O God,

in your wise providence,

You have promised to accompany us

to the end of the world.

Bless the work of our hands and of our minds,

so that all who lead and conduct business in this community

carry out their role

according to the heart of God.

Fill these leaders with your spirit

so that their words and actions

may be pleasing to you,

bringing the Gospel to all they encounter.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen. 

Catholic Foundation of West Michigan

Refresh me.

Invite me to discover your presence
In each person that I meet
And every event that I encounter.

Teach me when to speak and when to listen
When to ponder and when to share.
In moments of challenge and decision

Attune my heart to the whisperings of your wisdom.
As I undertake ordinary and unnoticed tasks,

Gift me with simple joy.
When my day goes well, may I rejoice.

When it grows difficult, surprise me with
New possibilities.

When life is overwhelming,
Call me to Sabbath moments
To restore your Peace and Harmony.

May my living today reveal your Goodness.
Amen.
-Pat Bergen, C.S.J.

On this second day of the holy Easter Octave, may Christ's bright and living week of light and hope comfort all, just as Christ Jesus comforted Mary and his apostles 2,000+ years ago today. 

May the soul of Pope Francis and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

We recently had an active priest commit suicide at the age of 33. We are all heartbroken. He was a beloved pastor here in my city (at a different parish than mine) and a graduate of the local Catholic high school.

And if that weren't difficult enough, in the last eight months, we've had two other active priests die (cancer and heart attack), another recovering from a recent heart attack, and one on leave as he considers if he wants to continue as a priest.

This year has been hard; I'm in my sixth year in this role, and my first five years saw nothing like this.

I sincerely appreciate your prayers for these requests and also for those affected my mental illness. St. Michael the Archangel, guardian of the Church and St. Raphael, our Archdiocese's patron, pray for us. Thank you.

During this most blessed Month of the Most Holy Rosary, let us join today today in saying a rosary together at a time of your choosing, for the safety of all our loved Members of the Consortium leading Catholic foundations throughout Florida:

- Michael in Venice

- Patti in Jacksonville

- Meegan in St Petersburg

- Madelyn in Orlando; and Kimberlee, too!

May you all know, feel, and experience the loving care and protection of the Most Holy Rosary, St Michael the Archangel.  God bless each of you, your staff teams and boards, and all our brothers and sisters in Christ in the path of this terrible hurricane.

AMEN.

Leadership is hard to define. 
Lord, let us be the ones to define it with justice. 
Leadership is like a handful of water. 
Lord, let us be the people to share it with those who thirst.
Leadership is not about watching and correcting. 
Lord, let us remember it is about listening and connecting. 
Leadership is not about telling people what to do. 
Lord, let us find out what people want.
Leadership is less about the love of power,
and more about the power of love.

Lord, as we continue to undertake the role of leader let us be 
affirmed by the servant leadership we witness in your son Jesus.
Let us walk in the path He has set and let those who will, follow.

Let our greatest passion be compassion. 
Our greatest strength love. 
Our greatest victory the reward of peace.

In leading let us never fail to follow. 
In loving let us never fail.

Amen.

Our Lady of Charity, pray for us.

Loving God, you created the human race and know each one of us by name.

Through Christ you have chosen us to be your sons and daughters, and to build up your Kingdom on earth.

Give us work so that we may share our talents with others and know the dignity and satisfaction that you give us through our work.

Give us patience while you open doors and wisdom to see your will.

Keep our families in your care and provide for all our needs.

Never let stress diminish our love for each other nor the desire for material things lessen our love for you.

With confidence and trust we make this prayer thru Jesus.

Amen

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen

Written by Ken Untener for Cardinal Dearden - commonly known as “The Prayer for St. Oscar Romero.”

At the request of Member James Bebla, executive director serving The Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Scranton (PA), please keep Jim in your prayers please. 

The pancreatic cancer he successfully overcame a couple of years ago has returned with a vengeance and has spread.  Jim shared this morning that he is undergoing bi-monthly chemotherapy treatments, which is why he is unable to register this year and join all of you at the CEO Symposium, his great disappointment.  

Jim expressed with great excitement and joy his work creating the new charitable trust, which serves as The Catholic Foundation in his community!  Jim is happily preparing for his second board meeting on 22 May, at which time he intends to share news of the Foundation's first $10M bequest, accompanied by an announcement of a donor's recent generous $50K gift to one of the six new endowed, designated funds to support the main ministries of the community!  The Most Reverent Joseph Bambera, Bishop for the Diocese of Scranton, has invited Jim to continue to serve in his executive director role, and work along side of him as they plan visits together in the coming weeks with several other donors, to inspire early support for this new Catholic Foundation!  

"Our new Catholic Foundation is up and running, thanks to several Consortium Members who personally took their time to speak with me.  You all shared your documents, helped me discern possible foundation structures, got me ready for my first board meeting and the election of new officers, including  three new board committees.  I now feel energized by these new responsibilities of leading our new Foundation.  I have a clear purpose, and renewed strength, going forward!  Our Bishop now has seen the power of this new Catholic Foundation to transform our future Diocese and community.  Our Foundation would truly not be where it is today without the love, support, and help of my Consortium colleagues from across the country.  I thank you, one and all!," said Jim.

Oh, great St. Peregrine, you have been called "The Mighty," the "Miracle Worker," because of the numerous miracles which you have obtained from God for those who have recourse to you.  For so many years, you bore in your own flesh this cancerous disease that destroys the very fiber of our being, and who had recourse to the Source of All Grace when the power of man could do no more.  You were so favored with the vision of Jesus coming down from His Cross to heal your affliction.  Ask of God Our Father and Our Lady, the cure of the sickness Jim has received, whom as our brother in Christ, we entrust to you.  Aided in this way by your powerful intercession, we shall sing to God, now and for all eternity, a song of gratitude for His great goodness and mercy!  AMEN!

May we join together in prayer for the families of those lost, now part of the recovery mission, and in humble gratitude for all those first responders who are heroically serving.

Inspired by Archbishop's invitation, may we "resolve to love those God has place in our lives, and to let them know today just how much they are loved."  

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us.

 15 February 2024

Zoom meeting launch of the new Community Forum Archives

Lord Jesus, I give you my hands to do your work.

I give you my feet to go your way.

I give you my eyes to see as you do.

I give you my tongue to speak your words.

I give you my mind that you may think in me.

I give you my spirit that you may pray in me.

Above all, I give you my heart that you may love in me, your Father, and all mankind.

I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me.

Lord, may everything we do begin with your inspiration, continue with your help, and reach perfection under your guidance.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. — Amen.

(from The Grail Prayer" Daily Prayer is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2024. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.net and from the iBreviary app)

"Dear Lord, watch over and protect our nation's military members and their families.  Sustain them with your everlasting arms.  Take into your most gracious protection Andrew and all service members currently deployed.  May you be their comfort and their guide as they live and serve in foreign lands and waters; in Jesus's name.  Amen"

Prayerfully requesting all Consortium Members to surround our Sister in Christ Amy Ponson, Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana, on news of His Excellency Mario Dorsonville, Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, LA, who died unexpectedly "after he gave in to complications arising from recent health problems," last Friday evening after serving as Bishop for less than a year.  He was 63 years of age.

Eternal Rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  Though the mercy of God, may they rest in peace.  Amen.

Loving and gracious God,
All love and mercy compels us to the side of our global brothers and sisters.
In our charity, and in our compassion, help us stand with them.
In our solidarity and in our sharing, help us stand with them.
In our advocacy, and in our prayer, help us stand with them.

And as we turn to them in their peril, we ask your grace go with us:
To feed the hungry:
-give us your grace.
To give drink to the thirsty:
-give us your grace.
To clothe the naked:
-give us your grace.
To shelter the homeless:
-give us your grace.
To care for the sick:
-give us your grace.
To reach the trapped and the stranded:
-give us your grace.
To mourn the dead:
-give us your grace.

And in reaching out, may we find you in them.
And may they find you in us.

God of every good gift,

from the beginning of creation

YOU have filled the world with abundant blessings.

For everything You have given,

may we never cease to thank you.

Help us be a blessing to meet the needs

of our brothers and sisters.

Inspire our hearts to use our gifts you have given,

great and small, 

to bring Your peace and love to the world.

As we share ourselves and all that we have,

teach us to receive Your gifts gracefully,

nurture them responsibly,

share them generously,

and return them to You with increase,

so that we may rejoice in the riches stored for us in heaven.

We pray this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Emeritus Bishop Patrick J. McGrath

Prayer to Begin a Meeting

Glorious and Blessed God,

we place our work and ourselves into your hands.

Anoint our creativity, our ideas, our energy

so that even the smallest task may bring You honor.

God, when we are challenged, guide us,

when we are weary, energize us.

May the work that we do and the way that we do it, bring hope, life and courage to all with whom

we serve within our organization.

Bless us with wisdom and discernment,

with commitment and compassion, with courage and strength.

Rooted in Your love may Your face illuminate all our activities done in Your name.

Amen

Dear Lord God, we pray today for your protection as we begin the gift of this new day.

You remain our love, our life, our hiding place, our protective shield. 

Under Your Wings we may always find our safe refuge. 

Protect all our Consortium Members, their staff and boards, their families, neighbors and communities, protect all our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who live and serve You throughout the pathway of this storm. 

We ask please for You to  keep all turbulence and destruction far out to sea, under the command of your Holy Loving Arms; in Jesus's name we pray,

AMEN.

Dear Lord our God, in our shock and grief we humbly kneel before you.  In our despair in the midst of such hate, and in our sense of helplessness in the face of senseless violence, we lean on you and your Sacred Heart.

For the innocent children taken so soon and their loving families experiencing unimaginable loss, we pray for your loving presence and consolation;

For the young soul who allegedly committed these acts, help us pray, Lord;

For the Uvalde community at large who with understandable anger, grief, and fear, have lost priceless members, we pray;

For our Catholic church and all churches striving to be your light in the midst of such darkness beyond our comprehension, we pray;

Triune God, may we hold close in our minds, hearts, voices, and spirits this day the Prayer of Saint Francis as our claim of Your Love for us.

Make me a channel of your peace...where there is hatred let me be Your Love; where there is injury your pardon Lord, and where there's double true faith in You.  Make me a channel of your peace...where there's despair in life let me bring hope; where there is darkness, only light; and where there's sadness, ever joy.  Oh Master grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love with all my soul.  Make me a channel of your peace...it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; in giving of ourselves that we receive; and in dying that we are born to eternal life.

We offer this prayer in Jesus's Holy Name, Amen.

Rick Jeric and his daughter Maria

Kimberlee Riley and her father Robert

Angela Moloney and her father

Sister Mary Tracey and her dear friend

Josh Diedrich and his wife