Tradition says people pray in order to praise and thank God, express sorrow and ask forgiveness, or ask for what they want for themselves and others. Basically, we human beings pray because we are hard-wired to pray. It is in our natures to reach out to What is beyond us and to enter into a relationship with That which we call God.
The aim of this collection of prayers is to provide examples of how some individuals and communities have expressed their longings for God and, thus, to encourage those who use it to make those words their own or to find their own words and ways to pray.
See all prayers and reflections
Recent reflections
- Lenten reflection: What we love, we grow to resemble, by Megan Sheehan, communications coordinator, Campus Ministry
- Praying for peace in complex times: A Lenten reflection, by Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther, senior mission and Ignatian leadership specialist
- Student Reflection: Campus Ministry has shaped me, by Elizabeth Killian, senior in the College of Education
- Reflection: The importance of presence and availability, by Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther, senior mission and Ignatian leadership specialist
- Encountering God in the silence — a reflection on the silent retreat, by Megan Sheehan, communications coordinator, Campus Ministry
- A reflection on Pope Francis's World Day of Peace message, by Rev. T. Michael McNulty, S.J., Center for Peacemaking scholar in residence
- Podcast: To Bethlehem, we go, read by Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther, senior mission and Ignatian leadership specialist
- PUT AWAY YOUR DEVICES AND... Look up, by Rev. Ryan Duns, S.J.
- Advent reflections:
- Week 4: God is with us – for real? A reflection for next week, the last week of Advent, by Sr. Anne Arabome, SSS, associate director of the Faber Center
- Week 3: Watching, listening, pondering — a third week of Advent reflection, by Sara Knutson, assistant director of Campus Ministry
- Week 2:
- Week 1: A first week of Advent reflection, by Rev. Frederick Zagone, S.J., university chaplain
- An Invitation to Count our Blessings, by Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther
- An All Soul's Day reflection, by Rev. Frederick Zagone, S.J.
- Home and Coming Home, by Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther
- Growing with an empty nest: An Ignatian reflection from one parent to another, by Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther
- A Mass of the Holy Spirit homily, by Rev. Fred Zagone, S.J.
- A move-in and back-to-school blessing
- A back-to-school reflection and prayer for positivity, by Rev. Joseph G. Mueller, S.J.
- A Feast of St. Ignatius reflection, by Rev. Fred Zagone, S.J.
- A prayer for healing after recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio
- Jesuit family values, by Alyssa Duetsch, student in the Diederich College of Communication
- How Christians Can Use Mindfulness and Prayer to Achieve Balance, by President Michael R. Lovell
