Prayer

Loving God,

We celebrate love today! And the power of love to give our lives purpose, direction, and meaning. As we share with those we love our tokens of sentiment and affection, help us also remember the seriousness of love and the truth of the saying, that what we love shapes us in profound ways. Make us more mindful of the attachments we form to things, ideas, and ways of thinking. Just like with the people who capture our hearts, help us commit to give our hearts over to things that are truly lovely. Amen.

Prayer

Lord of the Sabbath,

We give thanks today for the ministry of your son, the perfect embodiment of merciful love. In word and in deed, Jesus’s life continues to amaze us with moving displays of compassion for all those in need. May we be inspired to follow Christ’s footsteps, extending your grace through our own words and deeds. And may we share the same mindset, too, insisting that all our procedures and protocols remain in the service of our greatest priority: the person before us, made in your image, calling out for the grace of your touch. Amen.

Prayer

God over all,

The news sometimes tempts us to think maybe the social fabric really is unravelling. Beyond the pandemic and its ongoing pressures, we see extreme weather events, posturing nations, disturbing headlines, people struggling to find common ground. Help us remember we are not the world’s saviors, even as we commit to doing small things with great love. May we strive to become the best possible versions of ourselves by exercising the gifts that you give us in the places you put us: to sanctify, heal, serve, and protect. Give us the grace to face the world as it is, and the hope to make a difference. Amen.

Prayer

Healing God,

Our lives are so fragile. We each can be wounded in so many ways, as sickness or injury or, finally, death comes to all, eventually. Yet in all this experience you have graced us with seeds of good news. Across humankind we also have the gift of each other, and in so many moments encounter real healing. Indeed, for us who believe, we see in your son the fullness of healing take root in our world. Mind, body, and spirit… even the conquering of death! Today, then, we rightly take time, to pray and to grieve for those suffering in so many ways. Yet for their sake and ours we also have hope, that the healing begun might be realized through us in the work that we do. May we never grow faint as we continue extending your healing, compassion, and liberation to all those in need. In the power of your name, we pray, Amen.

Prayer

Today we give thanks for St. Scholastica, and the spiritual kinship she shared with her brother, St. Benedict. We ask you to bless us as well, with a spiritual bond that goes deeper than blood. A bond that takes us out of our comfort zones and overflows the limits of our natural families and cultures and histories. As one human family, we hope and we pray for the gift of your love to unite us, above and beyond every force that attempts to divide and destroy. May we stand together as one, believing nothing can quench the power of your love! Amen.

Prayer

Giver of Life,

We are ready for winter to pass. It’s been especially harsh in more ways than one, and it shows on so many faces. We’ve had pain and sorrow, challenge and adversity. We have faced a cold world as best we know how and are anxious for signs of new life, for days that are warmer. As we look for signs of transition, help us each play our part in becoming the change that we long for. By your spirit within us, through our laughter and hope, joy and thanksgiving, let our lives become symbols of spring—fresh and beautiful and bubbling with life. For the life of the world, we pray. Amen.

Prayer to End Trafficking (USCCB)

Loving God,

We seek your divine protection for all who are exploited and enslaved. For those forced into labor, trafficked into sexual slavery, and denied freedom. We beseech you to release them from their chains. Grant them protection, safety, and empowerment. Restore their dignity and provide them a new beginning. Show us how we might end exploitation by addressing its causes. Help us reach out in support of victims and survivors of human trafficking. Make us instruments of your spirit for their liberation. For this we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.