Prayers for Special Occasions | DAILY PRAYERS

07/11/201827/04/2023

A Mother’s Prayer

Dear Lord, it’s such a hectic day,
with little time to stop and pray.
For life’s been anything but calm,
since You called me to be a mom.
Running errands, matching socks,
building dreams with matching blocks.
Cooking, cleaning and finding shoes
and other stuff that children lose.
Fitting lids on bottled bugs,
wiping tears and giving hugs.
A stack of last week’s mail to read –
so where’s the quiet time I need?
Yet, when I steal a moment,
Lord, just at the sink or ironing board,
to ask the blessings of Your grace,
I see then, in my small one’s face,
that You have blessed me all the while-
and I stoop to kiss… that precious smile.

28/10/201827/04/2023

Victims Of War

To You, creator of nature and humanity, of truth and beauty, I pray:

Hear my voice, for it is the voice of the victims of all wars and violence among individuals and nations;
Hear my voice, for it is the voice of all children who suffer and who will suffer when people put their faith in weapons and war;

Dead Soldiers - Victims of American Civil War

Hear my voice, when I beg you to instil into the hearts of all human beings the vision of peace, the strength of justice and the joy of fellowship;
Hear my voice, for I speak for the multitudes in every country and in every period of history who do not want war and are ready to walk the road of peace;
Hear my voice, and grant insight and strength so that we may always respond to hatred with love, to injustice with total dedication to justice, to need with the sharing of self, to war with peace.

O God, hear my voice, and grant to the world your everlasting peace.

(By Pope St John Paul II)

… Pope St John Paul, Pray For Us …

28/10/201827/04/2023

Trust In Jesus

O Christ Jesus,
when all is darkness
and we feel our weakness and helplessness,
give us the sense of Your presence,
Your love, and Your strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
in Your protecting love
and strengthening power,
so that nothing may frighten or worry us,
for, living close to You,
we shall see Your hand,
Your purpose, Your will through all things. Amen.

(St Ignatius of Loyola)

… Jesus, I Trust In You …

28/10/201827/04/2023

Student’s Prayer

Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.

Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.

Give me a keen 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.

I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(By St Thomas Aquinas)

… St Thomas Aquinas, Pray for Us …

28/10/201827/04/2023

Souls In Purgatory

(Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great that the following prayer would release 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it was said. The prayer was later extended to include living sinners.)

“Eternal Father, I offer You the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen”.

… St Gertrude : Pray For Us …

28/10/201827/04/2023

Protection – St Christopher

Dear Saint Christopher, protect me today
in all my travels along the road’s way.
Give your warning sign if danger is near
so that I may stop while the path is clear.
Be at my window and direct me through
when the vision blurs from out of the blue.
Carry me safely to my destined place,
like you carried Christ in your close embrace.
Amen.

… St Christopher : Pray For Us …

See Also:

More Prayers to St Christopher

Novena to St Christopher

28/10/201827/04/2023

Priesthood – God’s Call

Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?

Let us pray that the most holy mysteries of the risen Christ and of the Spirit, the Paraclete, may enlighten many generous people, ready to serve the Church with greater readiness.

Let us pray for the pastors and their collaborators, that they may find the right words in putting before the faithful the message of the priestly and consecrated life.

Let us pray that in all parts of the Church the faithful may believe with renewed fervour in the Gospel ideal of the priest completely dedicated to the building up of the Kingdom of God: and let us pray that they support such vocations with generosity.

Let us pray for the young people, to whom the Lord extends His invitation to follow Him more closely, that they may not be drawn away by the things of this world, but may open their hearts to the loving voice that is calling them.

Let us pray that they may feel capable of dedicating themselves for their whole lives, “with undivided heart,” to Christ, the Church, and souls.

Let us pray that they may believe that grace gives them the strength to make this gift, and that they may see the beauty and greatness of priestly, religious, and missionary life.

Let us pray for families, that they may succeed in creating a Christian environment favourable to the important religious choices of their children. And at the same time with all our hearts let us thank the Lord that in these recent years, in many parts of the world, many young and not so young people are responding in growing numbers to the divine call.

Let us pray that all priests and religious may be an example and an encouragement to those who have been called, by their availability and humble readiness,…to accept the gifts of the Holy Spirit and to transmit to others the fruits of love and peace, to give them that certainty of faith from which derive the profound understanding of meaning of human existence and the capacity to introduce moral order into the life of individuals and of the human setting.

May your faith be joyful, because it is based on awareness of possessing a divine gift. When you pray and dialogue with God and when you converse with me, [may you] manifest the you of this enviable possession.

(By Pope St John Paul II)

… Pope St John Paul II, Pray for Us …

28/10/201827/04/2023

Priests And Religious – St Paul

For Priests And Religious I

St Paul, great convert and Apostle of the Gentiles,
you became Christ-like and knew only Christ Crucified.
Though extremely learned,
you relied completely on the Wisdom received from the Spirit
and taught from the abundance of your heart.
Instruct modern priests and evangelists
and those who preach Christ to others.
Let them realize that their actions
speak louder than any words they may use.
Teach them to use their talents
in conveying their God-given message
and to rely above all on the promptings of the Spirit. Amen.

Priests And Religious II

St Paul, great convert and Apostle,
guide all priests and religious.
Help them realize that their actions
speak louder than any words.
Teach them to use their talents
to convey God’s message
but to rely above all,
on the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

… St Paul : Pray With Us …

28/10/201827/04/2023

Peace – Pope St John Paul II

Mary, Queen of Peace,
save us all,
who have so much trust in you,
from wars, hatred and oppression.
Make us all learn to live in peace,
do what is demanded by justice
and respect the rights of every person,
so that peace may be firmly established. Amen.

(By Pope St John Paul II)

… Pope St John Paul II : Pray For Us …

28/10/201827/04/2023

Peace – Pope St John XXIII

Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace, who are yourself our peace and reconciliation, who so often said, “Peace to you,” grant us peace.

Make all men and women witnesses of truth,
justice, and brotherly love.
Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace.
Enlighten our rulers that they may guarantee
and defend the great gift of peace.
May all peoples of the earth become as brothers and sisters.
May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all.

(By St Pope St John XXIII)

… Pope St John XXIII, Pray for Us …