God our Father,
grant that we may learn to bring our lives together,
to strike a balance between times of listening and speaking,
between times of praise and action,
so that our lives may become salt and light, bread and clothing,
an oasis in the desert where passers-by may find refreshment.
We pray this through Jesus, through whom your Life is given to us in abundance.
Lord,
that the inner person may be strengthened within us and that we may ground every action,
every word, in love, teach us to pray!
To pray is to plough, and it is also to allow oneself to be turned over.
Lord, teach us to pray!
To pray is to bury seed in the furrow, so that others may reap,
and it is also to gather with open hands what others have sown.
Lord, teach us to pray!
To pray is to discern the weeds from the good grain that is sprouting?
and it is also to refuse to judge, to decide;
it is to choose patience with you.
Lord, teach us to pray!
To pray is to put one’s whole heart, one’s whole weight into it, so that the ear of corn may bear fruit?
and it is also to lighten oneself, to let the breath carry everything away like chaff in the wind.
Lord, teach us to pray!
God our Father,
bless humanity on its journey,
bless its longing, heal its wounds, and come to meet it through Jesus, your Son, our Brother.
May his Word and his deeds stir within us a greater sense of humanity, and may we know how to share his
Hope with our sisters and brothers on the journey. We pray this through him, Jesus, our Liberator.
Lord,
every morning you stand at the door,
place in my heart the treasure of patience,
place in my heart the spirit of hope,
place in my heart a love that endures to the very end,
for this day and until the day when all shall know
that you love them infinitely…
Prayer for the Friends of “Lutte et contemplation”
It is your Word that has set them in motion.
It is the Gospel that leads them into resistance
and sometimes also into dissent.
But it is also in your Word
that they draw the strength of Hope.
You who said to Moses and to all the prophets
who shrank from the task:
I will be with you!
To each and every one, say it again, God,
as you did to all those whom the Gospel one day
set in motion – in resistance and in hope:
I will be with you!
God,
you said to Moses:
Go, free my people. And he shrank back:
‘Please, Lord, send someone else, but not me!’
Jeremiah also protested: ‘I cannot speak, I am only a child!’
And we too, when your Word touches our hearts, begin to tremble
and sometimes retreat.
Yet your Word is our joy,
yet your trust lifts us up,
the mission you entrust to us is beautiful,
deep within us it raises great hope.
Tonight, in our common prayer, we welcome your Holy Spirit.
In our weakness, he can accomplish more than we dare to think.
Together, one with another,
we offer you our desire to follow in your footsteps,
Jesus, our companion on the journey.
Lord Jesus, you say to us: come to me, all you who labour, and I will give you rest.
We pray to you, see the multitude of poor people who count for nothing in the eyes of our societies.
See those who cannot resist evil and who suffer because of it.
Lord, see those whom illness, age, and events have left powerless,
with empty hands.
Lord, you who welcome us as we are, may we in turn know how to
welcome one another and let your light shine through our shadows…
God, you loved the world, but does the world know it?
So often it searches for you in its darkness,
so often it denies all stars.
With those who, at the beginning of Lent,
renew their trust in you, we bless you.
With those who, despite war,
do not give up on a possible tomorrow,
we bless you.
With parents who, despite uncertainty and precariousness,
still choose to give life today,
we bless you.
With those who are committed to the most vulnerable
and who, despite multiple challenges and their powerlessness,
stand firm in their constant presence,
we bless you.
