Prayer

Empowering Spirit,

Confronted by the realization of a love stronger than death standing before them, your disciples rightly recoiled in fear. And yet you demonstrated such tenderness with them, as you do with us. You invite us by degrees, step by step, to realize the reality of your living presence within and among us and to be transformed ourselves. Today, lead us beyond all our fears, especially of the unknown to which you are calling us, so that we might foster a deeper awareness and receptivity to your abundant life, which is right now renewing the world and invites us to take part. With faith, hope, and love, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Joyful Creator,

Despite our best efforts we still encounter people who bring us down through a negative attitude. It doesn’t seem to matter what’s going wrong or right in their day, they just seem to enjoy being miserable! Help us respond to these children of yours with grace and longsuffering, remembering that at the end of the day we are still one family before you, and we’re called to act like it. Help us, therefore, to find creative ways to confront these brothers and sisters, to speak the truth in love, and to encourage them to revive a positive attitude that can be just as contagious in the culture we share together. As we all pursue a more joyful way of living and working, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

God of Little Ones,

Children are a blessing to behold!  They come into this world eager to learn and explore all the new things they can see.  Help us, first and foremost, to guide them to understand your loving care, letting them know that they have always been loved.  We can then celebrate with them all the new things they are learning about the gifts you have given them and shared with us all.  In gratitude for the children of the world, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Beautiful God,

As we walk into this spring season help us to be conscious of all the beauty that is around us in nature.  Your creative hand is in all things, and it doesn’t take much to see your artistic talent:  the budding of trees, the crocuses bursting forth from the ground, breathtaking sunsets to mark our days, not to mention the little creatures being born each day.  Thank you for all the life you see fit to pour out upon us and the rest of creation.  Amen.

Prayer

God of all,

On this celebration day, ending the month-long fast of Ramadan, we ask your blessing on our Muslim brothers and sisters who grew in patience throughout this month of sacrifice. We celebrate together the love that you have for all of us, and we commit ourselves to better extend that love to the rest of the world, especially towards those who are most vulnerable among us, the poor, the underserved, and the dying. In gratitude, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Joyful God,

Joy and happiness can be two sides of the same coin, but so can joy and sadness. The lesson to be learned is that our joy is not determined by whether we are happy or sad on the outside, but rather what brings us deep joy within.  Your love for us creates that deep joy, and when we feel that type of joy, a smile on our face is not far behind. Thank you for joyfulness, and we ask that you lead all of us to moments of joy each day. Amen.

Prayer

God of our calling,

Mary was a mere teenager when she received the call to become the mother of your Son.  That must have been an eye-opening experience, yet she said, “Be it done to me according to your word,” without hesitation. Following the example of Mary, help us say “Yes” to our call, to extend the compassionate ministry of Jesus to all of our patients, families, co-workers, and communities, even without knowing all the implications of the situation. Like Mary, help us rely completely on your grace, knowing that you are with us in each moment. Amen.