Prayer
Serenity Prayer
God, grant me serenity to
accept the things I cannot
change, courage to change the
things I can and wisdom to
know the difference-living one
day at a time-accepting hard-
ships as a pathway to peace-
taking, as Jesus did, this sinful
world as it is, not as I would
have it-trusting that you will
make all things right if I sur-
render to Your will-so that I
may be reasonably happy in this
life and supremely happy with
You forever in the next. Amen.
Prayer for Peace
Lord make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that
I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console.
To be understood, as to understand.
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
St. Francis of Assisi
PRAYER IN A TIME
OF ANGER AND SEPARATION
Lord, You who expressed Your divine anger
in fire, brimstone and lightning,
look down with understanding upon my anger.
I am in pain;
a wound in my heart caused by another
is the source of this suffering.
That heart of mine, Lord of Hearts, is filled with anger
so that I am unable to be loving and caring.
I feel a need to return injury for injury, pain for pain,
and so cannot truly desire to forgive the other.
Lord, You and I both know that such an attitude is wrong;
yet it is very real,
and its pain overflows into the rest of my life.
Before I can come to the point of wanting to forgive –
and to be forgiven if that is necessary –
I must find an antidote for the poison of this attitude.
Lord, I need Your help, for my feelings are confused,
and I so need to find some order among them.
I need to see how this separation has come about
and how I can take some steps
toward mending my broken communion.
I pause now to exchange places
and to look at the cause of the separation
through the eyes of the other who has injured me.
pause for silent examination
Lord, You who are a God of compassion as well as holy anger,
may I see how that which angers me in the other
is also a part of my person which I repel.
Help me to own that part of me
and thus begin to know my oneness with the other.
May this passover of mine to the other’s side
make me ready for a solution to this division,
and may my desire for communion
soak up the poison in my heart.
Lead me, Forgiving Lord, to the graces of reconciliation
so that this relationship which is dead
may be resurrected to fuller life
through Your holy and healing power.
Amen.
A Morning Prayer
I call upon you, O Lord,
and in the morning you hear me.
In the morning I offer you my
prayer, watching and waiting.
I lift my heart to you, O Lord,
to be strengthened for this day.
Be with me in all I do, my God;
guide me in all my ways.
I will carry some burdens today;
Some trials will be mine.
So I wait for your help, Lord,
lest I stumble and fall.
I will do my work, Father,
the work begun by your Son.
He lives in me and I in him;
May his work today be done.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen
The Merton Prayer
My Lord God, I have no idea where
I am going. I do not see the road ahead
of me. I cannot know for certain where it
will end. Nor do I really know myself, and
the fact that I think I am following your
will does not mean that I am actually
doing so. But I believe that the desire to
please you does in fact please you. And
I hope I have that desire in all that I am
doing. I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire. And I know that
if I do this you will lead me by the right
road though I may know nothing about
it. Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the
shadow of death. I will not fear, for you
are ever with me, and you will never
leave me to face my perils alone.
– Thomas Merton
The Lord’s Prayer
Our father who art in heaven
hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil. Amen
The memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled
to thy protection, implored thy help,
or sought thy intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee,
O virgin of virgins, my mother. To thee I come,
before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful,
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear
and answer me.
Amen
The twenty-third psalm
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures You let me graze;
to safe waters You lead me;
You restore my strength.
You guide me along the right path
for the sake of Your name.
Even when I walk through a dark valley,
I fear no harm for You are at my side;
Your rod and staff give me courage.
You set a table before me
as my enemies watch;
You ancint my head with oil;
my cup overflows
Only goodness and love will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for years to come.
PRAYER TO FORGIVE GOD
Come close, Lord, and hear my prayer
as I come with great hesitation
seeking reconciliation with You, my God.
I find that my lips will hardly form these words,
and yet, if I am honest, I know that at times
there has been hidden in my heart
a resentment toward You, my God.
The reason, Lord, is that from the start
You have shaped my world,
formed my body, gifted my mind
and placed me within my family.
I have held You responsible when these seemed unjust
and, though afraid,
have often wanted to raise my fist to You.
This, Lord God, is one of those times!
Be patient with me, Divine Master,
because from the spot where I stand,
I can see only a small part of this universe.
My vision is confined
to a limited today, to a few yesterdays.
I cannot grasp the full sweep of Your divine plan,
of which my life is a tiny but important part.
I know in my heart of hearts
that You love me without limit
and that You desire
only that which is good and wholesome for me.
With that knowledge,
I can embrace, without understanding it all,
what You have decreed for me from all time.
I embrace my body, my family,
my place in history and even this present situation
for which I can see no simple resolution.
Lord God, please accept my pardon
and embrace me with Your divine affection.
Smile upon my simple efforts to serve and praise You
even as I sometimes stumble through my life.
Thank You, my Lord and my Friend,
for Your patience
and Your gracious acceptance of my forgiveness.
May we live together forever.
Amen.
Tips about prayer
Don’t pass up unexpected or unscheduled moments of prayer.
Sometimes, without intending it, we naturally drift into prayer. It comes upon us at an unexpected moment. Don’t put those times on “hold” as though you can retrieve them later. Go with it, however brief this time may be. Some of the best experiences of prayer happen this way.
Something doesn’t have to “happen” every time we pray.
Don’t look for immediate results. Prayer is “being with” God. The results are real but gradual. Every session of prayer is not meant to produce a new thought, a new resolution, a bottom line result.
That, by the way, is one of the things that can help make times of prayer enjoyable.
AN EVENING PRAYER
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
O Lord my God,
thank you for bringing
this day to a close;
Thank you for giving me rest
in body and soul.
Your hand has been over me and
Guarded and preserved me.
Forgive me my lack of faith
And any wrong that I have done today,
And help me to forgive all
Who have wronged me.
Let me sleep
In peace under your protection,
And keep me from all the
temptations of darkness.
Into your hands I commend my loved ones
And all who dwell in this place;
I commend to you my body and soul.
O God, your holy name be praised.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen
Prayer of United Farm Workers founder
Cesar Chavez
Show me the suffering of the most miserable;
So I will know my people’s plight.
Free me to pray for others;
For you are present in every person.
Help me take responsibility for my own life;
So that I can feel free at last.
Grant me courage to serve others:
For in service there is true life.
Give me honesty and patience:
So that I can work with other workers.
Bring forth song and celebration:
So that the Spirit will be alive among us.
Let the Spirit flourish and grow;
So that we will never tire of the struggle.
Let us remember those who have died
for justice;
For they have given us life.
Help us love even those who hate us:
So we can change the world.
– Prayer of United Farm Workers founder
Cesar Chavez, who was born 90 years ago