Prayer

Loving God,

It’s sad but still true: we learn from experience to wear invisible armor, to buffer the words of so many that we encounter. So many words used as weapons around us. Or even just careless words, spewed without sense, which still cause such damage and sting us in spirit. Help us be different, abounding in sweetness. As we share in the Chinese New Year this coming week, let our gifts and our mooncakes remind us to be agents of sweetness in a world that can often be bitter. In our words and our works, may we follow the footsteps of holy exemplars like John Bosco, who engaged in life-giving ministry with and for those who were poor and vulnerable, and never relinquished a sweetness of spirit. Amen.

Prayer

Sustaining Spirit,

Throughout the ages, your family on earth has endured so much adversity. And through much of our struggle, resilience was found in the gifts that you gave us from birth, as creatures made in your image: community, stories, and humor; the grace of belonging, care, and concern. Compared with such gifts, our tools and devices only take us so far. If we must continue relying on screens and buttons and batteries to maintain connection, help us never neglect the bonds of our common humanity, and the gift of your spirit within us. Give us a faith that can laugh in the midst of adversity, and the knowledge that we’ll make it together. Amen.

Prayer

Righteous God,

There are things that are wrong in our world and they ought to be right. Remind us today that it is okay to be mad when they’re not. You speak in your Word of your own righteous anger. And you showed us in person how upsetting it is to find human-made obstacles in the way of your healing. When your plans for peace are thwarted by human ambitions, when care and compassion are stifled by the hunger for power, when good help is undermined by self-serving causes… In times like these, help us avoid the many wrong ways to be angry. Lead us instead to find new and creative right ways to channel frustration in healthy directions, which will finally be fruitful for all. Amen.

Prayer

God of the ordinary,

Today we celebrate one of the Church’s most brilliant of minds: St. Thomas Aquinas. Yet, despite his great brilliance—or perhaps, precisely because of it—Thomas never let go of the concrete world around him. The real world of sense and experience. The world in which we actually live, work, and play, through laughter and tears, heartache and joy. Thank you for the wisdom he left us, which can stretch our imaginations to heaven’s heights while at the same time remind us: we are human, after all. And today may just be the day we most need to stop and put the brain away. Take care of the heart and alleviate sorrow, and thereby prepare for another tomorrow. May we do so in freedom. Amen.

Prayer

Joyous Creator,

Thank you for those boisterous spirits you put in our lives, who know just what to say and what buttons to push to lighten us up. When our work feels oppressive and the air becomes stifled, let there be someone among us who knows the importance of celebration—of acknowledging the little wins. May our toughness grow tender as the atmosphere cracks and a party breaks out, however meager or seemingly insignificant. Let our days be punctuated with sweetness and joy, as we continue extending your healing compassion. Amen.

Prayer

God in our midst,

We are so grateful you came among us, entered into the messiness of life, and transformed it. But we know the work is not done. As we see every day, the messes remain. And try as we might to heal and be healed, the suffering before us is hard to endure. Help us endure by turning to you and opening our hearts to the peace you give. Give us the courage of saints, like Timothy and Titus, whom we remember today. May their intercession give us strength to stand in the truth that you have conquered the world. Amen.

Prayer

God of Light and Life,

May we never forget that our real ‘enemies’ are not only flesh and blood, but powers and forces that are harder to identify. They are spiritual forces within us, forces like discouragement, regret, guilt and depression, fear and mistrust and anxiety… These are experiences that can be more debilitating than any of the diseases or conditions we confront every day. When these ‘enemies’ lurk at our doorstep, rouse our spirits again, and fill us with the hope of a greater resilience. Nothing can separate us from your love! And in the power of love we will rise. Amen.