We are pleased to offer you access to liturgical and school year prayers that you can use at Parent Council meetings, school events or at home with your family.
Dear God and Creator,
We give you thanks as we begin this Thanksgiving weekend for all the blessings in our lives.
Today we are thankful for the many wonderful people in our lives, our family, our friends, and of course our co-workers at the Durham Catholic District School Board.
We thank you for our many material blessings, for food, for shelter, and for our work which provides our lives with meaning.
We thank you, God, for the example of your Son Jesus, who taught us to live well and for teaching us to love deeply.
For these gifts and for many more untold blessings, we give you thanks and we ask you to bless the meal that we are about to share.
We make this prayer in the name of Christ our King. Amen.
Today is All Souls Day. One of the harsh realities of life is that all life eventually comes to an end. Unfortunately, we have all experienced the passing away of a loved one or have known a friend who has suffered through this tragic event. In order to help us deal with our pain associated with the death of a loved one, the Catholic Church has set aside the month of November and particularly All Souls Day where we are encouraged to remember and pray for our loved ones who have died. We pray especially that our loved ones will spend eternity with God in heaven. Today, we pray for ourselves as well and we ask God to give us strength and comfort as we mourn the death of those we have loved.
Remembrance Day is our opportunity to remember and to pay homage to those who died to preserve our freedom. We remember soldiers falling beside their friends... we remember telegrams coming to the doors of neighbours, husbands never to return; sons and daughters whom were loved and lost. We remember these events with pain, but we remember - that their sacrifices will never be taken lightly nor forgotten.
Let Us Pray
Loving God, as we gather here today, may our hearts be full of memories of and gratitude for our countrymen and women who served under the armed forces in wars fought for the freedom we enjoy today. We come here today to remember and to express our gratitude for those who fell in battle and those who, while they may not have died, offered their bodies, hearts, and energies fighting for a better world. Bless all those who gave the best of themselves for our country and be with all those who continue to give of themselves to establish peace and protect the innocent in our world. We ask Lord that you would grace the world with your presence, and may the peace that only you can give be our constant hope. We make our prayers in the name of Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Gracious God, as we come together to share a meal, we rejoice in the precious gift of faith that has brought us here this evening.
Fill us with a renewed strength of purpose, and help us genuinely reflect on the mission to which you have called us.
May the food you now provide for us sustain our bodies.
May your Spirit in our midst enliven our souls.
May the conversations we enjoy stir our hearts.
And may the ideas we share inspire our minds.
Now Lord, bless this food and this community, that we might recognize you in the faces of our companions, and in the breaking of bread.
We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Below are prayers that can be used during the season of Advent.
Let us pray that our faith may be strengthened for the coming of the Lord.
Let us pray that we my experience fully the peace of Christ.
Father in heaven, the day draws near when the birth of your Son will make radiant the night of the waiting world. May his quiet coming fill us with true inner peace. Amen.
Let us pray that we may grow in love for each other as the Lord comes to us.
Let us pray that the newborn Saviour will bring us his love which lasts forever.
Holy Father,
God of our yesterdays, our today, and our tomorrows.
We praise You for Your unequalled greatness.
Thank You for the year behind us and for the year ahead.
Help us in this new year, Father, to worry less and laugh more.
To teach others to laugh by laughing with them.
To teach others to care by caring for them.
Knowing, when Jesus came to the stable in Bethlehem, He came for us.
So that Love could be with us, and we could know You.
That we could share Love with others.
Help us to stop and listen to Your word, so that we may know You better and better.
We rejoice in the world You loved into being.
Thank You for another new year and for new chances every day.
We pray for peace, for light, and for hope, that we might spread them to others.
Forgive us for falling short this past year.
We leave the irreparable past in your hands, and step out into the unknown new year knowing
You will go with us.
We accept Your gift of a new year and we rejoice in what's ahead, depending on You to help us do exactly what You want.
Amen.
Below are prayers for use during Lent and Easter.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, the all-holy one, who gives us life and all things. As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget your presence and your love. We fail to live out the responsibilities that you have entrusted to those who were baptized into your Son. In this holy season of Lent, help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are your children in whom you are well pleased. As we live through this Ash Wednesday, may the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder to us and to those we meet that we belong to your Son. May our almsgiving and prayer and fasting this day be sustained throughout these 40 days of Lent. Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
Amen.
Lent is more than a time of fasting, it can also be a joyous season of feasting.
Lent is a time to fast from certain things, And feast on others.
The Power of One
One song can spark a moment
One flower can wake the dream
One tree can start a forest
One bird can herald spring
One smile begins a friendship
One handclasp lifts a soul
One star can guide a ship at sea
One word can frame the goal
One vote can change a nation
One sunbeam lights a room
One candle wipes out darkness
One laugh will conquer gloom
One step must start each journey
One word must start a prayer
One hope will raise our spirits
One touch can show you care
One voice can speak with wisdom
One heart can know what is true
One Life can make a difference