A Prayer for Colorado

The prayer below was written by the president of Regis University, a Jesuit school located in Denver, Colorado.

Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, let us pray for the safety and quick return of all our troops, and let us also keep in mind the great words of St. Augustine "The purpose of all war in peace."


Prayer for Our Troops
Lord, please hold our troops in
your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for
the selfless act they perform
for us in our time of need.

We ask this in the name of
Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Amen.

Shocking the Audience with "The Prayer"

Simon, the other judges, and the entire audience laughed as this boy and his friend came on stage. But then those laughs quickly turned to applause and tears when Jonathan and Charlotte started to sing.

Its gone viral with 6 million hits.

Prayers for Memorial Day

Prayer for Our Troops

Lord, please hold our troops in
your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for
the selfless act they perform
for us in our time of need.

We ask this in the name of
Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Amen.

Prayer on  Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day
Grant peace to the souls
of all those soldiers who died in war.
We remember the tears and grief of their families,
The pain of mothers, wives, husbands and children
Who lost precious loved ones.

To build a meaningful memorial to them,
We ask God to give us all the will
To work for peace around the world
So no more sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, nor mothers
Are slaughtered by the guns and bombs of war.

We ask Mary, who held the lifeless body of her son
And was pierced by the sorrow of his suffering and death,
To grant us the compassion and wisdom to affirm life
And honor the dead through forgiveness and peace making.

May God have mercy on the souls of the departed.
Grant them peace, O Lord.

May we have mercy on the living.
Grant us peace, O Lord.
In Your name we pray.
Amen.

A Great Prayer

I came across this great prayer over the weekend.  It was written by Thomas Merton, a Catholic convert, Cistercian monk (Trappist), prevalent writer, and spirituality master. (bio here)

Prayer for Discerning God's Will

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 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.

There will I 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

The Rosary Provides Comfort at a Tense Moment

The New York Times is reporting that as U.S. military forces began their mission to kill or capture Osama bin Laden May 1, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. “fingered his rosary beads” in the Situation Room of the White House.

The Vice President, a Catholic, is said to carry his rosary with him at all times and recite it daily.

Good Quotes on Prayer

Prayer as a Personal Relationship

"This mystery (The Creed, Mass, and God) then, requires that the faithful believe in it, that they celebrate it, and that they live from it in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer. -- CCC, 2558

The Heart of Prayer

The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Biblical expression, the heart is the place "to which I withdraw." The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant. – CCC, 2563

Vocal Prayer

“Vocal Pray seeks molds our interior state with our outward words.” – Fr. Boylan

Meditation

"We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble." - St Teresa of Avila

Contemplation

“To find one’s self by losing one’s self that is contemplation” - Thomas Merton

Prayer Assignment

Click the link below to access the Powerpoint notes on Prayer from Chapters 31, 32, and 33.  Read the chapters in the textbook and PowerPoint notes in preparation for a quiz on Monday 4/4 or Tuesday 4/5.

Link: PowerPoint notes on Prayer