Another Prayer For The New Year (Author Unknown)

“Dear Lord, please give me...
A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;
A work to do which has real value, without which the world would be the poorer;
A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;
An understanding heart;
A sense of humor;
Time for quiet, silent meditation;
A feeling of the presence of God;
The patience to wait for the coming of these things,
With the wisdom to recognize them when they come.”

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• Author Unknown, found at Jesuit Resource.org

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A Prayer For The New Year (Author Unknown)

“Lord, You make all things new
You bring hope alive in our hearts
And cause our Spirits to be born again
Thank you for this new year
For all the potential it holds.
Come and kindle in us
A mighty flame
So that in our time, many will see the wonders of God
And live forever to praise Your glorious name.”

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• Author Unknown, found at Jesuit Resource.org

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Drenched in Holiness Prayer: Prayer for a New Year by Debbie Ford

“Dear God,
On this day I ask You to grant this request,
May I know who I am and what I am,
Every moment of every day.
May I be a catalyst for light and love,
And bring inspiration to those whose eyes I meet.
May I have the strength to stand tall in the face of conflict,
And the courage to speak my voice, even when I'm scared.
May I have the humility to follow my heart,
And the passion to live my soul's desires.
May I seek to know the highest truth
And dismiss the gravitational pull of my lower self.
May I embrace and love the totality of myself,
My darkness as well as my light.
May I be brave enough to hear my heart,
To let it soften so that I may gracefully
Choose faith over fear.
Today is my day to surrender anything that stands
Between the sacredness of my humanity and my divinity.
May I be drenched in my Holiness
And engulfed by Your love.
May all else melt away.
And so it is.”

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• Attributed to Debbie Ford, found at Jesuit Resource.org

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The Year Ahead (Author Unknown)

“May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding us from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening us to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making our path easy,
But by making us sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from us,
But by taking fear from our heart;
Not by granting us unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping our face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making our life always pleasant,
But by showing us when people and their causes need us most,
and by making us anxious to be there to help.
God's love, peace, hope and joy to us for the year ahead.”

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• Author Unknown, found at Jesuit Resource.org

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Help Us Enter the New Year by Vinita Hampton Wright

“God of all time, help us enter the New Year quietly,
thoughtful of who we are to ourselves and to others,
mindful that our steps make an impact
and our words carry power.
May we walk gently.
May we speak only after we have listened well.
Creator of all life,
help us enter the New Year reverently,
aware that you have endowed
every creature and plant, every person and habitat
with beauty and purpose.
May we regard the world with tenderness.
May we honor rather than destroy.
Lower of all souls,
help us enter the New Year joyfully,
willing to laugh and dance and dream,
remembering our many gifts with thanks
and looking forward to blessings yet to come.
May we welcome your lavish love.
In this new year, may the grace and peace of Christ bless us now and in the days ahead.”

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• Attributed to Vinita Hampton Wright;, found at Jesuit Resource.org

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Be Our Light for the New Year

“Come, Holy Spirit,
Spirit of the Risen Christ, be with us today and always.
Be our Light, our Guide, and our Comforter.
Be our Strength, our Courage, and our Sanctifier.
May this new year be a time of deep spiritual growth for us,
A time of welcoming your graces and gifts,
A time for forgiving freely and unconditionally,
A time for growing in virtue and goodness.
Come, Holy Spirit,
Be with us today and always.”

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• Found at Xavier.edu

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Responsive Readings and Prayers For The New Year

Responsive Prayer:
“Gracious God,
You are Everlasting Love and Forever Faithful.
Grant us so to pass through
the coming year with faithful hearts,
that we may be able in all things
to please Thy loving eyes.
(Mozarabic, 700 A.D.)

Bless us, O Lord,
and bless the time and seasons
yet to come.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
And fill this new year with your kindness,
that we may be glad and rejoice
all the days of our life.
Amen.
(Fr Victor Hoagland, C.P.)

Responsive Reading:
Let us praise the Lord of days and seasons and years, saying:
Glory to God in the highest!
And peace to his people on earth!

Our lives are made of days and nights, of seasons and years,
for we are part of a universe of suns and moons and planets.
We mark ends and we make beginnings and, in all, we
praise God for the grace and mercy that fill our days.

Responsive Prayer:
Remember us, O God;
from age to age be our comforter.
You have given us the wonder of time,
blessings in days and nights, seasons and years.
Bless your children at the turning of the year
and fill the months ahead with the bright hope
that is ours in the coming of Christ.
You are our God, living and reigning, forever and ever.
Amen.

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• Adapted from The Prayer Book Guide to Christian Education noting Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers

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Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

“If we are peaceful
If we are happy
We can smile and blossom
Like a flower
And everyone
In our family
Our entire society
Will benefit from our peace.”

(Thich Nhat Hanh)

A Buddhist Prayer to Bring in the New Year (Author Unknown)

“May I be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my teachers be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my parents be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my relatives be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my friends be well, happy, and peaceful.
May the indifferent persons be well, happy, and peaceful.
May the unfriendly persons be well, happy, and peaceful.
May all meditators be well, happy, and peaceful.
May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.”

Christmas Prayer by Lama Surya Das

May the lamp of love
which eternally burns above
kindle divine fire
in our hearts
and fan that innate spark
of divinity
into flame-
illumining all, opening our eyes
and consuming our differences,
driving the shadows
from our faces.

As love dawns
on the horizon, may our community
awaken in the Kingdom
of true communion
which is at hand
always.

May we recognize ourselves
in each other
each in each-
fellow pilgrims on this infinite
journey-
in truth
in that light.

May we learn to love
one another
better even
than we love ourselves.

May joy radiate.

Amen.

A Christmas Eve Prayer For Grievers

Gracious and Heavenly God,
Three in One,
The Beginning and the End.

You know our hearts before we even speak,
snd we know that not everyone feels joy during this season.
so many have lost so much this year:

Loved ones,
Jobs,
Security,
and so much more.

And for many, this year, the cold feels a bit more bitter,
the wind blows over lonely hearts
and chills our joy.

On this Christmas Eve,
as we grieve with those who grieve,
and we await the coming dawn
showing us the arrival of our Savior
and the presence of Love.

Help us to remember your sweet words
and feel your sweet presence.
Sometimes we just need to be reminded.

Turn our sorrow into joy,
bring beauty from the ashes
as only you can do.

And be near the grievers.
Lift up the broken-hearted.
Heal us.

For you have told us that
you will never leave nor forsake your people
and tonight as we lay our heads down
in the midst of our long year,
heavy with the weight of our sorrows,
hold us until the dawn breaks
and hope arrives.

A Partial Order Of Worship For Thanksgiving Day

God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause his face to shine upon us.
Let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
Let us worship him in Spirit and in Truth.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Let us pray:

“Most gracious God, by whose appointment
the seasons come and go,
and who makes the fruits of the earth
to minister to the needs of men:
We offer you our thanksgivings
that you have brought us through the year,
according to your promise,
seed and harvest have not failed.
Remembering your bounty,
we offer you the sacrifices of our thanksgiving,
and pray that you will indeed
fill our souls with the Bread of Life;
through Jesus our Lord,
Amen.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Let’s pray together:

O God, we praise you,
we give thanks to you
for your bountiful providence,
for all the blessings
and all the hopes of life.
Above all we praise and adore you
for your unspeakable give
in your only son,
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let the memory of your goodness
fill our hearts with joy and thankfulness
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

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• Taken from the 1965 Book of Worship for Church and Home, The Methodist Church

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A Prayer of General Thanksgiving (Lutheran Book of Worship)

“Almighty God,
Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world
by our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the means of grace,
and for the hope of glory.

And we pray,
give us such an awareness of your mercies
that with truly thankful hearts
we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips,
but also in our lives,
by giving up ourselves to your service,
and by walking before you in holiness
and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages.

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• (Taken from Lutheran Book of Worship (Augsburg, 1978)

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A Traditional Apache Grief Blessing

May the sun bring you new energy every day,
bringing light into the darkness of your soul.
May the moon softly restore you by night,
bathing you in the glow of restful sleep and peaceful dreams.
May the rain wash away your worries,
and cleanse the hurt that sits in your heart.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being,
and may you believe in the courage of yourself.
May you walk gently through the world,
keeping your loved one with you always.
Knowing you are never parted in the beating of your heart.

• Author Unknown

Traditional Irish Blessing

“May you see light on the path ahead,
When the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear,
Even in your hour of sorrow,
The gentle singing of the lark.
May you always remember,
You do not walk alone."

- Traditional Irish Blessing

A Prayer Of Thomas Aquinas

“Give me, O Lord,
a steadfast heart,
which no unworthy thought can drag downward;
an unconquered heart,
which no tribulation can wear out;
an upright heart,
which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside.

Bestow upon me also, O Lord my God,
understanding to know thee,
diligence to seek thee,
wisdom to find thee,
and a faithfulness that may finally embrace thee;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

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• Taken From A Prayer Of Thomas Aquinas from the Book of Worship for Church and Home; The Methodist Church.

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Prayer For Those In Affliction

“Almighty and Everlasting God,
comfort of the sad
and strength to those who suffer:
Let the prayers of your children
who are in any trouble rise to you.
To everyone in distress grant mercy,
grant relief,
grant refreshment;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Amen.

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• Taken from The 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship

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Prayer For Peace Among The Nations

“Almighty God our heavenly Father,
guide the nations of the world
into the way of justice and truth,
and establish among them
that peace which is the fruit of righteousness,
that they may become
the Kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Amen.

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(from the 1990 Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church According to the use of The Episcopal Church)

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Prayer After Election Day 2020

Creator God,
Three in One.

Creator
Savior
Spirt.

We admit that we don’t know how to pray for a country that is but an afterthought.

We remember that Israel’s “physical” king wasn’t necessarily a blessing.

Yes, you gave them what they asked for. But they lacked imagination and only asked for what they could see.

As do we.

Please forgive our blandness. Please forgive our indifference.

Please forgive us for trusting in fleeting Empire. 

Please forgive us for fighting for our liberties rather than laying them down.

Please forgive us for protecting the rich instead of lifting the Lowly. 

Creating, Sustaining, Forgiving, and Liberating God, 

Please show our country grace. In spite of us and yet for us.

Even though we don’t deserve it. 

Please forgive our arrogance. Please forgive “Manifest Destiny.” Please forgive our slaughter of the Innocents for the sake of land, money, and power, both on our own soil and others.

Please forgive the spirit of Systemic Racism which has infected our power structures. Please remind us of our neighbor. 

Please fill us with Love. 

Please let your face shine rather than ours.

A Responsive Reading About The Life of Love

“What is the great and first commandment?
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind.

What is the second commandment like it?
Love your neighbor as yourself.

What does this mean?
Love is the fulfilling of the law.

To what does this call us?
To a life of faith working through love.
(Based on Matthew 22:37040)

Hear the teaching of Christ:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you.”

(from John 13:34, SRSV)

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• Found in The Worship Sourcebook published by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, 2004)

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