Prayer
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
As the seed grows silently in the earth,
as the yeast rises in the dough,
may your power, Spirit of God, be at work in us.
Like a city set on a hill,
like a lamp shining in the darkness,
may we witness together,
calling our brothers and sisters to the glory of your light
and the peace and justice of your kingdom.
Amen
Prayer of Thanks for the Gift of Faith
Thank you Lord for the gift of faith,
help us never to take it for granted,
give us the grace to grow in faith everyday.
Send your Holy Spirit down upon us now,
so that we might, as did the Apostles at Pentecost,
be attentive to the opportunities that you give us,
to deepen our understanding of and to share this great treasure.
Amen
Prayer of hope to use each night (from Psalm 4)
In peace shall I sleep, Lord, in peace shall I rest,
firm in the hope you have given me.
Psalm for this week Psalm 137
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.
I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.
You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
Prayer for World Peace (Pax Christi)
The peace Jesus gives us
is a peace for today and for the future.
May the Lord give us this peace,
full of hope,
that makes us fruitful,
that makes us communicative with each other,
that creates community
and that always looks to the definitive
peace of Paradise. Amen
Prayer of St Francis
Most High, Glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of our minds.
Give us a true faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity,
so that we may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will.
Prayer of St Anselm for all people
O Lord, we bring before you the distress and dangers of peoples and nations, the pleas of the imprisoned and the captive, the sorrows of the grief-stricken, the needs of the refugee, the impotence of the weak, the weariness of the despondent, and the frailty of the ageing. O Lord, stay close to all of them. Amen.
Daily Prayer: St Thomas Aquinas
Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen
Evening Prayer of St Augustine
Watch, Lord, with those who wake or weep tonight.
Give the angels and saints charge over those who sleep.
O Lord Jesus Christ, tend your sick ones, rest Your weary ones, bless Your dying ones, soothe the suffering ones, pity all the afflicted ones, shield the joyful ones, and all for Your love's sake. Amen.
Prayers of St Teresa of Avila
Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. "
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion
is to look out to the earth,
yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good
and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.
Let nothing trouble you,
let nothing frighten you.
All things are passing;
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who possesses God lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.
The Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my saviour.
Because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
From this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm:
he has routed the proud of heart,
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
the rich he has sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
according to the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Prayer of St Augustine
Eternal God, who are the light of the minds that know you,
the joy of the hearts that love you,
and the strength of the wills that serve you;
grant us so to know you, that we may truly love you,
and so to love you that we may fully serve you,
whom to serve is perfect freedom, in Jesus Christ our Lord
Prayer of Simeon
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the pagans from darkness;
the glory of your people Israel.
Coronavirus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you travelled through towns and villages curing every disease and illness. At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the Coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.
Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through medical care. Heal us from our fear.
Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace.
Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they serve. May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.
Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Lord Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of our anxiety, give us your peace. Lord Jesus, heal us. Amen
Prayer for the Unemployed
Father, our world is the work of your creation. In these troubled times look lovingly and compassionately on the growing number of those unemployed and without work. Many are unable to provide for themselves and their families. May they not lose their confidence and self-respect. Help those who run firms and businesses which have folded due to the Coronavirus. Lead all those with feelings of inadequacy to find the dignity of work in new and lasting opportunities. Help especially those living on the margins of society, the homeless, those who have lost their homes, families and increasingly rely on handouts, credits and food banks. Guide us to act selflessly and responsibly to avoid further lockdowns. May all men and women, through their employment, become part of your creative work. We ask this through Christ, your Son. Amen.
Prayer from Citeaux (Cistercian Abbey)
Father of mercy,
your love embraces all
and, through the resurrection of your Son,
You call them into your beautiful light.
Dispel our darkness
and make of us a single people
who sing praise without end
to our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (Repeat at least three times thinking of each word in the prayer and about your relationship to God)
Words of St Augustine and a related prayer
God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding admonishes you do what you can and to pray for what you cannot, and aids you that you may be able.
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next. Amen
Thomas Merton
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that
I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am
actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me,
and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.
St Therese of Lisieux on prayer
In order to secure a hearing there is no need to recite set prayers composed for the occasion... I have not the courage to look through books for beautiful prayers. I only get a headache because of their number, and besides, one is more lovely than another. Unable therefore to say them all, and lost in choice, I do as children who have not learned to read--I simply tell Our Lord all that I want, and He always understands. With me prayer is an uplifting of the heart; a glance towards heaven; a cry of gratitude and love, uttered equally in sorrow and in joy. In a word, it is something noble, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites it to God. Sometimes when I am in such a state of spiritual dryness that not a single good thought occurs to me, I say very slowly the "Our Father" or the "Hail Mary," and these prayers suffice to take me out of myself, and wonderfully refresh me.
As the seed grows silently in the earth,
as the yeast rises in the dough,
may your power, Spirit of God, be at work in us.
Like a city set on a hill,
like a lamp shining in the darkness,
may we witness together,
calling our brothers and sisters to the glory of your light
and the peace and justice of your kingdom.
Amen
Prayer of Thanks for the Gift of Faith
Thank you Lord for the gift of faith,
help us never to take it for granted,
give us the grace to grow in faith everyday.
Send your Holy Spirit down upon us now,
so that we might, as did the Apostles at Pentecost,
be attentive to the opportunities that you give us,
to deepen our understanding of and to share this great treasure.
Amen
Prayer of hope to use each night (from Psalm 4)
In peace shall I sleep, Lord, in peace shall I rest,
firm in the hope you have given me.
Psalm for this week Psalm 137
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.
I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.
You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
Prayer for World Peace (Pax Christi)
The peace Jesus gives us
is a peace for today and for the future.
May the Lord give us this peace,
full of hope,
that makes us fruitful,
that makes us communicative with each other,
that creates community
and that always looks to the definitive
peace of Paradise. Amen
Prayer of St Francis
Most High, Glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of our minds.
Give us a true faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity,
so that we may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will.
Prayer of St Anselm for all people
O Lord, we bring before you the distress and dangers of peoples and nations, the pleas of the imprisoned and the captive, the sorrows of the grief-stricken, the needs of the refugee, the impotence of the weak, the weariness of the despondent, and the frailty of the ageing. O Lord, stay close to all of them. Amen.
Daily Prayer: St Thomas Aquinas
Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen
Evening Prayer of St Augustine
Watch, Lord, with those who wake or weep tonight.
Give the angels and saints charge over those who sleep.
O Lord Jesus Christ, tend your sick ones, rest Your weary ones, bless Your dying ones, soothe the suffering ones, pity all the afflicted ones, shield the joyful ones, and all for Your love's sake. Amen.
Prayers of St Teresa of Avila
Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. "
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion
is to look out to the earth,
yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good
and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.
Let nothing trouble you,
let nothing frighten you.
All things are passing;
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who possesses God lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.
The Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my saviour.
Because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
From this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm:
he has routed the proud of heart,
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
the rich he has sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
according to the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Prayer of St Augustine
Eternal God, who are the light of the minds that know you,
the joy of the hearts that love you,
and the strength of the wills that serve you;
grant us so to know you, that we may truly love you,
and so to love you that we may fully serve you,
whom to serve is perfect freedom, in Jesus Christ our Lord
Prayer of Simeon
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the pagans from darkness;
the glory of your people Israel.
Coronavirus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you travelled through towns and villages curing every disease and illness. At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the Coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.
Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through medical care. Heal us from our fear.
Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace.
Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they serve. May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.
Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Lord Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of our anxiety, give us your peace. Lord Jesus, heal us. Amen
Prayer for the Unemployed
Father, our world is the work of your creation. In these troubled times look lovingly and compassionately on the growing number of those unemployed and without work. Many are unable to provide for themselves and their families. May they not lose their confidence and self-respect. Help those who run firms and businesses which have folded due to the Coronavirus. Lead all those with feelings of inadequacy to find the dignity of work in new and lasting opportunities. Help especially those living on the margins of society, the homeless, those who have lost their homes, families and increasingly rely on handouts, credits and food banks. Guide us to act selflessly and responsibly to avoid further lockdowns. May all men and women, through their employment, become part of your creative work. We ask this through Christ, your Son. Amen.
Prayer from Citeaux (Cistercian Abbey)
Father of mercy,
your love embraces all
and, through the resurrection of your Son,
You call them into your beautiful light.
Dispel our darkness
and make of us a single people
who sing praise without end
to our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (Repeat at least three times thinking of each word in the prayer and about your relationship to God)
Words of St Augustine and a related prayer
God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding admonishes you do what you can and to pray for what you cannot, and aids you that you may be able.
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next. Amen
Thomas Merton
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that
I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am
actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me,
and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.
St Therese of Lisieux on prayer
In order to secure a hearing there is no need to recite set prayers composed for the occasion... I have not the courage to look through books for beautiful prayers. I only get a headache because of their number, and besides, one is more lovely than another. Unable therefore to say them all, and lost in choice, I do as children who have not learned to read--I simply tell Our Lord all that I want, and He always understands. With me prayer is an uplifting of the heart; a glance towards heaven; a cry of gratitude and love, uttered equally in sorrow and in joy. In a word, it is something noble, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites it to God. Sometimes when I am in such a state of spiritual dryness that not a single good thought occurs to me, I say very slowly the "Our Father" or the "Hail Mary," and these prayers suffice to take me out of myself, and wonderfully refresh me.
