This is my prayer for myself and for you as we live our lives together in connection with God through Jesus Christ:

I will do more than belong -- I will participate.
I will do more than care -- I will help.
I will do more than believe -- I will practise.
I will do more than be fair -- I will be kind.
I will do more than forgive -- I will forget.
I will do more than dream -- I will work.
I will do more than teach -- I will inspire.
I will do more than earn -- I will enrich.
I will do more than give -- I will serve.
I will do more than live -- I will grow.
I will do more than suffer -- I will triumph.

- William Arthur Ward

 

A Prayer After the Earthquake in Haiti

Lord, at times such as this,
when we realize that the ground beneath our feet
is not as solid as we had imagined,
we plead for your mercy.

As the things we have built crumble about us,
we know too well how small we truly are
on this ever‐changing, ever‐moving, fragile planet we call home.
Yet you have promised never to forget us.

Do not forget us now.

Today, so many people are afraid.bok
They wait in fear of the next tremor.
They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble.
They roam the streets in shock at what they see.
And they fill the dusty air with wails of grief
and the names of missing dead.

Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster.
Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still,
and shelter them under your wings when homes no longer exist.

Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this day.
Console the hearts of those who mourn, and ease the pain
of bodies on the brink of death.

Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion,
we who watch from afar,
as the poorest on this side of the earth
find only misery upon misery.
Move us to act swiftly this day,
to give generously every day,
to work for justice always,
and to pray unceasingly for those without hope.

And once the shaking has ceased,
the images of destruction have stopped filling the news,
and our thoughts return to life‟s daily rumblings,
let us not forget that we are all your children
and they, our brothers and sisters.
We are all the work of your hands.

For though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be tossed to the ground,
your love shall never leave us,
and your promise of peace will never be shaken.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever. Amen.

-- Copyright © 2010, Diana Macalintal, Diocese of San Jose. website »
Photo: "Weeping Christ" by Broken Lens via Flickr.com. The sculpture, titled "And Jesus Wept," is on the grounds of the Saint Joseph's Old Cathedral and the diocesan chancery offices for Oklahoma City, OK

 

Prayer of the week of December 13:
Mary, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered
Will soon deliver you?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby,
You’ve kissed the face of God?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear,
And the dead will live again,
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Is Heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping Child you’re holding
Is the great "I Am"?

By Mark Lowry - [ website » / backgrounder on Lowry here »]
Image (above right) Kissing the Face of God by Morgan Weistling - website »

 

Prayer of the week of November 8:
“A Prayer For Quiet”

I have, O Lord, a noisy heart.
And entering outward silence doesn't stop the inner clamour.
In fact, it seems only to make it worse.
When I am full of activity, the internal noise is only a distant rumble;
but when I get still, the rumble amplifies itself.
And it is not like the majestic sound of a symphony rising to a grand crescendo; rather it is the deafening din of clashing pots and clanging pans.
What a racket!
Worst of all, I feel helpless to hush the pandemonium.

Dear Lord Jesus, once you spoke peace to the wind and the waves.
Speak your shalom over my heart. I wait silently . . . patiently.
I receive into the very core of my being your loving command,
“Peace be still.” Amen.

(Richard J. Foster, Prayers From The Heart, p. 58)

 

Prayer of the week of November 8:
To do Some Work of Peace for Thee

O Lord,
Open my eyes that I may see the needs of others;
Open my ears that I may hear their cries;
Open my heart so that they need not be without succour.

Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.

Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use me to bring them to those places.

And so open my eyes and my ears
That I may this coming day be able to some work of Peace for thee.
Amen.

(A prayer by Alan Paton, author of Cry the Beloved Country)