Prayer

God among us,

As those called into your service today, we invite you to inspire us by your spirit and by your promise, that you are close to those who are sick and brokenhearted. Remind us that when we minister to patients and families and care for our community’s needs, you are right there, too, near to them and empowering us, that we might serve as you served and love as you loved. Lift our hearts beyond a sense of duty alone, to receive afresh the deeper calling you have given each one of us, no matter our role or title, to extend this incredible ministry of healing. Amen.

Prayer

God our refuge,

Today we remember your servant, St. Laurence O’Toole, who among other things was a champion of justice and protection for the poor and marginalized. Let his legacy of ministry inspire our own, as we commit together to be good help and provide health and well-being to communities in need. Bless our eyes to focus our attention especially on those who are vulnerable, that we might listen carefully to their needs and respond in ways that bring healing and hope. Amen.

Prayer

Divine kindness,

We have learned so much about the world around us, yet still through the ages we know the greatest and highest form of wisdom is as simple as it is hard: to be sincerely and authentically kind. On World Kindness Day, we recommit as a ministry to showing genuine kindness towards all those we have the privilege of serving and to serve your wider creation with kindness as well. May each one of us grow in our capacity to be kind, especially towards those who are poor, dying, and underserved. Amen.

Prayer

Source of all joy,

Many forces in the world today want to shape our perspectives in unhealthy ways. Yet you give us the power to guard our hearts and to see the world through eyes of gratitude, learning to encounter the people and situations around us in ways that ultimately lead us to joy. Today, as we strive to bring healing to a world in need, we pray that each of us working together would commit to shaping a culture of gratitude, so that your abundant, life-giving joy would be more palpable among us. For our own sake and for the sake of all those we are privileged to serve, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Loving God,

We ask for your blessing upon all our veterans today, as we celebrate their gifts and talents, and the sacrifices they freely made for the betterment of our country and our world. They selflessly answered the call to serve, putting the needs of others before their own. May we express our gratitude for what they have done by imitating that same faithfulness in our shared ministry of health care, as we serve and protect our patients and families, and strive to bring health and well-being to our communities. In thanksgiving for the example of our veterans and for the sake of those most in need of our service, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

God of wonders,

Help us integrate our maturity and experience with the childlike spirit that you said was a key to unlocking your kingdom. Teach us to retrieve our sense of awe by renewing our vision of the beauty and goodness of the people and things all around us. As we extend your ministry within our communities today, we pray especially for those who feel themselves growing old in their work and far from their sense of wonder. May their service to others lead them into a surprising moment of genuine astonishment, in which they may discover fresh inspiration for service. Amen.

Prayer

Loving God,

When you told us to love our enemies, you were challenging us to adopt a far more radical stance than we often appreciate. You call us not simply to think well of enemies, or try to change our feelings about them, but truly to love them and seek their good. Teach us to love in this way, as you have loved us, when we were still enemies with you. In a world that is filled with so much strife and antagonism, help us to embody a love that can triumph over division and renew the bonds of our unity. As one people before you, we pray. Amen.