Lord Christ, may your call to life still ring in our ears and in our hearts.

May our eyes be opened to your light,

and may the power of your Resurrection permeate our very being,

so that we may already live that eternal life which you promise

and bring comfort and hope to the world.

All things may be reborn through the Breath of your Spirit,

in communion with the Father, in You, the Resurrection for ever and ever.

Since the day you gave us your peace… what have we done with it, Jesus?
Your peace is not neutral.
It does not turn a blind eye to injustice.
It does not stand idly by when action is needed.
Never let us forget that your peace is a struggle,
the fruit of your Paschal struggle.
We implore it for those who today face violence.
Be their strength, their light, their inner resilience.
Prepare, through all the humble, all those who suffer,
the turning of hearts?
and make us, in our humble place, participants in this conversion
Until your Kingdom comes, Jesus, our PEACE.

Lord Jesus,
every day we ask you for bread, our daily bread,
but every day we must also ask you for faith,
day-to-day faith, step by step along our journey.
You say, ‘If you believe, you will see.’
You know our blindness; give us the eyes of faith
that enable us to walk as though we could see the unseen.
Lord, it is not just about us.
It is about this world hurtling blindly along in a mad race
that crushes the stars.
This light buried deep within the hearts of your children,
do not let it be extinguished in them, in us,
this light of hope
that believes and sees – beyond.
This is our prayer this evening, and it gives you thanks.

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.

When we feel poor and empty, with nothing to share,
awaken within us the spirit of giving.

When we are disillusioned with life and our relationships are filled with bitterness,
awaken within us trust.

When we are full of ourselves and pride blinds us to the face
of our sister, of our brother, awaken within us brotherly love.

When we are sated with possessions and the fear of losing them arises,
awaken in us the joy of sharing.

When we lose sight of your faithfulness of yesterday and tomorrow leaves us without strength,
awaken in us trust in the small steps of today.

When we are out of breath,
awaken in us the prayer of God’s children: ‘Our Father…’

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.

Lord Jesus,
you always precede us in prayer,
even before we gather together, you were waiting for us.
Blessed are you for your Presence that inspires ours.
You are there, without dwelling on our poverty, our distractions,
which so often have made us forget to put on our festive attire.
You are there before our words, more attentive to what we try to stammer out
than to the perfect harmony of our songs.
You lend us your Spirit so that He may breathe into us the Name above all Names,
the right Name, unspeakable without the Spirit, and which makes us sure and brothers.
Thanks be to you, Jesus, Lord, for being here again tonight to receive our prayer.

A long journey begins for us, Lord,
and we do not like what drags on,
we know too well how habits and weariness catch up with us.
Lighten us of all that weighs down our walk,
lead us towards that simplicity of heart,
that fallow ground of the soul that ‘pursues neither grand designs nor wonders beyond our reach’
(Ps 130) but unifies our desire and enables us to find our joy in You,
God, always waiting for our presence.

God of the impossible, you who freed your people from the yoke of slavery,
today, once again, come and open our lives to new possibilities.
From the hardest rock, bring forth water for our thirst,
and may gentleness and kindness once again irrigate our relationships.
God of the impossible, give us a new heart.
In the desert of daily life, when habit and monotony smooth the horizon and lull our vigilance,
come and bring forth something new, open our eyes to the signs of the times.
God of the impossible, reawaken our hope.

Since Moses and the people of the desert, tracing their path by the light of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night,
we are that people journeying towards the promised land.
But when the desert wind erases the tracks in the sand, when the oases recede and water becomes
scarce and slows the progress of us pilgrims, turn our gaze to that rock which
brings forth living water, Christ who went to the end of love.
Blessed are you for the One in whom our hope is anchored, Jesus, your Son.
Through Him we pass from death to life, starting today.

God our Father,
the great Love, towards whom our desire soars, you wanted to reveal him in Jesus, your Envoy.
He lived among us, filled with your Spirit. Through his choices, through his struggle for life, through the cross,
he brought human passion and fragility into the very heart of God. His Spirit accompanies us
and whispers to us that we are children of God, universal sisters and brothers, thus making us
aware of your eternal plan: a reconciled humanity.
Allow us to receive inspiration from this for our life together throughout our days.

Blessed are those, Lord, who discover your loving presence at the heart of their lives.
They are witnesses to your goodness.
Make us attentive to one another, concerned for the daily bread of our sisters and brothers.
Make us witnesses to your goodness.
Make us sensitive to the cries for justice and freedom of so many people, so many nations.
Make us witnesses of your goodness.
In this time of crisis, when so many of our sisters and brothers are driven into misery and unhappiness:
Make us witnesses of your goodness.
May the Spirit mobilise all our energies to proclaim the Good News in praise and
service…and we pray to you:
Make us witnesses of your goodness.

Jesus, Lord,
you gave your life so that ours might be possible.
So that the Gospel may become the leaven of a new humanity,
strengthen us in the Hope of this world to be built with you.
Whoever is not against you is with you: grant us to see the good that is accomplished in silence and selflessness, all the initiatives that prevent us from giving up and sustain our Hope for the world to come.
Bless all human solidarity, bring to fruition the actions of so many men and women who tenaciously strive to overcome poverty, disease and ignorance. Justify their hope in the world to come.
Send your Spirit upon the Church, that she may have the courage to reform herself in the light of the Word she proclaims and which never ceases to work within her. Strengthen her in the hope of the world to come.

Blessed are you, Jesus, who was not ashamed to call us your brothers and sisters,
and who welcomes us into your Presence again this morning.
Blessed are you, who comes to dwell in our daily lives with your light,
clothing our hearts with your tenderness.
Blessed are you, Jesus, who invites all human beings to your table,
the nameless, the lowly, and even the loveless
that we sometimes are.
Blessed are you, who gives us your Holy Spirit to keep us in your invisible Presence
and strengthen the energies of life within us.

God our Father,
when the fullness of time had come, you sent your Son, born of a woman, born into the heart of our history.
From him we receive the full measure of our humanity. May his Spirit bear fruit in us!
He revealed to us that happiness is found only in love and service. He overturned the scale of
values of all the powerful. May his Spirit produce in us the fruits of humanity!
He restored dignity to those who counted for nothing,
and a zest for life to those who were captive to the forces of death.
May his Spirit produce in us the fruits of humanity!
He broke the cycle of selfishness and fear of lack,
by breaking not the bread of superfluity, but the bread of necessity.
May his Spirit produce in us the fruits of humanity!
He revealed to us the right way to be connected to you, by offering you a prayer that is not separated from
solidarity with our neighbour.
May his Spirit produce in us the fruits of humanity!

God our Father,
your Spirit cries out within us, attesting that we are your sons and daughters.
But it is also He who kindles in us the desire for that hour
when all people, all nations, will see the manifestation of their divine sonship,
the hour of deliverance from all chains,
when, through brotherhood and sharing,
those who are bent under the burden of oppression and misery will rise again.
And may our slow journey towards the full light
reveal your Face of goodness, turned towards us
in Jesus, the Emmanuel of all times.

Lord our God,
it is good for us to discover in Scripture
that you are a God who reveals himself,
a God who speaks,
a God who acts ceaselessly
and waits for us in the reciprocity of gift.
We give you thanks for this marvellous exchange
through which our nature is united with yours,
for this Son of Man whom you recognise as your Only Begotten Son
and through whom we become your beloved children.
May the Spirit revive in us the call to achieve a brotherhood without exclusion and without borders,
which alone is able to bear witness that you are the God of Love, Father of all,
from this time and for all eternity.

Today, we continue to follow the path of listening, which is also the path of our quest.
A quest for your Word and the revelation of your Face, God!
We take the path of listening to hear what alone can give meaning to our journey:
the hope that there is a course of righteousness, goodness and justice,
which responds to the most constant and true aspirations in each of us.
We take the path of listening to be open to your Spirit,
to let ourselves be led to that point of no return where Jesus went before us, on the day when he
gave his life into your hands, leaving us with the one commandment of Love
for this time and for eternity.

Blessed be the Lord for the water of our springs, joyful and humble messengers of your living creation.
Blessed be You, Lord, for the waters of the Jordan, which tell the long story of our exodus
and of Your covenant with humanity in the baptism of Jesus.
Blessed be You, Lord, for the waters of Cana, transformed into wine,
which announce the endless Joy of the wedding feast of the Kingdom.
Blessed be you, Lord, for the water that flowed from the heart of your crucified Son, from which the Church was born.
Blessed be you, Lord, for the waters of our baptism,
in which you immersed us in the death of Jesus Christ so that we might be born with Him.

As Jesus descended into the waters of the Jordan, we await your Breath, God our Father.
The Breath that recreates, that makes new things out of our weariness, our brokenness,
the Breath that regenerates in us the desire to be in your image: living beings,
capable of creating fraternal relationships in turn,
the Breath that constantly heralds the new world
and gives us the energy to build it,
through Jesus, the Firstborn, our brother…

We are all born in prayer.
We are all born with a cry on our lips,
a cry that begs for air, for help, for a little tenderness.
We are born with a cry that expresses our thirst, our hunger, our need for others
in order to live, to simply be.
What if we let this native cry spring forth from deep within us…
this very simple cry of prayer to the Other, to others,
in order to be!

Jesus,
you are the One awaited since the dawn of time,
you are the One awaited by Israel’s long patience,
but also by all our wisdom,
by all the lights of art,
by our most beautiful intuitions.
You are the One awaited,
the human heart is hollowed out
by an irrepressible longing,
and we believe that it is for a beyond, for infinity…
But you, you are the One awaited already – since the beginning of time…
You are born in humanity, in the emergence of love,
in the flash of gratuitousness,
in astonishing goodness and enduring truth.
You have always been born in us,
you ask only for a little space
so that we may let you grow
and that from Christmas to Easter, Life may prevail,
the Life of God in our humanity, against all odds,
through time – for Eternity.

Lord our God, you have visited your people. Hope is your sign among us.
With open doors, it rushes in, awakens, overwhelms, enlightens…
May its momentum carry us away and make us creators of life, following in the footsteps of so many others
who, listening to your Word, have ventured their lives!

God our Father, in the long march of peoples crossing the land of shadows, we come
to you, in convergence, to give you thanks.
Amazed to have seen a light rise for humanity,
amazed at the whisper of hope in our hearts, we give you thanks.
For the dawn that tears through the cloak of night, for the wheat
that sprouts and cracks the earth, we give you thanks.
For the silence that awakens praise in our hearts,
for the people you visit with your tenderness, we give you thanks.

Lord, we love to remember Mary of the Magnificat, the freedom of her song, the rightness of her
presence among her people, in her time, before her God… Mary who, on behalf of all the poor of all
times, refuses any fullness other than that of man living according to the promise of
happiness that comes to him from his God.
Allow us to resemble her, in faith, in hope and love, in action and
thanksgiving, through Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Lord, because she is attentive to the breath of your Spirit, Mary is always on the side of the future,
on the side of hope. Grant that we too may be ready for the new things that you
are bringing to the horizon of our history and our lives.
At the rendezvous of the newness of your Creative Spirit who comes to give us without measure your Son,
Jesus, the Emmanuel, Lord of all time.