A Short Grace for Use Before Meals
O Lord, bless this food to our use,
and us to your service;
make us grateful for all your mercies,
and mindful of the needs of others. Amen.
-- with many variants, anonymous
A Table Blessing
God is great and God is Good,
And we thank God for our food;
By God's hand we must be fed,
Give us Lord, our daily bread. Amen.
--- Traditional
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts and we forgive
our debtors,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory, forever. Amen.
--- Matthew 6:9-13
Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.
--- St. Francis of Assisi
An Evening Family Prayer
Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us,
for the peace accorded to us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow;
for the health, the work,
the food and the bright skies
that make our lives delightful;
for our friends in all parts of the earth. Amen.
--- Robert Louis Stevenson
God Is Our Hope
God is our hope and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved,
and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof rage and swell,
and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same.
There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
--- Psalms 46: 1-4
Prayer for Trust in Jesus
O Christ Jesus,
when all is darkness
and we feel our weakness and helplessness,
give us the sense of Your presence,
Your love, and Your strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
in Your protecting love
and strengthening power,
so that nothing may frighten or worry us,
for, living close to You,
we shall see Your hand,
Your purpose, Your will through all things.
--- St. Ignatius of Loyola
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRAYERS
The following short prayers are drawn from several sources and edited for contemporary usefulness. Feel free to cut and paste, add and subtract, revise and amend as needed:
May this day and all your days be filled with the wonder of God’s special love for you. Happy Birthday.
On this your birthday, I pray for your happiness, of course, but also for a greater sense of fulfillment in work, an ease of communication with those you love, and a sense of satisfaction in all that you have accomplished. Above all, may you rest secure in the knowledge of God's constant love and care for you, personally.
On this, your special day, I pray for you. I pray for smiles and love, for friends that are true. I pray for sunshine, for warmth and tenderness. I pray for unexpected moments of joy and laughter. But most of all, I pray for peace for you.
I am thinking of you on your birthday and holding you close to my heart. My prayer for you this day and every day is for a sense of fulfillment ... for a feeling of closeness to those you love ... for confidence and enjoyment in all that makes you special to others ... and for a deep and abiding peace within.
May God keep you in touch with all that you are and all that you are meant to become.
Also appreciated on a birthday or any day is the Irish Blessing:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you
PRAYERS FOR PEACE
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
--- Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
An Internet Prayer For Peace
O God, you are the source of life and peace.
Praised be your name forever.
We know it is you who turn our minds to thoughts of peace.
Hear our prayer in this time of crisis.
Your power changes hearts.
Muslims, Christians and Jews remember, and profoundly affirm,
that they are followers of the one God,
Children of Abraham, brothers and sisters;
enemies begin to speak to one another;
those who were estranged join hands in friendship;
nations seek the way of peace together.
Strengthen our resolve to give witness to these
truths by the way we live.
Give to us:
Understanding that puts an end to strife;
Mercy that quenches hatred, and
Forgiveness that overcomes vengeance.
Empower all people to live in your law of love
Amen.
--- Source: Pax Christi
A Prayer For Those Facing Death
Those who face life threatening illnesses, and their loved ones, at some point need to consider offering up to God, not a plea for a miracle cure, but a prayer of gratitude for the gift of life. And at all times it is appropriate to release a loved one into the hands of God. For those approaching what may be the end of life, I offer this:
God of compassion and love,
you have breathed into us the breath of life
and have given us minds and bodies in which we live out
our days on earth.
For the gift of life, we are grateful.
We humbly acknowledge that there is a time to live,
and a time to die.
We commit this life* to you,
trusting in your gracious promises and
confident in the sure and certain hope of new
life in the world to come.
Into your hands we commit our beloved.
May your will be done!
In the good and gracious name of Christ,
we pray. Amen.
