Hope

Hope

Prayer

Faithful Lord, even in the darkest moments, our trust in your promises can give us confidence and affirm the hope that better days are ahead. Send your Holy Spirit upon us that we might be strengthened in faith. Renew our trust in you that we might lead lives that reflect our hope that you are with us and will never abandon us. May your presence strengthen us, providing us with the courage we need to celebrate your love in good times and trust in your fidelity in times of darkness. In trust, we pray. Amen.

Healing Hurts

Healing Hurts

Prayer

Almighty God, today we honor the memory of a saint known for mediation between warring sides and for his efforts at reform. May his example inspire each of us to do what we can to heal divisions in our families and communities, and to create a better world. Stir within us the same spirit of peace and progress that animated St. Laurence and fill us with the confidence that flows from trusting in your promises of life and goodness. We pray in your name. Amen.

Faith

Faith

Prayer

God most high, in a world of poll numbers, fact checking, and research, it can be difficult to cultivate the life of faith. We may be tempted to search for proof of your existence and care for us. This day we pray that you will open our eyes to your presence in our lives and world and open our hearts to the love you shower upon us each day. May our rightful confidence in science never diminish our faith in you. Amen.

Service to Country

Service to Country

Prayer

God of love and peace, Jesus told his disciples that he had come not to be served, but to serve. We gather in your presence today mindful of the sacrifices made by so many to defend our freedom and promote justice and peace. We thank you for the gift of our nation’s veterans who generously gave of themselves in the effort to maintain our country’s freedom, and encourage it to flourish and prosper. May we who enjoy the blessings of freedom always be grateful to those who help to preserve it. We pray this in the name of God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.

Peace

Peace

Prayer

Lord of peace, today, we are often too familiar with the strife in our world and perhaps even the strife in our lives and families. As we celebrate the memorial of St. Leo the Great, sanctify us that we might be agents of the peace he extolled, the peace of which the angels once sang. May our lives bring some measure of mercy and peace to our struggling world. In confidence we pray. Amen.

Unity

Unity

Prayer

Creator God, we learn from the creation stories in the bible that you did not create us to be alone. We have been made for each other. In a time when we seem separated by ceaseless division, help us find ways to restore the bonds of being and affection that unite all who live through your creative hand. Bless us with the gift of unity and give us the courage necessary to make it a reality in our lives and world. Amen.