Academic Meeting or Event Prayers
To Open a Working Retreat
Come Holy Spirit!
We ask your intercession throughout our retreat as we reflect on our challenges and respective responsibilities. We ask you to help us commit to trust and collaboration so that we may grow as a team for the future of our University.
- Enlighten our minds to the ways we can best serve those we are entrusted to educate and form.
- Bless our conversations with good will, sincerity, and truth.
- Help us see and understand issues which face our institution with clarity and charity.
- Give us wisdom to find solutions and the courage to see them through.
May we be a team united with one goal: To honor You through the noble work of educating our students in the Jesuit Catholic tradition.
We humbly ask in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- Written by Mary Massa and offered by Gary Massa on Sept. 12, 2022
Start of a Meeting
Looking Back
God and Loving God,
As we come to the end of this academic year,
We look back with joy on all of the accomplishments that we have achieved,
We look back and acknowledge losses that have been moments of mourning and remembrance,
We look back with some relief on all of the challenges that we have had to undertake.
We look upon the faces of our students whom we have taught, supported, and guided throughout the semester.
We look upon the faces of our colleagues whose work has brought breadth and depth to our own work.
We look upon the faces of our retirees whose legacies will be remembered.
We look upon your face O God, and see your loving countenance looking back upon us.
In celebration for this past year, we thank you for our students, colleagues, and all who contribute to and support the important work of Xavier University.
May all this, bear fruit to make the world a better place.
Amen.
A Prayer for All at Xavier
God, we do good work, important work.
Instill in us a spirit of gratitude for community, for this community, and for the good work we do – together.
Instill in us a spirit of service. Help us to see you, God, in all of our students and staff and faculty.
And instill in us too, a drive to passionately pursue our mission:
the pursuit of God, and the good and the common good.
In this season of gratitude, there is much to celebrate.
We offer thanks for the many senior leaders who have recently departed Xavier, and those who will leave in the not-so-distant future.
Thank you for the counsel, the very good counsel, they have provided us over so very many years.
And we too we offer thanks for the many leaders, in and outside of this room, who have built the systems that have served our students, staff and faculty through COVID and our national reckoning with racism. We honor their boundless generosity, their boldness, their smarts and their perseverance.
As we look to the future, we are filled with hope and thanksgiving for our new President and Provost, for their vision, gifts and love of Xavier.
Fill us all with faith, hope and love as we face the challenges that lie ahead and as we pursue new opportunities to more fully embody our mission.
And finally, God, as we move into the future. May we be a We. Unite us. Inspire us. Sustain us.
Help us to—together—see you and seek you in all that we do.
For this we pray, Amen.
- Written and offered by David J. Johnson, PhD
Associate Provost and Chief Student Affairs Officer, Xavier University
Prayer for New Employees
Loving God,
We come to you in gratitude today
Giving thanks for fellowship and friendship
And the promise of a new school year full of hopes and plans
We welcome our new colleagues into our family and ask that you bless them and guide them as they begin their journey with us
Bless and guide those of us who join them today as we seek to share our well-worn and well-intentioned paths with them, and as we delight in learning what new things they have to teach us
Help us to be present and compassionate for those for whom these new beginnings bring fear and uncertainty
Lead us in all the work we do, so that our students may reap the benefits of our collective wisdom and experience
And let us all marvel in the joy of being together on this beautiful day
Amen
- Offered by Alison Morgan, for Manresa New Employee Lunch
Making Decisions
Holy One,
We come to you today asking for your guidance, wisdom, and support as we begin this meeting.
Help us to engage in meaningful discussion; allow us to grow closer as a group and nurture the bonds of community.
Fill us with your grace, Lord God, as we make decisions that might affect the students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of our university. And continue to remind us that all that we do here today, all that we accomplish, is for the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of You, and for the service of humanity.
We ask these things in your name.
For Our Team
Almighty God,
Thank you for the beauty and majesty we see in your creation.
Thank you for the opportunity to care for the world you have made.
We ask that your blessing would rest on this team, that you would give us
great vision and enthusiasm for our work.
Please bless the efforts of our hands, the bonds between us and the
influence of our work in this location and beyond.
Lord, as we plan and share together now, may you guide us by your Holy Spirit and lead us into all truth.
- Written by LordsPrayer.com
For Those We Are With
Lord,
As we go into this meeting, we place ourselves before You, for You are filled with the beauty and light and care deeply about us. Help us to value and appreciate those we are gather with. may Your light enfold us. May Your Spirit guide us. May Your grace abound in is.
Matters of Business
Lord,
We are meeting today to conduct matters of business.
Guide our hearts and our minds in the spirit of fairness, right
thought and speech. Impart Your supreme wisdom upon our
activities so that our affairs may reach a successful conclusion.
Thank You for being our source of guidance today.
The Spirit of Jesus
Heavenly Father,
Send the Spirit of your son
to remain with us during our meeting.
Let him guide us, and inspire us
to think and speak according to the mind of Jesus.
Fill us with your joy and love,
and help us to put our plans into practice.
- Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Meeting of Minds
We offer salutations and respect to all present at this meeting and
to all who will be affected by it.
We brush off the chairs on which we sit -
to make a clear space for a meeting of minds.
We brush off from our clothing any debris picked up on the way -
to clear our minds of extraneous matters.
We wipe the blood from our hands -
to acknowledge and apologize for any hurt we have inflicted.
We wipe the tears from our eyes -
to acknowledge and forgive any hurt we have received.
We take the lump out of our throats -
to let go of any sadness or disappointment.
We take the tightness out of our chests -
to let go of any fear or resentment.
We acknowledge and pray for guidance -
to the Great Creator Spirit of All Life.
- Ralph Metzner
Opening Prayer for Divisional Meeting
Lord,
God, we gather together unified in Your name this morning seeking guidance, wisdom, and support as we reflect on past accomplishments of the division and look ahead to working together to promote a brighter future for the University. Lord, grant us courage, boldness, and discernment as we engage in meaningful discussion in an effort to grow closer as a campus community.
Guide our minds and hearts throughout the year so that we work for the good of our community and help all your people. Fill us with the grace of the spirit and continue to remind us that all that we do and accomplish is for the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of you, and for the service of humanity. Help us to grow in peace and understanding with one another.
Lord, we thank you for the blessings that you have bestowed upon Xavier University and its employees. Help us to realize how thankful we are to be working at such a wonderful institution, and that God's presence accompanies us each day of our career.
In closing, bless our families, friends, and coworkers with the gifts of kindness, patience, love, and respect. Give us the grace to share these gifts. Empower us to enjoy the second half of this summer, whether at work or on vacation, before welcoming the students back at the end of August, as You lead all of us through a successful academic year.
Lord, we bring before you these prayers and the prayers that we hold silently in our hearts. We ask all of this in God's name.
- Allen Zernich, Delivered June 2012
A Special Celebration - 50 Years of Women at Xavier
Loving God,
On this early fall evening,
On the 188th new year in the life of the University,
We come to you in gratitude.
We thank you for the special moments in our history that have made the institution ever more vibrant and faithful to our mission to educate students intellectually, morally and spiritually.
Tonight, we celebrate one such moment – the invitation for women to fully matriculate in this Jesuit Catholic university in Cincinnati Ohio.
We welcome the presence of a few of these early pioneers - the women who accepted the invitation.
Their experiences, insights, and wisdom exemplify the musketeer spirit of Xavier.
Let us relish in the joy of being together right now at this time – a time which reflects our yesterday, today, and the promise of tomorrow in nurturing compassionate civic leaders.
We give thanks for friendship, fellowship, and fortitude as we guide the University into the future….and for your rich blessings upon Xavier and each one of us.
Offered by Janice Walker PhD and Debra Mooney PhD at the Sept 26 2019 dinner of the Board in Celebration of 50 Years of Women at Xavier.
- Written by Debra Mooney, PhD
To Open a Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan Launch Celebration
Blessed are you, God of the universe.
In age after age, you gather people together to praise, reverence, and serve you and your mission to establish peace, unity, and holiness on earth. And in age after age, you gather people together to discern in wisdom the next step forward. So, too, you have called Xavier University to this fearful task. For this, we give you thanks and praise.
Today we come to you and one another in a spirit of gratitude. We thank you for giving us a rich mission of care, for calling us to pursue the work of education with tenderness, closeness, and mercy. We thank you for giving us the tenacity, attention, and patience necessary for collaboration and we thank you for the gift of one another—our diverse talents, concerns, and passions.
God, in this time together, I ask you to help us celebrate work done and look forward with confidence to the work ahead. As we journey with these young people in a mission of care, remind us always to walk with the excluded, care for our common home, and show our students the way to you. Above all, God, I ask that you carry out our plans only in accord with your Holy Spirit, who always reminds us of what Jesus said and did—bringing good news to the afflicted, binding up the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to captives, and giving us a crown of glory for our ashes.
I ask all this in your holy name, for we are all for one and that one is you.
- by Matthew Zurcher, S.J.
Closing a Meeting
Prayer of Sending Forth
“Ite missa est” are the final words of the Mass in Latin. It’s where we get the word “Mass.” Over time, this dismissal at the end of Mass has taken on the deep significance as a sending and a missioning. As we prepare to end our meeting, let us recall that we are being sent forth on mission.
God of love and mercy, as we are sent forth, remind us of our shared mission to serve the students at Xavier University with whom we journey each day.
We are all partners with you in this mission. We are co-creators, following the guidance of your spirit.
May we always recall that you are already laboring throughout our campus. May we be ever more mindful and appreciative of your presence and your call to each of us.
May your spirit of life and love guide us in our decisions and our interactions. May all that we do work toward the full flourishing of each unique and beloved gift of God that you have entrusted to us here at Xavier University.
As we are sent out, may our shared mission and shared call continue to inspire us all to do everything for the greater glory of God.
Amen.
-Written and offered by Eric Sundrup S.J.
Associate Vice President, Mission and Ministry/University Jesuit Chaplain
Back to topA New Year
Heavenly Father, as we embark upon this new year with renewed optimism and vigor, we ask for your continues blessing upon this group of leaders.
We pray for:
The strength of discernment;
The courage to aggressively pursue new challenges;
The confidence and compassion to make difficult choices;
The humility necessary for candor and honesty;
The wisdom to identify and focus upon what truly matters;
The tenacity to continue to chart a new course across and within this institution;
The vision to look beyond obstacles and see a brighter outcome;
And above all else, the faith to allow us to follow your light and teachings so that we may fulfill your will.
We ask these things in Jesus' name.
- Written and offered by Glenn Welling
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