Monday's Message

Loving God,
You are the giver of all we possess,
the source of all of our blessings.
We thank and praise you.

Thank you for the gift of our children.

Help us to set boundaries for them,
and yet encourage them to explore.
Give us the strength and courage to treat
each day as a fresh start.

May our children come to know you, the one true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

May your Holy Spirit help them to grow
in faith, hope, and love,
so they may know peace, truth, and goodness.

May their ears hear your voice.
May their eyes see your presence in all things.
May their lips proclaim your word.
May their hearts be your dwelling place.
May their hands do works of charity.
May their feet walk in the way of Jesus Christ,your Son and our Lord.
Amen.

Source: A Parent's Prayer – Loyola Press

Build us sons, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when they are weak and brave enough to face themselves when they are afraid; sons who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build us sons whose wishbones will not be where there backbones should be; sons who will know Thee – and that know themselves is the foundation stone of knowledge.  Lead them, we pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.  Here let them learn compassion for those who fail.

Build us sons whose hearts will be clear, whose goals will be high; sons who will master themselves before they will seek to master others; sons who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; sons who will reach into the future yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are theirs, add, we pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that they may always be serious, yet never take themselves too seriously.  Give them humility, so that they may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.