Prayers

Today is the beginning of a new day. God has given you this day to do with what you will. You can waste it or use it for good. Tomorrow will come and this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something you have traded. Make sure it's success not failure, gain not loss, good not evil.

Lord Jesus, thank You for blessing me with the ability to play today. You’re my Savior and I strive to be a humble servant as I follow you and your teachings. As I prepare for competition, help me remember that this game is temporary and that my soul, and the souls of my opponents, are eternal. Bless my competition and lead them to You. Please now I ask, with the abilities You’ve blessed me with and the coaching I’ve received, help me play to my fullest potential, earn a fair victory, and glorify You and Your Kingdom. Amen.

God, I offer myself to you – to build with me and to do with me as you desire. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do your will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to your grace. My creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to my team. Grant me strength, as I go out to do your bidding. Amen.

Loving God, the followers of Jesus were filled with zeal to lead others to Christ. Help us to grow in faith and love, so that we as teammates zealously proclaim the Gospel through our joy in play. Inspire our words and our actions so that others may see our love for you and long to know you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Loving Father, I invite you into my life today and make myself available to you. Help me to become the-best-version-of-myself by seeking your will and becoming a living example of your love in the world. Open my heart to the areas of my life that need to change in order for me to carry out the mission and experience the joy you have imagined for my life. Inspire me to live my faith in ways that are dynamic and engaging. Show me how to best get involved in the life of my parish. Make our community hungry for best practices and continuous learning. Give me courage when I am afraid, hope when I am discouraged, and clarity in times of decision. Teach me to enjoy uncertainty and lead your Church to become all you imagined it would be for the people of our times. Amen.

Blessed are you, Lord God, Creator of body and mind and heart; you have sent the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge to guide your people in all their ways.

At the beginning of this new year for school and sports, we implore your mercy: bless the athletes, parents, teachers, coaches and leaders of our community, that together we may grow in faith, hope and love as we learn from you and each other how to follow your Son Jesus. Expand the horizons of our minds, that we may grow in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge; deepen our commitment to seek the truth of your ways; help us to grow physically as we use the gifts and talents you have given us; and enliven our faith to reach out to those in need. Finally, keep us safe from illness and injury as we navigate the seasons ahead.

Glory and praise to you, Lord God, forever and ever. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen

Heavenly Father, we ask that you help our team to grow in the virtue of humility. Help each of us individually, as coaches and players, to glorify God for our talents and gifts while working hard to realize those God-given talents to the best of our ability. Help us always to seek God's will in how we use our talents and gifts for the good of others and help us to submit to the authority of our coaches, parents, and others who truly want us to realize these gifts. Grant that we may become more humble through our practice and games this week. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Heavenly Father, through St. Paul you encourage us to "run so as to win" in our athletic pursuits, while keeping our eyes on the eternal glory of heaven. May we always take the lessons we learn in sports and use them to help us grow in faith, hope and love. Help us to follow the example of your saints, who showed great courage and proclaimed your glory no matter the cost. We lift our prayers to you and ask that you bless our teammates and coaches during this practice and in the week to come. Help us to strive to use our talents to the best of our abilities and to glorify you in doing so. We all these things through Christ, our Lord, Amen.

God, you so loved the world that you sent your Son to take on flesh and become Man. That as one of us He would die for our sins and rise from the dead so that we might have life eternal. We pray especially today in thanksgiving for the gift of life. We pray in thanksgiving for our own lives, for those of our teammates and coaches, and for all those who uphold the dignity of life each day in our world. In word and action, may we always treat our teammates, friends, coaches, opponents and officials with dignity and respect. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Lord, you have called us all to be saints. May our actions here on earth be worthy of this title so that we may one day spend eternity with you in heaven. May we work hard at this practice to use the gifts you have given us and may we always treat each other with love, knowing that each of us is called to be a saint. Bless our parents, teachers and coaches who help us along the way and grant us a fun and safe practice today. Amen.

God, thank you for the many gifts that you have given us and all our friends on this team and in school. Thank you for our parents, teachers and coaches who help us to use our talents and gifts. Help us to constantly give thanks to You for all the blessings we have each day and help us to show this thanks by giving back to other people who are in need. Help us to find ways to help those in need in our schools, our families and our community. We ask that you bless us during practice this week. Amen.

God, thank you for this amazing day. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for the opportunity to live, love, grow, give, and serve our gifts for the greater good of this world. Please help us become all we were created to be. Help us be holy. Help us be saints! Amen.