Thank you Lord for vaccines and sunny days; the sounds of children playing, a casual encounter with friends, flowers pushing up through the earth, a good meal.
For all these things that give us hope.
Don’t let the gun shots, the hurt that fills our hearts, the hate that spews through our media, or the uncertainty that surrounds us, take that hope away.
Help us to focus on the many signs of your presence in our world, and reach out to others in love and compassion.
Lead us forward O Lord.
Amen
We are a broken and grieving people O Lord.
Broken relationships, broken promises, broken bodies, broken lives.
We are broken Lord, although not beyond repair.
Please let your grace shine through and in our broken places.
Help us to repent O Lord, and to walk in your ways.
Give us wisdom, give us courage, give us humility, give us integrity, give us compassion, give us mercy, give us love.
Help us to discern fact from folly, and turn us from false gods.
Heal us O Lord, and give us hope.
Amen
As we start a new year, we share the following prayer from the encyclical “All Brothers” published by Pope Francis on October 3, 2020. The encyclical provides guidance for our civic lives. The prayer is titled “An Ecumenical Christian Prayer” and appears following paragraph 287. Let us commit ourselves to caring for one another and strengthening our communities.
O God, Trinity of love,
from the profound communion of your divine life,
pour out upon us a torrent of fraternal love.
Grant us the love reflected in the actions of Jesus,
in his family of Nazareth,
and in the early Christian community.
Grant that we Christians may live the Gospel,
discovering Christ in each human being,
recognizing him crucified
in the sufferings of the abandoned
and forgotten of our world,
and risen in each brother or sister
who makes a new start.
Come, Holy Spirit, show us your beauty,
reflected in all the peoples of the earth,
so that we may discover anew
that all are important and all are necessary,
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves. Amen.
Light of the world, shine in our hearts, that we might see and act with compassion.
Shine in our minds that we might love justice, and act wisely.
Dispel our fears, our anger, our resentments, our sorrows and despair.
Shine on our hands that we might reach out in love.
Shine on our feet that we might find the path of peace.
Guide us O Lord through the new year.
Amen
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood. John 1:5
Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. 2 Chronicles 20:16
Lord God of light, in your word we find hope,
In your presence we find joy,
In your guidance we find peace,
In your love we find rest.
Even in the darkest times, your light is there, if we are willing to look.
Help us to see it, embrace it, and share it. (John 1:9)
Amen
We are wandering in the wilderness Lord, and even though it is of our own making, we are lost and confused and afraid.
Help us to hear and to follow the voices of your prophets calling out, inviting us into a better way. (Is. 40:3).
Lead us through the change, the adversity, our fears and anxieties.
Let us, like Abraham, follow your love, even though we do not fully know where we are going. (Heb. 11:8)
Sustain our hope in what we cannot yet see (Heb. 11:1), and guide us towards your peace.
Amen
You call us forward Lord,
Guide us by the light of your love
From our fears and sins release us, that we might have
to heal, to hope, to seek, and to be the “heroes of the future.”*
Amen
*From the papal encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” by Pope Francis, October 3, 2020, paragraph 202.
202. Lack of dialogue means that in these individual sectors people are concerned not for the common good, but for the benefits of power or, at best, for ways to impose their own ideas. Round tables thus become mere negotiating sessions, in which individuals attempt to seize every possible advantage, rather than cooperating in the pursuit of the common good. The heroes of the future will be those who can break with this unhealthy mindset and determine respectfully to promote truthfulness, aside from personal interest. God willing, such heroes are quietly emerging, even now, in the midst of our society.
Note: Italicized text below is from the hymn “For The Fruit of All Creation”, by Fred Pratt Green (1901).
“. . . for the plowing, sowing, reaping, silent growth while we are sleeping, future needs in earth’s safekeeping, thanks be to God.”
We give thanks in this season for hope and healing, for friends and family, for cooking and cleaning and eating, for tears and laughter.
We give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us in plants and people and earth and sky and the many small crafts and things that furnish our homes, reminding us of those who have gone before.
We give thanks for the often overlooked evidence of your grace throughout our lives in ways large and small and in between. We thank you for your patient presence O Lord.
“. . . for the wonders that astound us, for the truths that sill confound us, most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.”
Amen
Thank you Lord, for our right to vote and have a say in our future.
May we use it wisely.
Thank you for those with the courage to seek change, for those willing to wait in long lines to help secure a better future, for those with hope.
And yet our anxiety rises. Will we be able to break through our economic and political shackles? Will we overcome our sins of division, of power, of factions, of failure to love? (Gal. 5:19)
May we become a better people than we are. Guide us and forgive us O Lord. Help us to choose what is noble, what is right, and what is admirable. (Php. 4:8) Help us to trust in you and your grace.
Amen
We are grateful O Lord.
Grateful for the fall leaves, crisp days and beautiful skies, for love of friends and family, for music that calms and soothes, for books to read, for space to walk and think, and for all that brings us peace.
Grateful for those who serve and care and protect and guide and heal.
Grateful for the generosity of shared food and resources.
Grateful for the resilience of the human spirit.
Grateful for small moments of joy.
Grateful for the forgiveness and forbearance that point us towards a better way.
All this and more assures us that you, our Creator, are creating still.
We are grateful for your presence O Lord. Help us lean into your love in hope and faith.
Amen
Prayers For Our Country 