Embracing a Common Future
Edmund Rice Christian Brothers
North America
Thursday, 09 August 2007
|
Embracing a Common Future
Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America Thursday, 09 August 2007 |
|
|
May the fire be in our thoughts Making them true, good and just, May it protect us from the evil one.
May it open our eyes to see what is good in life. We ask that the fire may protect us from what is not rightfully ours.
May the fire be on our lips, so that we may speak the truth in kindness; that we may serve and, encourage others. May it protect us from speaking evil.
May the fire be in our ears. We pray that we may hear with a deep, deep listening So that we may hear the flow of water, and of all creation, and the dreaming.
May we be protected from gossip and from those things that harm and break down our family.
May the fire be in our arms and hands so that we may be of service and build up love. May the fire protect us from all violence. May the fire be in our whole being - in our legs and in our feet, enabling us to walk the earth with reverence and care; so that we may walk in the ways of goodness and truth and be protected from walking away from what is true. Blessed Edmund Rice, Pray for Us. - St Patrick's Province, Australia Thursday, May 05, 2005
Blessed are those who are convinced of their basic dependency on God, whose lives are emptied of all that doesn't matter, those for whom the riches of this world just aren't that important.
The Reign of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who know that all they are is gift from God, and so they can be content with their greatness and their smallness, knowing themselves and being true to themselves.
For they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Blessed are those who wear compassion like a garment, those who have learned how to find themselves by losing themselves in another's sorrow.
Blessed are those who are hungry for goodness, those who never get enough of God and truth and righteousness.
For they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, those who remember how much has been forgiven them, and are able to extend this forgiveness into the lives of others.
For they too shall receive God's mercy.
Blessed are those whose hearts are free and simple, those who have smashed all false images and are seeking honestly for truth.
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the creators of peace, those who build roads that unite rather than walls that divide, those who bless the world with the healing power of their presence.
For they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are those whose love has been tried, like gold, in the furnace and found to be precious, genuine, and lasting, those who have lived their belief out loud, no matter what the cost or pain.
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
From Seasons of Your Heart, by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB, p. 78
May the light of your soul guide you. May the light of your soul bless the work you do, with the secret love and warmth of your heart. May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul. May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you
May your work never weary you. My it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement. May you be present in what you do. May you never become lost in the bland absences. May the day never burden. May dawn find you awake and alert, Approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promises. May evening find you gracious and fulfilled. May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected. May your soul calm, console and renew you. ("Anam-Cara" , p. 200, John O'Donohue)
Standing in a circle, each extends a band in final blessing over group R. May you love God with everything in your heart be it gladness or doubt, fear or playfulness. May you love deeply the people with whom you live and work, and may they love you. L. May you never waver in the pursuit of justice and peace, giving your self in risk, creativity and thoughtfulness.
L. May you remember all of the loved ones who have helped you fashion your life story. R. May you take sadness into your heart holding it lightly till compassion is born - then, may you give your compassion away. All: Go gently and joyfully in a spirit of truth, as witnesses of God's love. May God watch over you, Jesus walk with you, and the Spirit give you courage. Go forth and give new life! Thanks be to God!
Closing Prayer Blessings For Each Other
May the God of Strength be with you, holding you in strong-fingered hands; and may you be the sacrament of God's strength to those whose hands you hold. May the blessing of STRENGTH be with you.
May the God of Gentleness be with you, caressing you with sunlight and rain and wind. May God's tenderness shine through you to warm all who are hurt and lonely. May the blessing of GENTLENESS be with you.
May the God of Mercy be with you, forgiving you, beckoning you, encouraging you to say, "Now I will get up again and go to the house of God." May your readiness to forgive calm the fears and deepen the trust of those who have hurt you. May the blessing of MERCY be on you.
May the God of Compassion be with you, holding you close when you are weary and hurt and alone -- when there is rain in your heart. And may you be the warm hands and the warm eyes of compassion for your friends when they reach out to you in need. May the blessing of COMPASSION be on you.
May the God of Simplicity be with you, opening you to a clear vision of what is real and true, leading you deeply into the mystery of childhood; and may your dealings with others be marked by the honesty which is simplicity. May the blessing of SIMPLICITY be on you.
May the God of Patience be with you, waiting for you with outstretched arms, letting you find out for yourself. May God's patience with all the young who fall from small heights and the old, who fall from greater heights, be your patience. May the blessing of PATIENCE be on you.
May the God of Peace be with you, stilling the heart that hammers with fear and doubt and confusion, and may your peace, the warm mantle of your peace, cover those who are troubled or anxious. May the blessing of PEACE be on you.
May the God of Love and Friendship be with you, listening to you, telling you loving secrets, drawing you close as you tremble at the edge of self-gift. May God's love in you light fires of faith and hope. May God's fires grow and burn and burst and inflame the earth. May God's love in you glow in your eyes and meet God's love glowing in the eyes of your friends. May the blessing of LOVE and FRIENDSHIP be on you.
May the God of Joy be with you, thrilling you with such nearness, filling your heart to fullness and filling you through to ringing, singing exultation. May the blessing of JOY be on you.
ALL: May the Holy God be with us, drawing us ever nearer, speaking to us of unity, true community where distinction of persons is also oneness in being. May the blessings of COMMUNITY arise from within us, radiate around us and remain forever. Amen.
May the Lord Bless Us in Our Searchings
May the Lord bless us in our searching and our questions They are the gateway to wisdom, enlightenment and peace, the way to our hearts.
May the Lord bless us in our gifts: These are God's providence to the world to enrich it, to ennoble it, to bring it to love.
May the Lord bless us in the yearnings of our hearts: No matter how subtle, they are energy urging us forward , in our quest for God and for others.
May the Lord bless us in our vision: No matter the climb it is a mountain peak calling us to experience God.
May the Lord bless us in our leadership: That we may witness to the Word, Word that is searched and contemplated, professed and proclaimed.
May the Lord bless us in our decisions: No matter the mistakes, they are our 'yes' in life, our assent to the field where God is to be found.
May the Lord bless us in our reflections and ideas: No matter the doubts, they are seeds seeking nourishment, sunshine, life-giving water.
May the Lord bless us in all our ways, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
|
|
|
May
the fire be in our eyes;
And
to those who see and receive your work.
R.
May you live with a spirit of forgiveness, mending what is broken and bridging
what is separated.
May
the God of Wonder be with you, delighting you with thunder and birdsong, sunrise
and daisy; enchanting your senses, filling your heart, giving you wide-open eyes
for seeing the splendor in the humble and the majestic. And may you open the
eyes and hands and the hearts of the blind and the deaf and the insensitive. May
the blessing of WONDER be on you.