O God of Hope ...

God of Hope ...

We pray for the people of Boston and area ...
We pray for the victims of violence both near and far ...
We pray for those gripped with fear ...
We pray for those bold enough to emody hope ...
We pray for our human family ...

Hear our prayers O Holy One, and pour out your love upon us ...

Hear our prayers for those struggling in the darkness ...
hear our prayers for those undergoing tests and procedures ...
hear our prayers for those continuing their recovery and healing ...
hear our prayers for those gripped with uncertainty and fear ...
hear our prayers for your children in need ...

Hear our prayers O Holy One, and pour out your blessings upon us ...

Listen to the unspoken fears that roil within us ...
listen to the apprehension and uncertainty that grips us ...
listen to the prayers we yearn to speak but can not ...
listen to the feelings and thoughts that come to us in the dark moments ...
listen to us when we feel alone and cry out to you ...

Hear our prayers O Holy One, and embrace us with your love ...

Loving God, it is to you we turn,
and it is from you we find the strength and courage to carry on ...
Be with us ...
Hold us ...
strengthen us ...
love us ...
and grant us patience, courage and faith
to know that we are your children and you are with us always ...

Hear our prayers O Holy One, and envelope us with your Hope
now and always ... Amen

Prayer for today ...

Oh Holy One ... there are sometimes no words ...
Around us are mind-numbing tragedies ...
losses at a staggering scale ...
stories of pain and sorrow pile in upon each other ...

We struggle to catch our breath ...
the tears fall from our eyes as we behold the suffering ...

Emotions raw and nerves tender,
we fall in prayer calling on you,
asking the questions knowing there are no answers ...

Yet in that moment ... in that profound moment ...
you speak without words ...
you give strength beyond our doubt ...
you comfort with a love that surpasses all understanding ...

You take our anger and hurt and bring transformation,
you wipe our tears and offer the comfort of shalom,
you envelop our doubt and fear and give us courage and faith ...

O God of ALL Hope ... hear our prayers
hear the words that escape our lips,
the cries that fill our mouths,
the lamenting that resonantes on our tongues ...
Hear our prayers and in your love answer ...

Today we pray for peace ... we cry out for peace ...

(I offer this prayer for the victims of the bombings in Boston, and the many lives touched by this tragedy including my dear life-long friend Darin who participated in the Marathon, and was in Boston with his family when the tragedy unfolded ... and I offer this prayer for the victims of violence in corners of the world like Afghanistan where a bomb fell in a rural village on a wedding celebration leaving 20 dead and dozens wounded ... this prayer is for the victims of violence wherever they are found ...)


Holy One ... in moments like this there are few words we can offer ...
The death and destruction takes our breath away and leaves us gasping for hope ...

Today we know the brutal reality of bombs ...
whether they lie hidden in the streets of Boston,
or in the skies over Afghanistan ...

Today we know that bombs respect no life ...
children die ...
women die ...
men die ...
lives are devestated and destroyed ...
blood is shed and bodies shattered ...
... amid the carnage and the suffering whisper Hope O Living One ...

Hear our prayers of thanks for
those who in the face of tragedy offer help and care
those who work to breath hope into desperate places
those who reach out and offer care in the face of violence
those who cry out for peace and Shalom ...

Hear our prayers for those
broken and bloodied
battered and frightened
weeping for their dead and praying for their wounded

Hear our prayers O Loving One
whether those voices cry out in English or Arabic
whether those voices cry out here or half a world away
whether those vocie call upon The Risen Christ or Allah ...

Hear the prayers of your children
who yearn for peace and cry out of an end of violence ...

Loving God into your hands we commend
the people of Boston
the participants of the marathon,
and the emergency personell and ordinary citizens who ran to help ...

into your hands we commend
the victims of violence here and there,
and whereever life is touched and devestated by such senseless acts ...

Hear our prayers O Holy One ... and in your love answer ...

On a journey just begun ...

Oh Holy One ... as the crowds dispersed that first Palm Sunday, so to does the rumble and grinding of the world close in around us and blot out the peace and tranquility you offer to us in such abundance ...

As the journey into Holy Week begins we see the lengthening of the shadows and the darkened corners where murmurs and whispers abound ... we heard the thump of sandals and the clang of armour ... we hear the snap of whips and a slap of striking fists ... we hear the echo of nails pounded and wood groaning under the weight ...

We hear and see and know what lies ahead ... and in the silence we struggle ...

We struggle to place one foot in front of the other ... we struggle to keep moving when our weariness and our exhaustion wants to stop and sit and wait ... yet even in our waiting, events unfold around us and the world overwhelms us ...

Be with us in the quiet O Holy One ... be with us in the shouting of the crowds and in the madness of the mobs ... be with us as the shadows cover us and we find ourselves in a deep darkness ...

Grant us the courage and faith to know that no matter how dark the days may become, the looms a bright and glorious dawn that will break over us and transform us into children of the Resurrection ...

Oh Holy One be with us now and always ...

It is time to pray ...

Holy One, it has been one of those weeks ...

Busy-ness has kept me from pausing to remember you ... yet, you break in and remind me that you are not far from me, and that our conversation continues even if I fail to pause and properly pray ...

Loving One, I remember those in need today:

Young D and his Mom as they recover from their surgeries and treatments ... be with them, holding them in your shalom and love every moment of this journey ... be with their circle of family and friends as we pray ...

Be with M as she continues her journey, having said farewell too soon, and too quickly to one whom we've loved and lost ... hold her and her circle in your love and strength ... pour out your spirit on them as they mourn and heal ...

Rest with S and others in care homes, hospitals and places of rest and recuperation from illness ... bring strength and healing and wholeness to them and to their circle of care and support ...

Continue the healing of R and J and P and others who have had surgeries and who struggle to be well and to return to normalacy ... and be with their partners, their children, their friends as they offer support and as they themselves sometimes falter and struggle ...

Be with those of us who grieve and mourn and who realize the burden that weighs heavily on our shoulders ... the journey sometimes is long and challenging and just as we crest another hill we find our steps faltering and the path becomes hard to see ... hold the light for us, and take us by the hand O Holy One, that we may know your presence, your courage and your love ...

Loving One ... hear our prayers ... those we've dared to speak, and those we've held within ... hear our prayers and pour out your love and blessings upon us ... In your name we draw before you, and in your name we dare to pray.

Dayenu!!

A prayer for those in need ... (Sept. 12th 2012)

Oh St Benedict Joseph ... hear our prayers ...
Our prayers for those who are broken,
our prayers for those who are frightened,
our prayers for those who are struggling,
our prayers for those who are alone ...

O St Benedict Joseph ...
you know the lonely struggle of those who have no home,
you know the gut wrenching fear that grips those living at the margins,
you know the yearning of the soul of those who are alone and frightened ...

Hear our prayers O Loving God,
our prayers for those who are struggling,
our prayers for those who are ill of mind, body and spirit,
our prayers for those who are frightened,
our prayers for those who are fighting illness and waiting ...

Loving God ... into your hands we offer our prayers,
our worries our concerns, our fears, our burdens ...
Hear our prayers and in your love answer them with love, grace and Shalom ...

Prayer for today - June 3rd 2012 ...

Your words echo through us O Holy Servant:
Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...

Today, we feel those words more than we should ...
our media is filled with disturbing images and news
of violence and suffering,
of fear and anxiety,
of senseless actions against innocent people ...

And we feel those words:
Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...

We hear of the woundedness of others,
of the fear and suffering,
and we ache for a place of serenity and peace ...

Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...

Your call echoes through us and into the cosmos ...
The senselessness hurts and scares us ...
The Violence cuts across ages and social standings ...
The foolishness of it all leaves us weeping ...

Yet, even in those words uttered from the cross so long ago,
the end was not what it seems ...

Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...
... was answered in the Resurrection.

In the face of death
comes life.

In the face of suffering
comes wholeness.

In the face of fear
comes HOPE.

You not only forgive, O Loving One,
you heal and render whole what the world has broken.

Into your hands we commend our spirits and our lives,
into your love we offer ourselves and our communities,
into your gift of grace we plunge our fear filled moments ...

and with wholeness, healing, grace and love,
we are transformed and resurrected.

Father for give US for our doubts as you forgive
the thoughtlessness of others ...

In your name we pray ...

Prayer for today - May 31st 2012

O Holy One ...
We live in a troubled and tumultous time ...
around us voices cry out for justice and righteousness ...
voices cry out in pain and distress ...
voices cry out in anger and disgust ...
voice simply cry out ...

Around us we hear and feel the burden of pain others carry,
we yearn through faith to respond and reach out ...
yet fear enters in and anger overwhelms us ...

Teach us again your gift of patience O Holy One.

Guide to the springs of living water
where we can refresh our souls and restore our troubled hearts.

Grant us your wisdom and gift of discerning
that we may lead rather than follow,
that we may inspire rather than react,
that we may offer your love and care rather than resentment and anger.

We live in a troubled and tumultous time O Holy One,
be with us every step of the journey ...
opening our beings to the splendour that is your love
and holiness in our world ...

These things we ask in your Blessed and Most Holy Name.

Prayer for today ... May 16th 2012

O Holy One,
in the quiet moments we search for you,
in the silence we call for you,
in the whisper of the wind we yearn for you ...

And we know you find us,
you hear us,
you accompany us ...

Breath hope into our uncertain souls,
whisper comfort in our uneasy hearts,
and soothe with love our troubled minds ...

Touch us with your holiness
and comfort us with your love.

Hear our concerns and worries,
take from us our burdens and fears,
remind us again of our place as your children ...

Holy One,
be with us,
comfort us,
strengthen us,
and bring wholeness to us and our lives ...

Hear the cries of our hearts
and the yearnings of our souls.
Bless us with your presence and your love
today, tomorrow and always.

Love us O Holy One ...
... in your name we pray.

God of all seasons,
it has been a week of change and unexpected surprises.
it has been a time of sadness and sorrow,
at time of comfort knowing you are with us ...

Be with us as neighbours, friends and family
struggle with the loss of loved ones,
and the sorrow that washes over us in those moments ...

Be with us as our circle of community
seeks to make sense of happenings and events
that have touched us and left us reeling ...

Be with us as we yearn for spring
but still feel the cold bite of winter ...

Be with us as we lift our voices in song and prayer to you,
yet still wonder if you are listening and if you hear us ...

Holy One,
God of all seasons, God of all time and space,
God of all that is and that shall be ...

Be with us ...
send your spirit to move among us and within us,
bring comfort and strength to lives,
and fill us with the hope
that sent the disciples forth from the upper room
boldly out into the world
joyously proclaiming their certainty of The Resurrection.

We are your children O Holy One,
We are your Church,
Be with us as we seek to embody and proclaim,
the faith and hope you have given us.
In your blessed and holy name we pray ...