Pray with Us — Fountains of Prayer Guide
“Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God's heart."
— ST. PADRE PIO
What is the Fountains of Prayer Program?
Water is not just a physical need — it is a spiritual symbol woven through all of Scripture. Christ himself said, "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst" (John 4:14). When you pray for our mission, you are not just praying for pipes and pumps. You are praying for the dignity of every person who has never had clean water — and joining your thirst to theirs.
The Fountains of Prayer is VAVV's ongoing prayer program, with two ways to participate. On our Prayer Intentions page, you can sign up to receive real names and real needs from the communities we serve in Peru — directly to your inbox. This guide is the companion resource: a collection of prayers, novenas, and spiritual practices specifically shaped around our mission, so that however you pray already, you can bring VAVV's work and those we serve into the heart of it.
Download or View the Full Prayer Guide!
Fountains of Prayer Guide — Full Sections:
Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
For protection over the mission and the vulnerable
A novena is a nine-day prayer practice rooted in Catholic tradition, modeled on the nine days the Apostles prayed together between the Ascension and Pentecost. Each day you pray the same prayer and add a specific intention. Anyone can pray a novena — all you need is a willing heart and nine days.
Mary's fiat — given in trust, without certainty — is the model for every missionary who serves before they have all the answers. We ask her intercession for our mission and for those we serve.
The Novena Prayer
Pray once daily for nine consecutive days, adding the day's intention below.
O Most Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore your intercession with Jesus your Son. Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially… (add the intention for the day below).
We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask for your prayer. We trust in your gentle care and intercession for those whom we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever. Amen.
Daily Intentions:
Day 1 — Through Mary's Immaculate Heart, we ask her intercession for VAVV's founders and leaders — that they be given clarity of mission and purity of intention in all they do.
Day 2 — Through the Heart that pondered all things, we pray for wisdom in the design and execution of each water well and filtration project, that no detail be overlooked.
Day 3 — Through Mary's compassion at the foot of the Cross, we pray for the mothers in underserved communities who carry water for miles — that their burden be lifted.
Day 4 — Through the Heart that said yes without hesitation, we pray for a new wave of donors to say yes to VAVV's appeal and bring the fundraiser to its goal.
Day 5 — Through Mary's maternal care for all her children, we pray especially for the sick who suffer without clean water — that healing and dignity come to them soon.
Day 6 — Through the Immaculate Heart, refuge of sinners and source of hope, we pray for communities that have lost faith that help will come — that VAVV's work restore their trust.
Day 7 — Through Mary's intercession at Cana, where water became wine at her asking, we pray that VAVV's resources be multiplied beyond what seems humanly possible.
Day 8 — Through the Heart pierced with sorrow, we remember all who have lost children to waterborne illness — and we offer this work as a living memorial in their honor.
Day 9 — Through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, we consecrate VAVV's entire mission — past, present, and future — asking that every project bear fruit for the glory of God and the good of His people.Each set of mysteries carries its own invitation to intercede for the communities we serve. After each decade, add the suggested prayer below.
Novena to St. Pier Giorgio Frassati
Patron of VAVV — Patron of the young, the poor, and those who serve the marginalized
St. Pier Giorgio Frassati was a young Italian engineer and mountain climber who spent his life serving the poor and sick — often anonymously, often at personal cost. He died at 24 from polio, likely contracted while caring for the destitute. He is the natural patron of VAVV's mission. His motto: "Verso l'alto" — To the heights!
Day 1: Jesus, You taught us that loving others was one of the ways that we love You. Thank You for the model of serving others that You gave us in Yourself. Thank You also for Pier Giorgio's example in serving the poor. I want the generous heart you had, Pier Giorgio. Your top priority was always for the poor — even as you were dying your own painful death, your thoughts were always directed to how you could help more people. You never looked down on them for their poverty, but instead tried to help. Show me how I can help my poor brothers and sisters. Give me a compassionate heart like yours.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For the engineers, volunteers, and staff of Vera Aqua Vera Vita, that they may work with the same joyful charity that marked Pier Giorgio's service to the poor. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 2: God, I praise You for the gift of this new generation of young adults — their drive to service, their passion, their joy. Thank You also for the life of St. Pier Giorgio, whose devotion was fixed on God from such an early age. Please ignite today's youth with this same fire. Guide me also to be an example of great faith and to help others grow in theirs.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For the communities awaiting clean water, that their hope may be sustained and their wait be short. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 3: St. Pier Giorgio, I admire how you took a stand for what you believed in — not just in words, but in action. You helped the poor. You effected change. Help me to do the same. Help me to use my words and actions to bring others to Christ, unafraid of what it costs.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For the donors and supporters of VAVV, that generosity may multiply like water flowing from a spring. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 4: Thank You, Lord, for the gift of suffering — that You can use all things for Your glory. St. Pier Giorgio, diagnosed with polio at only 24, your final act was still in care for others. Help me to use my own sufferings to glorify God. Help me to be joyful even when I am hurting, and to keep my final moments for others, as yours were.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For the children who will drink clean water because of this work — that they may grow strong, healthy, and free. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 5: God, I entrust to You all who have died young and all who grieve them. St. Pier Giorgio, you accomplished so much in so short a life — beloved by family, friends, and the poor alike. Please keep watch over all young people, and help them to leave an impact just as you did.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For the engineer VAVV seeks to hire, that God would call the right person forward and equip them for this mission. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 6: God, thank You for this beautiful world You created for us. Pier Giorgio, your love of nature led you to the mountains — and in creation you found God. Help me to find God in creation too, and to take responsibility for the care of this earth. Please intercede that every water system VAVV has built may remain sustainable for generations.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For the 3 water projects awaiting completion with Vera Aqua Vera Vita, that every obstacle — financial, logistical, or otherwise — be cleared. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 7: St. Pier Giorgio, there are so many who have fallen away from the faith and don't know the love God has for them. Please watch over them. And help me to evangelize as you did — never stopping talking about God, unafraid of being "the religious one," letting my actions speak where words cannot.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For all those who have ever gone thirsty, in body or in spirit, that they may be satisfied. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 8: God, thank You for all organizations dedicated to preserving the Faith and serving the poor. St. Pier Giorgio, you didn't hesitate to get involved — you wanted to effect change and speak truth in love. Help me to have the courage to use my gifts in service of others and in community with the Church.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For the remaining $5,000 needed to reach the $100,000 milestone, that hearts be moved and hands be opened. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Day 9: God, thank You for the inspiration You provided in Pier Giorgio's life. "Verso l'alto" — To the heights. May that motto be mine as well. Help me to always look upward, keep my thoughts centered on God, and keep my hands open to serve.
Please also pray for my intentions:
For VAVV's long-term vision, that this mission of living water may expand until no community is left without it. (And add any personal intentions here.)
St. Pier Giorgio, pray for us!
Pray the Rosary With Our Mission in Mind
Each set of mysteries carries its own invitation to intercede for the communities we serve. After each decade, add the suggested prayer below.
Joyful Mysteries(Mon & Sat, + Sun during Advent/Christmas)
For the communities awaiting clean water — for hope and new beginnings.
Add after each decade: "Mary, Mother of the Poor, intercede for the families of rural Peru."
Sorrowful Mysteries(Tues & Fri, + Sun during Lent)
For those suffering from waterborne illness; for the sick and dying in our Fountains of Prayer.
Add after each decade: "Lord, you took on our suffering. Be with those who suffer because of unclean water today."
Glorious Mysteries(Wed & Sun during Ordinary Time and Easter)
For the Monte Castillo community and all communities where clean water has been restored — for the resurrection of dignity.
Add after each decade: "May the living water of Christ flow freely to every soul we serve."
Luminous Mysteries(Thurs)
For our mission team, donors, and volunteers — for clarity and light in our work.
Add after each decade: "Christ, Light of the World, guide our hands and our mission."
Offer Mass for Our Mission
One of the most powerful things any Catholic can do for our mission is to offer a Mass for our intentions. Ask your parish or priest to offer Mass for:
"The communities of rural Peru served by Vera Aqua Vera Vita — for their health, dignity, and access to clean water, and for the success of the mission entrusted to our team."
You may also offer your personal Mass attendance for any of the following intentions:
Families in Las Mercedes KM11 receiving clean water for the first time
Community members suffering from waterborne illness, surgeries, or chronic disease
Elderly and children most vulnerable to contaminated water
Local leaders and Water Committee members carrying the weight of their communities
Convent communities and prayer partners interceding for our mission
Our Peru volunteer team and all in-country partners
Our Mission Is Consecrated to the Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart of Jesus — pierced and poured out — is the source of all living water. We have consecrated our full mission to His heart.
Act of Consecration:
To the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we give ourselves and VAVV and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ all ourselves and all the actions and works of this organization, so that we may be unwilling to make use of any part of it other than to honor, love and glorify your Sacred Heart. This is our unchanging purpose: to do all things for the love of Him and at the same time renouncing with all our heart whatever is displeasing to Him. We therefore take You, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of our love, the guardian of VAVV, the remedy of our weakness and inconstancy, and our sure refuge. Amen.
"I Thirst" — A Meditation on John 19:28
From the Cross, Christ cried out: "I thirst."
The mystics have long understood this cry as more than physical — it is the cry of God's love for every soul. But it is also profoundly physical. Christ, in His humanity, knew what it was to be without water.
Meditation: Sit quietly. Read John 19:25–30 slowly. Then bring to mind one of the communities we serve — the families of Las Mercedes KM11, who for generations had no clean water. Imagine a child there, thirsty. Hear Christ saying "I thirst" in her voice. Ask yourself: what is He asking of me?
Close with:
Lord Jesus, You thirsted on the Cross so that we might never truly thirst again. Yet billions of your children still thirst for clean water today. I unite my prayer to Your thirst. Use me — my gifts, my resources, my voice — to bring water to those who have none. Let every act I do for this mission be an answer to Your cry: "I thirst." Amen.
Laudato Sí Prayer Intentions
Rooted in Pope Francis's call to care for our common home, these intentions connect our environmental mission to our spiritual life:
For the protection of water as a sacred gift and a universal human right
For the communities whose water sources have been contaminated by neglect and environmental degradation
For world leaders and local governments to prioritize clean water infrastructure for the poor
For ecological conversion in our own hearts — that we may use water with gratitude and care
For the sustainability of every water system VAVV has built and will build
For the Peruvian earth — that its aquifers may be protected and its waters restored
Prayer for Our Earth (Laudato Sí):
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Encourage us in our struggle for justice, love and peace. Amen.
A Simple Daily Prayer — Pray With Us Every Day
Lord, today I offer my work, my prayers, and my sacrifice for the people of rural Peru who thirst for clean water. May my small contribution be multiplied by Your grace. Bless the hands of the Vera Aqua Vera Vita staff, the team in Peru, the hearts of our local supporters, and the communities we serve. May True Water and True Life flow freely to all who need it. Amen.
Together We Can Bring True Water, True Life!
"If everyone was who God created them to be, we would set the world ablaze."
— St. Catherine of Siena
Your prayer is not a small thing. It is the foundation of this mission. Join the Fountains of Prayer today — receive real intentions from the communities we serve, and unite your voice with ours.
Find more ways to take action!
Fountain of Prayers program not right for you?
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GIVE THE GIFT OF CLEAN WATER
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BECOME A PARTNER
We’re looking to grow our partnerships! Consider the benefits of becoming a sponsor or partner of our live-saving Mission.
JOIN OUR TEAM
Intern or volunteer for Vera Aqua Vera Vita’s domestic or global programs! Check out our current openings to find your place in our team.
YOUTH/STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
Bring VAVV into your community! Invite VAVV to raise awareness in your elementary class or start a VAVV club at your high school or college!
MISSION WITH VAVV
Join our Annual Mission Trip to our projects in rural Peru! Learn first hand what life without water is like and provide a helping hand at the source of the problem!
EVENTS CALENDAR
See what’s going on right now and what we have planned! Join our in-person and online events, fundraisers, and other ways to get involved.