Being creative with the opening and closing prayer can help participants grow by experiencing a variety of prayer forms. Familiar prayers can be reassuring, and they should be a part of the group’s overall experience, but sharing new words and forms can capture the participants’ attention, help them appreciate prayer as a conversation with God, and deepen their understanding of their place as members of the Body of Christ.
Here is an example of an opening prayer that includes quieting down:
Begin the meeting as usual. When you arrive at the moment of opening prayer, invite everyone to close their eyes, take three breaths—inhaling and then slowly exhaling. Then say:
I invite you to remember all those who have blessed you by sharing faith
with you.
Think back through your life . . .
Who inspired and blessed you as an infant and in your early childhood….Who comes to mind during your elementary school years….Consider now those who inspired you as a pre-teen, teenager, young adult, when you were in your 20s and early 30s…in middle age…in your wisdom years.
Take a moment and, as we remember All Saints and All Souls, celebrate those people, living or deceased, who have been part of your faith journey and offer a silent prayer of gratitude.
Allow for thirty seconds of silence, and then lead the group in praying the “Glory be.”
A companion closing prayer may be offered:
Let us pray now for those who have asked for our prayers or those for whom you have promised to pray:
Allow thirty seconds of silence and begin:
I invite you to pray aloud or in silence…
For family and friends (pause)
we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
For the sick (pause)
we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
For those in the headlines (pause)
we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
For those affected by natural disasters (pause)
we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
For the hungry, abused, and abandoned (pause)
we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
For world peace (pause)
we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
And we close with the prayer Jesus gave us…Our Father…
Feel free to vary these according to the group’s need and the season of the church year. There are many sources of prayers, including the Prayers and Devotions on the web site of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
May you enjoy God’s attentive listening and God’s presence in one another.