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!
Lord, you know our land, made up of darkness and light,
of night and fog, of light, sunny mornings and serene evenings,
a land of blood and compassion, of fanaticism and fraternal reunion.
We bless you, Father, for the steps that people know how to take towards one another,
these discoveries beyond borders of brothers and sisters in humanity, these spiritual riches
with which you have filled us. Everything sings of the generosity of your gifts, and of the joy of those who know how to respond to them.
to them. Blessed art thou forever!
The question of God is important to you.
You’d like to know a little about monastic life.
You believe that prayer is a force that can change people’s hearts – your own – and thereby influence the course of the world.
You don’t separate your spiritual quest from a simple, fraternal life, divided between worship and
work.
Come and spend 1 month with us at the Carmel de la Paix, in Mazille, Burgundy?
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.
