Prayer

All-wise Creator,

In the network of life you designed, no life is useless. Rather all things have purpose and meaning. Even our breath is a gift we can share for the good of the world around us! With hearts full of faith, hope, and love, help us live into our purpose more and more deliberately, with conviction and determination. And when the going gets tough and we start feeling useless, lead us back to a heart of simplicity, grateful for the many opportunities we’ve been given to extend your goodness to others, sometimes without even knowing it! Amen.

Prayer

Merciful God,

We are indeed bewildered and overwhelmed at times by the darkness pervading the world we inhabit. So then today especially, on Divine Mercy Sunday, we ask you to open our hearts so we might be renewed and refreshed by the gift of your mercy. Let mercy transform us and help us to remain steadfast in pursuit of our calling. Together, make us ever more effective agents of your compassionate, healing love to a world in need. Amen.

Prayer

God over all,

Everything you’ve made is woven together in a single “garment of destiny.” We don’t always act like it, but we are nonetheless called to ensure that everything we do and say respects this singular network of life that holds us together, as creatures before you. Help us to grow in wisdom and love as we answer this calling, so we may flourish as stewards of the Earth and all life. For the sake of all the diversity of life and vitality around us, and our own sake as well, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Giver of all that is good,

Life is all about giving and receiving, in freedom and love. Learning to acknowledge the gifts that have been so generously handed to us and then finding ways to pass those gifts on, especially to those who are most in need of them. Inspire us today, to open our eyes to those who are most in need of the gifts we possess, spiritually as much as materially. May we be willing and able to share all our gifts in freedom and love, so that those we encounter will be empowered in turn, to give something back for the common good. Amen.

Prayer

Love divine,

It may be the most selfless prayer we can offer: to become so aligned with your mission that we are completely directed, guided, and empowered by you—into the lives of others, to serve them in their time of need. Liberate each one of us today, to make such a prayer our own, with authenticity and joy. And humbly, in exchange, we ask you to fill us with the kind of energy and resilience that can overcome our exhaustion and the heartache we so often encounter. May we be so filled with Easter’s vitality that we are eager to be sent out again, as love letters from you to our patients and families, our neighbors and colleagues, and our broader communities. Amen.

Prayer

Lover of life,

For too long we’ve had a taste for destruction, harboring apathy about the long-term consequences of our actions upon the common home we inhabit. Yet we see more and more how the world you created is straining beneath the weight of our irresponsible actions. As we strive now to restore and protect your creation, inspire us not with burdensome guilt or a sense of anxiety, but with joy and wonder. Restore to us a child-like wonder, which will ignite in us a love for your creation and a desire to treasure it for the gift that it is. As people of hope and a ministry united, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

God who journeys with us,

We offer a special prayer today for those who serve so faithfully at the bedside. We speak a blessing over them and ask you to be their wellspring of mercy, compassion, and stamina. By faith we believe that your presence goes with us in all that we do. In every room we enter, in every encounter, in every challenge and triumph and even in failure. Yes, you are with us. Let all caregivers be that much more aware of your presence today. And may our patients and families be all the more comforted, having encountered a peace beyond understanding, in the words and deeds of those who care for them. Amen.