Prayers at Café Catholica

The first hour of the Café Catholica program includes time for confession and personal prayer in the main sanctuary (from 5:15-6:15 pm). We hope that young adults take time each week to connect with Our Lord through personal prayer. We hope that the list of prayers below will help in that process. Some of these prayers are also available in the weekly Prayer Booklets.

Starting in 2023, we will also be offering confession during the dinner hour from 7:15-8:15 pm. Confession will be available in the main church during this time.

Scripture for Reflection for July 8

Home with Him: Q&A with Cardinal DiNardo

John 14:23: Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

Mark 3:35: “'For whoever has done the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister and mother.'”

John 4:24: “'God is Spirit. And so, those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.'”

John 5:19: “'I tell you the truth: the Son can do nothing on his own; he does only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does.'”

John 8:29: “'He who sent me is with me, and he has not abandoned me alone. For I always do what is pleasing to him.'”

John 14:19: “'I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.'”

1 John 4:7-21: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God‘s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‗I love God‘, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”  

Psalm 27:4-5
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the LORD’s house
all the days of my life,
To gaze on the LORD’s beauty,
to visit his temple.
For God will hide me in his shelter
in time of trouble,
He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;
and set me high upon a rock.

Scripture and Prayers for Reflection for July 15 

Encountering Christ in the Eucharist: Revival of the Heart

1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body."

Romans 10:1-2, 9-10: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another."

Prayer to the Servant of God Carlo Acutis
Dear Father, Who has given us the ardent testimony of the young Servant of God, Carlo Acutis, who made the Eucharist the core of his life and the strength of his daily commitments so that everybody may love You above all else, let him soon be counted among the Blesseds and the Saints in Your Church. Confirm my Faith, nurture my Hope, strengthen my Charity, in the image of young Carlo, who, growing in these virtues, now lives with You. Grant me the grace I really need…. I trust in You, Father, and your Beloved Son Jesus, in the Virgin Mary, our Dearest Mother, and in the intervention of Your Servant, Carlo Acutis….Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

St. Peter Julian Eymard Eucharistic Prayer
Adveniat Regnum Tuum Eucharisticum!
May Thy Eucharistic Kingdom Come!

– St. Peter Julian Eymard

Scripture and Prayers for Reflection on July 22

Restless Heart: Facing Struggles of Identity and Sexuality

Mark 8:36-37: “'What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul.'”

The Peace Prayer of St. Francis (captures the spirit of God’s love):
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

Mark 14:38: “' Watch and pray, so that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'”

Romans 12:1-2: "I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer you bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."​

1 Peter 1:22-23: Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a [pure] heart. You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God.

Romans 8:12-17, 18-21: “So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‗Abba! Father!‘ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.  I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Psalm 107:19-22
In their distress they cried to the LORD,
who saved them in their peril,
Sent forth his word to heal them,
and snatched them from the grave.
Let them thank the LORD for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
Let them offer a sacrifice in thanks,
recount his works with shouts of joy.

Galatians 2:19-21: For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Ephesians 6:10-17: Finally, draw your strength from the LORD and from his mighty power.  Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

(The Hymn to Love)
What if I could speak all languages of humans and of angels? If I did not love others, I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. What if I could prophesy and understand all secrets and all knowledge? And what if I had faith that moved mountains? I would be nothing unless I loved others. What if I gave away all that I owned and let myself be burned alive? I would gain nothing unless I loved others. Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.... For now there are faith, hope, and love. But of these three, the greatest is love.1 Corinthians 13:1-7, 13

An Identity Prayer
Dear God, help me to know who I am. Let me see myself as you see me. As you gaze upon me, show me that you love me in my strengths and my weaknesses. Open my heart so I can you call me “Beloved Daughter” or “Beloved Son”. Then, secure in my identity, let me act so that others see you through me. Rid me of the need to draw attention to myself. May I always point to you. Glory to you forever. Amen. 

Prayer for Purity
Jesus, Lover of chastity, Mary, Mother most pure, and Joseph, chaste guardian of the Virgin, to you I come at this hour, begging you to plead with God for me. I earnestly wish to be pure in thought, word and deed in imitation of your own holy purity. Obtain for me, then, a deep sense of modesty which will be reflected in my external conduct. Protect my eyes, the windows of my soul, from anything that might dim the luster of a heart that must mirror only Christlike purity. And when the "Bread of Angels becomes the Bread of me" in my heart at Holy Communion, seal it forever against the suggestions of sinful pleasures. Heart of Jesus, Fount of all purity, have mercy on us. Amen.

Prayer for Chastity (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Dear Jesus, I know that every perfect gift, and especially that of chastity, depends on the power of Your providence. Without You a mere creature can do nothing. Therefore, I beg You to defend by Your grace the chastity and purity of my body and soul. And if I have ever sensed or imagined anything that could stain my chastity and purity, blot it out, Supreme Lord of my powers, that I may advance with a pure heart in Your love and service, offering myself on the most pure altar of Your divinity all the days of my life. Amen.

Scripture and Prayers for Reflection on July 29

Walking on Water: Trusting God’s Plan in the Midst of Doubt

Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Mark 10:29-30: Amen I say to you, there is no one who has left behind house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or land, for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive one hundred times as much, now in this time: houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land, with persecutions, and in the future age eternal life.

Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you as well.

Luke 10:2: Certainly the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, ask the LORD of the harvest to send workers into his harvest.

John 8:12: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me does not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 10:10: The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life - life in all its fullness.

John 15:5: I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without me, you are able to do nothing.

John 14:1: Do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe in me [Jesus] also.

John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

Psalm 23:1-6
The LORD is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths
for the sake of his name.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.
You set a table before me
in front of my enemies,
You anoint my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the LORD
for endless days.

Prayer of St. Therese of Lisieux
May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

           

For more information contact the Office for Young Adult and Campus Ministry at www.archgh.org/cafecatholica or yacm@archgh.org or 713-741-8778.