During this time of the virus so many are suffering
in so many different ways.
Lord, I am tempted to wonder if you are really
listening to my pleas and prayers.
Then I realize that you are so firmly present
in my life that you always offer me
your joy and peace if I am listening.
Yes it is tough to wait and wonder.
Yes it is tough to persevere.
Lord open my heart to hear your loving response
to my pleas that I may continue to abide in your saving peace.
— By a Columban Missionary
Dear Lord I thought this virus would be over by now.
How long more must I wait?
How or when is this going to end?
Where can I go to get some relief?
Then I recall a verse from Is 41, 10
“Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
God is working through all of this in God’s own mysterious way.
God is compassionate to us especially when we patiently wait with faith.
— By a Columban Missionary
Lord I believe that you will always care for us.
As it prays in the psalm “You have created
my inmost being you have knit me
in my mother’s womb.”
Now during this time of the virus help us
to have confidence that you will not abandon us.
No matter how much our lives have been changed
or how much we are suffering
I trust that you are here with us.
Amen.
— By a Columban Missionary
Dear Jesus,
You came to show the real meaning of life.
You came to bring forgiveness and healing to a broken world.
By your giving of yourself even to the point of death,
you save us and bring the promise of new life.
May your touch and example embolden us
in facing the challenge of the coronavirus.
Amen.
— By Columban Fr. John Comiskey
Dear Lord Jesus,
When I look at other people’s houses from the outside,
I imagine they are all enjoying days of coziness and companionship.
Forgive me, Lord, but I envy those people who have a tranquil home.
As day after day, I ‘shelter in place’ in my house,
I find that this is not a refuge from tension, anger, shouting, and worse…
Lord, protect me and anyone who lives in fear in their own home.
Defender of the weak, I need your help and I place myself in the
shadow of the cross.
Amen.
— Columban Fr. John Burger, U.S. Regional Director
Sometimes Lord I simply get tired of waiting
for things to get back to normal.
How long more?
Then I remember the well-known plea
in the words of psalm 13.
How long O Lord?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
But I read on and hear the psalmist sing,
“How good our God has been to me.”
Yes, despite it all I am blessed
in so many other ways.
Amen
— By a Columban Missionary
Good and gracious God, at this time of pandemic
help us to know that we are not abandoned.
Assist us in bearing this cross of suffering,
illness and death.
Guide us to an increase in Faith
in the life, death and Resurrection.
May we see that the difficulties of
this moment can be carried
with the Light of Your Love.
We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ,
Our Lord and Savior.
Amen.
— By a Columban Missionary
Dear Lord God,
it was steady and predictable
to live in stability for a long time.
Now, there is much uncertainty
How long will this pandemic last?
In ages past, our ancestors also had
experiences of pandemic
We are not the only ones to know
this kind of illness and possible pending
suffering.
Faith teaches us that you will not abandon us Lord God.
So, we lean on your promise to stay with us
for all time.
Let us be sources of encouragement and support
for one another as brothers and sisters
as we face the changes and pandemic of our time.
With God, all things are possible.
May the God who gives us power and strength
grant us peace and solidarity
to live each day with goodness and grace
In Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
— By a Columban Missionary
The golden glow of a late autumn afternoon
brightens leafless tree limbs.
Joy lingers in the memory of sunny days from long ago.
A warmth remains to bear the coming winter’s cold
and imagine spring’s new life.
Help me dear Lord be aware
of your faithful presence wherever I am.
Amen
— By Columban Fr. John Comiskey
There is a certain rhythm in our life cycle
of birth, growth, aging and death.
With the pandemic, this passing of stages
in life has been abruptly changed for so
many people.
Lord, help us at this time when our brothers
and sisters are in pain and dealing
with sickness and loss due to the
corona virus
Let us know in a deeper gift, that You are
with us;new even in this time of uncertainty
and illness.
We place this prayer in the loving hands
of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.
Amen.
— By a Columban Missionary
Most merciful and Triune God,
We come to you in our weakness.
We come to you in our fear.
We come to you with trust.
For you alone are our hope.
We place before you the disease present in our world.
We turn to you in our time of need.
Bring wisdom to doctors. Give understanding to scientists.
Endow caregivers with compassion and generosity.
Bring healing to those who are ill.
Protect those who are most at risk.
Give comfort to those who have lost a loved one.
Welcome those who have died into your eternal home.
Stabilize our communities.
Unite us in our compassion.
Remove all fear from our hearts.
Fill us with confidence in your care.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Amen.
— By a Columban Lay Missionary
Lord of all creation, we are reminded in this month of October
of your call to your followers, that, through our baptism
we have been made sharers in the mission of the Church
to “go and make disciples of all nations”.
Through different times in human history you have invited us
to share in the task of transforming our world so that people
of all nations and cultures may have the opportunity
of experiencing the saving love and mercy of your Son Jesus Christ.
The world of today is torn by division, conflict and mistrust
and the planet on which we depend for our survival is threatened
with extinction through greed and ignorance of the consequences
of not preserving the gift of creation which you have bequeathed to humankind.
Empower us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be courageous
and zealous in bearing witness to the Gospel.
Grant to leaders of different nations a listening ear, to hear the cries
of the poor and afflicted in their midst, that people everywhere may share
in the riches of your creation and become partakers in the task
of making all things new in the name of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
Amen.
-- By Fr. Bernie McDermott
My Jesus, I desire to receive You into my soul.
I know that I am not worthy, but I come to You,
my Divine Physician, with humble faith
like the sick people in the Gospel.
Only say the word and I shall be healed.
Through this virtual Communion let me draw life
from You and be able to love and serve You better.
May Your kingdom come in my heart and in all the world.
God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit -
let my life and leadership
reflect your influence.
Give me the strength to lead like Jesus,
focused on doing the Father's will
and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.