Seasonal Prayers

Winter in Northern Michigan - a time of natural beauty as the snow blankets the earth. We take this occasion to hunker down, drawing in to our surroundings, replenishing our bodies, minds and spirits with the sustenance to sustain us throughout the year. Many of us will begin preparing seeds for the spring … will read more books in the downtime … will attend spiritual retreats … all as a way to prepare for the seasons to come and all in the glory of Jesus our Lord!

PRAYER FOR PEACE

To You, Creator of nature and humanity, of truth and beauty, I pray. Hear my voice, for it is the voice of the victims of all wars and violence among individuals and nations. Hear my voice, for it is the voice of all children who suffer and will suffer when people put their faith in weapons and war. Hear my voice, when I beg you to instill into the hearts of all human beings the wisdom of peace, the strength of justice and the joy of fellowship. Hear my voice, for I speak for the multitudes in every country and every period of history who do not want war and are ready to walk the road of peace. Hear my voice, and grant insight and strength so that we may always respond to hatred with love, to injustice with total dedication to justice, to need with sharing of self, to war with peace. O God, hear my voice, and grant unto the world your everlasting peace. Amen Pope John Paul II

BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD OUR GOD, WHO IN THE RICHNESS OF YOUR DIVINE LOVE, BLESSES US WITH GOOD THINGS.

Lord God, we bless You and are filled with gratitude for the numerous gifts, the countless blessings, that come to us from You.

Your blessings come in times of joy, in times of victory, in success and honor, and they come as well in times of pain and sorrow, in sickness and defeat, Your blessings, however, come always as life.

We take pleasure in the fruit of Your creation, in the earthen blessings of fish and bird, tree and flower, each the harvest of Your divine heart.

We take delight in our eyes, in our ears, arms and legs.

We find joy in holidays and vacations, and in our work as well.

We thank You, Lord of Gifts, for friendships, family and fun.

In winning and in losing — in being last as well as being first — we take relish in the challenge and adventure of Your great gift of life.

Lord, we thank You for all the gifts that flow fully, day and night, into our lives.

Today, with full hearts, in the company of Jesus, Mary and of all Your saints, we bless You for all the good that has come to us.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, who in the richness of Your divine love, blesses us with good things.

Amen +

THE SAMARITAN PRAYER, FOR SOMEONE TOO BUSY TO PRAY

Lord my God, You may have missed me today, since I did not have time to kneel and pray. I did pray, my Lord, but not the usual prayer of my day. Instead, I prayed the prayer of the Samaritan. You see, my Lord, My neighbor was in need: I saw the trouble, heard the cry for help. In my neighbor’s need, I saw You in need. In my neighbor’s plea for help, I heard a call to prayer and could not pass by. May this helping-prayer truly be my prayer this day. For in the midst of the difficulty, I felt Your Sacred Presence. I tasted the flavor of communion in all that happened between us. So my Lord, While absent from formal prayer, I was present to You and to my neighbor, In this my Samaritan prayer. While I was unable to say my prayers, I thank You for the gift of being prayer. May all the spoken prayers of my life prepare me to be always ready To pray the helping-prayer and provide me with the grace to be The Emmanuel prayer. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who gifts us with the opportunities To pray the Samaritan prayer of compassionate concern. Amen+