{"id":378,"date":"2009-01-18T00:24:47","date_gmt":"2009-01-18T12:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/?page_id=378"},"modified":"2015-04-15T07:54:21","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T21:54:21","slug":"prayers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/?page_id=378","title":{"rendered":"Prayers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Philippians 4:4-9Rejoice in the Lord always;
\nagain I will say, Rejoice.
\nLet your gentleness be known to everyone.
\nThe Lord is near. Do not worry about anything,
\nbut in everything by prayer and supplication
\nwith thanksgiving let your requests be made
\nknown to God.
\nAnd the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
\nwill guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n

Finally, beloved, whatever is true,
\nwhatever is honourable, whatever is just,
\nwhatever is pure, whatever is pleasing,
\nwhatever is commendable,
\nif there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise,
\nthink about these things.
\nKeep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,
\nand the God of peace will be with you.<\/p>\n

The Year of St Paul: June 29 2008 – June 29 2009<\/td>\n

PrayerO God of all youth, we pray to you:
\nWe are young people,
\nand we want to celebrate life!
\nWe cry out against all that kills life:
\nhunger, poverty,
\nunemployment, sickness,
\nrepression, individualism, injustice.
\nWe want to announce fullness of life:
\nwork, education, health, housing,
\nbread for all.
\nWe want communion, a world renewed.
\nWe hope against hope.
\nWith the Lord of history
\nwe want to make all things new.
\nA group of Brazilian young people (1998 Share Lent kit, CCODP)<\/p>\n

Source: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives<\/a><\/td>\n

Useful Websites.The Columban Mission Society of the United Kingdom<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

World Prayers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Broken Bay Diocese Liturgy Resources<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Micah Challenge: A prayer of hope:
\nLet us pray:
\nWe pray today for God\u2019s world.We pray that it might discover its human face.<\/p>\n

We pray for a world divided.
\nDivided unequally between the prosperous and the desperate.
\nBetween those born into privilege and power and those born into poverty and pain Divided unequally between the wealthy and the poor.
\nThe power-filled and the poor
\nThe greedy and the poor
\nThe corrupt and the poor
\nThe poor who always get more than their fair-share of poverty.
\nGod of life, into your world you come.<\/p>\n

Into this divided human community you arrive.<\/p>\n

You sit amongst the poor but the wealthy do not see you.
\nYou walk with the lonely and the abandoned<\/p>\n

but those with power cannot hear your footsteps.
\nYou stand among the hungry crowds waiting for food<\/p>\n

but the greedy will not share their food with you.
\nYou live among the powerless, the frightened and the weak but the corrupt fail to notice you and continue to exploit you.
\nGod of hope deliver us all from self-righteousness<\/p>\n

so that whilst we may call the world towards a different way,<\/p>\n

we might also, in your name, become the answer to the prayers of the silent, suffering, struggling ones.
\nGod of justice, not just us,<\/p>\n

grant us the courage to live as well as proclaim your gospel.
\nGod of life, grant us the energy to serve others in your name.
\nGod of love, enable and allow us, with all our weaknesses and fears, to continue this walk of faith, for faith and in faith.
\nAmen
\nRev David Pargeter
\nExecutive Director, Commission for Mission, Uniting Church in Australia,
\nSynod of Victoria and Tasmania<\/td>\n

A Franciscan Benediction <\/p>\n

May God bless you with Discomfort\u2026
\nAt Easy Answers, Half-Truths and Superficial Relationships,
\nSo that you may live Deep Within Your Heart<\/p>\n

May God bless you with Anger\u2026
\nAt Injustice, Oppression and Exploitation of People,
\nSo that you may work for Justice, Freedom, and Peace.<\/p>\n

May God bless you with Tears\u2026
\nTo shed for those who suffer from Pain, Rejection, Starvation and War,
\nSo that You may reach out Your Hand to Comfort them
\nAnd to turn their Pain into Joy.<\/p>\n

And may God bless you with enough foolishness\u2026
\nTo Believe that You can Make a Difference in this World,
\nSo that You can Do what other claim cannot be Done.<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prayer of Pope Pius XII
\nAlmighty and eternal God,
\nmay your grace enkindle in all of us, a love
\nof the many unfortunate people
\nwhom poverty and misery reduce
\nto a condition of life unworthy of human beings.
\nArouse in the hearts of those who call you God
\na hunger and thirst for social justice
\nand for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth.
\nGrant, O Lord, peace in our days,
\npeace to souls, peace to our community
\nand peace among nations. Amen.<\/td>\n		Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God\u2026But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies,<\/p>\n

do good to those who hate you,<\/p>\n

bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.<\/p>\n

If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also;<\/p>\n

and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.<\/p>\n

Give to everyone who begs from you;<\/p>\n

and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.<\/p>\n

Do to others as you would have them do to you.<\/p>\n

– Matthew 5:9; Luke 6:27-31<\/td>\n

Prayer for Peace in Iraq and the Middle East
\nWe come to you, God Creator, you are the source of life and beauty and power.
\nYour son Jesus is the way of faith and hope and love.
\nYour Spirit is the fire of love, the fount of wisdom, the bond of unity.
\nYou call us at all times to be people of the beatitudes,
\nWitnesses to the Gospel of peace and love and forgiveness.
\nYou call us at this time, when war and rumours of war,
\nweigh heavily on the peoples of Iraq and the Middle East.
\nTheir lives are already broken by suffering and violence.
\nWe renew our acceptance of your call.
\nWe promise to work:
\nTo bring the light of the Gospel to those living in darkness,
\nTo bring the hope of the Gospel to those living in despair,
\nTo bring the healing of the Gospel to the lonely, the disadvantaged, the marginalised
\nAnd to bring the peace of the Gospel to a divided world. <\/p>\n

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CAFOD and Pax Christi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Prayer of St Francis
\nLord, make me an instrument of your peace. . .
\nWhere there is hatred, let us sow love;
\nwhere there is injury, pardon;
\nwhere there is discord, union;
\nwhere there is doubt, faith;
\nwhere there is despair, hope;
\nwhere there is darkness, light;
\nwhere there is sadness, joy.
\nGrant that we may not so much seek
\nto be consoled as to console;
\nto be understood as to understand;
\nto be loved as to love.
\nFor it is in giving that we receive;
\nit is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and
\nit is in dying that we are born to eternal life.<\/td>\n		God,
\nOpen our eyes that we may see the needs of others;
\nOpen our ears that we may hear their cries;
\nOpen our hearts that we may feel their anguish and their joy.
\nLet us not be afraid to defend the oppressed, the poor, the powerless, because of the anger and might of the powerful.
\nShow us where love and hope and faith are needed, and use us to bring them to those places.
\nOpen our ears and eyes, our hearts and lives, that we may in these coming days be able to do some work of justice and peace for you. Amen.
\nSource: Sabeel Center<\/a><\/td>\n		Lead me from death to life,
\nfrom falsehood to truth.
\nLead me from despair to hope,
\nfrom fear to trust.
\nLead me from hate to love,
\nfrom war to peace.
\nLet peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.
\nPeace, peace, peace.
\n(Adapted from the Upanishads by Satish Kumar.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bless our beautiful land O God
\nWith its wonderful variety of people
\nOf races, cultures and languages.
\nMay we be a nation
\nOf laughter and joy
\nOf justice and reconciliation
\nOf peace and unity
\nOf compassion, caring and sharing.
\nWe pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
\n(Bishop Desmond Tutu).<\/td>\n		Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world, as your love would have it:
\n\u2022 a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
\n\u2022 a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
\n\u2022 a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
\n\u2022 a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
\nGive us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.from Prayers for Justice and Peace<\/a><\/td>\n		For Victims and Perpetrators of Injustice
\n\u2022For all those who have fallen victim to hatred and inhumanity,
\n\u2022for those loved ones who are left behind to mourn,
\n\u2022for the souls of those whose hearts are cold, Lord, hear our prayer.
\n\u2022For the children who are being born into this world of conflict and violence,
\n\u2022for women and mothers who suffer needlessly, Lord, hear our prayer.
\n\u2022For all those who have been forced into unemployment, who long to return to work,
\n\u2022for all those who struggle to support their families, Lord, hear our prayer.
\n\u2022For the soldiers who are misguided in thinking that their bullets will bring about peace,
\n\u2022for those who feel called to conscientiously object to military orders, Lord, hear our prayer.
\n\u2022And this we ask through Christ Our Lord. Amen. <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world, as your love would have it:
\n\u2022 a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
\n\u2022 a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
\n\u2022 a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
\n\u2022 a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
\nGive us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

from Prayers for Justice and Peace<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

O God,
\nOpen our eyes that we may see the needs of others;
\nOpen our ears that we may hear their cries;
\nOpen our hearts that we may feel their anguish and their joy.
\nLet us not be afraid to defend the oppressed, the poor, the powerless, because of the anger and might of the powerful.
\nShow us where love and hope and faith are needed, and use us to bring them to those places.
\nOpen our ears and eyes, our hearts and lives, that we may in these coming days be able to do some work of justice and peace for you. Amen.Source: Sabeel Center<\/a><\/td>\n		Prayer for Justice and Peace
\nAlmighty and eternal God,
\nmay your grace enkindle in all of us a love for the many unfortunate people
\nwhom poverty and misery reduce to a condition of life unworthy of human beings.
\nArouse in the hearts of those who call you Father a hunger and thirst for justice and peace,
\nand for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth.
\nGrant, O Lord, peace in our days, peace to souls,
\npeace to families, peace to our country, and peace among nations.
\nAmenPope Pius XII<\/td>\n		Prayer for World Peace (Modified)
\nWe pray to Our Lord and God in whom
\nwe live and move and have our being.
\nWe pray that we may at all times
\nkeep our minds open to new ideas and be prepared to question dogma;
\nthat we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings
\nand our connectedness with the natural world;
\nthat we may become ever more filled with
\ngenerosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
\nthat we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature
\nand control our greed for material things, knowing that
\nour actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
\nthat we may value each and every human being
\nfor who he is, for who she is,
\nreaching to the spirit that is within,
\nknowing the power of each individual to change the world.
\nWe pray for social justice,
\nfor the alleviation of the crippling poverty
\nthat condemns millions of people around the world
\nto lives of misery – hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
\nWe pray for the children who are starving,
\nwho are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, and prostitution,
\nand especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture
\neven members of their own family.
\nWe pray for the victims of violence and war,
\nfor those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
\nWe pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places
\nthrough war or through the utter destruction of their environment.
\nWe pray for these things with humility;
\nWe pray because of the hope that is within us,
\nand because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
\nWe pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
\nWe pray, above all, for peace throughout the world. AmenDr. Jane Goodall<\/p>\n

from World Prayers<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Violence never again!
\nWar never again!
\nTerrorism never again!
\nIn God’s name,
\nmay all religions bring upon earth
\njustice and peace,
\nforgiveness, life and love! AmenHis Holiness Pope John Paul II \u2013 (1.24.2002)<\/td>\n		The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
\nBecause he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
\nHe has sent me to proclaim release to captives
\nAnd recovery of sight to the blind,
\nTo let the oppressed go free,
\nTo proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.(Luke 4: 18 – 19)<\/td>\n		Prayer of the Aboriginal PeopleFather of all, You gave us the Dreaming
\nYou have spoken to us through our beliefs,
\nYou then made your love clear to us in the person of Jesus.
\nWe thank you for your care.
\nYou own us. You are our hope.
\nMake us strong as we face the problems of change.
\nWe ask you to help the people of Australia,
\nTo listen to us and respect our culture.
\nMake the knowledge of you grow strong in all people
\nSo that you can be at home in us,
\nAnd we can make a home for everyone in our land.<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n

Prepared by the Aboriginal People
\nPope John Paul II’s visit to Alice Springs 1996.<\/p>\n

from<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

NATISCC PrayerFather Our Creator
\nYou created all things seen and unseen.
\nListen to my silent prayers as I stand here before you,
\nAs my weary eyes look back over distant horizons,
\nBack to those days where my people walked.
\nThe footprints of my Grandfathers are imprinted on the earth,
\nAnd the images become real to me.
\nI see my Grandfathers standing tall and strong,
\nWarriors of long ago.
\nI hear them singing,
\nI see them dancing,
\nAnd my spirit moves within me.<\/p>\n

They told of the emus fighting,
\nAnd the kangaroos picking up the scent of our hunters.
\nThe images fade away as I feel the hurt of my people
\nI can hear the cries of my Grandmothers as they cry for their children.
\nGrandfather, you can see me as I stand here and feel this hurt.<\/p>\n

Father, Creator, is this the purpose of my being here.
\nOr is it your plan to reshape my people
\nTo be once again the proud race it once was?<\/p>\n

Let me walk with you and my Grandfathers
\nTowards the dawning of a proud and new nation.
\nI thank you for my Sacred Being.<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n

Prepared by NATSICC Leadership Gathering 1995<\/p>\n

from the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference<\/a><\/td>\n

Reconciliation PrayerHoly Father, God of Love
\nYou are the creator of this land and all good things
\nWe acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
\nAnd the suffering of our peoples.
\nAnd we ask your forgiveness.
\nWe thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures.
\nOur hope is in you because you gave your son Jesus
\nTo reconcile the world to you
\nWe pray for your strength and grace to forgive
\nAccept and love one another
\nAs you love us and forgive and accept us
\nIn the sacrifice of your Son
\nGive us the courage to accept the realities of our history
\nSo that we may build a better future for our nation
\nTeach us to respect all cultures.
\nTeach us to care for our land and waters.
\nHelp us to share justly the resources of this land.
\nHelp us to bring about spiritual and social change
\nTo improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities,
\nEspecially the disadvantaged.
\nHelp young people to find true dignity and self esteem by your Spirit
\nMay your power and love be the foundations
\nOn which we build our families, our communities and our nation
\nThrough Jesus Christ our Lord<\/p>\n

Amen<\/p>\n

Prepared by Wontulp Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group
\n13th March, 1997, Brisbane QLD<\/p>\n

from Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference<\/a><\/td>\n

Prayer to make poverty history
\nChrist our Lord,
\nyour light shines into the shadows,
\nand shows us where the obstacles to change lie.
\nWe know that often they are in our own hearts,
\nin the way we live, and in our daily choices and actions.
\nWe pray that we may accept the light of your love
\nas a challenge to change ourselves and our world.
\nWe pray that, each day, we make the choices and take the actions
\nthat will bring an end to poverty and hunger, and lead us all towards a fairer world.
\nBe with us, Lord, as we face your challenge
\nand learn how to live our lives in love.
\nAmen
\n\u00a9 Linda Jones <\/p>\n

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from Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

A Lord’s Prayer for JusticeOur Father … who always stands with the weak, the powerless, the poor, the abandoned, the sick, the aged, the very young, the unborn, and those who, by victim of circumstances, bear the heat of the day.<\/p>\n

Who art in heaven … where everything will be reversed, where the first will be last arid the last will be first, but where all will be well and every manner of being will be well.<\/p>\n

Hallowed be thy name … may we always acknowledge your holiness, respecting your ways and not our ways, your standards and not our standards. May the reverence we give your name pull us out of the selfishness that prevents us from seeing the pain of our neighbor.<\/p>\n

Your kingdom come … help us to create a world where, beyond our own needs and hurts, we will do justice, love tenderly, and walk humbly with you and each other.<\/p>\n

Your will be done … open our freedom to let you in so that the complete mutuality that characterizes your life might flow through our veins and thus the life that we help generate may radiate your equal love for all and your special love for the poor.<\/p>\n

On earth as in heaven … may the work of our hands, the temples and structures we build in this world, reflect the temple and the structure of your glory so that the joy, graciousness, tenderness, and justice of heaven will show forth within all of our structures on earth.<\/p>\n

Give … life and love to us and help us to see always everything as gift. Help us to know that nothing comes to us by right arid that we must give because we have been given to. Help us realize that we must give to the poor, not because they need it, but ‘because our own health depends upon our giving to them.<\/p>\n

Us … the truly plural us. Give not just to our own but to everyone, including those who are very different from the narrow us. Give your gifts to all of us equally.<\/p>\n

This day … not tomorrow. Do not let us push things off into some indefinite future so that we can continue to live justified lives in the face of injustice because we can make good excuses for our inactivity.<\/p>\n

Our daily bread … so that each person in the world may have enough food, enough clean water, enough clean air, adequate health care, and sufficient access to education so as to have the sustenance for a healthy life. Teach us to give from our sustenance and not just from our surplus.<\/p>\n

And forgive us our trespasses … forgive us our blindness toward our neighbor, our own self pre-occupation, our racism, our sexism, and our incurable propensity to worry only about ourselves and our own. Forgive us our capacity to watch the evening news and do nothing about it.<\/p>\n

As we forgive those who trespass against us .. .help us to forgive those who victimize us. Help us to mellow out in spirit, to not grow bitter with age, to forgive the imperfect parents and systems that wounded, cursed and ignored us.<\/p>\n

And do not put us to the test … do not judge us only by whether we have fed the hungry, given clothing to the naked, visited the sick, or tried to mend the systems that victimized the poor. Spare us this test for none of us can stand before your Gospel scrutiny. Give us, instead, more days to mend our ways, our selfishness, and our systems.<\/p>\n

But deliver us from evil … that is, from the blindness that lets us continue to participate in anonymous systems within which we need not see who gets less as we get more. Amen.
\n(From The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser, pp. 189-191)<\/p>\n

at the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America<\/a><\/td>\n

A JUSTICE CREEDWe Believe<\/p>\n

All people are a revelation of the image of God. The basic dignity that each person possesses comes from God; therefore, all discrimination is wrong.<\/p>\n

People take precedence over things and structures,
\nsystems are meant to serve people, not vice versa.<\/p>\n

We believe in the dignity of the human person.<\/p>\n

The mystery of the Trinity involves the relationship of complete love among the three divine persons in one God.<\/p>\n

As persons made in God’s image, we must model God’s self-giving love. Hence, the human person is both sacred and fundamentally social. In community we realize the fulfillment of our dignity and rights in relationship with and to others.<\/p>\n

We believe in community and the common good.<\/p>\n

People have basic rights and responsibilities because of their human dignity that reflects the fact that they have been created in God’s image. Catholic teaching emphasizes that people have a right to life and to the basic necessities that provide quality of life: food, shelter, health care, education, and employment. We are called to respects the rights of others and to seek the common good.<\/p>\n

We believe in rights and responsibilities<\/p>\n

The Gospel calls Christians to put the needs of the poor first. A common moral test of society is how it treats its most vulnerable people. Wherever there is structural injustice, Christians are called to oppose it. Those with the greatest need require the greatest response.<\/p>\n

We believe in our responsibility to the poor.<\/p>\n

Work is an expression of our dignity and of our involvement in God’s creation. People have a right to decent work, fair wages and private property. The economy exists to serve the people and not vice versa.<\/p>\n

We believe in the dignity of work.<\/p>\n

We are all one human family in the world. As we realize our dignity, rights, and responsibilities, in relationship with others, we need to continue to build a community that empowers people to attain their full human potential. By working for justice, we fulfill our mandate to build the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n

We believe in solidarity<\/p>\n

We believe in stewardship of the earth and its resources.<\/p>\n

from the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America<\/a><\/td>\n

Today, we make a covenant with this land.
\nAs a branch is grafted onto a mature stock,
\nSo we want to be grafted onto the ancient heritage of this land,
\nSo that its life may flow through us.
\nWe commit ourselves to the land we live in and to all who belong to it,
\nMost particularly our Indigenous people
\nAnd also the newcomers to this country,
\nWho have bound themselves to this land.
\nWe will care for it with gentleness, patience, simplicity and compassion,
\nRather then merely something to be bought and sold.
\nWe will see the land as a gift for which we are truly thankful,
\nAnd undertake the privileged duty of respecting and looking after it.
\nWe thank God, the Great Creator Spirit, for all the earth provides:
\nWater, food, and all the riches above and below the ground.
\nWe undertake to use them sparingly and thoughtfully.
\nAs we enter more deeply into the Spirit of the land,
\nWe see the land as a Sacrament and Icon of our mothering Creator Spirit.
\nBe still.
\nListen to the breath of the Spirit which has blown through it for ages past,
\nToday, and always;
\nFor this is: The Spirit of the Dreaming.
\n– Betty Pike <\/p>\n

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from the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Lord God of All,
\nwe come to you
\nas Caritas sisters and brothers from the four corners of the world, refugees and relatives.
\nWe come as people who know suffering and struggle, as families and communities with hope.
\nWe come with respect, compassion and informed solidarity with our Palestinian sisters and brothers. We ask you hear our prayer. We ask you hear their prayer for peace, justice, equal rights and human dignity.
\nTurn their brokenness into renewing wholeness and courage.
\nTurn their displacement into safe secure sheltering homes.
\nTurn their long hungers into nurturing fields, foods for life so families can flourish.
\nMay stinging betrayals of unjust law and disorder finally end so healing, forgiveness and reconciliation can begin for all peoples in the Holy Land, in this ancient\/modern region.
\nMay rhetoric and history stop repeating itself as if our Palestinian friends were not real.
\nMay all \u201cstakeholders\u201d see these very human beings, flesh and precious blood alive.
\nMay their children today never relinquish their steadfast enduring belief for a better tomorrow.
\nLord, God of All,
\nheal all who journey through desert and darkness \u2013 heal us too that we may be peacemakers.
\nMay our simplest honest prayers unite, uplift, strengthen, respect and build up our solidarity.
\nMay no day pass without a faithful pause which gathers us in as one human family.
\nOne people of God from Palestine through the region and everywhere beyond every border.
\nTogether may we be a certain path to peace that is possible, that is all we need today.
\nAmen.
\nCredit: Joseph Donnelly\/Caritas<\/td>\n		Prayer for Blessing of our Justice Work o God of great compassion,You called us to serve the cause of justice And to be messengers of Your love
\nTo those the world has forgotten.
\nAs we go forth in the knowledge
\nThat You are with us always,
\nHelp us to use our energy, our love and power
\nTo transform Your earth through prayer and action. Bless each of us in the days ahead.<\/p>\n

Bless our efforts to serve the poor and the disadvantaged. Bless our hopes to work for the fullness of life,
\nFor peace and dignity for all.
\nBless our celebrations and fill us with Your joy.
\nWe make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.<\/p>\n

Source: Centre of Concern – www.coc.org\/act-now\/take-action<\/td>\n

Prayer for AustraliaGod of holy Dreaming, Great Creator Spirit,
\nfrom the dawn of creation you have given your children
\nthe good things of Mother Earth.
\nYou spoke and the gum tree grew.
\nIn the vast desert and dense forest,
\nand in cities at the water\u2019s edge,
\nCreation sings your praise.
\nYour presence endures as the rock at the heart of our Land.<\/p>\n

When Jesus hung on the tree
\nyou heard the cries of all your people
\nand became one with your wounded ones:
\nthe convicts, the hunted, and the dispossessed.<\/p>\n

The sunrise of your Son coloured the earth anew,
\nand bathed it in glorious hope.
\nIn Jesus we have been reconciled to you,
\nto each other and to your whole creation.
\nLead us on, Great Spirit,
\nAs we gather from the four corners of the earth;
\nEnable us to walk together in trust
\nfrom the hurt of the past
\ninto the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ.
\nAmen.<\/p>\n

Lenore Parker 2002,<\/p>\n

Ordained Anglican Deacon in the Diocese of Lismore and Yaegl woman.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Prayer for the Journey of HealingAlmighty and loving God, you who created ALL people in your image,
\nLead us to seek your compassion as we listen to the stories of our past.
\nYou gave your only Son, Jesus, who died and rose again so that sins will be forgiven.
\nWe place before you the pain and anguish of dispossession of land, language, lore, culture and family kinship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced.
\nWe live in faith that all people will rise from the depths of despair and hopelessness.
\nAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have endured the pain and loss of loved ones, through the separation of children from their families.
\nWe are sorry and ask Your forgiveness.
\nTouch the hearts of the broken, homeless and inflicted and heal their spirits.
\nIn your mercy and compassion walk with us as we continue our journey of healing to create a future that is just and equitable.
\nLord, you are our hope.
\nAmen.<\/p>\n

With thanks to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission<\/td>\n

Sorry Prayer<\/p>\n

God of all peoples,
\nin Jesus Christ You call us from our foolishness
\nto be Your children,
\nsinging the song of a new day
\ncoming amongst us like a kookaburra,
\nGive us that same spirit of solidarity
\nwhich was in Christ Jesus,
\nthat we may bear Your easy yoke,
\ncasting our burdens upon You
\nwho leads us all into a new future.
\nIn the power of the Holy Spirit
\nand resting in Your Love.
\nAmen<\/p>\n

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission\u00a0 2008<\/td>\n

Prayer to the Holy Spirit<\/p>\n

Holy God of Holy Wisdom,
\nas your Son Jesus sat among
\nthe wise elders of his day,
\nso may all your children find places and spaces
\nfor growth and education
\nMay they listen and learn
\nfrom the good things of the past,
\nmay they question and challenge
\nthe destructive ways of the present,
\nand may they find hope and healing
\nfor the future.<\/p>\n

In the power of the One who is
\nour Advocate and Guide.\u00a0\u00a0 Amen<\/p>\n

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission\u00a0 2008<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

An Easter Prayer for Gaza<\/p>\n

A broken body
\nTaken down from the cross.
\nJesus who gave himself over to death
\nTrusting that the love that brought forth the world,
\nWould raise him from the dead
\nand that injustice would not have the final say.<\/p>\n

We pray for the wounded, broken people of Gaza
\nAs hope disappears and faleshoods abound.
\nMay we challenge the easy political answers that 2,000 years ago condemned an innocent man to death and today condemn 1.8 million people to life among the rubble, cut off and abandoned.
\nMay we commit not to forget, not to stay silent , not to wait till the next round of destruction and death thrusts this narrow strip of land into our headlines<\/p>\n

May we place our faith in the hope of the risen Christ
\nIn the knowledge that every effort to end injustice,
\nTo bring peace and to speak out for the oppressed is an effort that God blesses, that God wants and that God demands of us.
\nAmen<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Chris Rose April 2015
\nfrom http:\/\/www.kairosbritain.org.uk\/the-forgotten-crisis-our-prayer-for-gaza-this-easter\/<\/a><\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
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Philippians 4:4-9Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":41,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-378","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=378"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3488,"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/378\/revisions\/3488"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sjaroundthebay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}