June 2024

Jesus, you say: your faith has saved you!

But the faith that saves, who could we ask if not you?
The faith that enabled the woman to return home healed, just because she touched your garment. The faith that enables the father not to fear for his child, despite the waiting time imposed on him.
The faith that is at the heart of all our prayers, Lord,

the faith that enables us to go forward without seeing, to hope beyond our wildest dreams,

the faith that moves the mountains of our fears and uncertainties.

Who can we ask for faith, Lord? It is you, and you alone, who save us in it,

Lord Jesus, and we can only return it to you, in infinite gratitude, this faith that you place in us.

Lord, we think we know our life and here we are without strength, swept away by the raging waves…
For your silent Presence that soothes and revitalises, we thank you.
Lord, we think we know our life, but we close the door with our reasoning…
For your calls that invite us to make room for others, we thank you.
Lord, we think we know our life but so often we miss out on true joy,
the joy of serving those who are sick, those who have no strength…
For your mercy in putting us back on the path of life, we thank you.
Lord, we think we know our life but so quickly we come up against our limits,
we who do not know how to go to the extremes of love…
For your trust that hopes for us and gives us new strength, we thank you.

Jesus, son of man,
you have nowhere to lay your head; the impatience of the Spirit is driving you on the roads:
You must proclaim the Kingdom of God to everyone!
Ever since your voice resounded, we have been pilgrims
watching for a trace of your passage.
You are there where hands are stretched out to carry with them,
where mutual service creates a way of living together on a human scale.
You are there where a few share their goods, share their bread,
where people fight poverty and disarm hatred.
Jesus, son of man,
burn with the fire of your Spirit what still holds us back
and make us servants of your Kingdom.

Jesus, a free man, a man inhabited by the Spirit,
your actions are a sign of the Kingdom to come.
In you the finger of God touches the dusty ground
to bring forth a new man in the likeness of the Father.
Your actions are a sign of the Hope to come,
because you descend to the lowest depths, where despair obscures the horizon
and holds people captive.
Jesus, you want to need us on the world’s human construction sites,
to be relays of your Hope, peacemakers
who work alongside the abandoned.
May your Breath lift us up and inspire us to do as you have done?
Jesus, our Saviour.

In the depths of the night, there are embers that keep watch,
It doesn’t take much for the ashes to ignite.
In the depths of suffering, hope lies dormant,
it takes so little for its strength to awaken.
In the midst of our confusion, there is a silence that beckons,
it takes so little for its peace to flow like a river.
In the midst of our noise, our sterile words, there is a silence that listens,
it takes so little for its truth to burst forth.
In the depths of our solitude, there is a trace of light,
it takes so little to recognise the passage of the Friend.
Breathe into our lives, Spirit of God!

Jesus, Lord, you have given us your Name,
as a path to make,
as a seed to grow;
blessed be your Name!
You have given us your Name
as a summons to the best in ourselves?
as a pledge of a transformed future;
blessed be your Name
You gave us your Name
to walk in your light,
to recognise you in every human face;
blessed be your Name
You gave us your Name
to free us from our fears,
to tame the unfathomable;
blessed be your Name
You gave us your Name
as a password between brothers and sisters,
as an invitation to walk in solidarity;
blessed be your Name.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Lord our God, you have placed everything in our hands: love, peace, the future of the world.
For your trust that hopes for us, praise be to you!
For the earth to be human, every person must have his or her daily bread.
For the ways of sharing that you propose to us, praise be to you!
For a world to be human, deadly conflicts must end.
For your peace that disarms hearts, praise be to you!
For a world to be humane, justice must be embodied in structures
that reduce the gap between rich and poor.
For your solidarity that awaits us, praise be to you!
For a world to be human, violence and hatred must be banished.
For your weakness that sows love without exclusion, praise be to you!

O Lord, God of our fathers, you who keep your covenant and shower your blessings
from generation to generation, we ask you to give us the grace to enter into this covenant
with all the sincerity of our hearts and to remain faithful to it. Keep us in the confidence
of your faith in us because of Jesus, who became our brother and companion on the way,
for time and eternity.

In the story of a tiny people,
you reveal to us, Lord, that the infinite love that dwells in the heart of man
is like the trace of an encounter, that of man with his creator.
You entrust us with an unfinished world, to be respected for the work of giving birth.
We were made for happiness,
in relationships, in healing, in forgiveness,
in the breath of life that animates all creation.
By contemplating the smallest gestures of love and solidarity,
you show us, Lord, the power of this breath, Yours, ours…

Father, give us strength every day to believe that life is stronger than evil.
That there is a way out and light beyond every dead end, every night.
That love already delivers us from death.
Give us the gift of listening to the source of true happiness, to the disconcerting
and inexhaustible calls of life, of what rises from the immense inner spaces
within us.
Give us the ability to recognise the new that is happening,
to marvel at it, to help it grow,
with a passion for love and hope that never lets us rest.
Give us the ability to move forward into the open sea, clear-sighted,
agreeing not to restrict the gift we have made of ourselves
so that your Kingdom may come.
Give us faith in what we do together,
by welcoming others’ differences,
becoming freer of ourselves every day.