Jesus Lord,
On the evening of this day we are joyful and grateful because you pray in us.
In times of darkness, you offer the liberation of forgiveness,
in times of peace, your song of praise carries us to the Father.
Stay with us, watch over us in this night that for so many of our sisters and brothers is made up
of suffering. We pray, you who are united to the Father from all eternity.
Lord, sometimes we no longer know how to name you, the trace of you is so tenuous in this faceless world,
we remain alone with our frailties.
And yet this morning we live, we love, so once again you are before us,
Unexpected God, Word and sap of Life for today and for ever.
Lord our God, we know almost nothing about you, but we can make out your mark in the depths of what we are given…
May we know how to welcome your passion for life-giving gestures, the courage of solidarity, the desire for risky paths.
We know almost nothing about you… but from this almost nothing we live.
Thanks be to you, Lord our God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, for all eternity.
esus Lord, so often we fail to recognise your presence in our lives. We don’t know how to discern the signs of the Spirit, or see that the Kingdom of God has come to us.
Convert us to the newness of time.
When we remain passive, looking up at the sky, when we should be working diligently to incarnate the Gospel; when we are busy with immediacy, when we should be sitting down and listening:
Let’s convert to the newness of time.
When we hoard when we should be making a profit, when we are always looking to gain when we should be losing: let us convert to the newness of time.
When we flee from the gravity of the moment, when we should be staying and watching, when we remain weighed down by the weight of regret, when we should be running ahead of hope:
Let’s convert to the newness of time.
When we dream of travelling the world, when happiness is just around the corner, and all we have to do is serve and share: let’s convert to the newness of time.
To radiate your presence in the heart of the world, we must constantly readjust ourselves in the light of the Gospel, discerning your calls.
May your call convert us, Lord, from fear of losing to daring confidence.
May your call convert us, Lord, from petty selfishness to the charity of mutual support.
May your call convert us, Lord, from nostalgia for the past to the commitment that gives substance to the Gospel ideal.
May your call convert us, Lord, from the strength that imposes itself to the conciliation of attentive dialogue.
May your call convert us, Lord, from sadness and doubt to the joy of believing in you and in others…
Father of Jesus Christ,
you sent your Son to serve humanity: teach us to serve, too, with simplicity…
To do justice to the poor, the oppressed and those who are despised,
may we be your servants!
That refugees and migrants may be welcomed and respected, may we be your servants!
That all may have bread and peace, shelter and work, may we be your servants!
So that every people may benefit from the fruits of its labour, and build its social life in freedom
may we be your servants!
That prayer may unite us in praise and fraternal intercession, may we be your
your servants!
God our Father,
From the beginning you have been the God who blesses the adventure of life, and of this adventure,
you instil in us a deep desire for it. It is not by conquering worlds
that humanity will be able to satisfy its quest for the infinite, but in its own heart.
That’s where Love, the infinite, cries out to us tirelessly.
It is through the call to love, ever more deeply,
that the adventure of life is relaunched unceasingly, opening up our being to its best possibilities,
a never-ending journey towards the other.
You are the One who gave rise to this desire, and who will fulfil it in us,
because you wanted to be with us throughout our lives, in Jesus Christ, our Brother?
He who is your blessing on us, today and for ever.
Friend of mankind, Jesus the Saviour, at the beginning of this day, welcomes our faith.
Solid refuge, sure shelter, goodness that excludes all injustice, welcome our faith.
You who from our impossible offerings can make the impossible possible, welcome our faith.
You who give yourself even when we have betrayed you, welcome our faith.
You who have no memory of evil and who open a path for us into the future, welcome our faith.
May today’s new time be an opportunity to learn wisdom, that art of living that harmonises differences, that conveys true values, that protects life and nurtures the little seeds of hope from which new things spring.
