Prayer

World-changing God,

Throughout the ages, so many examples have shown us that faith without action is empty, while a living and authentic faith inspires believers to transform the world around them. May we who serve in this ministry be people of this kind of faith. People who know that living in your love means more than assenting to a list of beliefs. It means embodying those values by which your love is made real and the earth becomes better than it was when we found it. Humbly we ask you, fan our faith into flames of action for the sake of our neighbors and communities. Fan the flames of our faith for the sake of those who are poor, dying, and underserved, for the sake of a future worth inheriting, Amen.

Prayer

God who gives strength,

Today we give thanks for the Sisters of the Humility of Mary and the blessing we’ve been given to share in their legacy. May we commit to being as faithful in responding to the needs of our day and to stewarding our gifts as wisely. May we never grow tired of doing good, but follow the sisters’ example, as they follow Mary: “Responding in faith, living in truth, and bringing God to our world in a spirit of simplicity and joy.” Amen.

For Humility of Mary Prayer Service Click Humility of Mary Day

Prayer

God our help,

In many ways we are grieving today as a world, as wars and violence and economic distress wreak disastrous effects upon those who are poorest. As a global community we are living through such troubled times. We long to find ways to acknowledge this suffering and work through it together. Yet the problems are vast and there are no easy solutions. We ask you to lead us into new paths of compassion in action, new ways to cooperate, and new ways to liberate those who are most at risk of entrapment, exploitation, and overall harm. Amen.

Prayer

God of community,

We are a data-driven people, obsessed with analytics aimed at efficiency. There’s not a thing wrong with this posture, for indeed we are called to be good stewards of the resources you give, and we desire wholeheartedly to improve the quality of the work that we share. As we do so, however, let us remember that the most important measure of our life together is the way that we consider, include, and respond to those who are most poor and vulnerable among us. Remind us today, as a broader community and as one human family, that we are only as healthy as the care and protection we give to those most in need. Amen.

Prayer

Caring Spirit,

You gave us a rule of such challenging simplicity: to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Yet for many of us, especially those drawn to care for the needs of others, the second part of that rule can be hard to put into practice. We see caregivers and colleagues neglect and empty themselves in ways that cannot be sustained. We owe it to them to intervene. To support them and care for them in a spirit of love. Perhaps above all we must pray for them, that your Spirit would awaken within them and sound the alarm: to take care of themselves is a sign of their love for others. Open all our hearts in this way, to practice the wisdom of your rule for life. Amen.

Prayer

God of justice,

Seeing the world in all its fury and pain, we are tempted sometimes to run away, to turn our back on the world because it all feels like too much to face. Yet you have called us to do more than find a path of escape. You call us to invest and plant and build, to make your love concrete in big and small ways in the lives that we share with others. Show us today how we can foster a genuine spirit of collaboration, so that the anger and violence among us might be transformed into good help and well-being for all. In your great compassion and peace, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Self-giving God,

There are some basic functions of the heart that we need to practice more often. As we challenge each other in the work that we share, we need to know how to say I am sorry. And we need to know how to give praise for a job well done. With no strings attached, let our apologies and compliments be quickly expressed, so the culture of ministry we are building together may always be free of manipulation, deceit, and selfish attention. May we each feel the responsibility to ensure we remain a place “where associates want to work, clinicians want to practice, people seek wellness and communities thrive.” In the hope we share with you for our world, Amen.