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3700 West 103rd Street I Chicago, IL 60655
18230 Orland Parkway I Orland Park, IL 60467
www.sxu.edu
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SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY PRAYER BOOK
Table of Contents
A Mercy Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Prayers
Mercy Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Traditional Prayers
Catholic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Jewish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Muslim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Hindu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Prayers in Times of Difficulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Prayers for Peace and Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Prayers for Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Prayers for Vocation and Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
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A MERCY EDUCATION
Mother Catherine McAuley, the founder of the
Sisters of Mercy, was moved by the poverty of her
place and time in Dublin, Ireland, in the early
1800s. Her profound compassion for the suffering
of others led her to establish the House of Mercy
in 1827. Yet her compassion had its roots in her
faith in Jesus Christ and in the centrality of prayer
in her life. Prayer was never to be neglected in favor
of work. It was only in prayer that the mercy of
God could bear fruit through the sisters. This
Mother Catherine McAuley,
theme was woven through her letters and her
founder of the Sisters of Mercy
instructions to the sisters: “The time given to
prayer . . . we must consider as employed to obtain grace, strength and animation,
without which all our efforts would be fruitless.”
Saint Xavier University integrates Catherine’s call to prayer in formal ways through
organized liturgical and worship opportunities, and by incorporating prayer into
events, gatherings and meetings. Yet the call to prayer is found in the heart of every
believer. As Catherine said, “Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart
of every [person], but its growth depends on the care we take to nourish it. If
neglected, it will die. If nourished by constant practice, it will blossom and produce
fruit in abundance.”
Prayer is part of every major religious tradition, and through prayer the deepest
of human longings, feelings and experiences are expressed. It is the hope that this
prayer book will become a tool and a resource for daily prayer in the life of the
University community.
Prayer is also a means for seeking truth and for discerning wisdom. This book
seeks to assist its reader in the search for truth, particularly religious truth. In
Ex Corde Ecclessiae, the Vatican document on higher education, this search for truth
is recognized as integral to an institution of Catholic higher education. The search
for truth must be in a context of freedom, respect for the individual and community,
and pursuit of the common good.
Moreover, this search is rooted in the Catholic and Mercy identities of the institution.
As a Catholic university, Saint Xavier was founded and lives on today as a ministry
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A MERCY EDUCATION
based on the gospel of Jesus Christ. This ministry, and participation in the building
of the reign of God, has called centuries of Christians to the vocation of education.
As a Mercy university, Saint Xavier lives out this particular vocation within the
context of the Mercy heritage and charism.
This Mercy heritage has its roots in Catherine McAuley and her vision to serve the
poor of her day, especially women and children. Having received a large sum of
money through an inheritance, Catherine opened the House of Mercy to provide
hospitality for those who were impoverished, ill or in need of education. Four years
later in 1831, she founded the Sisters of Mercy. With special permission from the
Archbishop of Dublin to forego a cloistered life in favor of actively serving the poor,
the Sisters of Mercy became known as the “walking sisters” because they walked
among the poor and needy of Dublin. As testament to the importance of service as
part of a Christian vocation, in addition to the traditional religious vows of poverty,
chastity and obedience, the Sisters of Mercy have always committed themselves to a
fourth vow of service.
The work and reach of the sisters soon went beyond Dublin and then crossed the
borders of Ireland. Catherine’s companion and fellow sister Frances Xavier Warde led
a group of sisters first to Pittsburgh and then to Chicago in 1846, at the invitation
of Bishop William Quarter. Within three weeks of their arrival, these five sisters
founded the city’s first Catholic academy for young women. The sisters named the
academy for Frances Xavier Warde and her patron saint, Saint Francis Xavier. The
work of education soon commenced, and the quick growth in numbers of students
led the sisters to move from their original location at Michigan and Monroe to a new
campus on Wabash near Madison. In 1871 this campus was lost to the Chicago
To teach well, kindness and patience, though
indispensable, will not suffice without the
solid foundation of a good education and
a judicious method of imparting knowledge.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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A MERCY EDUCATION
133 South Wabash
fire, and in 1873, the academy reopened at 29th and Wabash, close to Mercy
Hospital. The early 20th century heralded both a new campus at 49th and
Cottage Grove Avenue, as well as a certificate of incorporation as a degree-granting
institution of higher education. This allowed the sisters to realize their vision
of expanding the academy, and in 1915 they opened the first Catholic college for
women in Chicago, based solidly on the pillars of the liberal arts. This tradition
of promoting “learning for life as well as for a living” continues to be at the heart
of a Saint Xavier education and is honored as one of the University’s Core Values.
Further need for expansion led to the purchase of 155 acres of prairie land at
103rd and Central Park Avenue, and in 1956 a new, modern campus was dedicated
to serve several hundred women. Over 50 years later, this campus remains the site
of Saint Xavier University’s Chicago campus; a second campus exists in Orland
Park. Over 5,700 students, now both men and women, are enrolled in a multitude
of undergraduate and graduate programs. Along with 17 other sponsored or
co-sponsored Mercy colleges and universities in the United States, of which
Saint Xavier is the largest and oldest, Mercy institutions enroll over 26,000
students nationwide.
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A Mercy education is distinctive
in its mission. To “be Mercy” is
to bring the healing compassion
of God to a world in need. In
this sense, Mercy is not pity or a
simple forgiveness; it is the active,
dynamic force of the love of God
made present through the
incarnated Christ who lives
within humanity. For Catherine,
Mercy meant service in and
through Christ, and that service
began with education. She states,
“The sisters shall feel convinced
that no work of charity can be
49th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue
more productive of good to
society, or more conducive to the happiness of the poor than the careful instruction
of women. . .” At a time when girls and women were not routinely educated,
Catherine saw the glaring need for and the potential fruits of teaching women.
A Mercy education has always focused on women, and grew to include other groups
of people who often did not have equal access to education, such as minority groups
and first-generation college students. The commitment to these groups of students
continues to this day.
In addition to making education accessible, a firm grounding in the liberal arts
characterizes a Mercy college or university. The pursuit of truth is paramount,
but it must be coupled with a quest for wisdom. At Saint Xavier, the pillars
and portico in front of the main entrance of the Warde Academic Center reflect
this commitment; seven pillars are etched with the traditional liberal arts, and
the eighth pillar reads “wisdom.” In our scriptural tradition, wisdom is personified
as a feminine aspect of God, and in our Christian roots, Jesus is referred to as
“the Wisdom of God.” To be rooted in wisdom is to recognize that genuine truth
is based in God’s truth, and that we express this complex understanding of truth—
God’s truth—as wisdom. To be dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom in this way
is a profound reflection of our Catholic identity.
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In discussing the distinctiveness of a Mercy education, Margaret Farley, R.S.M.
claims wisdom as the first significant characteristic. Wisdom, she argues, leads to a
fundamental belief in the dignity of all people, which in turn impels us to justice.
“When wisdom, dignity, justice, and mercy are held together, then higher education
can be a work of mercy.” 1
Therefore, after a firm grounding in wisdom, the dignity of the human person must
be valued, nurtured and expressed through a Mercy education. At Saint Xavier, the
core values speak explicitly to these beliefs in the stated values of respect, integrity
and diversity. To communicate Mercy, which embodies the vast love of God, the
sacredness and unique worth of every human person must be recognized and valued.
The Mercy tradition has attempted to honor this call of reverence for human dignity
through its ministries of education, health care and service to the economically poor,
especially for women and children. Service to those in need is integral to the Mercy
heritage. To minister to those who have been made vulnerable by illness or poverty
is both an honoring of human dignity and a work of Mercy, as is educating those
whose access to education has traditionally been unequal. Moreover, education in
general, for the sake of the greater good and the common good—that is, education
which holds Mercy at its center—encourages our graduates to lives of service
through faith.
Chicago campus, 103rd Street, circa the 1970s
To instruct is an easy matter, but to educate
requires ingenuity, energy, and perseverance
without limit.
—Mother Frances Xavier Warde, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Orland Park campus
Finally, as Farley claims, these ideas make plain the need to put justice squarely in
the midst of this vision. Education, the pursuit of wisdom as a reflection of God,
and a reverence for human dignity calls forth a response of justice. It is not enough
to simply address the immediate needs of individuals, nor to educate a person only
for his or her own benefit. Relationships of justice must be sought after and formed,
and unjust structures must be challenged. To be a Mercy and Catholic institution,
based on the ministry of Jesus, which seeks to build the reign of God by sharing
love and compassion with a world in need, requires a commitment to transform that
world into becoming the reign of which Jesus preached. This is the work of justice
and is a requirement of Christian faith. While perfect justice might not be created
in this world, the striving for justice should be evident in a Mercy institution’s own
practices of employment and policies toward students, and in a curriculum that
fosters the building of the common good above and beyond personal gain.
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A MERCY EDUCATION
To instruct is an easy matter, but to educate
requires ingenuity, energy and perseverance
without limit.
—Mother Frances Xavier Warde, R.S.M.
These central ideas of wisdom, dignity and justice are embedded within the mission
statement of Saint Xavier University, and are the guiding lights for this particular
institution’s embodiment of Mercy:
Saint Xavier University, a Catholic institution inspired by the heritage
of the Sisters of Mercy, educates men and women to search for truth,
to think critically, to communicate effectively, and to serve wisely and
compassionately in support of human dignity and the common good.
This mission is carried out through the embodiment of the eight University Core
Values: respect, excellence, compassion, service, hospitality, integrity, diversity and
learning for life.
This prayer book has been created for the community of Saint Xavier University,
especially for students. For many years, the Academy Bell called the Sisters of Mercy
to prayer, and Catherine McAuley firmly believed that prayer was essential
for a life of service. Today, at our religiously diverse institution, we recognize the
centrality of prayer to many religions, and as an essential component of spiritual
growth. In these pages you will find wisdom from the Mercy tradition, as well as
from a multitude of faith practices. Traditional Catholic prayers, alongside original
prayers from our students, faculty and staff, allow different voices and ways of
praying to be expressed. While all of us have been granted the capacity to pray from
our Creator, sometimes the words of others give voice to our experiences, our hopes
and our desires in new ways. Use this book for personal prayer, to begin a meeting
or class, or take it out at times you do not have the words to express the sentiments
in your heart. Others have navigated this road before you, and their wisdom appears
on these pages.
1
Farley, Margaret, M. (2006). “Wisdom, dignity, justice: Higher Education as a work of
mercy.” Journal of the Mercy Association in Scripture and Theology, 16(2), 2006, p. 3-8.
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Saint Xavier University Mission Statement
Saint Xavier University, a Catholic institution inspired by the heritage
of the Sisters of Mercy, educates men and women to search for truth,
to think critically, to communicate effectively, and to serve wisely and
compassionately in support of human dignity and the common good.
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A MERCY EDUCATION
Saint Xavier University Core Values
The Saint Xavier University community commits itself to practicing eight core
values as it engages in a search for truth and knowledge, both for personal
enhancement and to understand and improve our world.
Respect moves us to understand the gifts and unique contributions of every person
in the University community and to value diverse perspectives.
Excellence commits us to challenge ourselves to utilize our God-given gifts:
intellectual, social, physical, spiritual and ethical.
Compassion compels us to stand with and embrace others in their suffering that,
together, we may experience God’s liberating and healing presence.
Service calls us to use our gifts, talents and abilities to advance the genuine well
being of our community and those we encounter.
Hospitality draws us to do our daily work with a spirit of graciousness that
welcomes new ideas and people of all backgrounds and beliefs.
Integrity gives us the ability to realize the greater good in our actions and programs,
and challenges us to look at our work and ourselves holistically and as one united
with others across the globe.
Diversity builds a community that fosters a climate that is open and welcoming to
diverse people, ideas and perspectives; that promotes a constructive discourse on the
nature of diversity; and that engages faculty, staff and students in activities that
promote the University’s core values.
Learning for Life in the liberal arts tradition encourages us to pursue knowledge
and truth throughout our lives in ways that improve our communities and ourselves
and that strengthen our understanding of each other.
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Saint Xavier University Seal
From its earliest design honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Coat of Arms seal
of today, the seal of Saint Xavier University symbolizes a proud history of Catholic
education in Chicago.
This seal, designed by art department faculty member Sister Mary Solina Hicks,
R.S.M., includes a black and white checkerboard and diagonal gold bars from the
family coat of arms of Saint Francis Xavier; red and gold bars and a white Jerusalem
cross taken from the shield of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; an open book to
represent education; and the Scripture verse, “I am the way, and the truth, and the
life” (John 14:6). Saint Xavier University continues to use this seal as a symbol of its
heritage and mission.
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MERCY PRAYERS
Saint Xavier University Core Values
These values speak of both the common good, and a greater good. We can ask
today to be gifted, really gifted, both as individuals, as a community and as an
institution.
Let us pray for respect—that we might really and truly reverence the holy in one
another and reverence the presence of God in each and every member of our
community.
Let us pray that we will set our sights and our hearts on excellence—that we
commit our best selves to our work and use our abilities to contribute in
meaningful ways to both our common life and to the world beyond us.
We ask God today to make us people of compassion—that our souls might be
transformed through connecting with the suffering of others.
We pray for lives committed to service—for the ability to step outside our own
comfort zones and inner circles and reach out in solidarity to our neighbors.
We ask for the gift of hospitality—so that others may always feel welcome in
our company.
We hope and pray to be people of integrity—that our words and thoughts and
actions might converge together in authentic ways so that we might be deemed
worthy of the trust of others.
We pray that all in our community might truly celebrate the full diversity of
God’s creation, rejoicing in the unique gifts of every person.
Finally, we pray that we might always recognize that all learning is a holy
endeavor—that seeking truth brings us closer to our divine creator, the source
of all truth.
We humbly lift up our prayers—confident that you know our needs and
respond to our requests. Amen.
Eileen P. Doherty
MERCY PRAYERS
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MERCY PRAYERS
This Bell (excerpt)
This bell, our bell, made rings once, too,
and lifted up the forgotten, hungry, and poor.
This bell made simple women the strongest shapes,
and in that borrowed power, they held out and never broke.
This bell taught how circles are drawn and measured.
This bell baked, and sliced, and served the bread.
This bell healed through care and prayer-filled touch.
This bell, their bell, still calls out and rings us in.
This bell stands at the center of our expanding circle
and offers up its simple shape and lasting strength.
This bell, our bell, calls us to band together anew,
to reach out from here in arcs of embracing purpose and healing touch,
to make for each other a place at the table,
to pass along our power to ring.
Laurence Musgrove
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MERCY PRAYERS
The Blessed Virgin Compared
to the Air We Breathe (excerpt)
I say that we are wound
With mercy round and round
As if with air: the same
Is Mary, more by name.
She, wild web, wondrous robe,
Mantles the guilty globe,
Since God has let dispense
Her prayers his providence:
Nay, more than almoner,
The sweet alms’ self is her
And men are meant to share
Her life as life does air.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.
Mercy is more than Charity—for it not only
benefits, but it receives and pardons again
and again—even the ungrateful.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Suscipe of Catherine McAuley
My God,
I am yours
for time and eternity.
Teach me to cast myself entirely
into the arms of
Your loving Providence
with the most lively, unlimited
confidence in Your
compassionate, tender pity.
Grant me,
O most merciful Redeemer,
that whatever
You ordain or permit
may be acceptable to me.
Take from my heart all painful anxiety;
suffer nothing to sadden me but sin,
nothing to delight me but the hope
of coming to the Possession of You,
my God and my all,
in Your everlasting Kingdom.
Amen.
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MERCY PRAYERS
Prayer for Union and Charity
Grant us peace and harmony, O God, and assist us always to preserve union and
charity in the midst of our diversity, differences, and difficulties.
May the sun never set on our anger; rather, may a spirit of reconciliation dwell
among us.
Through our experience of your forgiving love may we have the grace both to
forgive those who have hurt us and to seek pardon from those whom we have
offended.
Be with us as we come and go, so that our hearts may always be centered in you.
We ask this through Jesus, the gracious sign of your love and forgiveness. Amen.
Helen Burns, R.S.M. and Sheila Carney, R.S.M.
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Mercy, The Principle Path
Mercy, the principle path pointed out by Jesus Christ to those who are desirous
of following Him, has in all ages of the Church excited the faithful in a
particular manner to instruct and comfort the sick and dying poor, as in them
they regarded the person of our Divine master, who has said, “Amen, I say to
you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to Me.”
Catherine McAuley
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MERCY PRAYERS
The Good of Society
The Sisters shall feel convinced that no work of charity can be more productive
of good to society, or more conducive to the happiness of the poor than the
careful instruction of women, since, whatever be the station they are destined to
fill, their example and advice will always possess influence …
Catherine McAuley
Love One Another
Let charity then be our badge of honor, our highest glory, the seal of our election
to the dignity of Christ’s spouses, and therefore, we must—to use the words of
the Apostle, “Clothe ourselves, as the elect and beloved of God, with mercy,
compassion, kindness, humility, affability, modesty and patience,” cherishing and
maintaining this virtue more by acts than words, so that it may truly be said,
there is in us but one heart and one soul in God …
Catherine McAuley
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Sweet Mercy
Sweet Mercy!—soothing, patient, kind—softens the high and rears the fallen
mind; knows with just rein and even hand to guide between false fear and
arbitrary pride. Not easily provoked, she soon forgives: feels love for all, and by
a look, relieves. Soft peace she brings whenever she arrives, removes our anguish
and reforms our lives; makes the rough paths of peevish nature even, and opens
in each heart a little heaven.
Catherine McAuley
Love of Neighbor
As it is impossible to love God without manifesting a love for our neighbor, so it
is equally impossible to love our neighbor without exhibiting it to him in our
conduct, for … we show our feelings by acts … Banish from your heart all
coldness, aversion and reserve … We must have a warm, cordial affection for all
and manifest it by words, action and manner. In fine, our charity must be in our
hearts and from our hearts, and a charity such as Jesus Christ practiced while on
earth … well-ordered charity begins at home.
Catherine McAuley
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The Spiritual Works of Mercy
Comfort the Sorrowing
Counsel the Doubtful
Instruct the Ignorant
Convert the Sinner
Forgive all Injuries
Bear Wrongs Patiently
Pray for the Living and the Dead
The Corporal Works of Mercy
Feed the Hungry
Give Drink to the Thirsty
Clothe the Naked
Shelter the Homeless
Visit the Sick
Visit the Imprisoned
Bury the Dead
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Our Lady in Her Circle
Surrounded by pines,
between paired trees of
sure spring-birth promise,
I bloom all seasons,
a lotus of light.
My peals spreading
legacies: deep faith,
wisdom unmeasured,
life in abundance.
Mercy welcomes all.
My arms open wide.
I make stranger friend.
Regine Fanning, R.S.M.
We have one solid comfort amidst this little
tripping about, our hearts can always be
in the same place, centered in God,
for whom alone we go forward or stay back.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – CATHOLIC
Sign of the Cross
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Doxology
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of death.
Amen.
TRADITIONAL PRAYERS
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – CATHOLIC
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
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Act of Contrition
O my God,
I am heartily sorry for having offended thee,
and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishment,
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
who art all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy Grace,
to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
Let us rejoice when good is done,
no matter by whom it may be accomplished.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – CATHOLIC
Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
O God of all the nations of the earth,
remember those who,
though created in your image,
are ignorant of your love;
and, in fulfillment of the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus Christ,
let the prayers and labours of your Church
deliver them from false faith and unbelief,
and bring them to worship you;
Through him, who is the resurrection and the life
of all who put their trust in you, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – CATHOLIC
Ave Maria
Ave Maria!
Vergin del ciel,
sovrana di grazie e madre pia,
che accogli ognor la fervente preghiera,
non negar a questo straziato mio cor
tregua al suo dolor!
Sperduta l'alma mia si prostra a te,
e pien' di speme si prostra ai tuoi piè,
t’invoca e attende
che tu dedia
la pace che solo tu poi donar.
Ave Maria!
Hail Mary!
Virgin of heaven,
Queen of Grace and Holy Mother,
ever receive a fervent prayer,
do not deny my tortured heart
relief for its distress!
My lost soul lies humbly before you
and at your feet, full of hope,
appeals to you and waits
for you to grant
the peace which you alone can give.
Hail Mary!
TRADITIONAL PRAYERS
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – JEWISH
Hillel’s Prayer
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am only for myself, what am I?
If not now, when?
Mi Chamocha
Who is like you, Eternal one, among the gods that are worshiped?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
Oseh Shalom
The one who makes peace in the heavens will make peace for us and
for all Israel, and we say, Amen.
Bayom Hahu
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Our first task in approaching another people,
another culture, another religion, is to take
off our shoes and walk gently, for the place
we are approaching is holy. Else we may find
ourselves treading on another’s dream. More
serious still, we may forget that God was there
before our arrival.
—Author unknown
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – JEWISH
Shehecheyanu
Blessed is the Eternal, our God, Ruler of the universe,
for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this season.
Etz Chaim
It is a tree of life to those that hold fast to it, and all its supporters are happy.
Shema
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
Blessed be the name of his glorious majesty forever and ever.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be
in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall
speak of them when you are sitting at home and when you go on a journey,
when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them for a sign on
your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. You shall inscribe
them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
TRADITIONAL PRAYERS
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – MUSLIM
The Qur’ān
Chapter 1
In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful.
Praise God, lord of the worlds,
the compassionate, the merciful,
master of the day of judgment.
You it is we worship;
You it is to whom we turn for aid.
Guide us along the right path,
the path of those whom You have blessed,
not those who have drawn your anger,
nor those who have lost their way.
Chapter 24: 35-36
God is the light of the heavens and of the earth.
His light may be likened to a lamp-niche;
within it is a lamp.
The lamp is within a glass.
The glass is like a glittering star,
which is enkindled from a blessed tree,
neither of the east nor of the west.
Its oil gives light almost of itself, even if untouched by fire.
Light upon light.
God guides to His light whomever He wills.
He fashions for humankind lessons and words of guidance;
and concerning each and every thing
God is most knowing.
Divine light is enkindled in dwellings that God has
permitted to be raised.
Therein is His name recited;
therein is He praised, by day and by night.
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – HINDU
Perfect Be Our Unity – Rig Veda
O God, let us be united;
Let us speak in harmony;
Let our minds apprehend alike;
Common be our prayer;
Common the end of our assembly;
Common be our resolution;
Common be our deliberation.
Alike be our feelings;
Unified be our hearts;
Common be our intentions;
Perfect be our unity.
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TRADITIONAL PRAYERS – HINDU
Om Shanti – Upanishads
May the Lord of Love protect us
May the Lord of Love nourish us
May the Lord of Love strengthen us
May we realize the Lord of Love.
May we live with love for all
May we live in peace for all.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
We must love them both … those whose
opinions we share and those whose opinions
we reject. For both have labored
in the search for truth, and both
have helped us in the finding of it.
—Saint Thomas Aquinas
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Celebrations
Father Mother God, thank You for Your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have You to lean upon.
Thank You for Your presence during the bright and sunny days, for then we
can share that which we have with those that have less.
And thank You for Your presence during the Holy Days, for then we are able
to celebrate You with our families and our friends.
For those that have no voice we ask You to speak.
For those who feel unworthy, we ask You to pour Your love out in waterfalls
of tenderness.
For those who live in pain, we ask You to bathe them in the river of Your
healing.
For those who are lonely, we ask You to keep them company.
For those who are depressed, we ask You to shower upon them the light of hope.
Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask You to give all the
world that which we need most—Peace. Amen.
Maya Angelou
It is for God we serve the poor,
and not for thanks.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Aba … Aba Nartoomid …
I pray for the uplifting of the planet
For the quickening of our mind and collective body
For the wisdom of our leaders
In making decisions on our behalf
I pray for my family, friends, and colleagues
Those whose collective insights directly affect my own
Those whose energies and thought forms embody the essence of you
I pray for students encountered on a daily basis
May our interactions be transformative and I do no harm
I pray for those who have come before us
Those who are my ancestors
Those who are merciful, ethical, and just
Those whose shoulders we stand on
I ask the Sisters of Mercy who are with you
To guide our decisions
Facilitate our collective wisdom
And move us off the plane of our current existence
May they be with you and bring us closer to you in search for the I AM
In search of the image
And similitude.
Sheila Wright
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God’s Grandeur
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with the warm beast and with ah! bright wings.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.
Prayer is a plant, the seed of which
is sown in the heart of every Christian.
If it is well cultivated and nourished,
it will produce abundant fruit,
but if it is neglected it will wither and die.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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The Truth Of God – Bhagavad Gita
Supreme God, your light is brighter than the sun, your purity whiter than
mountain snow, you are present wherever I go.
All people of wisdom praise you. So I too put faith in all your words, knowing
that everything you teach is true. Neither the angels in heaven nor the demons
in hell can know the perfection of your wisdom, for it is beyond all
understanding.
Only your Spirit knows you; only you can know your true self. You are the
source of all being, the power of all power, the ruler of all creatures. So you
alone understand what you are.
In your mercy reveal to me all that I need to know, in order to find peace and
joy. Tell me the truths that are necessary for the world in which I live.
Show me how I can meditate upon you, learning from you the wisdom that I
need. I am never tired of hearing you, because your words bring life.
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i thank You God
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
e.e. cummings
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Native American Prayer
The world before me is restored in beauty.
The world behind me is restored in beauty.
The world below me is restored in beauty.
The world above me is restored in beauty.
All things around me are restored in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
Bring Him Everything
You must bring Him everything!
Your dreams, your successes, your rejoicing.
And if you have little to rejoice over, bring Him that little.
And if your life seems only like a heap of fragments;
bring Him the fragments.
And if you have only empty hands, bring Him your empty hands.
Shattered hopes are His material;
in His hands all is made good.
Meister Eckhart
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God’s Symphony
I wake up one early morning
Walk outside
And let God’s grace warm me with the sun.
Seagulls cry
Wind in my hair
Cool breeze caresses my cheek
Hear the wind in the trees
Sparrows sing
Seagulls cry
Children laughing in the distance
Couple walking hand-in-hand
Wind caresses my cheek
I look to the sky
I thank you God for your symphony.
Colette Nowacki
Our love ought to be so firm,
so cordial and so solid, that we should
never refuse to do or to suffer anything
for the good of our Sisters.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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God is the Supreme Good
I do dimly perceive that while everything around me is ever changing, ever
dying, there is underlying all that change a living power that is changeless, that
holds all together, that creates, dissolves, and re-creates. That informing power
or spirit is God. And since nothing else that I see merely through the senses
can or will persist, God alone is.
And is this power benevolent or malevolent? I see it as purely benevolent. For
I can see that in the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth truth
persists, in the midst of darkness light persists. Hence I gather that God is Life,
Truth, Light. God is Love. God is the Supreme Good.
Mahatma Gandhi
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If I Were a Poet
Si j’étais un poète
Je voudrais dire de tu mon Dieu
Pour que tout le monde connaitrait
Quoi que je fasse
Ou que je sois
Je pense à toi, mon Seigneur
(If I were a poet
I would like to tell of you my God
So that everyone would know
Whatever I do
Wherever I go
I think of you, my Lord)
Gail P. Bingenheimer
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My Morning Offering
Good Morning Dear Jesus
Good Morning to You
I offer all my prayers, works, and joys this day to You
Thank You Dear Lord for this day
Thank You Dear Lord Please hear me as I pray
I pray for Wisdom,
Understanding,
Knowledge,
Counsel,
Piety,
Fortitude,
And Fear of the Lord.
I pray for Faith, Hope, Love, and Health.
Thank You Dear Lord for this Day,
Keep me safe from all evil and harm.
Please keep me safe in every way.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Amen.
Barbara Gremchuk
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Abraham
Oh Lord, I really want to see you
Oh Lord, I really want to touch your hand
Oh Lord, I want to get to know you more
Oh Lord, I want to be your Abraham
Where you lead me, Lord I’ll go
To the mountain I’ll follow
Sacrifice to you my everything
Lord I honor you, for you are King
Your promises, Lord, you’ve always kept
So I will trust you with the rest
Faithfully I shall always serve
With attentive ears to your words
Oh Lord, I really want to see you
Oh Lord, I really want to touch your hand
Oh Lord, I want to get to know you more
Oh Lord, I want to be your Abraham
Fa’Darryl Brown
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PRAYERS FOR PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
Il Natale Ucraino
E di sera, quando viene
Solo la prima stella,
Tutti noi preghiamo bene
All' accesa candela.
Alla tavola di Cena,
Che chiamiamo Santa,
Noi godiamo le pietanze
E cantiamo i canti,
Quei canti piu antichi
Della nostra terra,
Melodie piane, ricche,
E davvero belle,
Che proclamano il Bene
Sommo, Superiore,
Il Bambino del Santo Seno,
Umilta, Amore:
Si e' nato oggi, cari,
Il Dio perenne,
Il Gesu Bambino, Cristo,
Che da noi qui viene.
Salutiamoci, mangiando
La cutia e aglio,
La Salvezza festeggiando,
Rifiutando il Male.
Molti annni che viviamo,
Ringraziando Dio,
Lavorando per la patria
Vostra e anche mia
Ukrainian Christmas
In the evening, when the first star
hits the frozen sky,
We are praying greeting Jesus,
at the candle light.
At the table of the Supper
Which we all call Holy,
We enjoy the meatless dishes,
Rejoice in carolling.
And the chants, the ones most ancient
Of the ancient land,
Sound softly, solemn-sweet,
The melodies—grand.
They proclaim the Supreme God,
Our Savior-Lord,
The hope-bringing Baby Jesus,
Newly-born today.
The God-Son of the Blessed Mary
Who pays us a visit,
Greeting each one of the many,
Saving us from prison.
We eat kutya* and the garlic,
Feasting real Freedom,
At the halo of the starlit,
Lighted by the Wisdom.
We reject the bad for Good,
Wishing many years of life,
Thanking the eternal God,
Serving Fatherland of yours,
Serving Motherland of mine.
* kutya—a Holy Supper sweet dish made
of boiled grain, poppy seeds and honey.
Ivan Petryshyn
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PRAYERS IN TIMES OF DIFFICULTY
Kyrie Eleison
The reason why we live,
The reason to forgive,
The reason to look for the light,
For the truth, deep and bright,
The reason to wait for the morning,
Adorning
The Lord of the Day,
The only sufficient reason to pray,
When coming or going away,
When being on time or late,
When hurrying or when we wait
Till early and still feeble rays
Will open the Gate
Of the Day
Awakening hearts for the Lord,
In unison and in accord.
Ivan Petryshyn
Each day is a step we take towards eternity
and we shall continue thus to step from day to
day until we take the last step which will bring
us into the presence of God.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Rise
Rise, lift up your cross and prepare the way for the Lord.
Burdens bear on broken backs which wear down hearts and souls;
but Christ came to raise us up from the depths of our own failings.
Before our salvation can bring us to the gentle embrace of God
we must follow in the footsteps of Christ.
It is time to be renewed by a deeper faith and a more honest trust,
a childlike trust in which we can fall back peacefully,
certain that we will land in the arms of the Lord;
it is the time to view the world and all those
around through a more loving lens.
We are God’s chosen, called to lead the way of the lost.
We are God’s beloved and our salvation is already at hand.
We must empty ourselves so we can be filled fully by the presence of Christ.
So let prayer always be on our lips; let songs of joy always ring in our souls;
and let the Lord find a home in our hearts this Lent and this lifetime.
Maritza Paniagua
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Hum(an)ility
It should bring us relief
And self-forgiveness or
Perhaps self-gracedness
Or better yet self-lovedness
Given our imperfectedness
Knowing we’re incomplete
In any earthen possibility
Of knowing the Truth
Really about whatever
Truth we’re seeking and
That’s the point really
Isn’t it? That is, that
Any certainty we embark
Upon is really only the
Good news of our
Limitedness and the
Limitedlessness of You.
Laurence Musgrove
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Prayer in Time of Loneliness
Loving God, be with me in times of loneliness and distress. When I am hurt,
rejected, neglected and alone, send me your light and grace to cheer my spirits,
soothe my pain and renew my hope. Bless me with the gifts of your Holy Spirit
that I may do everything in charity, even in these most difficult of times. Amen.
Robert L. Barry, O.P.
All shall be well, and all shall be well,
and all manner of things shall be well.
— Julian of Norwich
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Fruit-Gathering (excerpt)
Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefields, but to my own strength.
Let me not cave in anxious fear to be saved, but hope for the patience to
win my own freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my successes alone;
but let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure.
Rabindranath Tagore
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Pieta
Mother of Sorrow;
You who held Jesus in your arms,
Please intercede with your
Divine Son on our behalf.
Ask him to help us to know one another better
To forgive one another more readily,
To love one another more deeply.
Mother of all mankind inspire us to travel without falter
Along the road at the end of which,
Under the Fatherhood of God, there is true peace. Amen.
While we place all our confidence in God,
we must act as if all depended on our exertion.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Prayer in Time of Loss
Lonely is the home without you, life is not the same;
All the world would be like heaven, if we had you back again.
A light is from our household gone, a voice we love is still,
A place is vacant in our home that never can be filled.
May the God of Love and Mercy care for our loved one who is gone,
And bless with consolation, those left to carry on.
The happy hours we once enjoyed, how sweet their memory still,
But death has left a vacant place, the world will never fill.
How dearly we love you, and prayed you might live,
But Jesus just beckoned, and we had to give.
God gave us strength to bear it, and the courage to fight the blow,
What it has meant to lose you, God alone will ever know.
Amen.
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Prayer for a Difficult Relationship
God of all wisdom and understanding, send your Spirit to guide me in difficult
times. Renew a spirit of understanding, charity, and forgiveness in my heart.
Where there is strife, bring peace. Where there is misunderstanding, bring
wisdom. Where there is malice, bring charity. Where hearts have turned to stone,
bring conversion. Renew this relation so that we may praise you for your
goodness and love. Amen.
Robert L. Barry, O.P.
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Esperanza
En lo mas oscuro y sórdido,
en lo mas hostil y áspero,
en lo mas corrupto
y asqueante;
allí obras Tu.
Por eso tu Hijo
bajó a los infiernos,
para transformer lo que NO ES
y para depurar LO QUE CREE SER.
Esto es esperanza!
Hope
In the most obscure and sordid place,
in the most hostile and harshest,
in the most corrupt
and nauseating places,
there You do Your work.
That is why Your Son
descended into hell,
in order to transform what IS NOT
and to purify that which IS BECOMING.
This is hope!
Julia Esquivel
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Healing
Jesus, you are the way, the truth and the life.
You died that we may live and have life abundantly;
that our wounds be bound and sickness cast away.
Thank you because I believe that I have been healed by your stripes.
Thank you Lord because you neither slumber nor sleep
but watch over your child.
Thank you Lord for this healing and your abounding love.
Amen.
Angela Onyeokoro
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Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
Mary Elizabeth Frye
It may be that when we no longer know what
to do, we have come to our real work,
and when we no longer know which way to go,
we have begun our real journey.
—Wendell Berry
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I Seek Strength
O, Great Spirit,
Whose voice I hear in the winds
And whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty
And make my eyes ever behold
The red and purple sunsets.
Make my hands respect the things you have made,
And my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
The things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
In every leaf and rock.
I seek strength,
Not to be greater than my brother,
But to fight my greatest enemy:
Myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
With clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades
As a fading sunset
My spirit may come to you without shame.
Lakota Chief Yellow Lark
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Lead, Kindly Light
Lead, kindly Light,
Amid the circling gloom,
Lead Thou me on,
The night is dark and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on,
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step’s enough for me.
John Henry Cardinal Newman
Mercy, the principal path pointed out by
Jesus Christ to those who are desirous of
following Him … to instruct and comfort the
sick and dying poor, as in them they regarded
the person of our divine Master…
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Hear Me This Day
Father God I am so abandoned
When my father died at two
I always spoke of you
But yet Lord
I still don’t know you
Father, father, hear me now
My mother seems as if she
Hates me so
On my knees
Father please save me now
Lord instruct me how
To respect everyone
Even though being told
I hate you by
A loved one
Father you told me
Don’t weep while
You wipe the tears
From my eyes while giving me
A spiritual guide
Father I remember when I hated life
I tried to kill myself yet you let me
Live another day
I now know you have some work for me
To do this day
Father God as my pastor finishes his prayer
As I am holding the women of faith hands
Draw closer inside my life
Father, father please
Hear me this day
Antwan Johnson
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Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next. Amen.
Reinhold Niebuhr
It is better to relieve a hundred imposters …
than to suffer one truly deserving person
to be sent away empty.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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A Prayer for Yom Kippur
O Merciful God, who answerest the poor,
Answer us.
O Merciful God, who answerest the lowly in spirit,
Answer us.
O Merciful God, who answerest the broken of heart,
Answer us.
O Merciful God,
Answer us.
O Merciful God,
Have compassion.
O Merciful God,
Redeem.
O Merciful God,
Save.
O Merciful God, have pity on us,
Now, speedily,
And at a near time.
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With You
O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray and to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me …
Restore me to liberty and enable me to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
How can we teach the love of God
if our own hearts are cold?
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Beginner’s Beatitudes
Blessed are you if you are a little poorer than you might otherwise be because
you give away a little more money than you should to the poor. You are their
hope, their life, and their joy on many occasions.
Blessed are you if you are not hungry, but help those who are. Blessed are you if
you pray to God and work hard to help those who are hungry and in need. You
have heard the call of the Gospel.
Blessed are you if you live a life of prayer, faith and hope in God. You are blessed
because you are able to share that with others to drive away their sorrow and give
them hope.
Blessed are you when others vilify and ridicule you because you believe in and
serve God. They do this because they have been too hurt to believe and hope in
God anymore. By not returning their sneer, mockery, or scorn, but responding
with a prayer, you make it possible for faith and hope to be born in them again.
Blessed are you if your career is not going as well as it might because you have
scruples about fairness, honesty, and justice. Your virtues are the hope of those
who have been crushed and used by those who seek only to get ahead.
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Blessed are you if you are somewhat unsatisfied with what the world has dealt
you because you place your hope and trust in God. Be patient and wait for what
the world cannot give you, for the Spirit of God will provide all for which you
long.
Blessed are you if you seek your fill from the table of the Lord. You see that you
are a pilgrim on the way to the Kingdom, and being too much at home in this
world might be a sign that there is no other home waiting for you.
Blessed are you if you are weary and tired, sore and aching from serving God by
serving others, for you are carving out your path to the Father. Your suffering is
a sign that you are carrying your Cross.
Blessed are you if others think you a pious fool who wastes his or her time on
Sunday morning. That shows that the wisdom and knowledge of God lives
deeply within you. It is a sign that you are more than an empty suitcase, that
your life is a mystery, that you seek God in your days here. Let them think this,
for it might well be that the Kingdom of God is hidden deeply within you.
Robert L. Barry, O.P.
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Leaning on the Heart of God
I am leaning on the heart of God.
I am resting there in silence.
All the turmoil that exhausts me
is brought to bear on this great love.
No resistance or complaint is heard
as I lean upon God’s welcome.
There is gladness for my coming.
There is comfort for my pain.
I lean, and lean, and lean
upon this heart that hurts with me.
Strength lifts the weight of my distress.
Courage wraps around my troubles.
No miracle of instant recovery.
No taking away of life’s burdens.
Yet, there is a solace for my soul,
and refuge for my exiled tears.
It is enough for me to know
the heart of God is with me,
full of mercy and compassion,
tending to the wounds I bear.
Joyce Rupp
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PRAYERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
Practice for the New Millennium
1. Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the
same things (to be happy and be loved) and we are all connected to one
another.
2. Spend 5 minutes breathing in, cherishing yourself; and, breathing out,
cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing,
extend your cherishing to them anyway.
3. During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing
the ‘simplest’ person (clerks, attendants, etc) or people you dislike.
4. Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you.
These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of
cherishing can be taken very deeply if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel
the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.
The Dalai Lama
There are things that the poor prize more
highly than gold, though they cost the donor
nothing; among these are the kind word, the
gentle, compassionate look, and the patient
hearing of their sorrows.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Break Open Our Hearts
Spirit of Justice,
Break open our hearts. Break them wide open
Let anger pour through
Like strong storms,
Flooding out fear.
Let zeal pour through
Like blazing summer sun,
Filling us with passion.
Force of justice, grant me
Anger at what is,
Courage to do what must be done,
Passion to break down the walls
Of injustice
And build a land flowing
With milk and honey
For God’s beloved.
God’s special love.
God’s poor ones.
Spirit of justice,
Break open our hearts.
Mary Lou Kownacki, O.S.B.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.
—Martin Luther King Jr.
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As Kingfishers Catch Fire, Dragonflies Draw Flame
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundly wells
Each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is me: for that I came.
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—
Christ—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.
O God,
To those who have hunger give bread;
And to those who have bread
Give the hunger for justice.
—Author unknown
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A Buddhist Meditation
I am Peace
Surrounded by Peace
Secure in Peace.
Peace protects me
Peace supports me
Peace is in me
Peace is mine—
All is well.
Peace to all beings
Peace among all beings
Peace from all beings
I am steeped in Peace
In the streets, at our work,
Having peaceful thoughts,
Peaceful words, peaceful acts.
There is only one time when it is essential
to awaken. That time is now.
—The Buddha
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A Prayer of the Prophet Muhammad
God, You are peace.
From You is peace and to You is peace.
Let us live, O Lord, in peace and receive us in Your paradise, the abode of
peace.
Yours is the majesty and the praise, we hear and we obey.
Grant us your forgiveness, Lord, and to You be our becoming.
Love is patient, love is kind
Love is not jealous,
It does not put on airs, it is not snobbish.
Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking,
It is not prone to anger;
neither does it brood over injuries.
Love does not rejoice in what is wrong,
but rejoices with the truth.
There is no limit to love’s forbearance,
its truth, its hope, its power to endure.
—Corinthians 13:4-7
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Letter to a Young Activist (excerpt)
Do not depend on the hope of results.
When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, you may have to face
the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at
all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect.
As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the
results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.
And there too a great deal has to be gone through as gradually you struggle less
and less for an idea and more and more for specific people.
The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real.
In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything.
Thomas Merton
Never speak with contempt of any nation,
profession, or class of people.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion (excerpt)
Promise, promise me this day,
promise me now,
while the sun is shining above
exactly at zenith, promise me
even if people crush you
under a mountain of hatred and violence,
even if they walk on your life
and crush you like a caterpillar,
even if they amputate you,
disembowel you,
remember, brother,
man is not our enemy.
Only your compassion and
your loving kindness are invincible,
and without limit.
Hatred can never respond
to the beastliness in humankind.
One day when you are by yourself
facing cruelty,
your courage intact,
your calm eyes full of love,
even if no one knows of your smile,
blossoming as a flower in solitude and great pain,
those who love you will still see you
while traveling through a thousand worlds
of birth and death.
Alone again, I will go on
with my head bent down,
knowing that love has become eternal.
And on the long and difficult road,
the light of the sun and the moon
is still there
to guide my steps.
Thich Nhat Hanh
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Insight Meditation
Do everything with a mind that lets go.
Do not expect any praise or reward.
If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.
If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom.
Your struggles with the world
will have come to an end.
Achaan Chah
Hindu Prayer for Peace
If anyone speaks ill of you,
Praise them always.
If anyone injures you,
Serve them nicely.
If anyone persecutes you,
Help them in all possible ways.
You will attain immense strength.
You will control anger and pride.
You will enjoy peace, poise and serenity.
You will become divine.
Swami Sivananda
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Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to
console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen.
Shall I not tell you what is better than prayers
and fasting and giving alms to the poor? It is
making peace between one another: enmity
and malice destroy all virtues.
—The Prophet Muhammad
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Jain Prayer for Peace
Lead me from death to Life, from falsehood to Truth.
Lead me from despair to Hope, from fear to Trust.
Lead me from hate to Love, from war to Peace.
Let Peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.
Satish Kumar
Let Nothing Disturb You
Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing frighten you.
All things are changing.
God alone is changeless.
Patience attains the good.
One who has God lacks nothing.
God alone fills all our needs.
Saint Teresa of Avila
Be ever ready to praise, to encourage,
to stimulate, but slow to censure,
and still more slow to condemn.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Prayer of Commitment to End Racism
Dear Lord, help us to search our own heart and seek forgiveness and
reconciliation for racist attitudes and beliefs to which we have given credence
to in our lives.
Help us not to speak or act in ways that demean our brothers and sisters.
Help us to speak up and act when we hear or see racism demonstrated
in any way.
Help us to create inclusive, welcoming communities where we live, work and
worship as we pledge to work to eradicate the sin of racism wherever it exists
in our hearts, in our church, on our jobs and in our communities.
Give us the courage as Christian disciples to work to dismantle racism in the
wider community.
With your grace, we will dwell together in God’s love with all of our brothers
and sisters.
We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Racial Justice
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Prayer Before Retiring
God of peace and God of all wisdom, I close my day with thoughts of you.
As I turn to rest, may your blessings be upon me.
Grant me peaceful rest so that I may awake calm and alert.
Give me strength to grow in knowledge and wisdom and to serve
my brothers and sisters in charity and mercy.
As I awake, quicken my mind, enlarge my heart and give me the wisdom
to serve you well.
Amen.
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Athlete’s Prayer
Good and gracious God,
We ask for your blessing this day as we take the field/court.
We ask you to protect us and our competitors from injury.
We ask that you bless us with the heart of a champion, the spirit of faith in each
other, and the strength and stamina to compete with fairness and gamesmanship.
We play for the glorification of your name and ask for these blessings through
your son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Bill Parker, O.F.M.
The adage ‘never too old to learn’
is a great comfort to me.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Prayer for Family
We give you thanks, our God, for our parents, brothers and sisters,
in whose company we have come to know you and experience your love.
Bless them and all who have been as family to us, sustaining us
and calling us to the fullness of life.
Rejoicing in these relationships, we remember the widow and the orphan,
the refugee and the homeless and all who walk through life alone.
For the generosity to welcome them into our circle of love,
we pray, through the intercession of the Holy Family.
Amen.
For freedom consists in this, that we have
no other obligation than to love our neighbor.
But love teaches very easily how all things
are done rightly. Without it nothing can be
taught in a satisfactory manner.
—Martin Luther
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Love and Relationships
Lord God, King of Glory,
God of everything beautiful, pure, good and true.
You blessed us with the ability to give and receive love.
Inspire us to grow in our ability to give and receive love.
Cause us to always fix our minds on the virtuous aspects
of our loved ones when in times of conflict.
Mold us and use us to demonstrate your love in our relationships.
In so doing we are made more like your Son. Amen.
Angela Onyeokor
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Heart of a Buddha (excerpt)
Even if everyone else
Is not doing good,
I alone will.
Even if everyone else
is doing wrong
I alone will not.
Dance as though no one is watching you,
Love as though you have never been hurt before,
Sing as though no one can hear you,
Live as though heaven is on earth.
—Author unknown
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Breathe into Me
Breathe into me, Holy Spirit,
That my mind may turn to what is holy.
Move me, Holy Spirit,
That I may do what is holy.
Strengthen me, Holy Spirit,
That I may preserve what is holy.
Protect me, Holy Spirit,
That I may never lose what is holy.
Saint Augustine of Hippo
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The Road Ahead
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot
know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact
that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually
doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And
I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do
anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me
by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust
you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not
fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils
alone.
Thomas Merton
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Above All, Trust in the Slow Work of God
Above all, trust the slow work of God.
We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some
stages of instability—and that may be for a very long time.
And so I think it is with you,
Your ideas mature gradually—let them grow, let them shape themselves
without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them in, as though you could be today what time (that is to
say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make you
tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be.
Give our Lord the benefit of believing that God’s hand is leading you, and
accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.
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Guide Us
Guide us, O God the All-Knowing, to acquire knowledge.
It enables the possessor to distinguish right from wrong;
It lights the way to heaven.
It is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude,
our companion when friendless.
It guides us to happiness;
It sustains us in misery;
It is an ornament among friends and armor against enemies.
The Prophet Muhammad
Let us not feel distressed that others know
our faults, we all have our imperfections
and shall have them till our death.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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My Purpose
Heavenly Father,
Help me to understand that there is a season and a purpose
for everything under the sun.
Grant me with the gifts that I need in order to understand my purpose in life.
I realize that I don’t know enough to make decisions on my own.
Guide me so that I may gain knowledge and wisdom.
Give me peace so that I can accept things as they are, and know
that wherever I am right now, is exactly where You want me to be.
Help me to grow closer to you through my relationships and remember
that what I do to others, I do to You as well.
Give me the courage to let go of the relationships I don’t need,
and to hold on to the ones I do.
Continue to shed Your light on me so that I may be a living example
of Your grace and mercy and to show love towards others
as You show love towards me.
Joanne Jones
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A Prayer for Students
Dear Lord,
We ask you for your blessing at this time, to help all students
get through any struggles brought upon them.
Let us rise above our biggest fear or task and finish it with excellence.
Help us look within ourselves and realize how strong and present
our ability to change the world is.
Help us to use our talents in ways that people would have never thought.
Dear Lord, we ask that you bless us all with the power to come together
and make changes for the better.
Amen.
Aly Kelley
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Prayer for Those Who Room Together
God of peace and joy, send your spirit on our community.
Through your Spirit you make us perfectly one with you in grace, love and
peace and you call us “friends.”
Send your spirit on us gathered here that we may grow in rich, lasting and deep
friendship.
May this place be one of mutual assistance, understanding, generosity, patience
and prayer.
May our walls echo with laughter, and may all who come here find genuine
hospitality and friendship.
Amen.
Robert L. Barry, O.P.
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord,
all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
announce his salvation day after day. Tell
God’s glory among the nations; among all his
peoples, God’s marvelous deeds.
—Psalm 96:1-3
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A Student’s Prayer
Creator of all things, true source of Light and Wisdom, lofty source of all
Being, graciously let a ray of Your Brilliance penetrate into the darkness of my
understanding and take from me the double darkness in which I have been
born, sin and ignorance.
Give me a sharp sense of understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability
to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations, and the ability to express
myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion.
Through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
Saint Thomas Aquinas
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Prayer Before an Examination
Loving God, I thank you for the knowledge you have
given me and for guiding me in the ways of truth.
May I write this examination to honor you.
Grant me strength and assurance to do my best.
Be with my fellow students, and may I be a good example to them.
May I be honest and insightful and give an accurate
account of what I have learned.
If disappointed, may I bear it with grace and if blessed,
may I thank you for your goodness.
With your grace, presence and guidance, may I write this exam.
Amen.
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Prayer in Preparation for Study
Lord God, I bless and praise you for the greatness of your love and mercy.
Grant me peace and understanding as I open my books and begin my study.
Give me insight that I may understand these things.
May I offer my best effort in reading and learning to serve you
and others with greater knowledge, wisdom and love.
I ask this because you are the loving and gracious God.
Amen.
For I know well the plans I have in mind
for you, says the LORD, plans for your
welfare, not for harm, plans to give you
a future full of hope. When you call me,
when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.
When you look for me, you will find me.
Yes, when you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me with you, says the LORD.
—Jeremiah 29:11-14
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Prayer for Graduation
The Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy state, “We strive to witness to mercy
when we reverence the dignity of each person, create a spirit of hospitality and
pursue integrity of word and deed in our lives.”
Thus, let us raise our hearts to God and beg his grace.
After each blessing, please respond: Amen!
God of Mercy,
You are the Way—Via!
Bless these graduates.
Create in them a spirit of hospitality to serve the needs
of your people along their way.
Amen!
God of Mercy,
You are the Truth—Veritas!
Bless these graduates.
Inspire them to pursue truth—integrity of word and deed—in their vocations
and relationships.
Amen!
God of Mercy,
You are the Life—Vita!
Bless these graduates.
Instill in them a reverence for the dignity of each person’s life, including their
own, for you have given them life that they may cherish it and live it fully for
your glory.
Amen!
Graduates, go in peace, remember the poor and strive to bring mercy to our
world!
Esther Sanborn
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Anyway
People are often unreasonable,
Illogical and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
People may accuse
You of selfish motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
You will win some false friends
And some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
They may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
People will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have;
And it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you have anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
It is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway.
Attributed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta
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At the End of Life We Will Not Be Judged
At the end of life we will not be judged
by how many diplomas we have received,
how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat,
I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.’
Hungry not only for bread—but hungry for love.
Naked not only for clothing—but naked for human dignity and respect.
Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks—
but homeless because of rejection.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
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PRAYERS FOR STUDENTS
The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache
for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking
like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive ....
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to
hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with
wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without
cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being
human ....
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the
edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes’ ....
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the
company you keep in the empty moments.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
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PRAYERS FOR STUDENTS
Our Deepest Fear
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves,
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us;
it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission
to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson
You have made us for you, O Lord, and our
hearts are restless until they rest in you.
—Saint Augustine of Hippo
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Today, Like Every Other Day
Today, like every other day,
we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
Jelaluddin Rumi
Encouragement
Dear Lord,
Grant me the patience to do all that needs to be done.
Help me to be strong and fight for what I believe in.
Let me see the world through light and not darkness.
Give me peace and strength to get through the obstacles I face every day.
Provide me with guidance so that I make the right decisions.
I ask you to take away my pain and free me of anxiety
so that I may live a better and healthier life.
Amen.
Julie Nichols
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PRAYERS FOR VOCATION AND WORK
God Has Created Me to Do
Some Definite Service
God has created me to do some definite service.
God has committed some work to me,
which has not been committed to another.
I have my mission—I may never know it in this life,
but shall be told it in the next.
I am a link in a chain;
a bond of connection between persons.
God has not created me for naught.
I shall do good. I shall do God’s work.
I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place.
Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away.
If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve the Lord.
In my perplexity, my perplexity may serve the Lord.
God does nothing in vain.
Therefore I will trust in the Lord.
John Henry Cardinal Newman
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Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low by thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
John Wesley
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PRAYERS FOR VOCATION AND WORK
So Live Your Life
So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about their religion;
respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.
Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
even a stranger, when in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people and grovel to none.
When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of
living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
and robs the spirit of its vision.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled
with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a
little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
Shawnee Chief Tecumseh
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Prayer for Those in Service
Almighty God, we stand before you asking for your divine protection.
Embrace with your invincible armor our loved ones in all branches of the
service.
Give them courage and strength against all enemies both spiritual
and physical and hasten their safe journey back to their homes and families.
Amen.
Prayer is the best weapon we possess; it is the
key to God's Heart.
—Padre Pio
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Parent’s Prayer
Most Loving Father, the example of parenthood, teach me what to give and what
to withhold.
Show me when to reprove and when to praise. Make me gentle and considerate,
yet firm and watchful. Keep me from weak indulgence, or from great severity.
Give me the courage to be disliked sometimes by my children, when I must do
necessary things which are displeasing in their eyes.
Give me the imagination to enter into their world in order to understand and
guide them.
Give me all the virtues I need to lead them by word and example on the path of
righteousness.
Amen.
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Nurses’ Prayer
Nursing—healing—is an art.
And if it is to be made an art
it requires as exclusive a devotion
as hard a preparation
as any painter’s or sculptor’s work.
For what is having to do with dead canvas or cold marble
compared to having to do with the living temple
of God’s spirit?
It is one of the Fine Arts.
I had almost said the finest of the Fine Arts.
Florence Nightingale
Nurses’ Prayer
Give to my heart, O Lord, compassion and understanding.
Give to my hands, skill and tenderness.
Give to my ears, the ability to listen.
Give to my lips, words of comfort.
Give to me Lord, strength for this selfless service.
And enable me to give hope to those I am called to serve.
Amen.
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PRAYERS FOR VOCATION AND WORK
Christ Has No Body Now But Yours
Christ has no body now but yours;
no hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks
with compassion on the world;
yours are the feet with which he walks to do good;
yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Saint Teresa of Avila
The earth belongs to the Lord,
And everything on it is his.
For he founded it in empty space
And breathed his own life-breath into it,
Filling it with manifold creatures,
Each one precious in his sight.
—Psalm 24:1-2
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A Prayer for Teachers
We pray, gentle Jesus, for children, especially those who
suffer from violence or neglect.
You made yourself vulnerable for our sake;
may we, in gratitude, protect those who are most vulnerable among us.
Strengthen us in our efforts to build a world where
all may grow in safety, where opportunities for education
are equally shared, where talent and creativity are nurtured.
Let us learn from the children who, like you, are humble of heart.
Amen.
It is not sufficient that Jesus Christ be formed
in us—He must be recognized in our conduct.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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And I Follow
Jesus was a leader
And I follow
Jesus was a teacher
And I follow
Jesus was a mentor
And I follow
I follow in the footsteps of our savior to serve the community and future
generations. To be a passionate teacher is a gift, it is a gift given from the Lord
to us. It is to be used to give back to the Lord to educate his people and guide
them through life on a path of greatness.
Kevin Long
This is what the Lords asks of you: to do justice,
love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.
—Micah 6:8
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Lord, Be With Me in My Work
I want to do justice. Do not let me forget that all things flow from you and help
me be a good and conscientious steward of all that has been entrusted to me.
Set my heart straight to follow the path of integrity and not to be deceived into
unethical practices.
I want to act with mercy. Help me understand everyone whom I encounter and
grant me wisdom and foresight in all my transactions. Give me the knowledge to
consider the consequences of my decisions for others.
I want to walk humbly with you. Do not let me forget the many blessings in my
life. Help me remember that my work is an opportunity to use the talents you
gave me for service to you, your people, and your creation. May my life be a
prayer of thanksgiving to you.
I ask all this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
William Kresse
We may perceive from all our instructions
that a strong and lively faith is the solid
foundation of all virtue.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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We Give Thanks: A Prayer for Faculty and Staff
As we gather together, aware of living in this moment, in this space, we offer
thanks to our generous God.
For work that calls us each day to greet new possibilities, dream new dreams, and
challenge ourselves to growth . . . We give thanks.
For work that serves the purpose of educating men and women, whom we then
empower to offer their own gifts and abilities to the community . . .
We give thanks.
For the privilege of employment in a world that holds so much suffering
through hunger, homelessness, and poverty . . . We give thanks.
For the gift of working in a community, of working in the Mercy tradition,
which values human dignity and the sanctity of each individual life . . .
We give thanks.
For our community of friends at Saint Xavier, whose cheerful smiles, listening
ears, and encouraging words help us to find meaning in each day . . .
We give thanks.
For our students, whose energy, motivation, and resilience inspire us to give our
best to our particular jobs, work that offers a unique contribution to this mission
of education and service . . . We give thanks.
Creator God, your divine work began with the beginnings of the universe, as
your life-giving power unleashed itself in creation. Help us to know in the
depths of our beings that we too are called to create and to bear your love to
those around us. Amen.
Eileen P. Doherty
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Lakota Instructions for Living
Friend do it this way—that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop of The People,
one must be responsible because All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do affects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way—that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One—whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It’s Going To Be
Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman
In vain can we hope to be united in God
in any other way than by the Cross.
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Prayer of Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve You as You deserve;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labor and not to seek reward;
save that of knowing that I do Your will, O God.
Saint Patrick’s Breastplate
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
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The Chipped Cup
It is time for me to see the flaws
of myself and stop being alarmed
It is time for me to halt my drive
for perfection and to accept my blemishes
It is time for me to receive slowly evolving growth
the kind that comes in God’s own good time
and pays no heed to my panicky pushing
It is time for me to embrace
my humanness to love my incompleteness
It is time for me to cherish the unwanted
to welcome the unknown
to treasure the unfulfilled
If I wait to be perfect
before I love myself
I will always be unsatisfied and ungrateful
If I wait until all the flaws, chips, and cracks disappear
I will be the cup that stands on the shelf and is never used.
Joyce Rupp
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Go to the People – Tao Te Ching
Go to the people
Live with them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with that they know
Build with what they have
But with the best leaders
When the work is done
The task accomplished
The people will say
“We have done this ourselves!”
Lao Tsu
God asks for our heart …
Do we offer it generously to God, or do we
rather seek to shelter it from whatever might
afflict it?
—Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
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Prayer for the Beatification of Catherine
Loving God, you chose Catherine McAuley for the service of your people who
are poor, sick and uneducated. You inspired her to found the Sisters of Mercy
that these good works might endure. Give to each of us a portion of her
compassionate spirit and ardent desire to serve your suffering people.
Bless all our undertakings and grant that union and charity may always thrive
among us. Graciously hear our prayer for Catherine, and by granting the favors
we ask through her intercession, hasten the day when her sanctity will be
celebrated by all the church. Amen.
Life's most persistent and urgent question is,
'What are you doing for others?'
—Martin Luther King Jr.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Maya Angelou, Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer (New York: Random House,
2006), 103-105.
“A Buddhist Meditation,” Let Peace Fill My Heart: Prayers for a Peaceful World (Erie, PA:
Pax Christi, USA, the national Catholic peace movement and Benetvision).
Helen Marie Burns, R.S.M. and Sheila Carney, R.S.M., Praying with Catherine
McAuley (Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press, 1996), 36, 42, 56, 80.
Achaan Chah, “Insight Meditation,” The World Prayers Project, “World Prayers,”
2007. <http://www.world prayers.org> (26 July 2007).
e. e. cummings, “i thank You God,” The World Prayers Project, “World Prayers,”
2007. <http://www.world prayers.org> (26 July 2007).
Julia Esquival, “Esperanza,” Threatened with Resurrection: Prayers and Poems from an Exiled
Guatemalan, trans. Anne Woehrle (Elgin, IL: Brethren Press, 1994).
Mary Elizabeth Frye, “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep,” The World Prayers
Project, “World Prayers,” 2007. <http://www.world prayers.org> (26 July 2007).
Heart of a Buddha (Chicago: Amitaba Publications, 2006).
Mary Lou Kownacki, O.S.B., “Break Open Our Hearts,” in Frances Sheridan
Goulart, God Has No Religion: Blending Traditions for Prayer (Notre Dame, IN: Sorin
Books, 2005), 156. Used with permission from Pax Christi USA, the national
Catholic peace movement.
Lakota Chief Yellow Lark, “I Seek Strength,” The World Prayers Project, “World
Prayers,” 2007. <http://www.world prayers.org> (26 July 2007).
The Little Book of Catherine of Dublin (Dublin, Ireland: a little book company, 2005),
12, 14, 24, 32, 33, 40, 47, 49, 55, 63, 69, 78, 82, 88, 95, 102, 103, 112, 114, 122, 125.
Thomas Merton, “The Road Ahead,” The World Prayers Project, “World Prayers,”
2007. <http://www.world prayers.org> (26 July 2007).
Oriah Mountain Dreamer, “The Invitation,” The Invitation (New York:
HarperCollins Publishers, 1999), 1-2.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
“Native American Prayer,” Let Peace Fill My Heart: Prayers for a Peaceful World (Erie, PA:
Pax Christi, USA, the national Catholic peace movement, and Benetvision).
Mary Ignatia Neumann, R.S.M., ed., Letters of Catherine McAuley (Baltimore, MD:
Helicon Press, 1969), 389.
Thich Nhat Hanh, “The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion,” The Diamond That
Cuts Through Illusion (Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press/Unified Buddhist Church, 1992),
72-73.
Jelaluddin Rumi, “Today, Like Any Other Day,” The World Prayers Project,
“World Prayers,” 2007. <http://www.world prayers.org> (26 July 2007).
Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., “Leaning on the Heart of God,” Out of the Ordinary (Notre
Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2000), 75.
Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., “The Chipped Cup,” The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiritual
Growth (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1997), 68.
Swami Sivananda, “If Anyone Speaks Ill Of You” Let Peace Fill My Heart: Prayers for a
Peaceful World (Erie, PA: Pax Christi, USA, the national Catholic peace movement,
and Benetvision).
Marianne Williamson, “Our Deepest Fear,” The World Prayers Project, “World
Prayers,” 2007. <http://www.world prayers.org> (26 July 2007).
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