Prayer

Generous and gracious God,

What joy! What promise! What a sweet invitation! To awaken this day inspired to believe in your goodness and that you delight to give good gifts to your children. Renew our sense of expectation. Heal us of despair, doubt, and discouragement—anything that would rob us of the simple confidence instilled by your words. Grace us instead to continue believing, that our asking is not in vain, our seeking will not disappoint, and our knocking will not leave us stranded outside in the cold. Thank you for availing us of your generosity, guidance, and hospitality. Amen.

Prayer

God of All Splendor,

Your world is filled with wonders waiting to be witnessed and enjoyed! And yet if we’re honest, we must admit there are times when the worries and cares of the day make it hard to perceive the new gifts attending each moment. Our powers of awareness grow dull, desensitized by familiarity as much as the rest of life’s noisy clamor. Call us back to the wild wisdom of simply being present to the world you created. Re-awaken our soul’s capacity to witness your beauty and to share that beauty with others. Amen.

Prayer

Almighty God,

At times our world seems filled with so much tumult and strife, division and chaos. We want to change it for the better. Where do we start? Humble us, Lord, and save us from our own cleverness! Help us lean not on our own understanding but to learn the wisdom of starting within. Give us courage and strength to follow the examples of those who, through their self-transformation and response to adversity, inspired others to do the same, spreading peace and love far and wide. Amen.

Prayer, of St. Francis

Lord,

Make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, let me sow pardon. Where there is doubt, let me sow faith. Where there is despair, let me sow hope. Where there is darkness, let me sow light. Where there is sadness, let me sow joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Prayer

God our provider,

We thank you this day and all days for the multiple ways you supply all our needs. Fill our hearts with gratitude for those who, like you, are always at work securing the good of others, often without recognition. We think especially now of our colleagues in supply chain, without whom this ministry of healing and compassion would so readily exhaust its own resources. We recognize them and ask you to bless them in their service of stewardship. Amen.

Prayer

God of life,

You taught us to welcome children in your name. Indeed, you showed us that these little ones are the “greatest” in your sight. Open our eyes to see what you see, and love what you love, in the face of a child.

More than this, help us to change and become such as these, lest we grow old and callous of heart, neglecting the truth of our one greatest need: to find our real selves in the gift of your love. Teach us the “greatness” of becoming your children, receiving all as gift, so that we might give as you gave. Amen.

Prayer

God of mercy and compassion,

Today, as we begin our commemoration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we ask that you share the gift of your consoling love with all who have lost their fight with breast cancer and their families. We ask you to bless the work of those who provide care and pursue treatments that will allow us to rid the world of this illness. We ask you to bless all those who fight every single day for life and light. And we ask you to bless us all, that our commemoration of this month might strengthen within us a sense of compassion and care for one another. Amen.