PRAYERS
Prayer for Youth and Young Adults
Lord Jesus,
in journeying towards the Synod, your Church
turns her attention to all the young people of the world.
We pray that they might boldly take charge of their lives,
aim for the most beautiful and profound things of life
and always keep their hearts unencumbered.
Accompanied by wise and generous guides, help them respond to
the call you make to each of them,
to realize a proper plan of life and achieve happiness.
Keep their hearts open to dreaming great dreams
and make them concerned for the good of others.
Like the Beloved Disciple, may they stand at the foot of the Cross,
to receive your Mother as a gift from you.
May they be witnesses to your Resurrection
and be aware that you are at their side
as they joyously proclaim you as Lord.
Amen.
Pope Francis. 2018. Prayer for Youth and Young Adults. http://www.synod.va/content/synod2018/en/pope---young/prayer-of-the-pope1.html
Star of the New Evangelization Prayer
Mary, Virgin and Mother,
you who, moved by the Holy Spirit,
welcomed the word of life
in the depths of your humble faith:
as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One,
help us to say our own “yes”
to the urgent call, as pressing as ever,
to proclaim the good news of Jesus.
Filled with Christ’s presence,
you brought joy to John the Baptist,
making him exult in the womb of his mother.
Brimming over with joy,
you sang of the great things done by God.
Standing at the foot of the cross
with unyielding faith,
you received the joyful comfort of the resurrection,
and joined the disciples in awaiting the Spirit
so that the evangelizing Church might be born.
Obtain for us now a new ardour born of the resurrection,
that we may bring to all the Gospel of life
which triumphs over death.
Give us a holy courage to seek new paths,
that the gift of unfading beauty
may reach every man and woman.
Virgin of listening and contemplation,
Mother of love, Bride of the eternal wedding feast,
pray for the Church, whose pure icon you are,
that she may never be closed in on herself
or lose her passion for establishing God’s kingdom.
Star of the new evangelization,
help us to bear radiant witness to communion,
service, ardent and generous faith,
justice and love of the poor,
that the joy of the Gospel
may reach to the ends of the earth,
illuminating even the fringes of our world.
Mother of the living Gospel,
wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones,
pray for us.
Amen. Alleluia!
Pope Francis. 2013, November 24. Evangelii Gaudium. http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
Saint Francis of Assisi: The Praises of God
You are the holy Lord God Who does wonderful things.
You are strong. You are great. You are the most high.
You are the almighty king. You holy Father,
King of heaven and earth.
You are three and one, the Lord God of gods;
You are the good, all good, the highest good,
Lord God living and true.
You are love, charity; You are wisdom, You are humility,
You are patience, You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are security, You are rest,
You are gladness and joy, You are our hope, You are justice,
You are moderation, You are all our riches to sufficiency.
You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are the protector, You are our custodian and defender,
You are strength, You are refreshment. You are our hope,
You are our faith, You are our charity,
You are all our sweetness, You are our eternal life:
Great and wonderful Lord, Almighty God, Merciful Savior.
Saint Francis of Assisi. 1205. The Praises of God. https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-saint/writings-of-francis/the-praises-of-god-and-the-blessing/125-fa-ed-1-page-109
Saint Francis of Assisi: Prayer Before the Crucifix
Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me true faith,
certain hope,
and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge,
Lord, that I may carry out
Your holy and true command.
Saint Francis of Assisi. 1205. Prayer Before the Crucifix. https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-saint/writings-of-francis/the-prayer-before-the-crucifix/58-fa-ed-1-page-40
Prayer to be Disciples and Missionaries
Hail Mary...
Lord you left your Mother in our midst that she might accompany us.
May she take care of us and protect us on our journey, in our hearts, in our faith.
May she make us disciples like herself, missionaries like herself.
May she teach us to go out onto the streets.
May she teach us to step outside ourselves...
May she, by her meekness, by her peace, show us the way.
Pope Francis. 2013, July 25. World Youth Day Address. http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2013/july/documents/papa-francesco_20130725_gmg-argentini-rio.html
Prayer for the New Evangelization
Heavenly Father,
pour forth your Holy Spirit to inspire us with these words from Holy Scripture.
Stir in our soul the desire to renew our faith
and deepen our relationship with your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ
so that we might truly believe in and live the Good News.
Open our heart to hear the Gospel
and grant us the confidence to proclaim the Good News to others.
Pour out your Spirit, so that we might be strengthened to go forth
and witness to the Gospel in our everyday life through our words and actions.
In moments of hesitation, remind us:
If not me, then who will proclaim the Gospel?
If not now, then when will the Gospel be proclaimed?
If not the truth of the Gospel, then what shall I proclaim?
God, our Father, we pray that through the Holy Spirit
We might hear the call of the New Evangelization to deepen our faith,
grow in confidence to proclaim the Gospel
and boldly witness to the saving grace of your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2020. Prayer for the New Evangelization. https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/prayers/prayer-for-the-new-evangelization
Blessed John Henry Newman: "The Fragrance Prayer"
Dear Jesus, Help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I will begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine. It will be you, shining on others through me. Let me thus praise you in the way which you love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for you. Amen.
https://www.cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com/teenager-mother-teresa-cardinal-newman/
Saint John Paul II: "Jesus Who Stirs in You"
"It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal."
Come, Lord Jesus. Stir within our hearts and make us missionary disciples in this time and place. Give us unwavering clarity of your presence with us. Set us on a path that leads ourselves and others to you. With your Holy Spirit, may this be done. Amen.
Pope Saint John Paul II. 2000, August 19. World Youth Day Address to the Youth. http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2000/jul-sep/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20000819_gmg-veglia.html