Come now, High King of heaven.
Come to us in flesh and bone.
Bring life to us who are weary with misery.
Bring peace to us who are overcome with weeping,
Whose cheeks are covered with bitter salt tears.
Seek us out, who are lost in the darkness of depression.
Do not forget us.
Have mercy on us.
Impart to us your everlasting joy,
So that we, who are fashioned by your hands,
May praise your glory.
-The Exter Book
2.Lord, have mercy on the suffering.
Give food to those who are hungry;
Give clothing to those who lack;
Give shelter to those who shiver in cold;
Give love to orphans and outcast;
Give comfort to abused women;
Give redemption to the oppressed;
Give assistance to those ravaged by war.
May you teach them to grow toward you
In light of the hardships they suffer.
And to all of these may you give your gospel
That they might attain your kingdom
Where their sufferings will be exchanged
For the joy of your loving presence.
3.Dear Lord
You suffered so much pain
In order to save us and all mankind from sin.
Yet we find it hard to bear even our minor pains.
Lord, because of your great pain
Have mercy on our little pains.
And if you wish us simply to bear our pains
Send us the patience
And the courage
That we lack.
4. Let us all become a true and faithful branch
On the vine Jesus
By accepting Him in our lives
As it pleases Him to come:
As the Truth—to be told
As the Life—to be lived
As the Light—to be lighted
As the Way—to be walked
As the Love—to be loved
As the Joy—to be given
As the Peace—to be spread
As the Sacrifice—to be offered
In our families
In our neighborhood,
In our city,
And in our world.
-Missionaries of Charity
5. O God
Since you created everything we can see, hear and touch,
May we constantly acknowledge your bounty.
And since you sustain everything we can see hear and touch,
May we always be mindful of your strength.
Thus may we walk the path of life
With a spirit of humility
Knowing that in all things we depend on you.
6. Plant in our hearts, Lord,
Such fear of your power
That we always strive to live according to your laws.
Let us always remember
That through You alone
Comes joy and happiness
And that without You
There is only misery and despair.
And thus may we learn to obey you in all things.
7.Whatever you make us desire for our enemies
Give it to them and give the same back to us.
You who are the true Light,
Lighten their darkness.
You who are the whole Truth,
Correct their errors.
You who are the incarnate Word,
Give life to their souls.
Tender Lord Jesus,
Let us not be stumbling blocks to them,
Nor rocks of offense.
We beg your mercy on our fellow slaves.
Let them be reconciled with you
And through you be reconciled to us.
8.Lord, inspire us to read your Scriptures
And meditate upon them day and night.
We beg you to give us a real understanding of what we need,
That we in turn may put its precepts into practice.
Yet we know that understanding and good intentions
Are worthless,
Unless rooted in your graceful love.
So we ask that the words of the Scriptures may also be
Not just signs on a page
But channels of grace into our hearts.
9.Holy Father
Allow us to be transformed into your mercy
And so be your living reflection.
May your mercy pass through our souls to our neighbors.
Help our eyes to be merciful
So we do not judge by appearances
But look for what is beautiful in our neighbor’s souls.
Help our ears to be merciful
So we give heed to our neighbor’s needs
Not being indifferent to their moanings.
Help our tongues to be merciful
So we never speak negatively of another
But have words of comfort for all.
Help our hands to be merciful
So that we do good to our neighbors
And take up ourselves the more difficult tasks.
Help our feet to be merciful
Overcoming our own weariness
Hurrying to assist our neighbors.
Help our hearts to be merciful
So we feel the sufferings of our neighbors
And refuse our hearts to no one.
May we be locked into the merciful heart of Jesus.
10.O God,
We come seeking you in our worship together.
We come to you for truth
Because we are untrue.
We come to you for strength
Because we are so weak.
We come to you for wisdom
Because we are unwise.
Move in our midst;
Show us your truth, your strength, and your wisdom,
Through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
11.Praise the One who hears the cry of the poor,
Who lifts up the weak and gives them strength.
Praise the One who feeds the hungry
And satisfies the longing of those in need.
Praise the One who holds with tenderness the orphan and widow
And gives the stranger a land and a home.
12. Merciful and loving Father,
We ask you with all our hearts
To bountifully pour out on our enemies
Whatever will be for their good.
Above all, give them a sound and uncorrupt mind
With which they might honor and love you
And also love us.
Do not let their hating us turn to their harm.
Lord, we desire their amendment and our own.
Do not separate them from us by punishing them;
Deal gently with them and join them to us.
Help us to see that we have all been called to be citizens
Of the everlasting city;
Let us begin to love each other now
Because love is the end we seek.
13.God of redemption and reconciliation—
You call us to live together in peace.
Look upon us and judge what we have done with our stewardship:
Witness the burned houses, meth labs, drug dealers, slumlords and prostitutes.
See the emptiness and the false promises
The alienation and despair
The injustice and oppressions
That bring these tragedies among us.
Heal this place,
God of mercy and forgiveness!
Send your love and grace upon all
Prostitutes, drug dealers, slumlords, loan sharks, bankers, lawyers and politicians.
Fill the emptiness that is the source of these sorrows
With love, peace, mercy and justice.
And give us courage so that we may show them your love.
14.Grant me the grace of a broken heart.
Allow me to understand the damage my sin does
to my relationship to you
and to those around me.
Cause me to so deeply regret my unloving, impure actions
that I cry and shamefully moan my confession.
I pray that I would so long for righteousness
that I would do whatever it takes,
sacrifice whatever I have
so that You could create righteousness within me.
Let me never be so arrogant or insensitive
to see my unloving or impure actions
as acceptable or understandable or excusable.
Rather, I cry out to you—
make me righteous,
make me holy or
remake me.
Let your Spirit so infuse me with your faith,
love
and humility
that it become my lifeblood,
my driving power,
my whole existence.
Crucify my flesh
that I might be like your Son in every way
15.Lord, help me face the truth about myself.
Help me hear my words as others hear them;
To see my face as others see me;
Let me be honest enough to recognize my impatience and conceit;
Let me recognize my anger and selfishness;
Give me sufficient humility to accept my own weaknesses for what they are.
Give me the grace to say, “I was wrong—forgive me.”
16.God of Jesus,
Center of all existence,
King of the universe,
I desire you alone.
I resolve to be filled with nothing but You alone—
For there is contentment in no other.
Let me not desire You and earthly security,
but You alone.
Let me not desire You and material possessions,
but You alone.
Let me not desire You and entertainments,
but You alone.
Let me not desire You and human love,
but You alone.
Let me not desire You and status,
but You alone.
May You be my inheritance,
You my sufficiency,
You my restoration,
You my rest.
Your kingdom,
your righteousness,
your will,
your glory,
Your praise,
your holiness,
your promises,
your love—
Your satisfaction only may I desire.
Please, exchange all my desires to be a pure desire for You.
17.O God, our true Life,
to know You is life
to praise you is the joy and happiness of the soul.
We praise and bless and adore You,
We worship You, I glorify You.
We give thanks to You for Your great glory.
We humbly beg You to live with us,
To reign in us
To make our hearts a holy temple,
A fit habitation for your divine majesty.
-Augustine
18.May God bless us with discomfort
at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships
so that we may live deep within your heart
May God bless us with anger
at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace
May God bless us with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
so that we may reach out your hand to comfort them and
to turn their pain into joy
And may God bless us with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in the world
so that we can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
- A Franciscan Benediction
source: http://www.nowheretolayhishead.org/worshipprayers.html
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