A Prayer for College Graduates

Dear Graduates,

Congratulations! You have much to celebrate as you mark the end of your time in college. We here at Busted Halo hope this prayer gives you the opportunity for a few moments of spiritual reflection as you take part in graduation festivities.

This is a time of great joy, transition, and maybe even some nervousness about the future. God goes with you — and God celebrates with you. We do too.


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 the Lord has made. We are glad and rejoice in it! Amen.


RELATED: Pope Francis’ Advice for College Students

Originally published May 3, 2017.

Fr. Steven Bell, CSP, is a Paulist priest who leads parish missions, retreats, revivals and workshops, all of which consider the importance of reconciliation and healing. Fr. Steve previously served as associate director of Newman Hall / Holy Spirit Parish at the University of California at Berkeley and associate director of St. Thomas More Newman Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Prior to this assignment, Fr. Steve was the associate director of Busted Halo. Ordained in 2008, Fr. Steve served at St. Austin’s in Austin, Texas, where he led lessons on faith for school-aged kids at summer camp and motivational talks for African-American professionals. He also led retreats and missions for young adults and other groups in the church.