PRAYERS to use with students

• Dear Lord, we pray for all those who cannot cope with life anymore and wish to do themselves harm. Give them the strength to see that there is more than this life and that they can live life to the full with your help. Amen

• Dear Lord, have mercy on poor sinners who do not realise that freedom is not about doing what you want but about being free from sin. Help all of us to look upon Heaven and the things that are most important in life. Amen

• Angel sent by God to guide me, be my light and walk beside me. Be my guardian and protect me and from the evil one defend me. Amen.

• Dear Lord, please watch over with a special care all those Christians in many countries throughout the world, who are being tortured, torn away from their families, discredited and even killed for believing in you. Give them and their families the peace and courage, which can only come from you. Amen.

• Father, for the sake of the sorrowful passion of your Son, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen.

• My God, I believe and hope in you and adore you. I pray for all those who do not believe, or hope or adore and ask forgiveness on their behalf. Amen.

• Lord, your sufferings showed us not only that you love us but also that suffering can be used for the salvation of sinners. I offer you now all the sufferings that I will go through in my life, in union with your sufferings for those who do not believe in you, who continue to fight you and your commandment of love and respect for human life. Amen.

• Lord, we pray for all the street kids of the world, especially those in Australia. We pray for all those in their lives who caused them to seek refuge on the streets in the first place. Please help the Church in her attempts in providing comfort for these children. We especially pray for all the workers of the different charitable associations such as the St Vincent de Paul and Anglicare. Amen.

• Dear Jesus, the Holy Family was and continues to be a perfect model for families today when so many families are suffering from disunion, financial difficulties, troubled youth, alcoholism and child abuse and domestic violence. Please inspire all families to turn to you in their need and to pray as a family since that is the only way families will be able to find peace and harmony. Help us not to think that materialism is the way to happiness. Amen.

• Dear Lord, we pray for women and children throughout the world who are abused because of their gender and age. We especially pray for those on third world countries whose rights are not respected and who undergo unnecessary suffering and hardship. Please help the governments in the world support all, regardless of gender or age with justice. Amen.

• Lord, we pray for all the souls in purgatory. May your light shine on them and bring them to eternal happiness with you in Heaven. We ask this especially for deceased family members who may still be in need of our prayers. Amen.

• Merciful Father, you desire the unity of all Christians. Send your Holy Spirit to guide all Christians to work toward this unity not by force but through prayer and humility. Amen.

• Lord, you said that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that only the pure of heart will see God. Please have mercy on all those who make profit from and promote prostitution, pornography and the sexual exploitation of children. Please help those involved in the media to make mature decisions about what they produce and make available to the public not only regarding the contents of magazines but of television shows and the cinema. Help all of us to see that the body is not an object and should be treated with respect. Amen.

• Lord, we pray for all the children and teenagers in the world. Do not allow war, famine, peer pressure, family instability, pornography or any other cause to take away their childhood innocence and their ability to imagine a better world. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE DYING

My Crucified Jesus! Mercifully accept the prayer which I now make to You for help in the moment of death of all people.

At that time Lord, when all our senses shall fail us and our weary and downcast eyes can no longer look upon You, remember this loving gaze which I turn on You now and have mercy on us.

And when our lifeless hands can no longer embrace your cross, forget not the affection with which I embrace it now and have mercy on us.

And when our parched lips can no longer kiss Your Precious Wounds remember those kisses I now imprint on them and have mercy on us.

At length when our swollen and lifeless tongue can no longer speak remember that I called on you now saying ‘Heart of Jesus once in agony, have mercy on the dying’.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, to you I commend the soul of all those who are dying at this moment.