in you, Spirit of Life, and give to you my worries, my fears, my doubts, my hopes, my joys, my pains, my anger, my love, my hate, and allow you to take in all that I am.
And as I give all that I am, I find the place of truth, stillness, still, eternal, where you and I are one.
I breathe in, deep, deeply, down, up, all that we are, as I stand on my toes at the edge of the universe, in oneness.
And all that we are expands, until forever.
Ephesians 4:25: Oh Lord, as we work together to build your empire, let us be the light that leads the world to you.
God, teach us to be good role models to the people around us, so that when they see you and your love within us, they would want to know you more and more.
God grant us the patience to work together, bring us all together as a family.
Let us work together with understanding and compassion in our hearts. Let us not be rude or arrogant towards one another, as we light the way to your heavenly kingdom.
A Sufi Prayer of Oneness: Most gracious lord, Master, messiah, and savior of humanity, we greet Thee in all humility. Thou art the first cause and the last effect, the divine light and the spirit of guidance, alpha and omega. Thy light is in all forms, Thy love in all beings… allow us to recognize thee in all thy holy names and forms, as Rama, as Krishna, as Shiva, as Buddha.
Let us know thee as Abraham, as Solomon, as Zarathustra, as Moses, as Jesus, as Mohammed…Let the star of the divine light, shining in thy heart be reflected in the hearts of thy devotees.
May the message of God reach far and wide, illuminating and making the whole of humanity as one single brotherhood in the fatherhood of God.
John 17:20. I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
A Christian Prayer for Unity: One only Holy Spirit, Father and Son, in whom all are baptized; one giver of many gifts. O
One tree of many fruits; one speaker of every tongue, renew in our day. The wonder of Pentecost, grant that people of every race and nation may understand one another, and as one, proclaim the praises of God.
Grant that all may be one, as you, Spirit, with the Father and the Son, are one God, one Lord. Grant unity to the body of Christ; grant unity to the human family. Sole breath of every living thing, may all be one who, in you, live and move and have their being.
Jesus Prays for Unity: Jesus, looked up to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify You, I have made your name known to those whom You gave Me from the world.
They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Now they know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words that You gave to Me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
All mine are Yours, and Yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You .
Holy Father, protect them in your name that You have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one. As You , Father, are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me. The glory that you have given Me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one. Righteous Father, the world does not know You , but I know You ; and these know that You have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
United in Your Love: Almighty God, look upon your planet Earth divided. Help us to know that we are all Your children, that all nations belong to one great family, and that all of our religions lead to You.
Multiply our prayers in every land until the whole Earth becomes your congregation, united in your love. Sustain our vision of a peaceful future and give us strength to work unceasingly to make that vision real.
In One Family: Send thy peace, O Lord, which is perfect and everlasting, that our souls may radiate peace. Send thy peace O Lord, that we may think, act, and speak harmoniously.
Send thy peace O Lord, that we may be contented and thankful for Thy bountiful gifts.
Send thy peace O Lord, that amidst our worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss.
Send thy peace O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of thy grace and mercy.
Send thy peace O Lord, that our lives may become a divine vision, and in thy light, all darkness may vanish.
Send thy peace O Lord, our father and mother, that we thy children on Earth may unite in one family.
A Prayer for Unity: In this century and in any century, our deepest hope, our most tender prayer, is that we learn to listen. May we listen to one another in openness and mercy.
May we listen to plants and animals in wonder and respect.
May we listen to our own hearts in love and forgiveness.
May we listen to God in quietness and awe.
And in this listening, which is boundless in its beauty, may we find the wisdom to cooperate with a healing spirit, a divine spirit who beckons us into peace and community and creativity.
We do not ask for a perfect world, but we do ask for a better world.
We ask for deep listening.
Be One In Unity: Give us a blessing so that our words and actions be one in unity, and that we be able to listen to each other, in so doing, we shall with good heart walk hand in hand to face the future.
In the presence of the outside, we are thankful for many blessings. I make my prayer for all people, the children, the women and the men. I pray that no harm will come to them, and that on the great island, there be no war, that there be no ill feelings among us.
From this day on, may we walk hand in hand. So be it.
We Are One With You: O God, we are one with you. You have made us one with you. You have taught us that if we are open to one another, you dwell in us. Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection.
O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept you, and we thank you, and we adore you, and we love you with our whole being, because our being is your being, our spirit is rooted in your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes you present in the world, and which makes you witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious.
Baha’i Prayer for Mankind: O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household.
In Thy Holy Presence, they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.
O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all. Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.
O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony.
O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.
O God! Establish the Most Great Peace. Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.
O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.
Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of all mankind.
Amen.
Prayer To Open A Working Retreat: We ask your intercession throughout our retreat as we reflect on our challenges and respective responsibilities. We ask you to help us commit to trust and collaboration so that we may grow as a team for the future of our University.
Enlighten our minds to the ways we can best serve those we are entrusted to educate and form.
Bless our conversations with good will, sincerity, and truth.
Help us see and understand issues which face our institution with clarity and charity.
Give us wisdom to find solutions and the courage to see them through.
May we be a team united with one goal: To honor You through the noble work of educating our students in the Jesuit Catholic tradition.
We humbly ask in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Looking Back: God and Loving God, as we come to the end of this season, we look back with joy on all of the accomplishments that we have achieved. We look back and acknowledge losses that have been moments of mourning and remembrance. We look back with some relief on all of the challenges that we have had to undertake.
We look upon the faces of our students whom we have taught, supported, and guided throughout the semester. We look upon the faces of our colleagues whose work has brought breadth and depth to our own work. We look upon the faces of our retirees whose legacies will be remembered. We look upon your face O God, and see your loving countenance looking back upon us.
In celebration for this past year, we thank you for our students, colleagues, and all who contribute to and support the important work of Xavier University.
May all this, bear fruit to make the world a better place. Amen.
A Prayer for All at Xavier
God, we do good work, important work.
Instill in us a spirit of gratitude for community, for this community, and for the good work we do – together. Instill in us a spirit of service. Help us to see you, God, in all of our students and staff and faculty.
And instill in us too, a drive to passionately pursue our mission: the pursuit of God, and the good and the common good.
In this season of gratitude, there is much to celebrate.
We offer thanks for the many senior leaders who have recently departed Xavier, and those who will leave in the not-so-distant future. Thank you for the counsel, the very good counsel, they have provided us over so very many years.
And we too we offer thanks for the many leaders, in and outside of this room, who have built the systems that have served our students, staff and faculty through COVID and our national reckoning with racism. We honor their boundless generosity, their boldness, their smarts and their perseverance.
As we look to the future, we are filled with hope and thanksgiving for our new President and Provost, for their vision, gifts and love of Xavier.
Fill us all with faith, hope and love as we face the challenges that lie ahead and as we pursue new opportunities to more fully embody our mission. And finally, God, as we move into the future. May we be a We. Unite us. Inspire us. Sustain us. Help us to—together—see you and seek you in all that we do. For this we pray, Amen.
Canticle of Creation II
In the beginning, Lord my God, You alone existed: eternally one, yet pregnant in the fullness of unity. Full to overflowing, You, Father of all life, exploded outward in a billion bits and pieces.
Your word became flesh, whirling in shining stars, shimmering suns and in genesis glimmering galaxies. You, my God, spoke and Your Words became flesh: In sun and moon, earth and seas, mountains and gentle hills, rolling rivers and silent streams.
You, my God, spoke and Your Words became flesh: in winged bird, in deer and elephant, in grazing cow, racing horse, and fish of the deep. Your Words, so unique and so varied, filled the Earth also with rabbit, squirrel and ant.
And all Your Words were beautiful, and all were good. From each of these Holy Words arose a prayer of praise and adoration. To You, their Creator and Wondrous Womb. Praise You, rang out the redwood. Blessed be You, chimed in the cedar. Holy are You, prayed the prairie grasses.
From all four corners of this earth, rose up a chorus of perpetual adoration. O Sacred Spirit, O Divine Breath of Life, unseal my ears that they may ever listen to Your continuous canticle of creation; open my heart and my whole self, to sing in harmony with all its many voices.
Teach me to commune with Your first Word made flesh, Your Son, through whom, with whom, and in whom all creation is held together. To Your glory and honor.
The Canticle of the Creatures
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through brother wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through sister water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through brother fire, through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our sister mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our sister bodily death, from whom no one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.
God Bless the World
Mighty God, Father of all, compassionate God. Bless every person I met, every face I have seen, every voice I have heard, especially those most dear; Bless every city, town and street that I have known, bless every sight I have seen, every sound I have heard, every object I have touched.
In some mysterious way these have all fashioned my life: all that I am, I have received. Great God, bless the world.
Creation Prayer
God our Father, You created the world and sent your own Son to live among us, made of the same stuff, breathing the same air, marveling at sunrise and sunset just as we do.
Help us to participate in the life around and within us as your life, as you living in us and we living in you and in each other. God of love and life, restore us to your peace, renew us through your power and teach us to love all that you have created and to care for the earth as your gift and our home.
The Earth is the Lord’s
This we know: the earth does not belong to us. The earth is the Lord’s and so are all its people. This we know: we did not weave the web of life. The earth is the Lord’s and so is all that breathes on it.
This we know: we are called to till and work the earth. The earth is the Lord’s and so are all who work the land. This we know: that we are called to take care of creation. The earth is the Lord’s yet we have polluted and abused it.
This we know: that whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons and daughters of the earth This we know: that the earth is the Lord’s. And so we will serve Him in it. Amen.
Prayer of Gratitude for the Beauty of Creation
God, our Creator of heaven and earth, how blessed we are to be surrounded by the beauty of your creation. We lift our prayer of gratitude as we see the stars of heaven, and the beauty of the sunset. We are amazed by the seas and waterways and all that are in them. We are enchanted by the flowers and trees which are clothed by you. We are awed by all the animals you created. For the beauty of the earth, the mountains and valleys, the sun and the moon – we give you praise. Amen.
Interactions
Holy One, I ask You to help each member of our family to be completely humble and gentle in our interactions with each other; and to be patient, bearing with one another’s faults in love - even when we’re tired, frustrated, angry, or hurt. Help us to make every effort to remain united in the Spirit in this home. Please bind us together in peace.
Loving Each Other
Gracious God, help us to love each other fervently. Grow our love so deep that it is able and willing to overcome and forgive a multitude of misgivings. Inspire a spirit of hospitality in each of us and enable us to cheerfully share our home.
We acknowledge that you have given each of us spiritual gifts. Help us to put our own needs aside and use those gifts to serve one another well. We will rely on the strength and energy You supply. We pray that everything we do within this family unit will bring you glory through the One who lives in us.
For My Family
Lord God, I give you all the members of our family. You know them all so well and love them all. I ask that You would cover us with a rainbow of hope.
Hope that draws us together to work out our differences. Hope that helps us to celebrate together and care for one another. Hope that rides like a banner in our lives and watches over us wherever we go. Hope that overcomes adversity and gathers strength to overcome. Hope that guides us and gives us vision for our future alone and together.
Hope filled with love. Hope that fuels faith. Hope that breathes peace. May our family live in You, underneath your promises.
For a Family Reunion
Thank you so much for bringing us all here together today. Thank you for the wonderful blessing of family. Thank you for the similarities we have and the differences we enjoy.
Thank you for the wisdom of age and the energy of youth. Thank you for the way you watch over us as individuals and the way you release your love into us as a unit. Come bless our time together.
Unity
Dear Lord God, You created balance. The night to follow the day. The sea to touch the earth. All the wonderful animals, fish and birds. You are the great creator of variety and diversity. Thank you that you made us all to be unique and reflect your love.
Come draw our family together in all its wonder and beauty. Help us to love and respect each other. Show us how to support and encourage one another. Inspire us to work together to become a picture full of your perfect love.
Unity and Peace
Restore unity and peace, and may love, faith and hope invade the hearts of each of them. Mend the broken relationships within each circle. Let love never run dry for one another and let all situations be resolved.
Allow all the lost ones who have been led astray by the world discover You again. Continue to bless us daily.
Thankful for Today
We thank You God, for creating the world and for preserving it until now. We thank You for the regular return of day and night, and of the seasons, and for the dependability of nature and of time. We thank You for memory, which enables us to build on the experiences of the past; for imagination, which admits us to a wider world than we could otherwise know; and for foresight, by which we plan for the future.
We thank You for your patience with us in our failings; for friends and family with whom we can celebrate our successes; and for those closest to us who support us in our times of need.
Bless this meal and us gathered here. Bless those who have little food or friends to comfort them in body or spirit. Bless those who are unable to be with us this day, and those who have gone before us in faith. We ask this in your name.
Thanksgiving for Healing
Omnipotent and eternal God, You watch over your children, with your tender and loving care. I thank you this day for your mercy and grace. I am grateful for your healing power, and for the abundant blessings You have given me. But most of all, I am thankful for the promise of salvation, given through your Son, our Lord. Through him, when all is completed, there will be no more sickness or pain. I pray in his name.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Holy and Living God, when we are separated from family and friends, when it’s hard to travel and gather together,and celebrate Thanksgiving as we’ve done in the past, help us to embrace what is.
Help us to give thanks within the uncertainty. Help us to give thanks within our sorrow, within our fears. In all things, may we open our hearts and give You thanks.
Amen.
Psalm 25:6–7
Remember, Lord, Your compassion and mercy which You showed long ago. Do not recall the sins and failings of my youth. In Your mercy remember me, lord, because of your goodness.
Forgive All My Sins
Lord Jesus, You opened the eyes of the blind, healed the sick, forgave the sinful woman, and after Peter’s denial confirmed him in your love. Listen to my prayer: forgive all my sins, renew Your love in my heart. Help me to live in perfect unity with my fellow Christians, that I may proclaim Your saving power to all the world.
Mercy
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Friend of Sinners
Lord Jesus, You chose to be called the friend of sinners. By your saving death and resurrection, free me from my sins. May your peace take root in my heart and bring forth a harvest of love, holiness, and truth.
Luke 15:18; 18:13
Father, I have sinned against You and am not worthy to be called your son (daughter). Be merciful to me, a sinner.
Father of mercy, like the prodigal son, I return to you and say: I have sinned against You and am no longer worthy to be called Your son.
Christ Jesus, Savior of the world, I pray with the repentant thief to whom You promised paradise: Lord, remember me in your kingdom. Holy Spirit, fountain of love, I call on You with trust: Purify my heart, and help me to walk as a child of the light.
Psalm 50:4–5
Wash me from my guilt and cleanse me of my sin. I acknowledge my offense; my sin is before always.
Forgiveness
Jesus, I believe You love me. Please forgive me for my sins. Help me to be a better person. Amen.
Penance
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong, and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His name, my God, have mercy.
Lamb of God
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the lamb of God; You take away the sins of the world. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, restore me to friendship with your Father; cleanse me from every stain of sin in the blood You shed for me, and raise me to new life for the glory of your name.
GRATITUDE PRAYERS Similar to the category above, these guiding Catholic prayers are designed to help believers be positive, hopeful, and maintain an attitude of gratitude. For more information regarding the WHY and the HOW, please check out the resources on the Manna App.
Teach Me Gratitude
Holy Spirit, open my heart to understand how precious I am to you, how loved I am by you. Open the eyes of my soul, to see the gifts you have put before me this day.
Give me the grace to recognize each encounter with you. Teach me to respond in gratitude, to grow in gratitude.
Teach me to be generous, as you are generous with me, and to collaborate with you in serving my sister and my brother for your greater glory.
Gratitude to You
Loving Lord, As I express my gratitude to you in prayer, may it be a pleasing, joyful sound to you. Thank you, Lord, for your love. It brings me acceptance and significance. Thank you, Lord, for your truth. It brings me guidance and direction. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy. It brings me help and comfort. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness. It brings me stability and strength. Thank you, Lord, for your beauty displayed in the earth. It brings me joy and delight. Thank you, Lord, for your way of redemption - the cross. It brings me salvation and regeneration.
Making Our Souls Great
To pray is to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments.
Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living. It is all we can offer in return.
Who is worthy to be present at the constant unfolding of time? Here we are amidst the meditation of the land, the songs of the water, the humility of the flowers, flowers wiser than all alphabets – Suddenly we feel embarrassed, ashamed of our complaints and clashes in the face of tacit glory.
How strange we are in the world! Only one response can maintain us: gratefulness for the gift of our unearned chance to serve, to wonder, to love life and each other.
It is gratefulness which makes our small souls great.
Show My Gratitude
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on my life. You have provided me with more than I could ever have imagined. You have surrounded me with people who always look out for me. You have given me family and friends who bless me every day with kind words and actions. They lift me up in ways that keep my eyes focused on you and make my spirit soar.
Also, thank you, Lord, for keeping me safe. You protect me from those things that seem to haunt others. You help me make better choices and provide me with advisors to help me with life’s difficult decisions. You speak to me in so many ways so that I always know you are here.
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