Prayer

Faithful God,

As a ministry united, we pause and invite your spirit to empower us this day. Remind us that being in communion with you doesn’t have to be complicated, nor does a prayerful spirit need to distract us from urgent tasks requiring focus and attention. Whether its serving our patients and families at bedside, managing complex operations that sustain our ministry, or working beyond our walls with vendors and partners… Throughout all the many activities that occupy as a ministry together, help us remain a community anchored in prayer. Amen.

Prayer

God who calls us,

The consequences of environmental degradation are all around us, yet the causes are so vast it can be hard for us to know how to respond effectively. Protect us from the false belief that, faced with problems of such magnitude, we are somehow excused from the call to action. Your holy word and our own experience teach us that you have called every one of us to nourish and care for the world you have made. Inspire us to do so, such as we can, each in our own way today. As those who bear your image, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Joy Divine,

Being made in your image and likeness means we have a natural desire to find our way back to you. Thank you for accepting and loving us just as we are, and for inviting us to share in the joy you have possessed from eternity and that you sent into the world through your son, Jesus. On this third Sunday of Advent, we meditate gratefully on the depth of this joy, and we commit to make room for more of your joy in our souls. For the life of the world, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Love Divine,

Fill us with more of your love today, so that when we look at the world and the people that fill it, we will be filled all the more, with gladness for the blessings that we share together. Deliver us from envy, so that we may share our gifts collaboratively and work as one, serving the common good and building one another up through sincere, fraternal love. For sisters and brothers near and far, encourage us to look at the world through the telescoping lens of love. Amen.

Prayer

Always kind God,

As we reflect upon the power of kindness today, we stop and give thanks for the many ways you reveal your kindness to us. Give us strength to be kind to others authentically, in ways that express our deepest convictions: genuine kindness has power to transform and beautify souls, to turn hearts and minds towards one another, to renew the bonds of our kinship together and before you. And so as we continue to serve those who are at their most vulnerable today, we invite you to infuse our ministry with kindness, especially towards those who are poor, dying, and underserved. Amen.

Prayer

Creator God,

Your goodness in creation is manifest in so many ways! In the diversity of creatures and the harmony you have established between them. In the wonderful variety of life’s abundance and the intricate cycles that sustain the living web of which we are a part. Inspire us today, to live and work in a more harmonious relationship with nature, rather than ignore or reject creation’s good designs. As a ministry united, let our daily operations as much as our large-scale goals reflect this same commitment, to live in harmony with nature and to promote the common good. Amen.

Prayer

Loving God,

Our eyes are not like yours. For you see us just as we are and somehow you love us, without exception. Yet so often we see each other and somehow allow distortions of bias and prejudice to lead us to look for the worst in each other. Heal us of such wayward looking, that we might see what you see in each one of our brothers and sisters. May we commit this day to look for the best in each other and to show our respect for the infinite gift of each life before us. Especially for those who cannot see it in themselves, may we show our admiration for the dignity we share together, as those made in your image. Amen.