Lord, in this new year which we have begun,
may we have enough happiness to keep us agreeable,
enough trials to keep us strong,
enough sorrow to keep us human,
enough freedom to keep us happy,
enough failure to keep us humble,
enough success to keep us eager,
enough wealth to meet our needs,
enough faith to banish depression,
enough hope to look forward,
enough love to give us comfort,
and enough determination to keep going.

Jesus brought the wine of God’s love into the world.
Everywhere he went the old was made news.
For the couple at Cana he changed water into wine.
For the widow at Nain he changed tears into joy.
For Zacchaeus he changed selfishness into love.
For the thief on Calvary he changed despair into hope.
And on Easter morning he changed death into life.
Lord; be present with us today and throughout our lives.
And when through human weakness
the wine of love is found wanting,
touch our hearts and strengthen our wills,
so that we may taste the wine of unselfish love.

Human beings are frail and foolish.
We have been told that grace is to be found in the universe.
But in our human foolishness and short-sightedness
we imagine divine grace to be finite, and we tremble.
But the moment comes when our eyes are opened,
and we see that grace is infinite.
Grace demands nothing from us
but that we await it with confidence
and acknowledge it with gratitude.
Grace makes no conditions and singles out no one.
Grace takes us all to its bosom
and proclaims a general amnesty.

Jesus fulfilled the ideal of love St Paul speaks about.
He was never in a hurry, and was always kindness itself.
He never envied anybody, and never boasted about himself.
He was never snobbish, or rude or selfish.
He did not take offence easily,
nor did he keep on talking about the wrong things other people did.
He preferred to remember the good things and to rejoice in them.
He was tough – he could face anything,
And he never lost trust in God or in people.
He never lost hope; he never gave in.
He never stopped loving.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
But that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant,
Gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us: it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela

Blessed are the clean of heart;
they will see God.
Blessed are the humble of heart;
they will find rest for their souls.
Blessed are the warm-hearted;
they will radiate goodness.
Blessed are those who work with the heart;
they will find joy in  their work.
Blessed are those who do not lose heart;
they will find the strength to persevere.
Blessed are those who set their hearts on the Kingdom of God;
everything else will be given to them.   

There are those who give but only on condition
that they receive something in return, and receive it immediately.
There are those who give on condition
that they receive something in return
later on and with a handsome profit.
And there are those who give
without expecting anything in return now or ever –
they scatter the seeds of the heart without looking for any harvest.
They are imitating the generosity of God,
who bestows his love on good people and bad,
and grants mercy to saints and sinners.

Repentance of itself is not enough –
grace must be available.
But if grace is offered and not accepted,
then nothing comes of that either.
There is no point of putting up a sail
if there is no wind.
There is no point of planting a seed
if the garden is frozen.
There is no point of pruning the tree
if spring does not come.
It is not enough to cut into peoples’ hearts
in order to save them –
They must be touched by grace.
Lord, touch our hearts with your grace,
so that we may produce the fruits of repentance.

RAYER OF ST IGNATIUS

Teach us good Lord,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and seek no reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will,
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen

It isn’t the things you do,
it’s the things you leave undone,
which give you a little heartache
at the setting of the sun.

The gentle word forgotten,
the letter you didn’t write;
the flowers you might have sent
are your haunting ghosts tonight.

The stone you might have lifted
out of your brother’s way;
the little heartfelt counsel
you were hurried too much to say.

The tender touch of a hand,
the gentle and kindly tone;
which we have no time or thought for,
with troubles enough of our own.

(Anon.)

The prodigal son came home empty –handed.
He had no trophies to show his father
No achievements with which to earn
His praise, his welcome and his love.
He was a failure. Worse – he was a sinner.
He deserved to be punished- and he knew it.
Yet punishment was the last thing he needed.
To punish him would be like pouring water on a dying fire.
What happened?
When the father saw his lost son coming towards home,
His heart went out to him,
And in the next minute there were in each other’s arms
It is an extraordinary experience to be loved in one’s sinfulness
Those who have experienced this kind of love,
Know something about the heart of God.

Lord Jesus, your loving obedience
is our greatest blessing.
By your death you bless us with life.
By your innocence you give us forgiveness.
Bless us with the gift of your broken body.
Wash us in the tide of your sacred blood,
that we may be cleansed and take our place
at your side in both suffering and in joy.
May your Holy Spirit be our guide,
today, always, and unto our heavenly home.

May the Lord of life bless you always.
May the glory of his resurrection touch
your deepest being, your very soul.
May the light of his New Day shine in your face,
warm your heart, direct your every step.
May his promise of eternal life
be the well-spring of true hope within you.
May his Holy Spirit enable you
to be his joyful witness
among all those you love
and with whom you move each day.

Amen.

While Jesus was alive Thomas was as strong as an oak.
But when Jesus was put to death,
he became a reed shaking in the winds of doubt.
The truth was, though he didn’t realise it at the time,
that it was the Master who was the oak.
He was a mere sapling growing in his shade.
When the oak fell he was defenceless.
All of us are shaken by the winds of doubt.
We need to look at the Lord’s wounds,
and hear his gentle voice saying to us;
“Cease doubting and believe.”
Then with Thomas we shall make bold to say;
“My Lord and my God.”

It can happen that we lose interest in people,
and even become blind to their strengths,
when we discover their limitations.
During his passion Jesus discovered the limitations of Peter.
Yet he didn’t write him off.
He continued to believe in him,
and in time he came good.
Like Peter, we are weak human beings,
who are inconstant in our beliefs.
We need someone who understands our weaknesses,
who realises that it may take time for us to overcome them,
who doesn’t write us off because
we don’t produce the goods at once.

Vocations Prayer

Lord, make me a better person,
More considerate towards others
More honest with myself
More faithful to you.
Make me generous enough to want sincerely
To do your will, whatever it may be.
Help me to find my true vocation in life,
And grant that through it I may find happiness myself
And bring happiness to others;
Grant Lord, that those whom you call
To enter the priesthood of religious life
May have the generosity to answer your call
So that those who need your help may always find it.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

It is easy to love at a distance,
but not so easy to love at close quarters.
It is easier to give a few pounds to relieve famine in Africa
than to relieve the loneliness of someone living next door.
It is easy to love people who are far away,
but not always easy to love people who are close at hand.
Yet, these are the people Christ asks us to love.
We must begin by loving the people near us.
That is where our love must start.
But, of course, it doesn’t have to end there.
And it shouldn’t.

May the Lord make you his instrument,
filling every action you take this day,
every word you say,
every gesture and touch you make
with the peace and goodness
his Holy Spirit gives.
May he warm your hearts
with his marvellous love
so that even your simplest actions
may shine with its light
and bring fresh heart to others.
May you be, today and always,
a living gospel, giving praise to God
and bringing others to his peace and joy.

Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit.
Come with strength for the weak,
courage for the fearful,
light for those in darkness,
comfort for the sorrowful,
healing for the sick and injured,
guidance for those who are lost,
faith for those who are in doubt,
hope for those who have no hope,
and love for those who have no love.
Come, Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love,
and we shall renew the face of the earth

On Pentecost day the apostles spoke a new language.
What was this new language?
It was the language of peace rather than of war;
the language of co-operation rather than of competition;
the language of forgiveness rather than of vengeance;
the language of hope rather than of despair;
the language of tolerance rather than of bigotry;
the language of friendship rather than of hostility;
the language of unity rather than of division;
the language of love rather than of hate.
Through the gift of the Spirit;
people of different languages learned to profess one faith,
to the praise and glory of God.
That is the real miracle of Pentecost,
and it is a miracle which, thankfully, still happens.

Nowadays, thanks to the security camera,
we are often being watched,
watched by a cold, dispassionate eye,
intent in catching us in wrong doing.
The feeling that someone is watching us
is not a pleasant feeling.
But the feeling that someone is watching over us
is a lovely feeling.
God is not watching us.
God is watching over us.
The conviction that God is watching over us
gives us comfort in times of sadness,
strength in times of weakness,
and hope in times of despair.

Jesus said to his apostles: “Do this in memory of me”
We all love to be remembered.
This was true even for Jesus.
But is we want to be remembered
We have a duty also to remember.
Memory is a powerful thing.
Wrongly used it brings death;
Rightly used it brings life,
And is a form of immortality
It keeps the past alive
Those we remember never die;
They continue to walk and talk with us.
Lord, when we celebrate the Eucharist
We are remembering you.
May that remembering bring us life here and hereafter.

We all need anchors in our lives
by way of true values and enduring truths.
But we need anchors other than principles.
We need relationships with other people.
People who have never known a close relationship
with another human being are anchorless.
They are at the mercy of the cold winds
of anguish and loneliness.
But the best anchor of all is the anchor of faith.
It means we have truths to believe in
and a Person to relate to, namely God.

       to your enemy, is forgiveness;
       to an opponent, tolerance;
       to a friend, your heart;
       to your child, a good example;
       to a father, deference;
       to a mother, conduct that will make her proud of you;
       to yourself, respect;
       to all men, charity.

       Lord Balfour

We thank you, Lord, for the gift of life.
Every human life is your gift to the world.
Each person is unique,
with a task you have entrusted to them alone.
Help us always to promote the basic rights of all,
and to recognise that we are all part of one body,
dependent on one another,
and called to share a common life.

Amen.

INSTRUMENTS OF THE LORD

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 darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood as to understand; 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 are born to eternal life.

(St Francis of Assisi)