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, 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 healed. May all be loved.
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.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for guiding believers in giving thanks for friends and family, special occasions and God's many blessings.
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.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking guidance, clarification, and wisdom from the Lord.
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.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking information on what the Bible says about unity and compassion.
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.
One only Holy Spirit, Father and Son, in whom all are baptized; one giver of many gifts. 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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking God's blessings on meetings, special gatherings, and fellowships.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers help believers recall and give thanks for God's wonderous work of creation.
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.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers are well-suited for those seeking God's blessings on family members and relationships.
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.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers were crafted to help believers maintain an attitude of praise and thanksgiving before the Father.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers help believers understand the importance of, pray for, and extend forgiveness.
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.
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.
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.
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.
These guiding Catholic prayers are designed to help believers be positive, hopeful, and maintain an attitude of 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.
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 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.
