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.

Fighting against the spirit of evil, following you, Jesus, Lord,
means choosing humble gestures of brotherhood.
You who took upon yourself what hurts and divides us
and knelt down to wash our feet…
Fighting against the spirit of evil
is also welcoming a new perspective
to see the paths of hope that are opening up,
to see the signs of tenderness at the very heart of atrocities
that enable life to prevail.
May your Holy Spirit enable us
to hear the new Word, the Word of your promise
of a new heaven and a new earth for today!
This promise will surely be fulfilled in Jesus, the Emmanuel.

Everything speaks to us of your faithfulness, Lord:
The day that follows the night,
The rainbow in the clouds after the rain,
A new shoot on a withered stump,
The birth of a child…
You ensure that the Hope of the world never dies.
But we have unfaithful memories,
we so often forget your blessings.
Where violence and war rage, let your Sun of Justice rise.
After denial and doubt,
let the rainbow of your Peace shine in our hearts.
Our contrasting world, our old, worn-out world,
shaken by so many crises, will it die or give birth?
May the Child come, Lord, the Prince of Peace,
and may the Hope of the world be reborn through Him.

Lord,
like a bud that opens from within when a ray of sunshine falls on it,
so is your love in our lives.
And even if we are weary and tired, discouraged by the onslaught of trials,
when we feel like saying, ‘Enough is enough!’,
Your word of covenant is always there, like a night light,
like a small opening that gives us a glimpse of the horizon of a new morning.
Your word of covenant, like a force of recreation and mercy,
help us to welcome it, now and in the depths of our lives. Amen.

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.

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.

You have made known to us, O our God, what you expect of us,nothing other than to do justice, love kindness, and walk faithfully with you.

We pray, give us a whole heart!

Where concern for appearances prevents any true encounterfree us from our pride.

We pray, give us a whole heart!

Where the power of weapons takes precedence over human life,free us from our tyrannies.

We pray, give us a whole heart!

Where poverty dehumanises and erodes the hope of entire populations,free us from our indifference.

We pray, give us a whole heart!

Jesus Lord,
perhaps it would have been simpler to be servants…
servants have set hours, they have ‘limited responsibility’
whether they are useful or not is up to their employer.
But you did not call us servants
you dared to call us your friends
and that changed everything.
A friend is a full-time job.
We share our wildest hopes with our friends,
our deepest sorrows, our doubts, and our plans.
Friendship has nothing to do with usefulness.
Friendship can only exist freely.
It is a pure gift.
And that is why we come to praise you tonight,
freely, for the joy of a friend’s presence to a friend…
Blessed be you, Jesus, for daring to do this crazy thing: taking us as your friends…

God our Father, in Jesus your Son, you have revealed your heart to us. Through him you give us drink from the fountain
of living water, and through him you also tell us of your thirst to draw water from our well. In him we recognise
your Envoy, your Beloved Son, who is also the First among the multitude of brothers and sisters.
May your Spirit give us the courage to follow Jesus and continue his work of
peace, to embody in the most concrete way a little of that mercy that would revolutionise the world….

To your question, ‘Who am I to you?’ How can I answer you except with a song of praise, Jesus Lord!
Jesus, You are the One who speaks of God as a Father who is full of tenderness for all.
Praise be to You!
You are the One who weeps at the death of your friend and brings him back to life.
Praise be to you!
You are the One who prefers the company of sinners to that of the self-righteous,
because you want us to be merciful. Praise be to you!
You are the One who frees the law from its burden and speaks to us of the freedom and joy of the children of God.
Praise be to you!
You are the One who allows himself to be nailed to a cross, among criminals, living to the end the logic of God’s weakness. Praise be to you!
You are the One who gathers us together in prayer and leads us into the freedom of the Spirit.
Praise be to you!

Lord our God,
you who in Jesus became our companion and friend,
you know how dependent,
vulnerable and fragile we are.
We come to you with the weight of the past, that you may purify it,
with our present, that it may be filled with promise,
and our future, that it may be exposed to the breath of life.
May our whole life be the field of your grace,
for harvests of justice and peace.

Lord,
you who look upon every being with kindness and love, teach us to see!
In every face, reveal to us the potential you see,
in every face, reveal to us your own face, and remind us that in serving our brothers and sisters,
it is you we serve.
Blessed be you, Lord, for keeping in us this loving gaze,
this hopeful gaze,
throughout our days
and until the day we meet you face to face in eternity.

You alone, Lord, are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow,
which is why we pray to you with confidence:
When rainy days darken our spirits, when the light dims and
the cold seizes our hearts,
Lord, we call upon you!
When fog obscures our lives, when clouds gather
and the horizon disappears,
Lord, we call upon you!
When fear invades our homes, when the sounds of weapons accumulate
and war breaks out upon war,
Lord, we call upon you!
When our lukewarmness leaves us sitting on our sofas
and indifference blinds us,
Lord, we call upon you!

Lord Jesus, You who suffered for us and, joining us in our distress, freed us,
You who out of love for mankind humbled Yourself, took on the condition of a slave,
raised us up: our Saviour, have mercy on us!
In the madness that pervades this century, send us messengers, prophets,
those who are passionate about your Gospel,
who restore true dignity to all humanity and open paths to peace.
May your Kingdom come, Lord.

God of the Word,
in Jesus you call us to become beings of the Word ourselves.
When we are disappointed by the inflation of empty words,
you restore our confidence in the weight of words,
you who offer yourself to us in a word that does what it says.
When we are tired of speaking amid the noise of our discourses,
you restore our joy in listening, you the fragile Word that is received in silence.
When we are hurt by words that wound and divide,
you restore our thirst for unity, you, the Word that brings us together.
When we are slow to let your Word be spoken in our voices, in our lives,
you revive in us the memory of Jesus, your living Word.
Blessed be you, our God!

What is your name, hidden God that no one can name?
You enter our history and become one of us, blessed are you!
You are the rock that shelters and the stone that is rejected,
You are the thirst that burns and the spring that quenches, blessed are you!
You are the faithful friend and the stranger on our paths,
You are the oil on the wound and the sword of fire, blessed are you!
You are the hunger that gnaws and the bread that nourishes,
You are the desert path and the welcoming home.
You are the unfulfilled desire that grips us and the joy that sets us free,
You are the wound in our flesh and the hand that heals, blessed are you!
You are the Most High, the eternal God,
You are the Lowest who kneels and prays that we love one another.

Under the rainbow of trust, a new world emerges,
the world of children… may your Breath guide us!
May the noise of weapons be silenced, may men exchange words of peace!
May the world of money die, may the simple joy of being be born…
May songs and dancing return to ruined houses…
May children from one end of the world to the other join hands…
May the loving listening to your Word through the words of others create a dynamic of
communion…

Lord God,
You are before night and before day,
Before the shifting of clays,
Before the blossoming of constellations,
Before all things, God, You are!

God, You are Love, solely,
So without noise or power,
But with infinite tenderness,
God, You create Life,
And Life flows, a joyful source…

And you say:
Go out into the whole world,
set to work
so that the universe may become a harmonious space…
For your life, placed in our hands, be blessed, O our God.

God our Father, through Jesus who is our path to you and to others, guide our steps.
Lead us where we dare not go, towards a tomorrow that only Love can give us the desire for, that
only Hope can invent, a future to which we want to commit ourselves!
By your Breath, lead us to the truest part of ourselves, where faith ventures forth with others,
and may our common work be a sign of your Presence among us.