Prayers for the Moment
“After the guests have been received, they should be invited to pray.”
The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 53 – “The Reception of Guests,” Verse 8
For Awareness of the Presence of God
Make me aware, O Lord,
of the eye that beholds me,
the hand that holds me,
the heart that loves me,
the Presence that enfolds me
David Adam, Power Lines: Celtic Prayers About Work
Towards a Simpler Life
Simplify. Clarify. Sanctify.
I have been thinking of how I can better order my life.
These three words come to mind.
To simplify how I live. To clarify how I think. To sanctify how I act.
These are the first steps to a life of spiritual discipline. I share them with a prayer that we each be renewed by taking them.
For it is in simplicity that we discover our center, in clarity that we hear our calling, in offering every act to God that every act becomes a blessing.
Steven Charleston in Hope As Old As Fire
A Prayer for Faithful Following
Source of life and blessings,
of garden, orchard, field:
Root us in obedience to you
and nourish us by your ever-flowing Spirit
that, perceiving only the good we might do,
our lives may be fruitful,
our labor productive,
and our service useful,
in communion with Jesus, our brother.
Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, 85
Turning to God
God of steadfast love: Turn our hearts to you,
that we may once again delight in your goodness
and rejoice in the good news of the risen Christ;
in whose name we prayer. Amen.
From Daily Prayers For All Seasons
A Prayer for Guidance
Holy One, we bless your name and thank you for the
gift of this day:
May the Light of the world guide us,
the Life of the world refresh us,
and the Hope of the world be our companion,
that we may be the reconciling power of
Christ in the world. We ask this for your mercy’s sake.
Amen.
From Daily Prayers For All Seasons
Centering Life In God
O God
be all my love,
all my hope,
all my striving;
let my thoughts and words flow from you,
my daily life be in you,
and every breath I take be for you
John Cassian, 360-435 (adapted) in A Time To Pray, 68
Serving God
Lord, in union with your love, unite my work with your great work, and perfect it.
As a drop of water, poured into a river, is taken up into the activity of the river, so may my labour become part of your work.
Thus may those among whom I live and work be drawn to your love.
Gertrude the Great, 1256-c,1302 in A Time to Pray, 117
Spreading the Fragrance of Christ
Dear Jesus,
Help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so completely
that my life may be only a radiance of yours.
Shine through me
|And be so in me
That every soul I come in contact with
may feel your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me,
But only Jesus.
Amen.
Cardinal John Henry Newman
A Prayer Attributed to St. Benedict
Gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you
intelligence to understand you,
diligence to seek you
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate on you,
and a life to proclaim you;
through the power of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
From 2000 Years of Prayer, 35
A Favorite Prayer from The Feline Cloister
Offered by Sr Maggie, OSB-F
I pray with my mind
To be sensitive, kind
I pray with my heart
To be loving each part
I pray with each deed
To God may they lead
I pray with my will
Your Presence instill
I pray all my days
I fill them with praise.
David Adam, Power Lines: Celtic Prayers About Work
Sr Maggie, OSB-F
Cloister Contemplative