Prayers in time of a pandemic
Please click below for the prayers
Prayer for 2021
Dear Lord,
Thank you for helping us to make it through 2020. Thank you that you have been there for us through all the uncertainty that 2020 has presented. We are constantly aware of how much we need you, your grace, your strength, your power working through even the toughest days.
As we prepare for 2021 we look to You for our hope, joy, and peace. Give us the courage to carry out Your will. Show us how to walk in Your grace and embrace Your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
REFLECTION
Beatitudes for Carers
The good Samaritan was someone who cared.
Blessed are they that care:
they will let people know they are loved.
Blessed are those who are gentle: they will help people to grow as the sun helps buds unfold.
Blessed are they that listen: they will lighten many a burden.
Blessed are those who know how to let go:
they will have the joy of seeing people find themselves.
Blessed are those who, when nothing can be done or said,
do not walk away, but remain to provide
a comforting and supportive presence:
they will help the sufferer to bear the unbearable.
Blessed are those who recognise their own need to receive:
they will be able to give all the better.
And blessed are those who give without hope of return:
they will give people and experience of God.
Let your light shine
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us
We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
(From the inaugural speech of Nelson Mandela).
Grace is unlimited
Human beings are frail and foolish.
We have been told that grace is to be found in the universe.
But in our human foolishness and short-sightedness
we imagine divine grace to be finite, and for this reason we tremble.
But the moment comes when our eyes are opened,
and we see that grace is infinite.
Grace demands nothing from us
but that we await it with confidence
and acknowledge it with gratitude.
Grace makes no conditions and singles out none of us in particular.
Grace takes us all to its bosom
and proclaims a general amnesty.
(Isak Dinesen)
Water into wine
Jesus brought the wine of God’s love into the world.
Everywhere he went the old was made new.
For the couple at Cana he changed water into wine.
For the widow of Nain he changed tears into joy.
For Zacchaeus he changed selfishness into love.
For the thief on Calvary he changed despair into hope.
And when through human weakness
the wine of love is found wanting,
touch our hearts and strengthen our wills,
so that we may taste the wine of unselfish love.
Australia Day Prayer
‘God of Australia..
We bring you our gratitude
for the diversity and wealth
of this land and its people;
for its weathered old mountains, fertile valleys,
and vast plains;
for its riches of mine and agriculture,
forest, and grazing lands;
for the first Australians, who know and love this continent
with an intimate, profound sensitivity;
for the courage, vision and sacrifice of the early settlers;
for the diverse races who now call Australia home:
For these and all your gifts
we offer you, O Lord, our joyful, thankful hearts. Amen.’
An Australia Day prayer by Bruce Prewer in his book, Australian Prayers.
Praising the Trinity
Praise and honour to the Father
Praise and honour to the Son
Praise and honour to the Spirit
ever three and ever one:
One in might and One in glory
While eternal ages run
Amen
Prayer for Trust
Preserve me God, I take refuge in you.
My happiness lies in you alone.
You are my portion and my cup,
you yourself are my prize
I keep you ever in my sight,
even at night you direct my heart.
With you at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
(From Psalm 15)
Prayer for the Fourth
Sunday of Advent 2018
May this Christmas
Be for each of you,
A time of moving
Beyond reason to wonder,
Beyond grasping to letting go,
And beyond competition to cooperation,
In the power of the babe of Bethlehem.
Amen.
(‘The Babe of Bethlehem’ by W.L.Wallace in 600 Blessings, 136)
Prayer for the Third Sunday of Advent 2018
O God we are one with
You. You have made us one with You.
You have taught us that if we are open to one another,
You dwell in us.
Fill us then with love,
and let us be bound together with love
as we go our diverse ways,
united in this one spirit
which makes You present in the world,
and which You witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious.
Amen.
(Adapted from Thomas Merton from’ The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton’, in Bridges One, 54)
Prayer for the Second Sunday of Advent 2018
God, still come to us.
Emmanuel, come to us,
and touch our lives and change our plans. Everlasting Father, come to us
and hold us in your loving arms.
Wonderful Counsellor, come to us,
and walk along our path.
Prince of Peace, come to us,
and reconcile our differences.
Almighty God, come to us,
and see and save our world.
God, still come to us.
Amen.
(Adapted from ‘Come to Us, Emmanuel’ by Frances Ballantyne, in 600 Blessings and Prayers, 137)
Advent Prayer
Holy One, prepare your way in me.
Give me faith, like the stable, to know your presence within me.
Give me courage, like Mary, to let your life overwhelm mine.
Give me strength, like Joseph, to protect what is holy, tender and growing.
Give me patience, like the shepherds, to be still and listen.
Give me humility, like the magi, to kneel before your presence.
Give me trust, like the child, to let myself be borne into a new world.
Give me joy, like the angels, to bring Good News to the poor.
Give me love, like the manger, to hold Christ within.
Holy One, prepare your way in me.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes | December 2011 | www.unfoldinglight.net
Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent 2018
“God of Advent Hope,
Grant us above all to see
that our ways are not necessarily Your ways, that we cannot fully penetrate the mystery of Your designs
and that the very storm of power now raging on this earth
reveals Your hidden will and Your inscrutable decision.
Grant us to see Your face in the lightening of this cosmic storm,
O God of Holiness, merciful to all.
Grant us to seek peace where it is truly found1 In Your will, O God, is our peace!
Amen.”
(Thomas Merton, “The non Violent alternative’ in “Bridges” Book One, pp 53-54)
THE KINGDOM OF JESUS
Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’
Jesus does not rule as earthly kings rule.
He has no palace, no throne, no crown, no army.
Yet we give him an allegiance and a loyalty,
which we would not give to any other person
or institution on earth.
Alone and unarmed he stood before Pilate.
Pilate, had thousands of soldiers to call upon.
Jesus had no soldier to call upon.
Yet Jesus was incomparably the greater of the two.
Jesus is the hope of the human race.
He rules, not be force, but by love.
Lord Jesus, may your kingdom come,
And may you remember me on that day.
21st November 2018
GIVING
Reflection:
You give a but a little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
There are those who give little of the much which they have,
and they give it for recognition,
and their hidden desire makes these gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life
and their coffer is never empty.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks,
and from behind their eyes he smiles upon the earth.
Kahlil Gibran
BEARING THE FRUITS OF LOVE
If only the heart was right we could give so much more.
Lord, open our hearts when they are closed,
soften them when they are hard,
warm them when they are cold,
brighten them when they are dark,
fill them when they are empty,
calm them when they are troubled,
cleanse them when they are sullied,
heal them when they are wounded,
and mend them when they are broken,
so that we, your disciples, may bear the fruits of love.
Amen
Fr. Flor McCarthy S.D.B.
PSALM – PRAYER
Lord God, through your saving
plan all things are ours,
and we are Christ’s, and Christ is yours.
Accept the praises of your Church.
By these praises, through Christ,
with him and in him,
all your honour and glory is celebrated,
all-powerful Father,
in the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen
Fr Michael Morley
19th October 2018
PRAYER TO THE HOLY FAMILY
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendour of true love;
to you we turn with trust.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again experience
violence, rejection and division;
may all who have been hurt or scandalised
find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family
and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Graciously hear our prayer.
Amen
(Amoris Laetitia)
PLENARY COUNCIL PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories
and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through, Jesus Christ our Lord,
bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen
Our Lady help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Reflection
Twenty-sixth Sunday of the Year
CHILDREN
Jesus warned those who would lead the little ones astray, but he blessed those who care for them.
One of the most touching things about children is their openness leaves them extremely vulnerable.
They may not say much but they feel everything.
They are like crocuses which appear in the open in February – frail, delicate, beautiful creates –
innocents abroad in an unpredictable climate.
If they are embraced by the sun, they will bloom to their full potential.
But if they are assailed by hail, they die a premature death.
Love is to a child what sunshine is to a flower.
Fr Flor McCarthy SDB
Reflection
Twenty-fifth Sunday of the Year
THE REWARDS OF THE JUST
God’s inspiration is at work in everyone.
However, there are people in whom divine inspiration seems to have no effect;
people who commit crimes cold-bloodedly,
and who never rejoice at the sight of the true and the beautiful.
Even though they may seem to prosper,
their punishment is assured even in this world.
The anxieties and fears that assail them.
As for the just, even though their passage through life
is often dogged by misfortune,
the inward satisfaction of obeying divine inspiration
gives them great strength,
and is sufficient reward for them.
Fr Flor McCarthy SDB
Reflection
Twenty-third Sunday of the Year
CLEANNESS OF HEART
Today pollution has become a big issue,
and rightly so.
People want clean water, clean air, and clean food.
But we should be even more concerned
about the most dangerous pollution of all, namely, evil.
Pride, anger, hate, lust, greed, envy …
All these are dangerous pollutants.
So what must we do?
We must purify the source; the heart is the source.
It is the well-spring from which
all our thoughts, words, and deeds flow.
If the heart is clean, all that flows from it will be clean.
Blessed are the clean of heart: they shall see God.
14th September 2018
THE RHYTHM OF COMMUNITY
Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is a progress
Working together is success
Lord, we come before you, not alone,
but in the company of each other.
We share our happiness with each other,
and it becomes greater.
We share our troubles with each other,
and they become smaller.
We share one another’s gifts and burdens,
and their weight becomes possible to bear.
May we never be too mean to give,
not too proud to receive.
For in giving and receiving,
we learn to love and to be loved.
We encounter the meaning of life,
the mystery of existence.
And discover you.
A Prayer for Fathers
God our Father, we give you thanks and praise for fathers young and old. We pray for young fathers, newly embracing their vocation;
May they find courage and perseverance to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice.
We pray for fathers around the world whose children are lost or suffering;
May they know that the God of compassion walks with them in their sorrow.
We pray for men who are not fathers but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice.
We remember fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love.
Amen
WILL YOU ALSO LEAVE ME?
When many of his disciples were leaving him,
Jesus turned to the apostles and said, ‘Will you also leave me?’
These words are addressed to us too.
It’s not the Lord who leaves , but we who may leave him.
But why would we want to leave the Lord ,
who alone has the words of eternal life?
We need to make our own Peter’s profession of faith.
Every Sunday we get a chance to do so.
We need the Lord to strengthen our faith.
We also need to confirm one another.
Lord, confirm our decision to stay with you.
Draw us closer to you in bonds of trust,
so that we may follow you in love and freedom.
The Presence of Christ
Christ be near at either hand,
Christ behind, before me stand.
Christ with me where e’er I go,
Christ around, above, below.
Christ be in my heart and mind,
Christ within my soul enshrined.
Christ control my wayward heart,
Christ abide and ne’er depart.
Christ my life and only way,
Christ my lantern night and day.
Christ be my unchanging friend,
Guide and Shepherd to the end.
Prayer/Reflection (for 19thSunday in Ordinary Time)
Trust In God
Lord, I’ve no idea where I’m going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself.
And the fact that I think I’m doing your will,
doesn’t mean that I’m actually doing it.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you, and I hope that I have this desire.
Though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death,
I will not fear, for you are with me,
and you will never leave me face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton
A Day at a Time
God provided a mysterious food called manna for the Israelites during their time in the desert. However, they were told not to stockpile the manna, but to gather only what they needed for one day. Jesus told his disciples not to worry about tomorrow. He said, When you pray to your heavenly Father, you are to say, “Give us this day our daily bread”. No matter how difficult life may be, for those who trust in God and who live a day at a time, the manna falls every day.
Flor McCarthy SDB
Discovering one’s own riches (for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
I lived on the shady side of the road
and watched my neighbours’ gardens across the way
revelling in the sunshine.
I felt I was poor
and from door to door went in my hunger.
The more they gave me from their careless abundance
the more I became aware of my beggar’s bowl.
Till one morning I awoke from my sleep
at the sudden opening of my door
and you came and asked for alms.
In despair I broke open the lid of my chest
and was startled into finding my own wealth.
Rabindranath Tagore
Sheep without a Shepherd (16th Sunday Gospel)
Lord, look upon us and take pity on us,
for at times we too are like sheep.
Save us from a blind following of the herd.
Help us to listen to your voice,
to trust you and to follow you, even if it means leaving the crowd
and walking a lonely path.
Lead us from fear to trust, from error to truth,
from hate to love, from war to peace,
from despair to hope, and from death to life.
Amen
Flor McCarthy S.D.B
Working for Christ
To do the work of Christ is really quite simple.
It means to be faithful in little things,
for to be faithful in little things is a big thing.
It means to do one’s task, no matter how humble,
not only thoroughly but joyfully.
It means to make oneself available,
yet never to seek the limelight.
It means to make oneself useful,
without seeking to push oneself.
It means to carry one’s own burden, without,
as far as possible, becoming a burden on others.
In a word, it means to be at one’s post,
helpful and faithful, loyal and constant.
Lord, make me an instrument
for the building of your kingdom.
Prayer for Evangelization
Father, through Jesus Christ you have charged us with
the mission of preaching the gospel to all people.
May the Holy Spirit, your gift to us through Christ, move us to
renew our own lives and strive always to respond to your call
to holiness so that we may effectively do the work
you have given us to do.
Give us an experience of your presence in our lives and give us the
enthusiasm and courage we need to share it with others.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord, Amen.
Faith tested
My faith is tested many times every day,
and more times than I’d like to confess,
I’m unable to keep the banner of faith aloft.
If a promised is not kept, or if a secret is betrayed,
or if I experience long-lasting pain,
I begin to doubt God and God’s love.
I fall into the chasm of disbelief and I cry out in despair.
But then the Spirit lifts me up again,
and once more I am secured in faith.
I don’t know how that happens,
save when I cry out earnestly I am answered immediately
and am returned to faithfulness.
I am once again filled with Spirit
and firmly planted on solid ground.
Maya Angelou
A lonely place
Jesus often went off to a lonely place to pray.
Yet the same Jesus who prayed in lonely places said,
‘When you pray, go into your room,
and pray to your Father in secret’.
This means that the lonely place
is not necessarily a place far away,
or that by ‘room’ he means four walls
that separate us physically from others.
The room is the room of our innermost heart.
This room is with us at all times.
We should make it a place to which we can go
to find rest and spiritual recovery
when the world is too much with us.
Then we will discovery that the inner room
is not empty after all, but is occupied
by the God of love who dwells in us all.
A divided kingdom
A kingdom that is divided within itself cannot stand.
I myself am a divided kingdom;
I am divided within myself.
The good that I want to do, I do not do;
the evil that I want to avoid, I find myself doing.
I am like a field in which wheat and weeds
are struggling for supremacy.
Who will save me from myself?
Who will keep my kingdom from falling down?
You, Lord, who overpowered Satan,
You will heal the division within me,
and help me to take complete possession of my house.
Then I shall be free, united, and at peace.
Before the Blessed Sacrament
Outside the church the noisy traffic flows past.
People rush hither and thither.
But I have left that world behind
and I am here before you, Lord.
I do not exclude my brothers and sisters.
I bring them with me,
for I know that they are equally dear to you.
I have nothing. Yet I know that because I have you,
I have everything.
I close my mind and open my heart, and so I am at peace.
Here I experience my true worth, which consists,
not in my possessions or achievements,
but in knowing that I am loved by you.
Plenary Council Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future, that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Reflection: Be guided by the Spirit of God
Do not let yourselves be guided
by the spirit of self-indulgence.
Look at the legacy self-indulgence produces:
bad temper, fighting, jealousy, cruelty, meanness,
revenge, fornication, idolatry, and drunkenness.
These are ugly things, and make life miserable.
Rather, let yourself be guided by the Spirit of God.
Look at the legacy the Spirit brings:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
These are beautiful things, and make life joyful.
They are a foretaste of the joy of heaven.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us.
Amen
Reflection
Jesus, you call me to follow you in the particular circumstances of my life.
You lead me to reverence you in my relationships, serve you in my responsibilities, and praise you in my days.
Help me to follow you on the way, keeping my heart attentive to your presence.
Lead me to a renewed availability for mission in everyday life.
Move me to gratitude for life’s invitations and stir up within me the courage
to be faithful to your call.
Fan into flame my desire to give glory to your name.
Amen
The wounded heart
If only the heart was right
we could give so much more.
But, alas, the heart is often empty.
It is often cold and unwelcoming.
It is often hard and unyielding.
It is often weighed down with worry.
It is often sad and lonely.
It is often in darkness.
It is often wounded.
And it is sometimes broken.
We have to heal the wounds of the heart
in order to be able to love.
Lord, touch our hearts and heal them,
so that we may be able to bear the fruits of love.
Amen
Working with love
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart,
even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection,
even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
If you cannot work with love but only with distaste,
it is better that you should leave your work,
and sit at the gate of the temple
and take alms from those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference,
you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half of man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes,
your grudge distils a poison in the vine.
Work is love made visible.
Kahlil Gibran
What a friend we have in Jesus
What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.
Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.
Working with Love
All work is empty save when done with love.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart,
even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection,
even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
If you cannot work with love but only with distaste,
it is better that you should leave your work,
and sit at the gate of the temple
and take alms from those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference,
you bake bitter bread that feeds but half of man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes,
your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
Work is love made visible.
Morning Offering
God, our Father, I offer you my day. I offer you my prayers, thoughts, words,
actions, joys, and sufferings in union with Jesus.
Help me to discern the movement of the Spirit in my heart, that I may respond generously to your call.
May the Holy Spirit, who guided Jesus,
be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love.
Amen
Reflection from last Sunday’s Gospel (Transfiguration)
Jesus often went into the hills to pray.
He preached his most famous sermon from a hilltop.
He was transfigured on Mount Tabor, died on Mount Calvary,
and ascended to heaven from Mount Olivet.
It seems that he loved hills and mountains.
Why was this?
Was it because he grew up among the hills of Galilee?
Or was it because heights enlarge our vision
and cause our spirit to soar?
Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further.
Strengthen our faith that we may see further.
And when the valley closes us in,
help us to remember the view from the hilltop.
Flor McCarthy S.P.B
A prayer for our Lenten Journey
United in prayer,
fasting and almsgiving
may our Lenten journey
call forth from us
true generosity so that
as ambassadors of Christ
we may work for A Just Future
and so reflect the compassionate
heart of God.
Amen
Caritas Australia
A prayer for Lent
In the Season of Lent, let us…
Fast from judgment and feast on compassion,
Fast from greed and feast on sharing,
Fast from scarcity and feast on abundance,
Fast from fear and feast on peace,
Fast from lies and feast on truth,
Fast from gossip and feast on praise,
Fast from evil and feast on kindness,
Fast from discontent and feast on engagement,
Fast from discouragement and feast on hope,
and Fast from hatred and feast on love.
Amen.
In response to last week’s gospel message of Jesus praying:
REFLECTION
Jesus often went off to a lonely place to pray.
Yet the same Jesus who prayed in lonely places said,
‘When you pray, go into your room,
and pray to your Father in secret.’
This means that the lonely place
is not necessarily a place far away,
or that by ‘room’ he means four walls
that separate us physically from others.
The room is the room of our innermost heart.
This room is with us at all times.
We should make it a place to which we can go
to find rest and spiritual recovery
when the world is too much with us.
Then we will discover that the inner room
is not empty after all, but is occupied
by the God of love who dwells in us all.
Flor McCarthy S.D.B
REFLECTION
Your children are not your children.
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you,
yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
for they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
Kahil Gibran – poet and philospher
MORNING OFFERING
Grant O Lord, that none may love you less this day because of me;
That never a word of act of mine may turn one soul from you,
And with your grace I implore, that may souls this day,
Because of me, may love you more.
AMEN
QUIET PRAYER
Dear child of God
when clouds descend,
when depression wraps its
heavy cloak about your soul,
when God seems distant and
you, are so alone-
stretch out a finger of faith, for you may
be closer than you’ve ever been….
He may be hiding you in the
shadow of his wing,
Beneath God’s wing
deep shadow blocks our sight
and bids us hear our
darkest feelings whisper
their pain, loss, and unmet needs
into the sufficiency of God’s love.
Susan Lenzkes 2017
CHRISTMAS PRAYER
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.
Amen
Howard Thurman
WHAT THEN IS CHRISTIANITY?
In the home it is kindness;
In business it is honesty;
In society it is courtesy;
In work it is fairness;
Toward the unfortunate it is sympathy;
Toward the weak it is help;
Toward the wicked it is resistance;
Toward the strong it is trust;
Toward the penitent it is forgiveness;
Toward the successful it is congratulation;
And toward God it is reverence and obedience.
St Columban’s Mission Society
A FAMILY PRAYER
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we humbly invoke you as our most loving and powerful Protectors.
To you we have recourse in all our wants, in all our trails and afflictions; and we implore you to take us,
and all Christian families, under your special protection.
May you be ever honoured and loved, blessed and praised, by us and by all mankind.
Amend
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2017
Blessing
What is a blessing but a rain of grace
falling generously into the lives of those in need;
and who among us is without need?
May the Spirit touch your spirit
May this day be a pathway strewn with blessings.
May your work this day be your love may visible.
May you breathe upon the wounds of those with whom you work.
May you open yourself to God’s breathing.
May you honour the flame of love that burns inside you.
May your voice this day be a voice of encouragement.
May your life be an answer to someone’s prayer.
May you own a grateful heart.
May you have enough joy to give you hoe,
enough pain to make you wise.
May there be no room in your heart for hatred.
May you be free from violent thoughts.
When you look into the window of your soul
may you see the face of God.
May the lamp of your life shine upon all you meet this day.
Adapted from Macrina Wiederehr, Seven Sacred Pauses
PRAYER FOR UNITY
Lord Jesus Christ, at Your Last Supper You prayed to the Father that all should be one.
Send your Holy Spirit upon all who bear Your name and seek to serve You.
Strengthen our faith in You and make us love one another in humility.
May we who have been reborn in one baptism all be united in one faith under one Shepherd.
Amen
PRAYER
Lord, grant us a strong and courageous faith,
a faith that burns brightly even in times of darkness,
a faith that doesn’t falter even when there are no miracles
or happy endings,
a Good Friday faith that trusts in the dawn of Easter,
a faith that is rooted in your love for us
and that expresses itself in love for others.
Flor McCarthy
REFLECTION
The bridegroom said to the foolish bridesmaids,
‘I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.’
How can we ensure that the Lord will recognise us
when we arrive at the door of the heavenly kingdom?
By keeping the lamp of love burning brightly.
And how do we do this?
Through a continuous input of small drops of oil.
What do these drops of oil consist of?
The small things of daily life,
the little deeds of kindness and of service.
PRAYER REFLECTION
Lord, open our hearts when they are closed,
soften them when they are hard,
warm them when they are cold,
fill them when they are empty,
heal them when they are wounded,
and mend them when they are broken,
so that we, your disciples, may bear the fruits of love.
Flor McCarthy SDB
BE STILL
Lord, God, what a mistake it is when we allow ourselves to be slaves
chained to schedules of our own making. Show us ways to break
loose from that and the courage to put our world together in the way
You want it to be.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
REFLECTION
God is continually calling us
to a deeper and more authentic life here on earth,
and to eternal life in the hereafter.
God’s call comes to us,
not so much as a voice in our ears,
as a tug at our hearts.
There is something missing in everybody’s life.
However, a sense of something missing
is not a curse but a blessing.
It is God’s way of inviting us to his banquet.
Flor McCarthy SDB
PARISH PRAYER
God our Father, bless our Parish of the Sacred Heart so that we may love you more.
Help our parents to give good example to their children and our youth to grow in strength as good Christians.
Encircle our families with your loving care.
To the sick grant health, to the aged bring serenity and to those in sorrow, joy.
May each parishioner grow stronger in faith And may our love for one another become deeper in our daily living.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
PALM CROSS
Dear Jesus,
I pray that you may be the source of strength in my body,
courage in my spirit and patience in my pain.
Amen
