Prayer

Here are some prayers which our members have appreciated;

A Christian Aid Prayer

Dear God , to those who have hunger, give bread.
And to those of us who have bread,
give a hunger for justice and truth.

Lay Hold of the Eternal

Grant me, O Lord God,
before all things, by day and by night,
amid all things, imperfect, inconstant, uncertain,
in small things as in great,
to esteem, to seek after, and to lay hold upon
That which is eternal.

Truth, in all my conversation,
Generosity, in deed and word and thought,
Integrity and Sincerity in all my dealings,
Serenity in anxious and contrary event,
Worth and Thoroughness in the occupation both of work and leisure,
Patience and Humility in my heart,
Thy Holy Spirit in the temple of my soul.

And, by all these, to win,
the freedom and joyfulness
of a child of God
about their Father’s business:
THROUGH Jesus Christ my Lord.

Blessed are they who are installed in the eternal, now;
theirs is the blessedness and eternity ever.

The Technology Canticle

We praise You, Lord, for all Your digital world,
especially for Brother Blog,
who is the gift through whom You give us conversation.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.
We praise You, Lord, for Twitter,
in the heavens you have made the tweet short, quick, and easy.
We praise You, Lord, for Brothers LinkedIn and Flickr,
professional and a sea of networks,
by which You cherish the photos of what you have gifted us with.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Facebook,
filled with family and friends, news, and connections all across the globe.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, coloured flowers, and herbs.

Caroline Cerveny, SSJ-TOSF created this contemporary take on St. Francis’ well known prayer, ‘Canticle of the Creatures’.

Prayer of the Ageing

May Christ keep me ever young to the greater glory of God.
For old age comes from Him, old age leads to Him,
and old age will touch me only insofar as He wills.
To be “young” means to be hopeful, energetic, smiling — and clearsighted.
May I accept death in whatever guise it may come to me in Christ,
that is, within the process of the development of life.

A smile — inward and outward — means facing with mildness
and gentleness whatever befalls me.

Jesus, grant me to serve You, to proclaim You, to glorify You,
and to manifest You, to the very end through all the time
that remains to me of life, and above all through my death.

Lord Jesus, I commit to your care my last years, and my death;
do not let them impair or spoil the work I have so dreamed of achieving for You. Amen.

A Seventeenth-century Nun’s Prayer on Ageing

Lord, Thou knowest better than myself

I know that I am growing older and will someday be old.

Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say

something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.

Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all,

but Thou knowest, 0 Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;

give me wings to get to the point,

seal my lips on my aches and pains,

they are increasing, and love of rehearsing

them is becoming sweeter as the days go by.

I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains,
but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for an improved memory,

but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness

when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint;

some of them are so hard to live with—

but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places,

and talents in unexpected people,and give me,

O Lord, the grace to tell them so.