Prayer 495

In silence we come before You, O God: abide with us, and speak into our hearts. Open our eyes to your radiance, O Lord of hosts, and our spirits to your truth. Give us open, steadfast hearts that we may grow in wisdom and in faith. Draw firmly within your embrace all who seek a deeper knowledge of You. Guide us into a holier way of living, that we may serve You throughout our day. Hear the prayers and thanksgiving of your faithful people, especially those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 494

Loving One, abide with us this day. Draw us into paths of wisdom and peace. Watch over those who are facing changes at this time, that the new chapters in their lives be filled with blessing. Give hope to those who falter and courage to those who waver. Help us to discern how we may be better disciples and how we may build your kingdom today. Inspire us through your Spirit to new devotion to your wisdom that we may be a holy people. Make us advocates for freedom and justice in service to others. Bless and defend those for whom we now pray, Lord Christ.

Amen.

Prayer 493- Ascension Day

Christ upon his throne- detail from a window at Christ Church Cathedral

(For Ascension Day)
Blessed Lord Jesus, you are our Shepherd and Savior: remember all those for whom you lived and died and rose again. Help us to spread your message of love, service, sanctity, and compassion throughout the world by our words and our deeds. Help us to be a testimony to justice and peace, and bind us together in the name of love, amity, and charity. Send the Holy Spirit to empower us to serve the weak and outcast and to make disciples of all who seek you. Through your example, let us unfailingly act with love and mercy, even to those who set themselves against us. Let us always be witnesses to your truth, and servants of your truth. Lifting our eyes to heaven, where you are enthroned in glory, we lift our prayers and petitions before You, Lord Christ, especially for those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 492- Rogation Day

From the parish garden that supports Trinity's food pantry

(For Rogation Day)
Creator God, who laid the foundations of the earth, and filled the sky with light both by day and by night, we ask that you bless us this day. Bless the fields, that they may thrum with the song of the diligent bees, who help make our harvests bountiful. Bless the skies, dappled with dawn, that they may bring forth sunshine and rain in good measure, sustaining the tender plants as they burgeon and bud. Bless our toil as we offer it up for the sustenance of your people, that we may gratefully care for the earth and for each other. Enclose us within your bounds, O God, and call us safely into your fold, especially those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 491

(Inspired by Matthew 13)
O Lord, let your word and wisdom be planted in our hearts to take root and flourish, to guide us and guard us in the paths of righteousness. Make our hearts a fertile field, not stony or thin but verdant and well-watered, for your teachings to take root. Let us guard our fledgling faith through hope and trust, and preserve it from being crushed under the heel of fear or insecurity. Like a blooming plant, let us turn our faces toward your radiance, and glory in the light of your countenance. Let us sink our roots deeply into your commandments, that we be knit together in love and faithfulness. Give respite to those who quail under oppression, and strengthen those bearing the weight of pain, anxiety, or sorrow. Comfort and shelter those who call out to you, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Prayer 490- For Memorial Day

Almighty God, we face the rising sun with hope for this new day, filled with thanksgiving for your mercy and compassion. 

We remember those who have sacrificed their lives in the cause of freedom and justice: may our nation always strive to be worthy of that gift. We pray for those who have returned from battlefields wounded in heart, mind, or spirit: may we sacrifice for them to restore them to new life. Loving One, make of us a priestly people, dedicated to the belief that all are created equal and are precious and beloved by You. 

In your tender compassion, place your healing hand of benediction over those who are in danger, pain, or any kind of trouble. Succor those who thirst for peace, comfort those who are restless with anxiety, and bless those who mourn.

Amen. 

Prayer 489

Eternal Spirit, Holy God, we gather together as your people to give thanks for all our abundant blessings. 

May we bind our hearts and hands to love and serve each other and our Creator and Redeemer. Remembering our failures and determined to correct them, may we also forgive those who have hurt us, that we may be filled with love and light. May we see with new eyes the beauty of creation. May we lift up those who are oppressed and work for justice, freedom, and peace. May we be ever charitable and kind to those we meet, and compassionate to those who need our help. May we give freely of our time and talent to the building of your kingdom on earth. 

Hear now, O Loving One, our prayers and petitions, our thanksgivings and praises, as we lay them before You.

Amen.

Prayer 488

Starlit night, May 24, 2014

We give thanks to You, Creator God, as our hearts are drawn toward your radiant truth. You set the stars in their courses that their light may illumine the vastness of your creation. Guide us even in the darkest night by the light of Christ, our true North Star. Set us firmly within your kingdom, never to be shaken, as Polaris, Regulus, and Castor stand watch overhead to point us homeward. May we sing your praises of your mighty works as we ponder your love for us through all our days. Open the eyes of those who seek You to see that the blaze of your love burns brighter within the darkest night.

Amen.

Prayer 487

O God we come before You in prayer, for by prayer You turn our hearts, minds, and spirits to You. 

Blessed Christ, you are our anchor and our wings: in Your love we are confident to act in love to others. May we live this day as witnesses to the healing Spirit of the grace of God. May we receive that grace, regardless of our unworthiness, and the let the love of God restore our souls and refresh our hearts. 

Let all we do be blameless in your sight, O Holy One, and be an offering of love in thanksgiving for all our blessings. Heal the hurting and soothe the suffering, and let your peace fill the hearts of all for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 486

God of infinite mercy, who has watched over us during the depths of the night, hold us in the hollow of your hand today. 

May we seek a deeper knowledge of You, Our Creator and our Shepherd, in all our thoughts this day. May we seek to discern how we may be better disciples and children of the Living God. May we watch out for each member of God's people, care for each other, and love each other as Christ loves us. 

Drawn into the embrace of Christ, who spread his arms of love to encompass all, let us be brave enough to love that freely. Give rest to those who are weary or broken-hearted, O God, and give healing to those whose past continues to haunt their present and their future. In your compassion, bend near to those in pain, anxiety, or suffering, Precious Lord, and welcome those who trust in You.

Amen.

Prayer 485- For the end of the school year

God of infinite wisdom, draw us into your courts today. Guide our students and our children to love You, and help us to guide them and nurture them in the paths of righteousness, compassion, and grace. Look with favor upon all parents and teachers as they prepare their students for the end of the school year. Give our children a thirst for knowledge and a desire to build an education for themselves, that they may serve You and your people. Make us grateful witnesses to all the blessings we receive. Make strong our hearts for the days ahead, Lord Christ, and bear us up on the wings of faith and hope. Help us to see each challenge as a door to opportunity to grow in faith and love.

Give your blessing to all who call to You, Loving One, especially those we now name.

Amen. 

Prayer 484

O God of unfailing love, we praise and bless You for bringing us out of darkness into the light of morning. Send your angels to watch over us this day, and strengthen us for the work You have given us to do. 

 Forgive us our failures and weaknesses, especially for failing to forgive the failures and weaknesses of others. Let us never set ourselves above our sisters and brothers, but seek to serve them in constancy and compassion. Drive far from us all hardness of heart, but instead embolden us to be fools for the love of Christ. 

Remember all those who come before You this day, and welcome them as sheep of your fold who seek their Shepherd's call. Dry the tears of all whose hearts are broken, or who struggle with fear, doubt, or pain. Soothe the afflicted, Lord Christ, and bear up the weary upon wings of hope. 

Secure in your steadfast mercy, make your face to shine upon those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 483

Scott with two of his godparents at his confirmation.

Most Holy God, thank You for bringing us together as your people, knit together by one hope, one faith, one baptism. Thank You for the gift of love in family, friendship and community, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet for which we pray. 

Awaken us from our foolish tendency to forget that You are God, and we are yours. Open our eyes to see your path, even when we think we are in trackless wastes or adrift in a sea of turmoil or doubt. 

Protect us from all, both within and without, that could cause us to stumble. Help us admit our sins, our pride, our anger, & our folly, for You always embrace those who repent & turn back to Love. 

Seal into our hearts your wisdom and your truth, that we may have life more abundantly and be a blessing to all we meet. Consecrate us to your service, that all we do may be to the glory of your Name as we walk out among our fellow men and women. Help us to live lives that sing out a testimony to your goodness, mercy, and abundant love. 

Remember these, your servants for whom we pray, and all whose cry is to You alone.

Amen.

Prayer 482

Window in Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis

Fountain of All Blessing, we come to your sanctuary to honor You and bless You for your call to us to be your people. Let your courts ring with our songs of praise and common prayer as we seek to be disciples of your Son our Savior. 

You have called us to unity, justice, and peace: let us labor with joy in the vineyards of the Lord. 
You have given us abundant love and called us to abundant love: let our hearts always be generous to our brothers and sisters. 
You have sealed us as your own forever: let us praise the grace which You have poured into our hearts until they overflow. 
You have healed our pain and bound up our wounds: let us bring your light into the darkness. 
You have encircled us with arms of forgiveness and comforted our fears: let our lives be testimony to the power of your Spirit. 

Hear our praises and prayers, our invocations and our alleluias, as we bring them before your glorious throne.

Amen.

Prayer 481- For consecration

My son Scott confirms his faith, surrounded by (from right to left) his sister, his grandmother, his godmother, his godfather, and clergy of our parish and diocese.

Loving One, we turn our faces with joy to the rising sun, thankful for your watchful love over us during the night. We have hope in the love of God, who is the Father and Mother of All. 

Be with your servants this day, O Lord, who come before You to again express their faith in You and their love for your people. 

Let us resist evil and persevere in good, and seek forgiveness when we fall from the path You have set before us. 

Let us all continue in discipleship, fellowship, communion, and prayer. 

Let us all seek to serve God in all persons and in all our ways. 

Let our words and actions proclaim our love for God through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and may we be inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

Let us love each other and all persons as images of the Divine, as Christ before us, beside us, and behind us. 

Let us work for peace through justice and equity, and never turn away from those who seek our aid.

O Loving One, place your hand of blessing and consecration upon these for whom we pray.

Amen.  

My son Scott prepares to be confirmed with Bishop Wayne Smith on May 17, 2014.

Prayer 480

Almighty One, we bless your Holy Name: turn your face toward us as we bow before You! Let us sing praises to our God and Creator as long as there is breath in our bodies. 

What are we that you should take notice of us? We are your beloved children, and we rest within your love. You have chosen us since before time: let us be as steadfast in our love for You as You are for us. 

Therefore let us love one another as sisters and brothers of the Holy One, and be knit together in amity and peace. Consecrate us to your service, and let our hearts always be set upon You and your manifold gifts. 

Give your angels charge over those who work, or watch, or weep this day, O Loving One, and pour out your blessings upon those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 479- For reconciliation

Almighty God, we thank You for forgiving us through the gift of grace for all our sins, missteps, and mistakes. 

We thank You for being with us when we ourselves have been hurt by that actions of others. Shield those who continue to suffer in body, mind, or spirit from wounds inflicted upon them. Heal them by Your immeasurable love that they may allow peace and forgiveness to take root in their hearts. 

Redeem those who have fallen into sin, anger, and violence, and bring them into the light of truth. Lead us into reconciliation with those we have hurt, and with those who have hurt us, that we may find serenity within us through your redeeming compassion. Place your hand of blessing upon all who rejoice this day, for your blessings are manifest. 

Lift up those who are anxious, mournful, or suffering, Loving One, and seal them as your own.

Amen.

Prayer 478

Loving God, spread the tent of your protection over us today. Guide us with your loving, almighty hand that we may walk in your paths with integrity. 

We fervently thank you for our abundant blessings: help us to spend our time numbering them rather than our worries. Bring us within your enclosure, that we may abide there forever, rejoicing that we are your own. 

Embrace us, Loving One, despite our manifold faults, for we seek to be worthy of You. Let our lives sing out a testimony of your love and faithfulness, your compassion and your forgiveness. Help us to speak in love, never in anger; help us to act with charity and forthrightness to all we meet today. 

Hear our prayers as we remember these, your beloved children, in their petitions and thanksgivings.

Amen.

Prayer 477- for Perseverance

Almighty God, we put our trust in You: we come before You in faithfulness and joy. Cleanse our hearts of all wrong desires, and let our motives be pure and blameless in all we do. Help us when we are confronted by those who wish us ill, or who refuse to do what they should. Help us to act with justice, and balance righteousness with mercy. Let us always remember that You are beside us as a companion, behind us as a shield, and before us as a guide, O Christ. Lead us in the way we should go, and let us joyfully follow. Place your hand of restoration over those who are in anxiety, sorrow, or pain, especially those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 476- on the Beatitudes

(inspired by Matthew 5:1-10)
O God, You bless us in every moment, and uphold us by the strength of your Love: hear our prayer, for our hope is in You.
Bless those who work as your servants, for they have fixed their hearts upon salvation in each moment.
Bless those who are gentle and kind, for they draw others to You through their witness.
Bless those who hunger for a just society, for they seek to build the kingdom of God.
Bless those who demonstrate mercy and forgiveness, for they live out a life of Love and Charity.
Bless those who are innocent and childlike, for their hearts are always open to You.
Bless those who spread peace in their wake, for they call us to live as better people and children of your household.
Bless those who suffer for their faith, for their resolve will never be shaken.
Bless those who cry out to You, for they know that God will fulfill all their needs.