UNIVERSAL PRAYER OPENINGS and CLOSINGS

UNIVERSAL PRAYER OPENINGS and CLOSINGS Tuesday, July 1, 2014 O: As we present our petitions to God, we are filled with the hope that our prayers will be pleasing to him. C: Heavenly Father, we are thankful that you have made it so clear to us that you are always with us. We ask that you help us to become even more conscious of your presence so that we may then share this good news with those we encounter this week. Wednesday, July 2, 2014 O: Let us bring to God our needs, confident that our prayers will be answered in the way that God knows is best for us. C: God of love and mercy, hear the prayers we offer and answer them according to your holy will. Through Thursday, July 3, 2014 O: We place our prayers and petitions before our heavenly Father. C: Lord, we thank you for your everlasting presence in our lives. Bless us always with the grace to replace doubt with faith, hope, and love. Friday, July 4, 2014 O: In one voice, we offer our needs to the Father with these prayers of petition. C: Merciful Father, we ask that you grant these petitions in conformance with your will for us. Through Christ our Lord. Saturday, July 5, 2014 O: Confident that God is at work in our lives to bring us peace, we offer these prayers and petitions for the good of all God s people. C: Heavenly Father, you call us to new life and give us peace through your Son, Jesus. Hear our prayers and answer them according to your will. Through i

Sunday, JULY 6, 2014 O: With one voice we place the needs and cares of the world and those held in the silence of our hearts into the hands of God. C: Blessed are you Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you give to us all good things and supply all that we need in order to build up your Kingdom. Hear our prayers and in your mercy give us relief. Through Monday, July 7, 2014 O: God invites us to come to him and trust in his faithful love, so we bring before him our desires and concerns. C: Father, you use the events of our lives to invite us into a closer relationship with you. Hear our prayers and open our hearts to your response. Through Tuesday, July 8, 2014 O: Remembering the infinite compassion of God, we place our petitions before him with complete trust. C: Almighty God, we offer these petitions with deepest confidence that you will hear and answer them. Wednesday, July 9, 2014 O: As we answer the Lord s call to gather in his name, we petition for his mercy in response to our prayers. C: Father, we trust in your love for us. Help us to follow your Spirit who guides us in our daily lives in the true ways of peace. Thursday, July 10, 2014 O: As we reach out to the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father in prayer, let us humbly offer him our needs and the needs of others. C: Holy Father, with love and mercy we ask for these prayers to be answered. ii

Friday, July 11, 2014 O: Let us approach the Father with our needs in the hope of being united with him in eternity. C: God our Father, through the intercession of Saint Benedict, grant us enduring faith and strength to live according to your will. We pray you hear and answer our prayers according to your will. Through Christ our Lord. Saturday, July 12, 2014 O: Father, we offer you our needs and those of our sisters and brothers. C: Loving God we offer you our prayers and ask that you hear and answer them. Sunday, July 13, 2014 O: Let us turn to God to whom we entrust our needs, as the challenges of bearing good fruit are met by his great love. C: Loving Father, you know the needs of your people. We confidently wait in joyful hope for your response to our petitions. Monday, July 14, 2014 O: Let us present our needs and desires to the Heavenly Father, who is the source of all good things C: Hear us, oh God, as we place our needs and desires before you. Tuesday, July 15, 2014 O: With firm faith, let us place our prayers before God. C: Loving and compassionate Father, hear our prayers and grant them as you see fit. Wednesday, July 16, 2014 O: As willing servants of God and our neighbors, let us approach God with the needs of our world community. C: Merciful God, hear these prayers on behalf of your troubled world. iii

Thursday, July 17, 2014 O: We bring our cares and concerns to God our creator, who is always ready to receive our prayers. C: Father, be with us as we seek to do your will. Hear our prayers this day, both spoken and still within the silence of our hearts. Friday, July 18, 2014 O: With faith and hope we bring our petitions and those of all people to our merciful God. C: Patient and loving God, with faith and hope we place these prayers before you seeking your help to become a merciful people as you are a merciful God. Saturday, July 19, 2014 O: May we love and obey the Father as we offer him our prayers of petition. C: Heavenly Father, as we strive to reach your heavenly Kingdom, hear and answer the prayers we place before you. Sunday, July 20, 2014 O: As we strive to live our faith in this world, let us bring our petitions to the Lord. C: Father, we bring you all these petitions, trusting in the great mercy revealed to us by your Son. Through Monday, July 21, 2014 O: We offer our prayers and petitions with confidence to our loving Father. C: Heavenly Father, we offer these our prayers and intentions in the firm belief in the compassionate love you have for your children. Tuesday, July 22, 2014 O: Trusting in the mercy and love of the Father, let us bring our concerns to him. C: Merciful Father, your love rains down on us each day, hear our prayers today. iv

Wednesday, July 23, 2014 O: Together in faith, we ask God, our Father, to hear our humble prayers. C: Loving Father, you know our joy rests in doing your will. Bless us with your wisdom and give us hope. Thursday, July 24, 2014 O: Trusting in God's great love and concern for us, we place our prayers of petition in his hands. C: Heavenly Father, your divine providence knows no bounds. We humbly offer our thanksgiving for the graces we receive in answer to our petitions. Friday, July 25, 2014 O: The Apostles placed great trust in God through all their hardships. Let us imitate them by placing our petitions before the Lord. C: Heavenly Father, thank you for hearing our prayers. Please answer them according to your will. Through Saturday, July 26, 2014 O: The Lord calls us to prepare ourselves to dwell with him eternally, and so we offer our petitions to him. C: God of patience and love, look favorably on the prayers of this assembly as we strive to grow in Christian charity. Sunday, July 27, 2014 O: Aware of our need for the grace of God to strengthen our resolve for the Kingdom, we turn to him in humble petition. C: God our Father, you sent your Son Jesus to bring the Good News of the Kingdom. Hear our humble petitions that we may live in a manner worthy of that Kingdom. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord. Monday, July 28, 2014 O: God is the giver of all things. Turning to him, we offer these prayers and needs. C: Beloved Father, we thank you for your goodness and we ask that you hear and answer these prayers. v

Tuesday, July 29, 2014 O: Together as a community built in love and faith, let us offer our merciful Father our prayers. C: Loving Father, you know all that is in our hearts. Help us to come to you knowing that you will show us the way. Wednesday, July 30, 2014 O: Confident in the Father s love and mercy, let us turn to him with all of our needs. C: Heavenly Father, we ask that you hear and answer our prayers as we strive to build up your Kingdom on earth. Thursday, July 31, 2014 O: With humility we ask our all-loving and all-forgiving God for help and guidance in these our needs. C: Great and loving God, we are reminded today of both your awesome power and your unwavering love. Help us to live according to your plan for us, that we may be pleasing to you. Through Christ our Lord. Friday, August 1, 2014 O: With one voice, we offer God our needs and the needs of our brothers and sisters. C: Heavenly Father, hear and answer our prayers as we open ourselves to your voice through your word and through the witness of those you call. Through Saturday, August 2, 2014 O: God, you know us and you know what we need to be holy. C: Lord our God, open our eyes to the truth of your word that we may become the people you created us to be. Sunday, August 3, 2014 O: We ask God for what we need as we offer him our prayers of petition. C: We asked that you hear and answer the prayers we bring to you this day in the name of the one who showed us the depth of your love, Jesus, your Son. vi

Monday, August 4, 2014 O: Our God is always with us, and always desires what is best for us. Confessing our weaknesses and fears, we offer our needs and petitions to him. C: Loving Father, you know of our thoughts and desires and are aware of our needs. Hear and answer these prayers for ourselves and our world. Tuesday, August 5, 2014 O: Coming together as one, let us present our needs to God, our loving Father. C: Heavenly Father, in recognition of our dependence on you for all good things, we ask that you hear and answer our prayers. Wednesday, August 6, 2014 O: Merciful God, we offer our prayers for the needs of our sisters and brothers throughout the world. C: Loving God, hear us and if it be your will grant these prayers. Thursday, August 7, 2014 O: Lord, you have written your laws and the promise of your salvation into our hearts. Read now our hearts as we come to you with our needs. C: Grant us, Lord, the promises of your covenant and help us to live according to your just laws. Through Friday, August 8, 2014 O: Knowing our God is merciful, we draw close to him as we present our needs and the needs of our world. C: Loving God, we seek to be faithful. Hear our petitions and form our hearts in obedience to you. Saturday, August 9, 2014 O: With generous hearts, let us raise our voices to the Father, praying for all in need. C: Father of mercy and justice we ask you to hear and answer these prayers. vii

Sunday, August 10, 2014 O: We seek the calming presence of God in our lives as we pray for our needs and those of the world. C: Heavenly Father, hear these prayers we bring to you. Judge them not by the measure of our merit, but in the light of your infinite mercy. Through Monday, August 11, 2014 O: With confidence and trust, let us bring our prayers and petitions before the eternal Father. C: Almighty God, as you once heard the prayers of your Son Jesus, hear now our prayers and in your great love answer them. Tuesday, August 12, 2014 O: Let us bring our needs before our Heavenly Father with the sure confidence of children approaching their loving parents. C: Loving Father, hear our petitions as we trust in your unfailing mercy and love. Wednesday, August 13, 2014 O: Let us humbly and faithfully place our petitions before the Father. C: Heavenly Father, hear and answer our prayers. Thursday, August 14, 2014 O: Let us bring our innermost petitions to the Father. C: Eternal Father, you see and hear all that we do. We beseech you to answer all the needs present in our hearts. Friday, August 15, 2014 O: Confident in the intercession of Mary and the faithfulness of the Father, let us turn to him with our petitions. C: Heavenly Father, hear the prayers of your humble servants and answer them if it be your will. May we be strengthened this day to do your will and to give you praise so that we might reign with you one day in heaven. viii

Saturday, August 16, 2014 O: Let us place our prayers before God, confident that he hears and loves us, his children. C: Heavenly Father, Your children place their prayers before you in the confident hope of your loving mercy. Sunday, August 17, 2014 O: Like the woman in the Gospel who humbly sought the help of Jesus to cure her daughter, we, too, seek God s help as we bring our prayers before the altar. C: Lord our God, we know that you are with us as we go through our journey in life. Hear our prayers and grant them according to what is best for us. Monday, August 18, 2014 O: Having the grace to do God s will is our greatest opportunity to live good Christian lives. We ask for those things which will draw us even closer to the Lord. C: Father, we seek to know your will as we pray for our needs and the needs of others. Through Christ our Lord. Tuesday, August 19, 2014 O: Let us come before the Lord and offer him our petitions. C: Almighty God, we are thankful that you hear our prayers. Send the Holy Spirit to empower each of us as we seek to serve you. Through Christ, our Lord. Wednesday, August 20, 2014 O: God has told us to bring our needs to him and on this day, we now do so in the following prayers. C: O God, hear and answer our prayers as we thank you and ask you to help us increase our own generosity toward others. Thursday, August 21, 2014 O: With one voice, we pray to the Father for ourselves and those around us. C: Father, hear and answer the prayers of your sinful people. ix

Friday, August 22, 2014 O: Confident of our Father's mercy and generosity, let us bring our petitions before him. C: Heavenly Father, hear and answer the prayers of those servants gathered here who ask all in the name of your Son. Saturday, August 23, 2014 O: Let us confidently present our petitions to our Father in heaven. C: Loving Father, bless us by granting these petitions. Sunday, August 24, 2014 O: Trusting in God, who is our source of love that is eternal, we bring him our prayers of petition. C: Gracious God, we know that you do things for our good. May we always accept your will for us. Monday, August 25, 2014 O: Encouraged by the promise of God to answer when we ask, we present these petitions. C: Heavenly Father, we lift up our prayers to you with trusting hearts. Help us to know your will in all things. Tuesday, August 26, 2014 O: We come with confidence before the Father to ask for what we need. We have faith that He will hear us. C: Almighty God, look kindly on the people in your Church, hear the prayers we offer and grant our humble petitions. Wednesday, August 27, 2014 O: Through the example of Saint Monica, we present our needs to the Father. C: Heavenly Father, we thank you for hearing our prayers. We seek the grace to serve you and give witness of your love to others. Through Christ our Lord. x

Thursday, August 28, 2014 O: We are called to be faithful servants of the Lord, and so we offer him our needs. C: God our Father, hear our prayers as we strive to be good stewards of the many gifts that you have given us. Friday, August 29, 2014 O: Moved by God s grace, let us place our needs in his care. C: Heavenly Father, though you transcend the entire universe, you love us so much that you listen to our every prayer. Answer these our petitions according to your will. Saturday, August 30, 2014 O: Let us turn to God with our needs and ask him to grant our petitions. C: Gracious God, we look to you to grant all that we ask. Sunday, August 31, 2014 O: With confidence, we humbly bring our petitions before our God. C: Heavenly God, help us to experience the joy of being like your Son in every part of our lives. Monday, September 1, 2014 O: We offer these prayers to our heavenly Father with confidence in his providential love for his children. C: We offer these prayers and intentions to our loving and merciful Father, ever confident of his compassionate care for his children. Through Tuesday, September 2, 2014 O: Confident of the Father s love for us, we place our petitions before him. C: Almighty God, hear the prayers your children place before you, in obedience, in humility, and in the certain hope of your mercy. xi

Wednesday, September 3, 2014 O: Let us approach the Father with confidence as we present our needs. C: Heavenly Father, we ask that you look upon your people, and these petitions, with favor today. Let us become strong in faith and in serving you. Through Thursday, September 4, 2014 O: Together let us bring our petitions to the Father, from whom all good things come. C: Father in heaven, hear the prayers of your children. We trust in your goodness. Friday, September 5, 2014 O: Recognizing that God is our strength and our salvation we offer him our prayers of C: Gracious God, you lavish us with your love and embrace us with your compassion. Hear our prayers and answer them according to your will. Saturday, September 6, 2014 O: Knowing that the Lord is always concerned about us, we present our needs in prayer to him. C: Father, you made your Son, Jesus, Lord of all. Through him, we give our lives to you. Through him, we present our prayers to you. Hear and answer them. Sunday, September 7, 2014 O: With confidence and trust let us bring our prayers of petition before our eternal Father. C: Almighty and eternal God, our salvation comes from you alone. As you watch over the lives of your people, let us once again experience the transforming and strengthening power of your Holy Spirit. xii

Monday, September 8, 2014 O: Seeking to lead lives that give glory, honor, and praise to God, let us offer our prayers for our needs and those of the world to our loving Father in heaven. C: Almighty God and Father, in your goodness and love hear and answer the prayers which we offer to you through your Son Jesus Christ. Tuesday, September 9, 2014 O: As disciples of Jesus let us call on God on behalf of our brothers and sisters who are in need. C: Merciful God, in your goodness hear us and answer our prayers. Wednesday, September 10, 2014 O: Father, we bring to you our needs. C: God of the poor and downtrodden, hear our cry and come to our aid. Change our hearts that we may more closely follow you. Thursday, September 11, 2014 O: Let us place in prayer the needs of all of God s children before the Father who created us. C: Eternal Father, you created us in your image. Hear our prayers and answer all of them according to your holy will. Friday, September 12, 2014 O: Let us respond to today s Gospel by opening our hearts to the needs of our sisters and brothers as we pray on their behalf. C: Loving God, in your great mercy you provide for us. In faith we present the needs of your people knowing that you will hear and answer our prayers. Saturday, September 13, 2014 O: In our petitions we are united as we place them before the Father. C: Heavenly Father, hear and answer the prayers of those gathered today. xiii

Sunday, September 14, 2014 O: We look to the Cross as our symbol of hope in the world and offer our prayers to God who loves us. C: God of all, we praise you. Strengthen us in times of difficulty and challenge. We ask you to hear and answer our prayers. Monday, September 15, 2014 O: As we walk with Our Lady of Sorrows, let us bring the following petitions to the Lord. C: Father in heaven, trusting in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, we ask all of these things. Through Tuesday, September 16, 2014 O: Knowing God s compassion for all creation, we have the courage to present to him our needs. C: God of all mercy and compassion, hear this cry for help from your people here and all in need, and answer according to your will. Wednesday, September 17, 2014 O: As we try to be true followers of God by living in love, we ask his assistance as we place our needs before him. C: Heavenly Father, help us to remember that we will be judged by how we loved one another. Please hear our prayers which we have placed before you today. Thursday, September 18, 2014 O: As a people aware of our failings, we offer prayers to our generous and forgiving Father in heaven. C: God our Father, hear our prayers and fill our hearts with patience, forgiveness and mercy. Through Friday, September 19, 2014 O: In loving trust, we offer the Father our petitions. C: Lord, we trust in your generosity as we present these petitions. Grant that we follow in all your teachings as well. xiv

Saturday, September 20, 2014 O: We ask the Lord to guide our faith and our prayers as we present our intentions. C: Lord, through the parables of seeds, you show us the importance of developing our faith. Guide us in this task and hear our prayers. Sunday, September 21, 2014 O: Trusting that the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in kindness, let us offer our prayers for our needs and those of the world to God the almighty Father. C: Father, hear and answer our prayers and grant us the grace needed to lead lives which are holy and pleasing to you. We ask this through Monday, September 22, 2014 O: Let us bring before the Heavenly Father our prayers for ourselves and for the world. C: Holy God, hear our prayers and help us always to turn to you in our need. We do this now as we offer these petitions. Tuesday, September 23, 2014 O: We ask the Father to hear the prayers of his children gathered here today. C: Almighty God, instill in us a clean heart so that we may serve you and those in need. Through Christ our Lord. Wednesday, September 24, 2014 O: Humbly we ask the Father for our needs and those of the Church, trusting that whatever God supplies will be adequate. C: Lord God, you provide for all our needs. Hear our prayers and answer our petitions in the way that is most beneficial for our souls. Thursday, September 25, 2014 O: Let us offer our prayers to our Heavenly Father who always desires to give us what we need. C: Lord our God, you give us everything we need in this life. Hear our prayers and grant them according to your holy will. xv

Friday, September 26, 2014 O: God knows that which we need in order to make our way to him. So, with confidence, we pray. C: God of all times, we offer to you the time we are currently in and ask that you bless us in it so that it will lead us to you. Saturday, September 27, 2014 O: Burdened by our cares and the needs of so many people around us, we place them before Almighty God. C: Lord God, accept the prayers we humbly offer and help us to know your will in all things. Through Christ our Lord. Sunday, September 28, 2014 O: Let us offer prayers to our merciful Father who cares even for those who are the least among us. C: Loving God, we offer these prayers and those within the silence of our hearts knowing that you hear us and care for us. Monday, September 29, 2014 O: With faith hope and love, we place our petitions before the Father. C: God of mercy and compassion, hear the prayers which we place before you and answer them according to your will. Through Christ or Lord. Tuesday, September 30, 2014 O: As people who love our God and desire to serve him, we lift up these petitions to the Father. C: Thank you Heavenly Father for the great gifts you have given us. We know you are the source of our strength and of our faith. Please hear our prayers being offered to you as we seek to grow in faith and love. xvi