Journal

Lord,
hear our voice as we pray that you will instil in the hearts of all people
the wisdom of peace,
the determination for justice,
the demand for brotherhood.
Hear our voice when it echoes the multitudes
who, in every country and under every sky, do not want war
and are ready to walk the path of peace and reconciliation.
May we too be ready,
and for this we ask you, with the power of the Spirit,
for the courage to disarm our hearts.
Hear our voices, Father, and in them, the voice of Jesus.
Through Him, grant peace to the world,
in this time and for eternity.

Mary knew how to watch,
as so many women know how to watch,
keeping everything in their hearts
and never resigning themselves to the inevitable,
hoping against all hope.
May Mary’s prayer help us, too,
to refuse to put an end to things
when everything seems wounded and hopeless.
May we watch with her
for the coming of the new world,
which is the world of resurrection,
already here and still to come.
In the name of Jesus, our First Brother…

Lord,
with so many others we are going…
simple pilgrims on your paths,
rooted and yet always departing,
torn between reality and the dream of the absolute,
always amazed to experience the power of this faint breath
that carries us,
useless servants,
happy in grace,
carrying praise in our hearts.

God our Father,
we give you thanks for offering us this new time when everything begins,
this new time when your Word comes to us in all its freshness and light
to be sown in the furrows of our lands ploughed by expectation…
May this new time be for each and every one of us,
a time of grace in which we learn to love in deed and truth,
through Jesus who came, who comes and who will come.

Blessed be You, Lord our God, for gathering us together to listen to Your Word.
Grant us the grace to empty ourselves, to come to You in poverty,like so many watchers before us, like Mary and the people of expectation.
Let us hear, amid our noise and worn-out words, the Word that brings peace, that comforts the afflicted, that feeds the hungry and frees the prisoner.

To hear your Word, open the ears of our hearts and prepare us to meet you in Jesus, your Word who comes into the world.

Maranatha! Come, Lord!

Remember, Lord, and help us to remember those who have nothing before them but dry earth, grey walls or a battlefield.
Remember, Lord, those who have nothing around them but shoulders that turn away, eyes that look away, hands that withdraw.
Give us, Lord, the strength to remember those who wander, those who call out, those who stray from the path.
Grant us, Lord, to remember those who wander, those who call out, those who stray
from the path.
Remember, Lord, those who have been seduced by violence and have become
perpetrators themselves.
Grant us, Lord, to remember that we are one humanity, each responsible for
all, all concerned with the future of each.

At the crossroads of our lives, you wait for us to invite us to choose life.
Lord, teach us to discern the paths of life just for today.
Open our minds to your discreet presence, when so many worries and
overwhelming news dominate our attention and dull our vigilance.
Touch our eyes so that they may see beyond the appearance of people and events.
Lighten our hearts of everything that binds us to ourselves, to our comfort, to our own interests,
and which stifles joy.
Grant us the grace to accept your invitation to love one another and to contribute to the happiness
that you desire for all living beings.

Lord Jesus, amazed by the world, by events, by our brothers and sisters in daily life, we ask you to teach us to look at the world with that sympathy which makes us open to admiration and ready for compassion. You who love every person with the heart of God your Father and our Father in the communion of the Spirit, today and for eternity.

Lord,
we have never seen your face and we are but passers-by on our earth.
And from our poverty spring forth our cries of wonder,
our songs of gratitude for your Name, beyond all Names.
No one is loved as they deserve, except by you, Lord.
Share with us your view of the humble realities of our daily lives and let us feel your
quivering that probes the depths of the human heart, and we bless you for it.
In our lives, ploughed by time,
you have discreetly placed a rare pearl with fiery reflections.
But why have you placed such a treasure in such a fragile earthen vessel?
You have chosen to make your home there so that one day only your face will appear.
We bless you.