Prayers For Graduation
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We have collected some of the best prayers for graduation to use in request to God. May these prayers for safety bring you comfort and peace of mind. May these prayers for strength encourage your spirit and strengthen your faith.
Graduation is getting a diploma or academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated with it, in which students become graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as graduands. The date of graduation is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation.
Graduation Invocation Prayer
(suitable for opening the ceremony)
Dear God,
Today we join with heaven as we celebrate and give thanks for every student here. Thank you that each one is unique and brimming with potential.
Thank you for leading them in their learning, for keeping them safe as they studied, and for watching over them in their final exams.
We pray that they may all feel proud this day and enjoy sharing their achievements with family and friends. May today be a memory that burns bright within them as they embark on life’s great adventure.
Amen.
Student receiving academic degree from Azim Premji during a Graduation ceremony in ISB. Adi Godrej in the background. Recipient and donors in “convocation dress”.
A Benediction For Graduate Students
Gracious and caring God, our source of light,
we ask for your almighty hand to be upon these graduates as we send them forward.
With their classes and grading now complete,
may they strive toward excellence in all they do.
With the applause quieted,
may they celebrate and lift up those around them.
with the speeches concluded,
may their voices rise up to pronounce peace and justice in the world.
with the fanfare ceasing,
may they find bliss in future endeavors and adventures.
with advanced degrees and credentials in hand,
may their achievements grow and enrich their communities.
As Jesuit educated,
may they discover Holiness in the midst of life’s blessings as well life’s challenges.
As their careers commence,
may they conduct their life’s work with exceptional skill and integrity
inspired to Go Forth and Set the World of Fire
from this day onward.
– Debra Mooney
High School Graduation Prayer
Father, we thank you so much for our time here together
For all the friends we have made
For all the days of laughter and fun
And for all the times of great discovery and learning.
We thank You for all who have given of their energy and skill
So that we can graduate today.
Our teachers and mentors
Our family and loved ones
We thank You for them and give them all to You in prayer.
As this chapter on our life closes, so a new one begins.
We present ourselves like an open book before You.
Come and scribe Your words of life into our lives –
Fill our minds with Your thoughts
Fill our bodies with Your strength
Fill our hearts with Your dreams
That we might eternally love and serve You
This day and every day.
We ask all this in the glorious name of Jesus
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit
World without end.
Amen.
A Prayer For Graduation
Invocation or Closing
Father
Help us to not look forward in fear
to the changes in life;
Rather, may we look to the future with full hope,
because as changes arise,
you will lead us safely through all things,
because we are your very own,
and when we cannot stand it,
You will carry us in Your arms.
With you,
we shall not fear what may happen tomorrow;
because you are the understanding Father
who cares for us today,
and who will care for us tomorrow and every day.
We have faith, O Lord,
That you will either shield us from suffering,
or give us unfailing strength to bear it.
Put us at peace,
and give us the grace
to put aside all anxious thoughts and images.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ,
Your Son, and Our Lord. Amen
— Adapted by David Bennett
Graduation cap
Blessing of Graduates
Let us unite our hearts in prayer
and entrust to the hands of the Lord
those who will be graduated tomorrow.
May God who began this good work in you
carry it through to completion,
enabling you to use your talents to the fullest.
May God give you the grace to make wise choices
and to be faithful to your commitments,
always confident in the support of those who love you.
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,
half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you will live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice,
oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you will work for justice, equality, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who
suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you will reach out your hand
to comfort them and change their pain into joy.
May God bless you with the foolishness to think
that you can make a difference in the world,
so that you will do the things
which others tell you cannot be done.
May your integrity be a gift to the world
and may the Spirit of God be with you always.
– Fr. Michael Graham SJ, Offered at Baccalaureate Mass at Xavier University 2015
Catholic Graduation Prayer
I have knowledge, so will You show me now,
How to use it wisely and find a way somehow
To make the world I live in a little better place,
And make life with its problems a little bit easier to face.
Grant me faith and courage and put purpose in my days,
And show me how to serve Thee in effective ways.
So my education, my knowledge and my skill
May find their true fulfillment as I learn to do Thy will.
And may I ever be aware in everything I do,
That knowledge comes from learning, and wisdom comes from You.
Anglican Prayer for Learning
O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities [and especially __________],
that they may be lively centers for
sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom;
and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
— Prayer for Schools and Colleges, Book of Common Prayer, 1979 version, Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA.
Graduation hats being tossed by fresh graduates in ISB (Hyderabad, India).
Thank You, Lord!
Thank you, Lord!
For the reaching of this end
And for this new beginning
For the joy in finished aims and goals
And the evidence of winning
Have mercy on these graduates
As they bask in their successes
Please guide them to their destinies
And show them love that blesses
We ask for You to lead each one
Through missteps they may suffer
On the road to gaining wisdom
Finding faith and hope that buffers
Please touch each heart with joy and peace
As Commencement gives promotion
And fill each life with love’s increase
Of strength and deep devotion
For this eager class of graduates
Beribboned with degrees
Please bless them at this starting gate
With all the keys they’ll need.
Thank you, Lord.
– Linda Germain
Facing Life: A Prayer on Graduation Day
LIGHT
Lord Jesus, you have said that your followers must be the light to the world*.
Light propagates itself, dispels darkness.
It sows rays of joy and hope. It is lifegiving.
Help me, Lord, to be a light to this world,
so that my life radiate your message of love, hope, and joy.
May I be the beacon leading to You those who seek truth.
SALT
You also said, Lord Jesus,
that your disciples must be the salt to this earth.
Salt gives taste to food.
It retards spoilage.
It is also a healing agent.
Lord, may I be the salt
that takes away the blandness in the routine of living,
that prevents the rottenness of hatred and greed from expanding around me,
that brings compassionate healing to anguished souls I encounter.
Lord, help me to be “worth my salt.”
And infuse your “saltiness” in me, so that I do not become “flat” and useless.
LEAVEN
“Be the leaven to the world,” said You to your friends.
Bread, a staple of life, and cakes, always present at celebrations,
would be dull and lifeless without the tiny bit of yeast.
Without it, the dough remains inert, hard.
Elsewhere, You also told us to multiply our talents.
You thus expect that we use the talents you gave us as the leaven to this world.
Teach me, Lord Jesus, that alone I am insignificant,
but mixed with the talents of my brothers and sisters,
I can lift this world out of its insipid mediocrity.
May I be a bit of leaven in the Bread of Life,
and a sign of Your celebration in this life and life eternal.
COMMITMENT
Lord, on this “commencement” day,
let there be a beginning of my life.
In the days of darkness, be my Light,
so that in turn I can radiate your truth and your message of love, hope, and joy.
In the days of blandness and of blahs,
Lord, be my Salt, so that in turn I can fend off the corruption, the staleness, the mediocrity around me.
In the days when I am flat on my back or fall flat on my face,
Lord, be my Leaven, so that not only can I rise again,
but also raise the downhearted to the celebration of your Love.
And Lord, thank You, for the school years, for the talents I received.
Amen.
* Matthew, 5:13-16
Adapted from the French by Dr. Chau Thien Phan, Rider University, Lawrenceville, N.J. 08648-3099: “Prières apostoliques: Lumière, Sel, Levain”, Fernand Lelotte, S.J. Rabboni: Consignes et prières pour mieux servir. Paris: Casterman, 1958, pp. 220-221.)
This prayer is now reprinted in Catholic Family Prayers, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 2001, p. 293-4.
A Graduate’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
As I look toward the future
Bright hope conducts this prayer,
For I know the plans You have for me
Were wrought with divine care.
Holy Spirit, lead me.
Let me run at Your command,
Yet be still and know that You are God
When trouble is close at hand.
Your Word will be a lamp for me,
A guide to light my way,
A solid place to set my feet,
A compass when I stray.
May I live my life to praise You,
Not for fortune, nor for fame,
May everything I say and do
Bring glory to Your name.
May my eyes stay fixed upon You
As I seek the way that’s pure,
Tasting Your love and goodness
Sleeping and rising secure.
Planted by Your living streams
I’ll delight in all Your ways,
Hidden by Your sheltering wings
With new mercies for each day.
Even in a dangerous land
When storms threaten to destroy,
At the cross I’ll stand upon the Rock
My Strength, my Hope, my Joy.
Dear Lord, show me Your favor,
At all times keep me blessed,
May Your face ever shine upon me,
With peace and perfect rest.
– Mary Fairchild
In Gratitude, We Pray
God of joy and hope,
We thank you for this time of graduation.
Your spirit of wisdom has empowered our hard work and discipline in such a way that our hunger for learning has been nourished with knowledge, discovery, creativity, and determination.
As we prepare to walk across the stage to receive our diplomas, let us walk in prayerful gratitude for the many blessings that have made this moment real and filled with great potential.
In gratitude, we pray for our families and the many who have sacrificed and worked to see us to this hopeful moment.
In gratitude, we pray for the professors and administrators who have challenged, cared, and crafted us along this academic journey.
In gratitude, we pray for fellow students who have taught us more about friendship, collaboration, and sharing.
God, even as we have faced challenges and accomplished much, we understand that our lives move into a new chapter where there will be more challenges to face and more will be demanded of us in order to accomplish good things. May your grace cover our anxieties and fears so that we may stay encouraged about the future.
Give us patience and hope to energize our search for work that is just and makes proper use of our gifts.
Give us courage to face the challenges of carving out a place in society where we might live in peace, service, and gratitude.
Give us strength to resist the temptations of greed, laziness, pride, and envy as we strive to do and be our best.
May your spirit guide us as we unfold the next chapters of our lives. Help us to enliven hope in the world and bring good things to Your Kingdom. And, may this celebration be a reflection of the blessings that we find in knowing and loving you. For this is the day that You have made.
We are glad and rejoice in it!
– Author Unknown
A Prayer to the Graduate
As we prepare to watch the graduate walk across the stage to
receive a diploma, we want to take a moment to thank You for keeping
him/her safe and guiding him/her to this point.
Lord, touch him/her now with wisdom to be able to handle the next stage
of his/her life in a way that will be pleasing to You, and that will set
him/her on a path of living a life that will be a blessing to others.
Amen
A Graduation Prayer
“God, today is like any other. The sun rises. The winds blow. Rain falls. Rain does not fall. People are born. They laugh. They cry. They dance. They die. Today “chronos” time is as it has been since You gave it beginning, and will be as it is until you bring things to an end. Today is like any other.
Today is also fresh and new, and like no other day. Today is a “kairos” moment of opportunity that has come and will pass in a moment. Today is a passage from one epoch to another. Today is a gift from you. Grant grace to see it and seize it.
Today is a graduation, a passage, a completion, an inauguration. Today we pray for all those who have met the challenge and kept the faith to the commitments of their studies. Now they have a new “kairos” before them. We first offer thanks for the success of their journey. We thank for you granting them focus and direction and then strength and endurance. You created the knowledge and understanding they have mastered. You have created the curiosity and capacity for determination that led them in pursuit. All these good things came from you. Thank you.
Today we also pray for tomorrow. This graduation opens another door to another time. As you have led in the past, lead now into the future. Give them focus and clarity and a calling from you to understand their purpose and the courage to respond and step toward that purpose.
We pray in the words of scripture: ‘Bless them indeed. Expand their territory. Let your hand be with them. Keep them evil, that they will not cause or experience pain.’
Today, we bless our graduates”
– Mark Herringshaw
For Wisdom
Dear God,
we ask that you help our children to walk in your wisdom and grace. We pray for spiritual eyes and discernment in all things. Help them to be wise leaders and influencers in this generation, not conformed to the world, but transformed by your power. We ask that you would equip them with all that they need to make a difference for your purposes. Help them to live as salt and light in a dark world that so desperately needs to know your truth. We ask for your power to help them to walk continually in honesty and integrity. Build within them deep godliness, that they would be more concerned about their character than their reputation. We pray that they would seek to bring honor to You throughout their lives, that they would have a vision and heart for the world. Extend their boundaries and give them incredible influence with people and nations. Make their hearts and spirits open to every plan and purpose you have for them, and to be willing to boldly go wherever You call.