A Short Prayer for Peace and Reconciliation

Lord, give us all things that are joyful and bring people together as opposed to things that bring pain and separation. Let those who are at home be merciful to those who are strangers and those who are rich be generous to those who are poor. Let our words and deeds bring peace and comfort through the Holy Spirit. Mend broken relationships and straighten love and faith in ourselves and our neighbours. For you are the father of the orphan, the protector of the widow, the friend of the stranger, the help of the poor and downcast. Let our life reflect your unconditional love as the river reflects the sun. For you are our hope and in you alone we put our trust now and forever.

Amen

The Royal Way

When people hate you and despise you
And distort every word you say,
Don’t fight or curse them, don’t get even,
Forgiveness is the royal way.

When burdens are too hard to bear
And pain knocks down your house of clay,
Don’t moan, don’t give in to despair,
Endurance is the royal way.

When you see suffering and fear,
When others turn their face away,
Tend to the wounds and wipe the tears,
Compassion is the royal way.

And whether you meet kings or beggars,
Great saints or sinners gone astray,
Serve all as if they were your brothers,
Humility’s the royal way.

Whatever this world has to offer,
And in your journey come what may,
You’ll conquer all if you remember
That Jesus walked the royal way.

Don’t Let Your Love Grow Cold

When conflict’s in the air
And hatred rules the world,
When no one seems to care,
Don’t let your love grow cold.

When people curse and scream
And tragedies unfold,
When hope seems just a dream,
Don’t let your love grow cold.

When clouds darken the sky
And evil calls good old,
When everyone cries “why?”,
Don’t let your love grow cold.

When faith crumbles like glass
Remember we’ve been told
These things will have to pass,
Don’t let your love grow cold.

And even if they tell you
There is no God above,
Cling to your highest value.
Fear not and choose to love.

Prayer for Love

God, fill us with your love, so that we can become love. Help us understand that love is the driving force of the universe and the essence of all creation. Help us understand that love is You. Touch our hearts with its warm comfort, make us stronger with its healing touch. Help us grasp the meaning of the words 'where there is love, there is no fear'. Let us live our lives in full understanding of this truth and make the best of it in our everyday experience and in our relationships with one another.

AMEN

 

Teach Us, Lord

Teach us, Lord, to be humble. To put the spirit above the letter. To give you thanks for every little thing you offer us. To thank you for the priceless gift of life.

Teach us to be faithful. Faithful to each other, faithful to ourselves and faithful to you.

Teach us to have a positive outlook on life, to see the rose rather than the thorns, and the rainbow rather than the storm.

Teach us to love and to forgive. Show us a new kind of love - selfless, kind, willing to give rather than receive.

Teach us to have no fear. Cause love conquers fear.

Teach us to dare, cause daring is the emblem of faith.

Teach us to open our eyes and our ears to the miracles around us.

And teach us to search your will in everything.

AMEN

Look More, See Deeper

A life can change in an instant. One moment we are walking on our cosy, familiar ways, where we take everything for granted, the next we find ourselves in a strange and alien realm without even comprehending how we got there. We can never tell where life is going to take us. Our small universe can grow or become even smaller over night and we can get robbed of everything we hold dear.

What can we take with us over the threshold of pain, losses and fear? What can we cling to when the crazy waves tear us away from the comfortable shore and throw us into a world of chaos and distress? Where can we find our refuge when all our fortresses crumble to the ground?

The answer is not as far as we imagine. It is, in fact, very close to us. We live in a big world, in the middle of a huge universe, full of surprises and unexpected turns. Yet this universe has a Master. The one who created it knows every single corner and every single step. He can go as deep or as high as he wishes, he can see beyond time and space, through darkness or opacity. Nothing is hidden from his eyes and nothing will ever be. The huge waves don't make him hide nor the tough winds make him tremble.

The God in whom we trust and to whom we entrust ourselves is always there, eternal and true, unchanging and unaffraid, forever faithful to the ones who reach out to him. God is not bound by anything but by his own word. The same word that once said: "Let it be light." He created rules and boundaries but he also created the magic world "beyond". He created the "law" but he also gave an alternative to it, an alternative called "grace".

To God nothing is impossible. He put the mountains in their place and ordered them to stay still but he also created the faith that can move mountains. He created the cycle of life but he also created the spirit that can defy the shadows of death. He created everything and he re-created himself, the one who had never been created, in each of ourselves. And in everything he created, he put a little of the love that surrounds him, the love that defines him.

So how can we be oppressed by time when times bows down in front of our friend and our father? How can the circumstances of this life knock us down when we walk hand in hand with the one beyond life and circumstances? How can we be scared of death when the one stronger than death promised he'd be with us forever?

It is all a question of perspective. If we see only here and now, we let ourselves be swallowed by here and now. If we set our mind on earthly things, we cling to them and make them our treasure. And 'Where thy heart is, there shall thy treasure be also.'

So look above and seek beyond, and see God in all. Where there is trust, there is no worry. Where there is faith, there is no fear. Where there is love, there is no falling.

Prayer for Our Loved Ones

My Lord Jesus, you taught us that faith can move mountains. You also taught us that we should only ask and we will be given. While you were here on Earth, you cured ailments and diseases the doctors had given up on and you raised people from the dead. You taught us the power of prayer and belief and that we should pray with confidence, as if we've already received the thing we are asking for.

To you, Master, I turn today, with my heart full of hope and confidence, knowing that no prayer will return from you unanswered and no request unresolved. Also knowing that all things work for our good and that you always choose what is right for us. In your name I pray to the Father of all, Creator of the Universe, and cry in the middle of the night: Father, watch over the ones I love! You know the depth of each one of them and you love them all with a love as fresh as roses and as unchanged as eternity. Never walk away from them. Never leave them struggle alone. Be their friend and comforter and let them feel with every fibre of their being that they are loved and cared for.

Our life is in your hands. I entrust their lives to you. I entrust you all their thoughts, all their worries and concerns. Guide them on the way. Lead their steps and help them always take the right decisions. Be strong in them, so that they may be strong in you. Surround them with your love like with a warm blanket, so that they may never feel cold, deserted or neglected. Help them grow and bring good fruit, enrich them spiritually, so that they can find the power to handle all unexpected or undesired situations.

Bring the right people in their way, so that they can get the help and support they need. Forgive them when they make mistakes and bring them home when they go astray. Let them experiment your love and goodness in every aspect of their lives, in every possible way. For you are the father of those whom I'm praying for today and I know that as long as you remain by their side, nothing bad can happen to them. Work in their lives, so that your name may be glorified in each and every one of them. AMEN

Lover of Mankind

A parable that illustrates the love and sacrifice of Jesus for mankind.

Once upon a time there was a young prince who fell in love with a fallen woman. She had been a prostitute during her younger years and now she was torn by a merciless venereal disease. She had marks and wounds all over her body and her presence was accompanied by a foul smell. The inside and the outside were equally rotten, making her look like a living corpse, a dead among the living, a creature both scary and repulsive.

The young prince was young and handsome, rich and educated, and he had proven his excellent skills and good manners on countless occasions. In the eyes of the world, he was perfect in every possible way. Everybody loved him and wanted him to become the new king. No one could understand what he had seen in that horrible woman. He had everything a man could desire, all the other ladies in the kingdom dreamed of spending their lifetime with him. In fact, some of them would have given their life just for spending an hour with him. But he ignored them all.

Nobody knew that the “rotten whore” – as everybody used to call her – still smiled when she saw children playing on the streets. She still liked feeding homeless dogs and her smile sometimes had a weak tremble in it that could melt a heart of stone. Nobody knew there were nights when she used to wake up in tears, crying for all the injustice and cruelty in the world and for her own wasted life. The only one who knew – and cared – was the prince.

So he decided to leave his home, the riches and the potential throne and moved with her in her poor little cabin. He talked to her and tended her wounds. He gave her the love nobody else had given her. Soon everybody could notice the change. Her skin became whiter and clearer, the ugly marks and scars disappeared – not completely, but enough to show once again what a beautiful woman she was. Her smile became softer and her eyes brighter. She had a new hope now. Her life had a new meaning.

However, bad people couldn’t stand seeing them so happy, so they captured the prince, tortured him and killed him, leaving his bride in tears. Yet the hope wasn’t gone. She knew deep in her heart that one say he would return to her. She knew a love like theirs had no end and was stronger than death. And the light in her eyes didn’t fade. In fact, it became brighter and brighter as the time went by. His spirit and his love were still by her side, comforting, guiding and encouraging her. She knew that every day brought her closer to the moment when they were going to be reunited – this time for eternity.

LET'S WELCOME JESUS

And the light came into the darkness... and the Word came into the world to break the silence of death...

He came and lived among us, full of grace and truth. His words healed hearts and minds, his call arose people from the death, his touch brought light to the blind.

His message was simple and full of power. His words strong and compassionate. His presence life-changing. His love for us had no limits.

He didn't come to judge or to punish, but to save and to heal. To help us find a meaning in a meaningless world. To comfort us and give us a hope in a hopeless world. He came to the orphans of this world, to make them sons and daughters of God and heirs of eternity.

He came as a humble baby, sharing all our pain and suffering in a body like ours, bearing all the burdens of our frail human frame. When the whole earth and sky was his, he chose to live and die for us out of a love that defies our understanding.

Let's welcome the baby born in Bethlehem. Let's welcome Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, born into our world at the crossway of history to change it forever.

AMEN

Don't save it all for Christmas Day

www.christianphotos.net

There isn't enough love in the world. As Victor Hugo said, we never pray and never love too much. One single smile could make miracles and yet sometimes we grudge even that. Let the lights and the magic of Christmas change your heart this year. Smile more, even to the people you don't know. Bring a smile on sad faces by a kind word. Touch the hand of a lonely man. Pray for those who have no hope. Visit someone who's dying. Give a piece of bread to a hungry person. Make a surprise to a sick child. Give a present to someone who's forgotten. Make a woman feel loved. Make a man feel special. If you do any one of these things, you make the world a better place and you honour Jesus, who's coming into the world once again as a little baby, to live and die for us, to comfort and counsel us, to give us a creed and a meaning, to be our our Lord, our friend and our brother.

YouTube - Celine Dion - Don't save it all for christmas Day

Make Us Worthy to Serve

"Make us worthy, Lord,
To serve our fellow-men
Throughout the world
Who live and die in poverty and hunger.
Give them, through our hands,
This day their daily bread;
And by our understanding love,
Give peace and joy."

Mother Teresa

I've been a stranger

I’ve been a stranger for so long,
I’ve kept so many feelings locked inside,
I guess the words will never be that strong
To share the secrets that I used to hide.

I’ve been a stranger for so long
And no one told me not to cry,
And no one taught me how to live,
And no one showed me how to die.

The world was nothing but a cage,
The body – nothing but a shell,
They say we’re actors on a stage,
We take and give, we buy and sell.

And then you touched me with your love
When no one else was there for me,
You taught me how to live and die.
And now I know you're all I need.

Written by Eliza

Christmas is on its way. Let's pray that every one gets a little present for this special celebration. That no one is forgotten. God, bless us all and fill our hearts with Your love. Let us feel the magic of Christmas and share the miracle of Jesus coming into the world. Search our hearts. Don't let anyone feel lonely on that special night. Go to the poor, the disabled, the old, the unloved. Go to all those who haven't found their way yet and shine Your divine light into their lives. Let them know how wonderful You are. And show them how special they are in Your eyes. Every single one of them. AMEN