Lord, after your resurrection, your disciples recognised you in the breaking of bread.
This gesture opened them to the understanding of your mystery as Son of God and Son of Man.
May all those who seek you today recognise you in their turn,
to break with them the bread of sharing and gratitude.
Jesus Lord, thank you for the grace of walking together,
thank you for the gift of community life,
for supporting and stimulating us on this pilgrimage of faith.
Renew our courage and our strength.
Show us that you are close to each one of us.
And for all men, who without you know not what to do,
be the faithful God, you who were, who are and who will be,
until eternity.
Lord our God, we have come together in your Name.
we come with our distractions, our failures, our joys and our sorrows,
our desires and our good will.
And we believe that in this gathering you are there, in our midst.
We have only one prayer to utter:
grant us the simplest and most wonderful of gifts,
touch our hearts with your grace, grant us your Love,
that we may live it to the full, so that one day all our days
will lead to the one day of your eternal life.
When you give us a prayer that does not hesitate in its heart and that holds fast to what it asks of you,
blessed are you!
When you give us a prayer that embraces much more than just our personal projects and interests, blessed are you!
and personal interests, blessed are you!
When you inspire us to pray in a way that already gives thanks, sure, with that of Jesus,
that you always answer, blessed are you!
When you nurture in us the perseverance of prayer in the day when words grow stale,
and breath, and desire, blessed are you!
When you fill us with astonishment and gratitude for having been welcomed, heard and loved, blessed are you!
Jesus, the leaven of God buried in our human dough, be praised, Lord!
Jesus, light in our darkness, leaven of the Spirit’s freedom in our paralysis, be praised, Lord!
Jesus, hope of the poor, leaven of their expectation of another possible world, be praised, Lord!
Jesus, face of all faces, leaven of eternity in our fragile loves, be praised, Lord!
Jesus, leaven of our prayer, be praised, for with you we can name God our Father!
Blessed are you, Lord, for the peace you offer is like this tree
that grows and spreads its branches wide,
under whose shade multitudes find shelter.
Blessed are you Lord, for the call you offer is like the wind
and no one knows where it comes from
or how far it carries.
It brings forth from on high all those it visits;
Blessed are you Lord, for the love you offer
is like a house built on rock.
Though storms and torrents come, it stands firm.
Lord, today we live in a world that needs fire,
the fire of passion,
the fire of burning love.
We live in a world that needs water, the water of baptism,
the water that allows life to grow and beautify, the water that must be protected.
John the Baptist stands between water and fire, the old and the new.
We need prophets who make the link.
John the Baptist died from burning what needed to be burnt
to allow the freshness of God to come and irrigate our lives.
God, the Living One, you are always on the side of life and those who fight for it. Blessed are you who
call men and women to stand up for the dignity of every human being
and to defend their integrity of mind and body.
Give us the power to take an active part in your work of salvation, and by the power of the Spirit raise up witnesses of peace and dialogue, of peace and justice.
In the beginning, Lord our God, you gave us the marvellous gift of life!
Unceasingly, you maintain in us this permanent miracle of existence.
To experience Life within ourselves and to taste its joy.
Acknowledging this gift and giving you thanks for it also leads us to make it a right for every human being.
Your Word calls us to watch over the fragility of life for those who have no identity and no security,
because only walking in solidarity can lead us to a land of opportunity.
We pray to you, Lord, that each of us may develop confidence in ourselves, in others and in the future,
in others and in the future.
We pray to you, Lord, that we may go towards our brothers and sisters, guided by sincerity,
moving forward in the light of the spirit and not by the will to take and dominate.
We pray to you, Lord, that the energies of memory may vibrate within us
like so many living springs, and that we never forget where we come from, who we are
and what we owe to others.
We pray to you, Lord, for those who choose a path other than our own, and that our prayers may come together
our prayers for a just world.
We pray to you, Lord, that in the storms, the boat of humanity will move forward, guided by
goodness and trust.
We pray to you, Lord, that every human being will know that they are a living part of humanity, that they will feel
responsible for the future of all.
