Give me a new heart, O Lord,
and a new spirit put within me.
Remove my heart of stone;
give me a heart of flesh.
I know You have created me for a
purpose – to do good, to do Your work.
With Your help, I shall bring peace;
I shall strive to speak the truth in love.
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, You formed my inmost being;
You know me intimately;
nothing in me is hidden from You.
When I was being fashioned in my
mother’s womb, You saw me growing.
I praise You, because I am wonderfully made.
I live in awe as I contemplate Your works.
You invite me into the mystery of Your life;
You are a loving father.
I trust in Your wisdom and goodness,
Your infinite and gracious beauty.
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, You know me; You understand my
most private thoughts. You can tune into
what I feel; You are familiar with all that I do or say.
Lord, even before I speak or act, You know it.
You are in front of me, behind me, within me, beside me.
You rest Your hand upon me;
You guide me; You protect me. You are my shepherd;
You bring me to green pastures; to cal waters You lead me.
“Come,” says my heart, “seek the Lord;” You,
O Lord, do I seek! Do not hide from me;
do not reject me in anger; do not cast me off,
God my savior!
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, through Your Son, You show us the path to life,
reaching out to others, especially to those in most need,
so that they too may discover and revel in the joy of knowing you.
You, as creator of the universe, sustain and care for all that is.
You invite us to collaborate with You
in caring for planet earth, our common home.
Thank you for entrusting us with so much.
Thank you for offering us freedom to choose.
Your gift of freedom allows us to choose either
a destructive path or, with Your help, creativity and life.
Our choice either closes the door to You or
puts out the welcome mat; we can choose
either to shut you our or to have You
at the heart of our lives.
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, we pray for nothing to be given
to us other than Yourself
You are our everything, our life,
our light, our food, our drink, our God.
Inspire our hearts with the breath
of Your spirit and pierce our souls with Your love.
Amen.
Loving God, we may find You demanding,
but Jesus assures us: “My yoke is easy
and My burden light.”
Sustain us in our life endeavors.
Help us discover the beauty and
mystery of life in, with, and through You.
Teach us to practice great charity
and kindness in all our dealings
with our fellow man in the name
of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, at times, we may turn away from You,
but we also find in You mercy and
forgiveness if we turn to You.
Many who have gone before us, in particular,
Mary, the Mother of Your Son, have shown us
that being disciples of Your Son will require
that we suffer with Him so that we may
also be glorified with Him.
Help us to be more like Your Son in our daily lives.
Help us make the right choices so that we may
join you in Heaven for eternity.
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, You sent Your Son into the world
so that we might have life.
You, with Your Son, have sent us Your Spirit,
inviting us to cry out with joy and trust, “Abba, Father!”
Though our baptism, You publicly and formally
welcome us to share Your life, to be Your children,
Your adopted daughters and sons.
By Loving, we live in Jesus, Your Son,
and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
You embrace us so that we might
be entirely confident in Your love.
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, you are the living Word of God
who came to dwell in hearts of all people.
Increase my desire and strengthen my will
to know the Word of God and to live it in my life.
Share with me your abundant grace and power.
Show me your will for me as I learn
to do great wonders in small ways
in my home and community.
Lord, help me to keep a balance this season.
Let me keep my buying in perspective,
not to spend more than I need to or can afford.
Let me not give in to the pressures of this world
and not equate love with money spent.
Let me always remember the many people
who have so much less in material things.
Help me to buy wisely,
so that my choices will not burden those in other countries
who are so deeply affected by economic conditions.
Saint Lucy, whose beautiful name
signifies light, By the light of Faith
which God bestowed upon you,
increase and preserve His light in my soul,
so that I may avoid evil,
be zealous in the performance of good works,
and abhor nothing so much as the blindness
and the darkness of evil and sin.
Obtain for me, by your intercession
with God, perfect vision
for my bodily eyes and the grace to use them
For God’s greater honor and glory
and the salvation of souls.
St. Lucy, virgin and martyr,
hear my prayers and obtain my petitions.
Amen.
God Our Father we pray,
That through the intercession of St. Nicholas,
You will protect our children.
Keep them safe from harm,
And help them grow,
And become worthy of Your sight.
Give them strength,
To keep their Faith in You,
And to keep alive their joy,
In Your creation.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
O Blessed Mother Mary, before your
marriage to the carpenter St. Joseph,
you were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit
and conceived a child.
As you carried Jesus, your Divine Child, in your womb,
you overcame fear and rejoiced, anticipating His birth.
In your tender way, tough the hearts of all women
for whom being pregnant is more a problem than a joy.
Give them the help and courage they need
to bring a child into this world.
Mary, you believed that with God all things are possible.
Dispel any fear of giving the gift of life.
Replace it with trust in God.
Amen.
- A Columban Missionary
Lord, we thank you
for the goodness of our people
and for the spirit of justice
that fills this nation.
We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the
land and the challenge of the cities.
We thank you for our work and our rest,
for one another, and for our homes.
We thank you, Lord:
accept our thanksgiving on this day.
We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.