Columban Fathers » Pray

It is our being.

gsimon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:51:56 +0000

Every one of us,
to the very core of our being, needs
to be known and to be loved.
The earlier in life
we experience love

the sooner we´ll choose to love.
Every one of us
needs unceasingly
to know and to love others.
The earlier in life
we learn to accept this
the sooner we´ll know how to love

Therein lies our “image and likeness”
of the God who created every one of us.
It was God´s own infinite need
to be known and to be loved
that brought us into being.
We are the answer to God´s own prayer.
Unreal, if you like, but more than fact!

Columban Fr. Leo Donnelly lives and works in Peru.

For the people

gsimon — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:34:48 +0000

For the people who

love our church or basically

the faith we have been given, I write

out of my own hurt.

Though I belong willingly

I find I now utterly reject

the malignant tumor of power

I grew up in that turned

our Father into a monster demanding

submission or sin or in more prosaic terms:

“shape up, cough up, and shut up”.

It is through God´s grace in the powerless

that I have come to know God´s Kingdom

which goes way beyond democracy to

the fraternity the Jewish powerful rejected;

the early Church wouldn´t tolerate and

with Constantine´s help pulled away from

to begin its decadence into power.

Maintaining its hold through obedience or sin

until a most un- Pope like character, John XXIII,

gave us a glimpse of Church

as Christ himself understood it:

A Kingdom of shared dignity, of service

across the board, of salvation not manipulation.

This is the Church I shall die in.

-Fr. Leo Donnelly

My God, why have we abandoned

gsimon — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:00:02 +0000

My God, why have we abandoned
Both You and Your nonviolent way,
Mistreating by our actions, words,
Your daughters, sons, whom you do love?

Too many wars are started, God,
By people who claim strong faith in You.
They ask Your blessing on their wars
Which they conduct against Your Will.

Please heal the blindness in our minds.
Unfreeze and warm our cold hearts.
We Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews,
Too often we are obstacles
To the peace and justice You demand.

God, help us live nonviolently,
Give up all hatreds, violence, wars,
Give up rationalizing the wrong we do.

Help us to be peace-messengers
—Compassionate, respectful, just—
To those we meet on the path of life.

Amen.

God, you are our Creator

gsimon — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:00:14 +0000

God, you are our Creator.

You are good and your mercy knows no bounds.
To you arises the praise of every creature.
God, you have given us an inner law by which we must live.
To do your will is our task.
To follow your ways is to know peace of heart.
To you we offer our homage.
Guide us on all the paths we travel upon this earth,
Accompanied by all believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Free us all from the evil tendencies that lead our hearts away from your will.
Never allow us to stray from you.
O God, judge of all humanity, help us to be included among your chosen ones on the last day.
God, Author of peace and justice, give us true joy and authentic love, and a lasting solidarity among peoples.
Give us your everlasting gifts.

Amen.

Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle

gsimon — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:00:58 +0000

Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle; the strength to be forgiving;
The patience to be understanding; and the endurance to accept the consequences
of holding to what we believe to be right.
May we all put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of
love to overcome hatred.
We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world
emancipated from violence,
a new world where fear
shall no longer lead us to commit injustice,
nor selfishness
make us bring suffering to others,
and prejudice
will slide away as we grow to know and appreciate
the uniqueness of each community of faith.
Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy
to the task of making peace,
praying always for the inspiration and the power
to fulfill the destiny
for which we and all people were created.

Amen.

Jesus, Help Me…

gsimon — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:00:31 +0000

Jesus, help me in my human relationships so that I may always see you in the other person.
Cause me, O blessed Lord, to remember always that you are present to all our words and actions.
May I always listen with respect and speak the truth in charity, and never hurt my neighbor by speaking evil of him or her, when it is better to break the bonds of prejudice and recognize the good, the holy and the beautiful in others.
Your power defend, your wisdom direct, your pity correct me,
and make me so live here among people,
that I may be fit for the conversation of angels hereafter.

Amen.

Glory be to God for dappled things…

gsimon — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:00:45 +0000

Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings’
Landscape plotted and pierced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

Holy Spirit, come into our lives.

gsimon — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:46:12 +0000

Holy Spirit, come into our lives.

Open our ears-to hear what you are saying to us
in the things that happen to us
in the people we meet
in the spiritual traditions we encounter.
Open our eyes-to see the needs of the people round us.
Open our hands-to do our work well
to help when help is needed.
Open our lips-to tell others the good news of Jesus
by bringing comfort, happiness and laughter
to other people.
Open our minds-to discover new truths about you and the world.
Open our hearts-to love you and all members of the human family
as you have loved us in Jesus.
To you, with our Father and the Son, One God;
All honor and praise shall be given
Now and for ever.

Amen.

An Old Missionary Reflects

gsimon — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:58:38 +0000

Before the world was begun, O Lord
You had me in your mind
You gave me a place in your world, O Lord
To be gracious, forgiving and kind
I tried and I failed and despaired, O Lord
But you raised me again and again
So I trust in your grace and your love, O Lord
To shepherd me through to the end.

You gave me a hearth and a home, O Lord
With parents to show me the way
A brother and sisters to keep me right
Whenever I tended to stray
Your call to the priesthood was grace, O Lord
To missions across the sea
With friendship and love to inspire me Lord
To be true to them and to Thee.

Every step that I take, O Lord
Every step is for you
Every breath that I breathe, O Lord
Every breath is for you
Every beat of my heart, O Lord
Every beat is for you
So when I come to expire, O Lord
My life has been spent for you.

J.M.

After Word

admin — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 01:46:24 +0000

Why are your weeping?

The last words of Jesus on the Cross were not his final words. After the Resurrection there were many more. Mary Magdalene’s tears of sorrow turned to joy when she knew the Lord was risen and was near. We too rejoice, for the Lord is close to each one of us. He is with us always, to the end of time.

Why are your weeping?

Lord, be near to me always,
That I may rejoice in your presence
So that the sufferings of this life,
However hand they may seem,
May never come between us,
Never hide from us the wonder
Of knowing you,
The ever-living and true God,
And the utter height and depth
Of your abiding love for us all.
By your Cross and Resurrection
You have set us free
To win for us eternity!

From Last Words from the Cross by Fr. Patrick Sayles, SSC