Prayer
Prayer is central to Awake’s mission, and we are grateful for the many ways our community is able to unite in prayer for and with abuse survivors and the healing of our Church. We recognize that prayer can be difficult for those impacted by abuse, so we strive to offer various types of prayer experiences, and we respect that not everyone chooses to participate in this aspect of our mission.
Our next prayer event will be “The Spiritual Practice of Lament” on Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00pm Central Time / 8:00pm Eastern Time. Registration and more information will be available in January.
Our Patron Saints
Catherine of Siena
Charles Lwanga
Michael the Archangel
Mary and Abraham of Edessa
Our Lady Undoer of Knots
Click here to learn more about Awake’s patron saints and how we selected them.
Image credits: St. Charles Lwanga, public domain image; St. Catherine of Siena, courtesy of LilliansRingsnThings;
Sts. Mary and Abraham of Edessa, courtesy of Kathleen Sibilski, SaintIcon; St. Michael the Archangel, courtesy of ModernMythosArt; Our Lady Undoer of Knots, courtesy of Magnificat Prints.In October 2023 we announced a group of patron saints that we look to for inspiration in the midst of this difficult work. Please consider joining us in this prayer calling on their intercession:
God of love, you hear the cries of all who have been wounded by abuse in the Catholic Church.
Grant us your healing, justice, and peace.
Jesus, gentle companion, you accompany all those who suffer.
Form Awake into a compassionate, survivor-centered, faithful community of welcome, humility, courage, and hope.
Holy Spirit, mighty advocate, you stir within us and awaken our hearts.
Help us to see where you are leading us today and give us the strength to say yes to your call.
We offer the needs of the Awake community and our personal prayer intentions through the intercession of our patron saints.
Saint Charles Lwanga, pray for us
Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.
Saints Mary and Abraham of Edessa, pray for us.
Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
Our Lady Undoer of Knots, pray for us.
Amen.
New Resource for Personal and Group Prayer
Awake's Way of the Cross with Survivors is a guide for personal or communal prayer, an opportunity to pray with and for abuse survivors as they connect their own experiences to those of Jesus Christ in his final days. This prayer follows the traditional Stations of the Cross devotion, with each station featuring a personal reflection written by someone who has experienced sexual abuse by a Catholic leader. We are deeply grateful to each survivor who chose to share their heart by writing one of these reflections.
We invite you to view recordings of our previous prayer services below.
2024-2025
encountering advent through
Survivors’ art
In December 2024, we gathered to pray with and reflect on visual art, music, and poetry created by members of Awake’s survivor
community. While listening to and viewing these creative works,
people had the opportunity to apply the reflections to their
own experience of the Advent season.
Building a Deeper Connection with Awake’s Patron Saints
In October 2024, the Awake community gathered to pray with our five patron saints: St. Charles Lwanga, St. Catherine of Siena, Sts. Mary and Abraham of Edessa, St. Michael the Archangel, and Our Lady Undoer of Knots. Members of the Awake community shared reflections on each saint's story, followed by words about the reflector’s personal connection with the saint.
Prayer in the Park (AuGust 2024)
The Awake community gathered for a prayer service including music, Scripture, poetry, prayer, and personal reflection, inspired by the Transfiguration of Jesus, which was celebrated on August 6.
2023-2024
The Way of Light (April 2024)
After praying the Way of the Cross during Lent, we now pray the beautiful "Way of Light," also known as the Stations of the Resurrection. This devotion follows a similar format to the Stations of the Cross, but begins with the Resurrection of Jesus and concludes with the Sending of the Holy Spirit.
Walking the way of the cross with survivors (February 2024)
The Awake community gathered for our fourth annual Walking the Way of the Cross with Survivors prayer service, hosted on Zoom on February 19, 2024. This powerful Lenten prayer service combines the traditional Stations of the Cross devotion with reflections written by abuse survivors.
Breathe: an advent mini-retreat (December 2023)
The Awake community gathered on Zoom for a virtual Advent retreat using the prayers of Cole Arthur Riley (creator of Black Liturgies).
Welcoming our patron saints (October 2023)
The Awake Prayer Team introduced the group of patron saints that we look to for inspiration and intercession.
Prayer in the park (August 2023)
The Awake community gathered in person and on Zoom for our third annual Prayer in the Park event. We celebrate finding God in the silence, with music, scripture, poetry, and personal reflection time.
2022-2023
Way of the Cross With Survivors (March 2023)
Awake hosted our third annual Walking the Way of the Cross with Survivors: this powerful Lenten prayer service combined the traditional Stations of the Cross devotion with reflections written by abuse survivors.
Advent Prayer Service (December 2022)
This virtual Advent prayer service is modeled after the four weeks of Advent, with four movements that each include a reading, a response from a member of the Prayer Team, and a few minutes of silence for your personal prayer or reflection.
Rosary with Survivors (October 2022)
This Rosary invited participants to reflect on the reality of abuse in light of God’s promise of resurrection and new life. Each decade was led by a different survivor of abuse.
Prayer in the Park (August 2022)
The Awake community gathered on a beautiful summer evening for a service of song, Scripture, reflection and poetry in gratitude for the beauty of God’s creation.
2021-2022
walking the way of the cross with survivors (april 2022)
Powerful personal reflections by abuse survivors were combined with the traditional stations of the cross devotion for a meaningful and moving Lenten prayer service.
You can also pray with the written text of this service by accessing the complete script found here.
“know that you are loved” meditation (february 2022)
Awake’s chaplain Cathy Melesky Dante led us through a relaxing guided meditation, focusing on light and love in the midst of cold winter days.
This meditation is spiritual in nature, but does not reflect any particular religious faith or prayer tradition.
Advent prayer of hope (December 2021)
Amidst the darkness of winter and the deeper darkness of abuse in our Church, the Awake community gathered in person to find hope in Christ Our Light.
Tune in to pray with this simple service of music, scripture, and reflection in the spirit of Advent.
Rosary with survivors (October 2021)
This simple prayer service brought together a diverse community of lay people, clergy, and abuse survivors on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
We are grateful to each survivor who shared a personal prayer intention and led a decade of the rosary.
Out of the depths: Offering our questions to god (August 2021)
Awake’s first in-person prayer service took place on a beautiful summer evening in a Milwaukee park, with some participants tuning in via livestream as well. We gathered with music, reflection, and prayer around a simple bonfire.
For those who couldn’t join us live, we hope this recording gives you a taste of the experience.
Walking the way of the cross with survivors (March 2021)
Awake hosted this unique prayer opportunity in March 2021, combining the traditional stations of the cross devotion with reflections written by abuse survivors.
We invite you to use the event recording or the written version of this service for your personal prayer.