Opening and Closing Prayers for the Liturgical Year

Whenever we gather as Christians, we open and close with prayer. We call to mind that we are in the holy presence of God, and we invoke God’s blessing.

When we pray with young people, we do even more. We teach them how to respond to God’s gracious gifts. We familiarize them with Catholic spirituality. We show them how to make connections between the content of our faith and our lived experience. 

Opening and Closing Prayers for the Liturgical Year helps teachers, catechists, youth ministry leaders, and anyone else who works with young people to achieve those objectives. For any given session with youth, this book offers a few options for prayer.

You will find a choice of prayer styles, ranging from traditional prayers every Catholic should know to litanies, from Scripture readings to conversational prayers. Each prayer deals with the personal or social justice concerns of young people.

Furthermore, every opening and closing prayer includes introductory material, which you may use as a lead-in to prayer or may want to incorporate into your session content.

• Based on the liturgical calendar, this resource includes prayers tied to Church feast days while also highlighting important secular holidays and observances.
• Each liturgical season will be celebrated with specific prayers that are dedicated to the themes and images of that particular season.
• The prayers range in type from traditional to contemporary.