Call to Prayer

Leaders: Incline your ear to us, Lord
All: and hear us
Leader: O God, save your servants who trust in you.
All: Have mercy on us, Lord, for to you do we cry all the day.
Leader: Gladden the sould of your servant,
All: for to you O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.

READING: Ephesians 3:14-21

Antiphon: I am going to take Israel into the desert again; there I will win her back with words of love.

Left: How I love your dwelling place, Yahweh Sabaoth!
         How my soul yearns and pines for your courts!
         My heart and my flesh cry out to you, the living God.

Right: Finally, the sparrow has found its home,
           The swallow a nest for its young-
           Your alters, Yaweh Sabaoth, O my God.

Left: Happy those who dwell in your house
         And praise you all day long.
         Happy those whose strength is in you;
         They have courage to make the pigrimage

Right: As they go through the Valley of the Weeper
          They make it a place of springs
          Clothed in generous growth by early rains
          They make their way from strength to strength.
          Soon to see God in Zion.

Left: Yahweh Saboath, hear my prayer:
         Listen, God of Jacob and Rebekah.
         Now look on us, God our shield,
         And be kind to your anointed.

Right:Only one day in your courts
          Is worth more than a thousand elsewhere:
          Merely to stand at the door of God's house
          Is better than living with the wicked.

Left: For you, God, are a sun and a shield,
         Bestowing grace and glory.
         Yahweh withholds nothing good
         From those who walk without blame.

Right: Yahweh Saboath, happy those
          Who put their trust in you.

All: Glory to...
Antiphon: I am going to take Israel into the desert again; there I will win her back with words of love.
Leader: Canticle from Psalms Anew

Intercessions:
Leader: Our Father
Prayer: O God, we live in constant need. To whom shall we go but to you? You are both father and mother to us, tending our days with delicate care. We thank you for your love and mercy this day, and we as you to help us to forgive as we have been forgiven; to give as we received. This we, your children, ask of you in your tender mercy. AMEN.

Magnificant of Hope

My soul delights in the energy of Hope, my God and my spirit sings Alleluia in the gift of your joyful presence, because you are blessing us in this moment of living.

Yes, we are known as your Easter people now and for all time. We are known as people blessed by you because of our faith in the power of resurrection.

Holy is your name.

The strength of your mighty arm rests on all the magnificance our eyes can hold. And your healing power fills us with confidence. You have revealed your majesty in the mighty rivers and meadows, the birdsong and dark clouds, the promise of sunshine and the presence of hope in the barren limbs.

Our hunger has been satisfied and we have been invited to consider our excess.

We remember your faithfulness and your plan of salvation for you are amazing in your love for us and you overwhelm us in wonder.

My soul delights in the deep faith and my spirit sings a song of Hope in a chorus of Alleluia.

Concluding Prayer:
We seek and increase in authentic Hope, which has its source and foundation in a God who is faithful to all promise. Make us believe examples of people who put our hope in the one true God this day and always. As we forge new frontiers keep us faithful and holy so that our journey will give glory to you. AMEN.

A LITANY OF BEING GOD'S INSTRUMENT OF GOODNESS

Response: God who sings through us, we thank you.

For the talents and the abundance of gifts that are ours...
For the faith that stirs and grows in our hearts...
For the many people who have been your instruments of goodness in our lives...
for the moments when we have known the song of your presence in a special way...
For the times when your goodness has made mustic through us...

Pause
Response: God of goodness, help us to trust in you.

When fear rises up in us and we do not believe in our ability to be your instrument...
When the busyness and schedules of our lives press upon us and create questions about your song within us...
When we doubt your presence in the difficult aspects of our days...
When we lose sight of the the truth that we are called to instruments of goodness...
When emptiness, loneliness, and other struggles keep us from hearing your melody of love...

Pause
Response: God of love, sing your song through us.

As we grow in believing in our goodness...
As we allow more and more of whom we are to be influenced by your presence...
As the song of your love grows in us and the call to be your instruments become clearer to us...
As we struggle to know how and when to share our gifts and goodness with others...
As we go forth from here with the desire to be your instruments of love...

Pause
Leader: For whom and what should we bring to our prayer today...
Leader: gathering all our prayers into one, we say Our Father...

All: God, we celebrate your steady love though the ages. Make us faithful to your call to seek out and help those in need, to bring unity where there is discord and division, to use our talents generously, to serve all without distinction, treating everyone as a dear neighbor, to live and work with gentleness, peace and joy. Impelled by your persistent and sustaining love, we as for boldness to live your will in this time and place.Amen.

Closing prayer: "Glory is to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine." (Eph. 3:21)

All: AMEN

A Prayer
by John Cardinal Henry Newman
Longmans, Green, and Co. London 1903

God has created me to do Him some definite service;
He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission.... I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.
He has not created me for naught. I shall do good. I shall do his work.
I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not intending it if I do but keep his commandments.
Therefore I will trust him, whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away.
If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him;
in perplexity, my perplexity may serve him;
He does nothing in vain, He knows what He is about.

O Lord, support us all the day long of this troublous life,
until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done. Then of thy mercy grant us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest, and peace at the last:
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Verses on Various Occasions

Prayer for the Sake of Children
1990 by Incentive Publications, Inc., Nashville, TN.

I offer you, O God, the happiness of children, who innocently grow in the light of your eyes.
They are rightfully your favorites; for them you have an unlimited tenderness.
You care for each of them more than we can imagine.

My attitude toward them, too, influences their development.
Help me not to hamper with my impositions the free growth of the children's world.
Ease the task of parents and educators, I pray you.
Grant ample space for the creative spontaneity of these budding souls,
so that they may grow in a world of freedom, understanding, and love.

Embrace them with the tenderness
of your paternal heart. Help me to conquer my impatience and selfishness,
so that I may always have a gentle smile for all children that approach me.

For the sake of children, God, save this world from catastrophies and wars;
and grant all human beings better days with peace and unity among all. Amen.

In Praise of Learning
Source Unknown

The response to each intention is : We thank you, God.

For reading;
Those peculiar marks on a page are so able to inform us,
to entertain us, and to move us to laughter and tears,

For handwriting, grammar and spelling;
which as tools enable us to capture our thoughts
and communicate them clearly to others,

For mathematics;
with its dependable patterns and principles
which reassure us that the world is not so inconstant
as we might fear,

For science;
which challenges us to explore our universe
and reveals the world to be all the more wonderful
the more we understand it,

For social studies;
which teaches us to know ourselves
and to know each other,

For art;
with its absorbing, unexcelled joy of making,
seeing, and appreciating the beautiful,

For music,
with its mystical power to reach us and unite us
as nothing else can,

For physical education;
which teaches us to understand our bodies,
and gain satisfaction inherent in strength and skill,

God, for all truth,
and for hearts and minds to know the truth, we thank you.

Prayer For Every Day

Father, you give us this day.
Help us to seek you and know you in everything we do today,
And in everyone we meet.

Pour your peace into our hearts
That we may be a source of strength and hope to all we meet.

Father, fill out hearts with your love,
That our day may be spent in giving to all those around us.

Lord, all that we are and all that we have is your gift to us.
With our lives and all that is in us we praise you;
Make us whole in your Spirit, so that everything we do today
May be prayer to you.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

May the Lord bless us,
May God keep us from evil and lead us to life everlasting.
Amen.

Prayer for Appropriateness

Leader: Lord, God, you are the source of all inspiration and enlightenment. We seek to do your will, yet we are trapped in uncertainty. Help us to see more clearly your gentle hand directing us through prayer and through the people, ideas and experiences of our lives, for we know that

Group: There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born to emerge, to choose to be a good teacher
A time to die to abandon ways that would be counter-productive to our vision
A time to plant to place in the hearts of students, women and men a love of God and others
A time to uproot the plant to remove habits that cause students and teachers not to be their best
A time to kill to end harmful, divisive intentions
A time to heal to forgive the shortcomings of peers and students
A time to tear down to eliminate walls of biases that separate us
A time to build to have confidence in those with whom we come in contact
A time to weep to grieve over lost opportunities
A time to laugh to look at our lives with eyes of humor
A time to mourn to have regrets about those in our profession who do not see or act with compassion
A time to dance to rejoice because of those who stir creativity and love in their students
A time to embrace to hire those whose values and visions are ours
A time to refrain from embracing to be cautious and careful in choosing those individuals to share in the vision
A time to seek to recruit individuals to share our visions and ministry
A time to lose to let go, to allow people to expand their ministry elsewhere.

A Prayer of Gratitude
Native American Omaha Indian

O Divine Gift-giver,
I stand beneath the endless waterfall
of your abundant gifts to me.

I thank you especially for all the blessings of life,
the most precious of all your gifts to me.

I thank you, ever generous One,
for clothing to wear,
for food and drink to nourish my body,
that you have bestowed upon me.

I thank you for the many joys of my life,
for family and friends,
for work that gives to me a sense of purpose
and invests my life with meaning.

I thank you as well
for the sufferings and trial of my life,
which are also gifts
and which, together with my mistakes,
are among my most important teachers.

Grant that I may never greet a new day
without the awareness of some gift for which to give you thanks.

And may constant thanksgiving
be my song of perpetual praise to you.

Father, a needy one stands before you,
I that sing am that one.

A Dialogue with St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Give us peace in the world.
Make Your instruments have soft music.
Play the trumpet very, very loud for God.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Let me think about my brother.
If there is a fight, le me stop it.

Where there is injury, pardon;
Forgive and forget.
Forgive others what they have done.

Where there is doubt, faith;
Lord, help me believe in You when I don't.
Where there is not faith, I will make them believe.

Where there is despair, hope;
Make wishes come true.
When there is no chance, let me pray.

Where there is darkness, light;
Let me brighten up the day.
Let the joy and happiness spread around.

O, divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console;
Lord, make me able to cheer up people.
God, I will comfort people.

To be understood as to understand;
Le me understand what You are saying.
Help me understand that others need love.

To be loved as to love;
Lord, let me love all things.
I will comfort people.

For it is in giving that we receive;
Thank You for letting me have Your heart inside mine.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
Let people forgive me as I forgive them.

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
I will die and rise again in Your hands, Lord.
I will go to heaven for eternal life.

Prayer of a Reluctant Disciple
A prayer offered by a Christian in South Africa

You asked for my hands
that you might use them for your purpose.
I gave them for a moment,
then withdrew them for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth
to speak out against injustice.
I gave you a whisper
that I might not be accused.
You asked for my eyes
to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them
for I did not want to see.
You asked for my life
that you might work through me.
I gave a small part
that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you
only when it is convenient for me to do so,
only in those places where it is safe to do so,
with only those who make it easy to do so.
Lord, forgive me,
renew me,
send me out as a usable instrument
that I might take seriously
the meaning of your cross.

Prayers for Myers-Briggs Types
Source unknown

ISTJ Lord, help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 am e.s.t.

ISTP God, help me to consider people's feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.

ESTP God, help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though they're usually NOT my fault.

ESTJ God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask.

ISFJ Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.

ISFP God, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don't mind my asking).

ESFP God, help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing.

ESFJ God, give me patience and I mean right NOW.

INFJ Lord, help me not to be a perfectionist. (Did I spell that correctly?)

INFP God, help me to finish everything I sta...

ENFP God, help me to keep my mind on one th-Look a bird-ing at a time.

ENFJ God, help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing?

INTJ Lord keep me open to others' ideas, WRONG though they may be.

INTP Lord, help me to be less independent, but let me to it my way.

ENTP Lord, help me follow established procedures today. On second thought, I'll settle for a few minutes.

ENTJ Lord, help me slow downand notrushthroughwhatIdoghwatIdo. Amen.

Closing Prayer
Source Unknown

May the God of strength be with you, and keep you in strong-fingered hands;
may you be the sacrament of strength to those entrusted to your care.
May the blessing of strength be with you.

May the God of mercy be with you, forgiving you, beckoning you, encouraging you to say:
"I will get up again and go to my Father's house";
may your readiness to forgive calm the fear of those who hurt you.
May the blessing of mercy be on you.

May the God of wonder be with you, delighting you with thunder and wind, sunrise and rain, enchanting your senses, filling you heart, opening your eyes to the splendor of creation
and may you open the hands, eyes and hearts of the blind and insensitive.
May the blessing of wonder by with you.

May the God of simplicity be with you, opening you to a clear vision of truth,
leading you deeply into the mystery of childhood;
and may your dealings with others be marked by the honesty which is simplicity.
May the blessing of simplicity be on you.

May the God of patience be with you, waiting for you with outstretched arms, letting you find out for yourself; may you be patient with the young who fall from small heights
and the old who fall from greater heights.
May the blessings of patience be upon you.

May the God of peace be with you, stilling the heart that hammers with fear, doubt and confusion;
and may the warm mantle of your peace cover the anxious.
May the blessing of peace be with you.

May the God of love be with you, drawing you close, may this love in you be for those you serve;
may this love glow in your eyes and meet God's love reflected in the eyes of your friends.
May the blessing of love be upon you

Slow Me Down Lord

Opening Prayer
God, as we gather together today, be with us to reflect on your great gifts to us. Your gifts of time, talent, and people are very special to each of us. Help us to realize and appreciate these gifts as we move through our busy lives.

Reading: Slow Me Down, Lord.
Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams, which live in my memory. Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations, of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to read a few lines from a good book. Slow me now, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.

Pause for Reflection

Response: Psalm 23
Left: The Lord is my pace-setter
I shall not rush. God makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals.
God provides me with images of stillness
Which restore my serrenity.

Right: God leads me in the way of efficiency
through calmness of mind
and God's guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things
To accomplish every day.
I will not fret.

Left: For God's presence is here.
God's timelessness and
all-importance will keep me in balance.

Right: God prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity
by annointing my mind
with the oils of tranquility.

Left: My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness
shall be the fruit of my hours,
for I shall walk in the pace of my God
and dwell in God's house forever.

Closing Prayer: (All)
We thank you God, that you have shown us the power of faith, the beauty of love in the life of your son, Jesus Christ. By raising Christ from the dead you have given us the hope of eternal life and the call to share that hope with all nations. May we have the courage to live as fully as Jesus did, to serve our brothers and sisters with generosity and joy. Bless our time together. Be with us in the community we have and in the work we do for your children.

Prayer of Petition for All Who Minister

Jesus, you commmanded us to serve, and sent your spirit to empower us for ministry.
Response: Help us in our hectic lives to be sensitive to the opportunities for service in your name.

We acknowledge that we become whole persons because we experience your love through those around us.
Response: Help us to remember that we cannot be Christians in isolation. It is in ministry that we find the reality of Christ.

Your life is an example to us of loving service. Your message of forgiveness and reconciliation is for all persons.
Response: Help us to minister to others without judgment, and to recognize the healing power of Christian unity.

As your promoters, God, we look to you for guidance in our ministry, remembering that you use many persons and methods to help achieve your purposes.

Response: Help us to distinguish your call to minister from the influence and pressure of people around us, trusting you to use each of us in accordance with our abilities and experiences.

Empower us we pray, O God, as we renew our commitment to be your promoters in the world.
Response: Guide us daily as we go about our work of being builders of the Kingdom. Amen.

A Celebration of Life and Joy

Blessed are you, God, who gives us birthdays as times of joy and of new life!

Leader: Jesus Christ is the Light of the World
A light no darkness can extinguish.

Hymn: (Choice of planner)

Antiphon: Blessed are you God, who gives us birthdays as times of praise and joy.

Leader: Thus says God,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread forth the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:

Left: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Right: When you pass through the waters I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
Left: When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you...
Right: Because you are precious in my eyes and honored, I love you.
I give all in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.
Left: Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east and from the west I will gather you. Right: You are my witnesses, says our God, and my servant who I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am your God.
Left: I am God; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it?

Leader: God of all the earth, thank you for this splendid torch of life. May it burn brightly each day, this day. Thank you for the now, and thank you for all you still hold in my heart for me. You come to me in earth, wind, and fire, and especially in the inner whispers of your Spirit. May I be present to you and to all that is. I praise you in Jesus your Son. Amen.

Right: Give thanks to God because God's goodness and love is eternal.
Let the people of Israel say God's love is eternal.
Left: Listen to the glad shouts of victory in the tents of God's people;
God's mighty power has done it!
God's power has brought us victory.
Right: I will not die; instead, I will live and proclaim what God has done. I will praise you, God, because you heard me, because you gave me victory.
Left: The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most improtant of all! This was done by our God: what a wonderful sight it is.
Right: This is the day of God's victory;
Let us be happy; Let us celebrate!

A Time for Joy

Reflection: There is a time for laughter in life, a time when people sense they are more free than the tragedy of suffering, the sorrow or the tears which are part of life but not its whole story. People were made for laughter, for celebration, for the joy which is God and for the freedom which is grace.

There must be a time for joy in life or else we are lost. There must be a time when we dance, like Zorba, in the midst of our tragedies and celebrate even our inability to find reasons for celebration.

The very possibility of a time for happiness in our lives tells us something about ourselves. Laughter comes from within the heart of a person. One is able to laugh even when the objective situation does not demand it, because something in us is not bound by the objective situation. Only people can laugh; an animal has no sense of humor. This is because there is something in people which the heart of an animal cannot contain.

It is possible for us to laugh because we are free. People have a sense of humor because they have a sense of inner freedom. Nothing can keep a person from laughing, restrain one from celebration, confine a person to tears except one's inner decision. People have gone singing to their death, as did Thomas More, the saint who intrigues the modern person, when he jested with his executioner.

There is a time for joy because there is poetry in the heart and grace and freedom and love and all those other realities no one understands and everyone of us feels. There is a time for laughtyer because we can have hope even though there are no reasons for it; we can choose life when all circumstances counsel the opposite; we can feel joy in our bones even though everyone around us thinks this foolish. There is a time for laughter because the free God who made us freely for freedom is at the heart of our heart.

Hymn: (Choice of the planner)

Intercession: Spontaneous

Sing Our Father

Blessing Prayer

God of life, as we celebrate this traditional feast in honor of the day when ( insert name) was Your gift to her/his parents and to the world, we ask of You a belssing.

Bless (insert name) and each of us with wisdom, the wisdom that You shared with Your clever son, Pablo Picasso, artist and lover of life, who said "It takes a long, long time for one to become young." Make us younger each birthday. Awaken within us the child who is so often asleep with shame. Open our eyes to wonder and awe; delight our hearts with amazement and playfulness. May candles burn bright on this feast, as signs of the fire of life that burns today, on this birthday and on everyday.. for all days and all eternity in the heart of (insert name) and in each of our hearts. Lord of Birthdays and Festivals, dance on our roof and join us with your Divine Mirth. Amen

May God our Creator bless you (insert name), and keep you. Amen

May the Master of life and of death graciously smile upon you, (insert name). Amen.

May our God give you peace. Amen.

Morning Prayer
Call to Hope

Opening Prayer: Holy God, keeper of all HOPE, we turn to you with deep gratitude and longing to know you more completely. We are in need of more faith so that our lives will know the energy of Christian hope. Bless us with simple pure belief in out and your promise of resuuection. Put a new song into the core of our being so that our lives will give glory to you. Excite us with your nearness; strengthen us with lasting confidence in your love.

Reading: Jeremiah 29:11-4

Response: Our faith in Christ gives us reason to hope.

      Hope is always rooted in faith. to believe is to have hope. To believe in Hope is to risk following the radical call of Holiness. Our world needs more holiness. Risen Lord, deepen out faith, we pray......(response)

      To live in Hope means to live in the reality that newness is always possible. To live as a Christian means that we believe that God is present in every aspect of life. Risen Lord, help us to experience your sustaining presence, we pray....(response)

      To wait eagerly in confidence that God is in charge is to Hope. Our lives are empty without this anticipation of grace. Hope is perhaps the gift we most need to bless one another with. We give hope by living out of our own blessing of Hope. Risen Lord, enable us to be sources of authentic Hope, we pray....(response)

      Hope is a vision. It is a way of seeing and looking at life. Such vision gives energy to the way we approach life. And the comprehensive Hope of the resurrection gives us a vision of life aternal, which begins now for all who believe. Risen Lord, fill our hearts with the song of Hope, we pray....(response)

      To Hope, is to love in peace trusting that despite al suffering, loss and brokenness we are saved people. God is God and life will prove stronger than death. Risen Lord, you are the resurrection, we pray....(response)

                                  For whom and what else should we bring to prayer....

                                  Gathering our prayer and hopes together we pray...

                                  OUR FATHER...        

Attitude of Gratitude
Kathleen McAvoy, O.P. 2002

Live your life, my tender one,
With an attitude of gratitude!
Listen carefully,
Observe closely,
And walk deliberately Through each and every day!
Study the sun,
A pure gift of warmth and light
That can always help you recall
How I can brighten up even the gloomiest day.
Examine the stars,
Gentle reminders
That My very own light
Can break through even the darkest night.
Appreciate the rain,
An act of renewal and refreshment
Before your very eyes.
Catch a glimpse of the mountains, ocean and desert, too,
with grateful eyes.
All unconditional gifts, From Me to you!
Yes, My natural wonders are awesome and majestic,
Yet they only hint at the countless treasures
I give to you Each and every day.
Above all else,
I bestow upon you the gift of love,
Poured out freely, Through family, friends and all who love you.
Most definitely, the greatest gift of all!
Never to be taken lightly or for granted.
And never be too busy to savor it.
For precious and fragile as it is,
It can be gone in a blink of an eye,
Or even shrivel up,
If not constantly nurtured with a grateful spirit.
Approach each and every day,
With an abundance of gratefulness,
For creation,
For love,
For ALL...
Yesterday, today and forevermore.