September 2024

Every morning, to repeat your Name,
Unique and yet inscribed in the heart of every being.
To repeat your Name as a seed placed in our humanity,
so that it may grow and bear fruit of justice and peace.
To repeat your Name as a breath of hope for those who are bending under the burden of their broken dreams.
To repeat your Name as a living fountain from which to draw sustenance, even in precarious times.
To repeat your Name in the breath of the Spirit that never ceases to whisper in us: Our Father…

Lord God of the universe, God of life,
how we long for you to pour out your Spirit on all flesh,
old and young,
free men and slaves,
that we may all be able to welcome your Spirit into our lives
and in the depths of our fears,
so that our hearts, renewed by your grace, may begin to hope and sing.
This world to build, this world to console, awaits us.
Send us, Lord, to follow Christ today…

Lord, eternal God,
light without beginning or end,
maker of all creation,
principle of all relationships between beings,
teach us to respect the Living,
help us to be guardians of one another.
Raise your breath of hope over the world,
like a wind that makes everything new.
Raise your breath of hope over the hurrying, indifferent, worried crowds,
your breath of hope like the call of a promised land.
Lift up your breath of hope on the exiled and hungry crowds,
like bread to be shared.
Lift up your breath of hope on the crowds oppressed by injustice, abused by violence, thirsting for freedom,
your breath of hope like the sun of justice.

Lord, a burning certainty has brought us together: Christ is alive!
Give your Church the power to bear witness to the resurrection, to know how to walk with those who are following the long path of rebirth and who are already facing the question of the meaning of their existence and of this irresistible call to serve life, in the name of Jesus Christ, who by his resurrection offers us the pledge of eternal life.

God of all grace,
In the hours of loneliness you give us to believe in your promise, which calls to life what does not exist
and frees from wandering those who are excluded.
In times of suffering, you give us to believe that Jesus Christ is your face turned towards humanity.
towards humanity ;
He came to save through love those who no longer believed, and to dwell with his presence in our crucified hope.
In days of confusion, you give us to believe that your Spirit dwells within us like an invincible force
that guides our words and actions towards unity.
On the last day, you give us to believe that human beings will live by your Life, because their name is written in the book of life from before they are born.
We praise you, living God, who raises us from the dead.

God Most High
Who is present in all the universe and in the smallest of your creatures,
You who surround all that exists with your tenderness,
pour out the strength of your love on us so that we may protect life and beauty.
Flood us with peace so that we may live as brothers and sisters without causing harm to anyone.
O God of the poor, help us to understand that the cause of the poor and the cause of the earth are ONE.
Heal our lives so that we become protectors rather than predators, so that we sow neither pollution nor destruction, but peace.
pollution or destruction, but beauty.
Give us the grace to feel intimately united with all that exists, with all the beings of this earth
because no one is forgotten by you.

Where is this kingdom, Lord, where the poor are kings,
where we hold only what we give up?
Where is this kingdom, Lord, where there is boundless joy in welcoming the lost son,
where the outcasts and strangers are invited to the feast table?
Where is this kingdom, where soldiers become poets,
where swords are forged together into ploughshares?
Where is this kingdom, where a widow’s penny is worth more than all the gold of the rich,
where he who works but an hour receives a day labourer’s wage?

To your question, ‘Who am I for you?’, how can I answer but with a song of praise,
Jesus, Lord!
You are the One who speaks of God as a Father who is full of tenderness for all, praise be to you!
You are the One who wept at the death of your friend Lazarus and brought him back to life, praise be to you!
You are the One who prefers the company of sinners to that of the well-meaning, because you want us to be merciful, praise be to you!
merciful, praise be to you!
You are the One who frees the Law from its burden and speaks to us of the freedom and joy of God’s children.
of the children of God, praise be to you!
You are the One who allows Himself to be nailed to a cross among evildoers, living to the end the logic
of God’s weakness, praise be to you!

Lord, you call us to work in your vineyard because you do us the honour of needing us.
Lord, you are always at the crossroads of our lives, always hiring,
because it’s never too late to love.
Lord, you give us a fair and full reward, which is your Love that sustains us all,
without distinction, and no one is short-changed.
Lord, the faithful love that perseveres despite the trials of time and the love that burns for a few moments, intensely, are all the same.
moments, intensely, are both the gates to Eternity.
Lord, your Love does not calculate or envy, and you never stop inviting people to work together
on the construction site of your creation, blessed art thou!

Give us, Lord, your Spirit of wisdom and understanding
so that the life of the world may receive new lifeblood,
so that we can discern the serious crises and the surface turmoil,
deep distress and fleeting troubles.
so that we can discern the real injustices and the just price to be paid,
so that we resist the fear of necessary change.
so that our eyes can detect the smallest glimmers of life,
so that we become signs for others of a better future,
give us your Spirit!