Source of all Hope, available to us in every realm on earth and in heaven,
Your Presence makes real your encompassing love. Even when we are swept away into lives that are not of our own choosing, we do not despair. You give us clarity, comfort and conviction, placing a right spirit within us. Answer in us questions for others. Make our lives a portrait of your ways. Amen.
Blessed Provider,
who picks up the pieces of our lives gathering an abundance where we saw not enough,
Soon we will be together at table; families, friends and foe. For some of us, the empty places at our tables reflect what has happened in our hearts. Change us to be those who trust rather than fear, turn our yearning into gratitude. Move us to respond to your grace by giving before we take. Fill us with your Loving Presence. And if ever any hostile encounter threatens to separate; extend our arms to reach out in love through your life-giving Word. Amen.
Maker of the heavens and earth,
who arrives in flickers of translucence,
Fill us with your breath in this moment and set our intention on finding your Presence in this day. Open us to all the ways you work to restore our bond with your creation. We so often fear spaciousness, we are afraid of letting go, we cling to the towers of our own making. Transform us with your delicate touches of grace where we might acknowledge the fullness of your Presence. Remind us to remain watchful for the reverent flow of life where Love emerges inviting us to enter in. Amen.
Holy One,
Help us return to our old words, words that we have used up and thrown out,
words that once gave us life , that now, we might live in them anew.
Breathe the word, in long slow gulps, until it fills our being,
Until we become that word for the sake of the world, living words for others.
Let us fill this world with…mercy, peace, kindness, compassion, justice, gentleness, strength, love, presence, goodness and…..
Thanks be to You, Amen.
“Whoever drinks the water I shall give, it will become in you a spring welling up to endless life.” John 4:14
She-Mystery, who gives herself away completely,
In this challenging season, we breathe, we pray, we serve others. Make us not forget, however, that an important part of our work is to accept the Love you offer. Help us not even try to make sense of it, only open our eyes to watch for it and open our hearts to receive it. We don’t want a feel good story on Easter, we want you to turn our hearts from stone into bread that brings life for the world. Amen.
1 Kings 17: 12
But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
Loving God, who is the giver of abundance, who blesses us all,
For the earth, her beauty and her bounty, thanks be to you, our Creator.
For time spent being held in your Presence, thanks be to your Spirit.
We enter into your life, Holy One, and find you deep within ours.
With joy and thanksgiving, direct us each day toward every opportunity to love,
through our work and our play.
Make all that we offer, be for the sake of another. Amen.
Creator of Life, who calls us all toward a relationship of grace,
A new day yawns, opening its emptiness before us. Before our steps take us to people and places, we turn to the Holy One, to gaze upon wonder and mystery finding fullness of Presence in silence. When we hear our hearts catch, perhaps that is where we are supposed to go next. When our memories capture our attention, perhaps we find what we thought was lost. And when our mindful, chatter clears, perhaps we notice the Other in whose life and death we are inextricably joined. Take into our day, these glimpses of grace that move our lives with gentle strength and joy filled love. Remind us to take into our world, only ourselves.
Guider of Souls, who leads us to strength,
Like the ancients, who ventured out into the world solely to encounter You, may this day be for us a pilgrimage where we recognize how you meet us along the way. Give our thoughts a single direction even as our paths turn and twirl with light and shadow. Open us to the Holy given in each person we come across. Remind us to build altars of remembrance in our hearts. Renew us as we gather your Love. Amen
“You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.” Psalm 18:36
Designer of Hope, who embraces all those with tear-filled eyes,
Turn our tears of joy into courage, and our tears of sorrow into compassion; for in this new day lie all the possibilities for tomorrow. Steer us toward the roads of the future with those close enough to hold our hands. Surprise us again with eternal treasure as we give away that which sustains another. Remind us that we don’t travel through this day alone, the arms of your love holds us all. Amen.
“…. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
Mother of the Earth and Stars, whose arms encompass infinity,
We awaken and stretch and breathe in the freshness of a new day. Open our minds to see that we rise up from this earth just as any other living thing. Our connections weave us into the fabric of all creation. This kind of belonging gives us both freedom and responsibility. Help us take one moment of this day to notice how we are related to all that we overlook. Fill us with the wonder of acknowledging how Love creates all that is. Amen.
Janet Salbert 