Prayers & Meditations

[majestyjo]

April 28

Let us pray:
God our Father,
inspire us with a great respect
for all human life
from the time of the child
growing in the womb
to the point of death.
May that respect lead us
to grow in a sense of responsibility
for all our brothers and sisters
throughout the world,
knowing that,
where one person suffers
and is degraded,
all of humanity
is belittled and abused.
May we grow in a sense of love and care
for those less fortunate
than ourselves,
and lead us to do something
about the difficulties in our world.
Amen.

* I will never forget you, my people;
Oh the word of my Lord; Do not be
afraid.

[majestyjo]

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus,
when you met Zacchaeus,
the tax collector
whom everyone hated,
you looked at him
and called him by his name.
In doing that,
you gave him back his dignity,
and he changed his life around.
He was able to see himself
in a better way,
and so he gave back to others
the money he had cheated
from them.
Lead us to show respect
for each person as an individual,
treating others in the same way
that we would like to be treated.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

April 30

6 Let us pray for all who suffer
from hatred and prejudice,
from abuse and ill-treatment,
and for all who are victims
of other people.
Let us pray, too,
for the people of violence,
that they may change their ways
and learn to respect others.
Let us pray for ourselves,
that when we face
what is negative or evil
we may have
the courage and generosity
to break the cycle of violence,
taking responsibility
for the direction
in which we want our lives to go.
Let us pray
that we may always do to others
as we would wish them to do to us.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

MAY

I come into your presence, Father,
and ask that you help me
to be as trusting and close to you
as many little children are with their parents.
May my life today reflect
that you rejoice in my company.
May I rejoice in yours.

Let us pray:
On this day, Lord,
we can celebrate
many achievements of humanity
as a whole,
but never let us forget
that each and every individual
needs to be held in respect.
We pray today for the unemployed
and for those unable to work,
and we ask you to give success
to the work of our hands. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 2

Let us pray:
God our Father, open our eyes
to see the vision
that you have for each of us,
and lead us to grow in confidence
in who we are,
and in the faith
that you call each of us by name.
Show us how to live in such a way
that we respect and accept others
for who they are,
and do not judge them
as we ourselves
do not want to be judged.
Inspire us to be generous
in praising others
and in showing appreciation
for their achievements.
Amen

[majestyjo]

May 3

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus,
we read in the Gospels
that you brought healing
and acceptance
to many people,
In your love
stretch out your hands
and touch me
and bring healing and wholeness
in my life. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 4

Let us pray:
O God, we are conscious
that many centuries of blindness
have blinded our eyes
so that we no longer see the beauty
of your Chosen People.
Across the centuries
our Jewish brothers and sisters
have lain in the blood which we drew
or caused to be shed
by forgetting your love.
Forgive us for the curse
we falsely attached
to their name as Jews.
Forgive us
for crucifying you a second time
in their flesh.
For we knew not what we did. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 5

Let us pray:
Lord,
lead us to be peace-makers,
building connections
between individuals,
focusing on what unites people
rather than on what separates us
and highlights our differences.
Lord, it’s easy to harm relationships;
instead,
give us the power of your Spirit
that we may build up and make new
the bonds between people.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 6

Let us pray:
Lord, each of us
has different talents and abilities.
We ask you to inspire us
to discover and develop
the best within us.
Lead us to be
both humble and generous
in praising others
for the good use of their talents.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 8

Lord, God of peace,
we thank you for the hopes,
the efforts and the achievements
which your Spirit of peace
has inspired in our days
- stirring up love where there was hate,
sympathy where there was suspicion,
care where there was indifference.
Open our minds and our hearts
even more
to the specific demands
which love for others makes upon us,
so that we may be more truly
makers of peace.
Remember, God of mercies,
those who are oppressed,
those who are suffering and dying
for the birth of a world
in which all people
will be more truly
a single human family.
May your kingdom come
for all people of every race and language
- your kingdom of justice,
of peace, of love,
and may all the earth
be filled with your glory.
We make our prayer
through Jesus Christ,
the Prince of Peace. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 9

Let us pray:
God of all nations and all people,
inspire us
to live in your presence each day.
On our journey through life
lead us to choose
the right direction,
and show us
how to respect and value others,
even if we do not agree with them.
May we find other people
as willing to help us
as we are willing to help them.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 10

Let us pray:
We know, Lord,
that throughout our lives
each of us will experience
problems and difficulties.
Give us courage and strength
at those times
and prevent us then
from looking only at ourselves.
Keep our vision wide
so that, even in times of difficulty,
we may still be of help to others.
Help us not to be bitter
towards people or situations,
but empower us
to take the initiative
and break the cycle
of hatred, bitterness,
and evil actions.
Help us to transform
the difficulties that come our way
into opportunities for
personal growth
and service of others. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 11

We’ll use as our prayer today some words
used every day by A.A. members. This
prayer is often said together at their group
meetings. Let us pray:

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.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 12

Let us pray:
Lord, remind us
that, along with our rights,
each of us
has duties and responsibilities
towards others. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 13



Let us pray:

Lord, we pray

for justice and peace in our world.

We pray, too, that those

who use violence as a weapon

may be touched

by the reaction of people

who have been hurt by violence.

Influence each of us, Lord,

to bring justice and peace

to our own part of the world this day.

Amen.

[majestyjo]

Let us pray:
Loving Lord,
I often see on the TV news
examples of inhumanity to others
- people being tortured, abused,
injured or killed.
I need to remind myself
that the commandment “do not kill”
also refers to my attitude
and what I do each day,
because it is in smaller ways
that I can destroy people
if I ignore them
or cut them off
or do them down.
Loving Lord, inspire me
to take care
of the smaller things of life
as well as the bigger issues. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 15

Let us pray:
Loving Lord, inspire me
to bring out the best in others
and “touch hearts”
by being welcoming and generous
and always positive in attitude,
showing individuals
that they matter and are important.
May those
who are part of my life this day
treat me in the same way
as I treat them. Amen.

[majestyjo]

May 16

Let’s pray in silence for a moment
for all who are going through
great difficulties…
(pause… )
Let’s pray in silence
that we may be people
who support and encourage others…
(pause … )
Let’s think in silence for a moment
of two people
to set out to encourage today
(pause … )

[majestyjo]

May 17

We will use the word of a hymn
by Henry Lyte:

Abide with me,
fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens,
Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail,
and comforts flee,
help of the helpless,
O abide with me.
Swift to its close
ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim,
its glories pass away;
change and decay
in all around I see;
O thou who changest not,
abide with me.
I need thy presence
every passing hour;
what but thy grace
can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself
my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine,
O abide with me.

[majestyjo]

May 18

Let us pray:
Lord, I ask for the gifts
of knowledge and wisdom
and understanding.
What I pray for
I intend to work at,
so that I may be someone
with an open mind,
a thirst for knowledge,
and a wisdom that makes good use
of my knowledge and experience.
I know that any gifts are useless
if I do not also have
love and concern for others,
and so I ask that you inspire me
to live in such a way
that I am caring and compassionate
and promote understanding
between people.
May others respect me, Lord,
as much as I respect them. Amen