Reflection “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” –George Bernard Shaw Prayer Joyful God, Despite the tumult around us, we are never without a reason for joy. There is your presence wit

Prayer

Joyful God,

Despite the tumult around us, we are never without a reason for joy. There is your presence within and among us, which gives us such comfort in times of trouble. There are the people you have placed in our lives, special companions gifted with wisdom, who have lived long enough to know that youth is not bound up with age and that sorrow does not get the last word. Thank you for these witnesses to joy. They seem to laugh with such freedom, that we know it must come from a depth of spirit borne from experience. May we all attain to this level of joy, choosing to be joyful amidst so many trials, laughing sincerely along the way. Amen.

Reflection “Violence is what happens when we don't know what else to do with our suffering.” –Parker J. Palmer Prayer Merciful One, How do we pray in a time of great violence? Let there be saints in our midst who can show us the

Prayer

Merciful One,

How do we pray in a time of great violence? Let there be saints in our midst who can show us the way, leaders who know what to do in response to great suffering. Let the prophets be heard as we seek new directions, looking for ways to transform mourning to joy. Some days feel like a nightmare, but we believe and profess you have a dream for the world. Make us partners today, to bring that dream more and more into reality. As the world cries out in its suffering, make us agents of your liberation, unlocking the doors that lead us to peace. Amen.

Reflection “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” –George Washington Carver Prayer Creative Word, What an inspiring thought… To imagine,

Prayer

Creative Word,

What an inspiring thought… To imagine, that nature is broadcasting your voice among us, if only we would yield our attention and listen. Yet we are so distracted most of the time, and we struggle to embrace quiet moments, not knowing how to sit still or stop our buzzing about. Give us courage to try anyway, and simply to wait on your presence. Let us welcome quiet moments in which we might find you again, within the world you have made. Fill us with gratitude for your presence found in creation, that we might carry your presence to others around us. Amen.

Reflection “An authentic faith…always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it.” –Pope Francis Prayer World-changing God, Throughout the ages, so many exa

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.

Humility of Mary Day

Humility of Mary Day

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

Reflection “Why, LORD, do you stand afar and pay no heed in times of trouble? Arrogant scoundrels pursue the poor; they trap them by their cunning schemes.” –Psalm 10:1-2 Prayer God our help, In many ways we are grieving today as

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.

Reflection “We can best measure our life together by how the poor and the vulnerable are treated.” –U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Prayer God of community, We are a data-driven people, obsessed with analytics aimed at effici

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.