CFAD Prayers

Dear Lord,

We thank you for the individuals you have sent to support CFAD and the Catholic organizations served by CFAD. These supporters fill us with joy and gratitude, and we hope they feel the same by the stewardship they live. Through their gifts, they strengthen the Catholic faith in providing for those carrying out the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Through their thoughtful generosity in giving to or creating a fund at CFAD, they multiply their gift as CFAD leverages it to help Catholic organizations now and in the future.

We ask you to bless our supporters and that they turn to you, Lord, in their struggles and their joys and for your grace for whatever needs they hold in their hearts. We ask they feel comfortable in reaching out to CFAD to discuss their wishes for the faith and how their giving helps.May God the Father prepare their journey, Jesus the Son guide their footsteps and the Holy Spirit watch over them on every path they follow.

All praise to you, Lord, and we ask this in your Son's name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Learn how your gift to your favorite Catholic organization can have a ripple effect on the faith.

O Blessed Virgin Mary,

We ask you, who prayed to strengthen the faith of the first disciples, to obtain for the Church in the United States an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, to guide us in a new evangelization.

Help us teach the faith in such a way that the members of the church today will truly be Christ's disciples of this new millennium, drawing people throughout the world to the saving message and power of Christ.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord. Amen. Mary, Star of Evangelization, pray for us.

(copyright USCCB; used with permission)

What are your hopes for our Church? What can we do together to help meet those wishes?

O Lord, my God, you are infinitely, consistently and perfectly wise. We thank you for the attorneys, financial planners, accountants and other advisors who help individuals be good stewards of your gifts to them. We pray that these advisors give witness to you through their trustworthiness, honesty, knowledge of subject and wise advice. Be with them, Lord, as they understand their clients' needs and wishes, assisting them with plans that provide for loved ones and needs of their community. Bless these advisors' businesses that their work glorify you. Let the majesty of the Father be the light that guides them, the compassion of the Son be the love that inspires them and the presence of the Spirit be the strength that empowers them. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

We invite advisors to explore the resources and tools we have to help them and their clients.

God, in Baptism you called me by name and made me a member of your people, the Church.
Help all your people to know their vocation in life, and to respond by living a life of holiness.
For your greater glory and for the service of your people, raise up dedicated and generous leaders
who will serve as sisters, priests, brothers, deacons, and lay ministers.

Send your Spirit to guide and strengthen me that I may serve your people, following the example of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name I offer this prayer. Amen.

(copyright Loyola Press; used with permission)

Learn how your gift to CFAD's vocation funds make an impact and help people follow God's call.

O Christ, our Teacher,

You invite Your faithful people to make disciples in Your name and to announce good news to the poor. We thank You for the gift of Catholic schools, where the message of Your life, death, and resurrection is proclaimed, Christian community is experienced, service to our brothers and sisters is modeled, and worship of You is cultivated.

Increase our zeal for ensuring that all children and families can benefit from a high quality Catholic education, and that Catholic schools grow in their ability to nurture the soul of our nation.

Bless the teachers and staff at our schools, providing them Your love, guidance and patience. May they know the gratitude of the parents who entrust these teachers to be partners in the formation of their children.

We ask this through the intercession of Our Lady, Mother of Catholic Schools. Amen.

Adapted From: University of Notre Dame, Alliance for Choice in Education

Establishing or giving to a Catholic education scholarship fund is easy. Learn more about options here.

Heavenly Father, people encounter you in their daily lives through their Catholic parishes. Here, we hear your word, we receive you in the Eucharist and we, your people, are united in a family of believers. In these ways through you, our parish nourishes and strengthens our bodies and souls, filling us with your love and grace so that we may tell the world of you. We thank you for the abundant blessings you have given to our parishes and pray that we may continue to faithfully serve you. Keep us open to our need of your love and fellowship. Help us to continue to work together to serve you and each other for the good of the Church, for the people of our parishes and for your greater glory. Bless our priests, deacons, parish staff and all the faithful who work together in your mission. Amen.

Many parishes have endowments with CFAD, supporting them now and for the long term.

Lord, today those who bury our dead wake to a new day. Please grant them the patience to go through today with calm empathy for those they comfort during the most distraught moments. May they listen, console and heal, and may your strength, Lord, be there for them and show through them. May they be just, fair and honest. May they care for the dead in a dignified manner. May they never forget that we are all your creation. And thus my Lord, I ask that you watch over these caretakers' families, embracing them within your loving arms and be their strength, as their families learn to understand the commitment to the profession. Lord, may you distinguish these caretakers' faces that fateful day, whereupon they will be by your glorious presence. We pray in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Adapted from The Undertaker's Prayer: Lauren's Version

We are humbled to be stewards of many of the perpetual care funds for our Catholic cemeteries.
Please contact us with questions you may have regarding these funds.

Spirit of God, we have heard your call to share in building up the Kingdom of God.
Fill us with the desire to change ourselves and to change the world.
Enflame our passion for justice into a commitment to address unjust situations and structures.
Deepen our concern for our sisters and brothers in America and overseas who endure the burdens of poverty, war, exploitation and persecution.

Let us enthusiastically play our part in the mission of the Church in the modern world.
Banish any complacency in our hearts and minds. Teach us to recognize the lack of justice.
May we always act in the Spirit of justice. May we envisage, pray about and create a different sort of world in which injustice is replaced with a renewed sense of solidarity and care.
Enlivened by the Spirit, may we go forth in the peace of the Holy Spirit to love and serve the Lord.

Amen.

From: Social Justice Resource Center

Social justice funds at CFAD help many in need each year thanks to generous donors who established them.

Loving God, each day as I step further into my future, give me the courage, knowledge and patience that I need. Remind me that you always journey with me. Thank you for the gift of my life. May the way I live be my gift back to you with your love and guidance. Lord, in you I am transformed. Use me to transform your world. When there are needs, guide me to see how I can help. Show me the good path that I may walk in confidence in your wisdom and understanding. Lord of all charity, awaken me. Teach me of the unending return on my sacrifice that I may rejoice more fully in my giving. Lord, you are just and merciful. Awaken in us a heart of justice and mercy, spreading your hope and love to the world. Amen.

Learn more on how to create a fund for a Catholic need you'd like to see met.

Lord, guide CFAD and those who lead it. May they listen to the needs of the organizations they serve and the wishes for the faith from their donors. Give them joy and enthusiasm as they connect with others and provide direction and creativity to carry out CFAD's mission and vision. Help them continue to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to them and that these resources have a multiplier effect in working for your Kingdom.
 
We pray the prayer of intercession to CFAD's patroness saint:
 
 St. Katharine Drexel, we ask for your prayers before God for the mission of the Catholic Foundation in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. May we listen to God and serve Him with the gifts He has given us on earth, helping those with spiritual and corporal needs, as we prepare our way for eternal life with Him. Saint Katharine Drexel, pray for us. Amen.

Please contact us and let us know how we can serve you.