“Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate
Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen
Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing
Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty
Christ is Risen indeed from the dead,
the first of the sleepers,
Glory and power are his forever and ever.
Amen.”
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
Divine and everlasting Savior,
Thou didst go into the grave to make death a sleep
from which our mortal bodies shall arise on the Last Day.
We shall live because Thou livest.
Let me look forward with joy
to the day of my departure,
confidently believing that I shall rise
from the dust of the earth
with a body like unto Thy glorious body.
Be with me when my last hour cometh.
Forgive me all my sins,
fill my soul with peace.
Make me unafraid of the Judgment to come,
knowing that there is no condemnation
for them that believe.
O death, where is thy sting?
I thank Thee, Lord,
for Thine eternal victory over death and the grave.
Comfort the hearts of those who are sorrowing
because the angel of death has
crossed the threshold of their homes
and taken a precious soul out of their midst.
Hold out to them through Thy Word
the glory of heaven,
when by Thine infinite grace
they shall see Thee and those who are Thine
gathered around Thine eternal throne.
Give me daily the blessed assurance
that heaven is my home.
Make me watchful and wakeful.
Keep me on the narrow way
which leads me to eternal glory.
Give me the grace to say with confident assurance:
I believe in the resurrection of the body
and the life everlasting.
Abide with me day by day
until I, now believing,
shall see Thee face to face forevermore.
Amen.
From the 1951 Lutheran Book of Prayer
O Christ,
Thou Lamb of God,
slain for the sin of the whole world,
with penitent heart I come to Thy Cross,
pleading for mercy and forgiveness.
My sins — and they are many —
have added to the burden of Thy suffering
and have nailed Thee to the accursed tree.
For me Thou has tasted the agony of the utter darkness
that I might not perish but have everlasting life.
Have mercy upon me.
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God,
embrace me with Thy love,
and forgive me all my sins.
Thy death brings healing to my soul,
peace to my mind,
cleansing to my heart.
If Thou wouldst mark iniquity,
I could not come;
for my hands are unclean,
my lips are sullied,
and my heart is blackened by sin.
But beholding Thee bleeding,
despised, forsaken, dying, pierced,
I come to be cleansed and forgiven.
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God,
grant that I may hate sin and wickedness more and more
as I behold Thee in Thy great agony.
My grateful heart today finds hope in Thy words,
comfort in Thy promises,
salvation in Thy finished work on the Cross,
by which Though has overcome sin, Satan, and death.
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God,
grant that I may daily walk by faith,
crucifying all sinful desires
and giving myself and dedicating my all to Thee.
Keep me faithful to the end of my days,
until I stand before Thy throne to worship Thee,
the Lamb once slain but now living and reigning forever,
adored by the multitude of heaven.
Hear my cry, Redeemer of my soul.
Amen.
From the 1951 Lutheran Book of Prayer
“Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.”
Found at Episcopal Church.org
“Eternal Savior,
how can my heart show its appreciation for Thy love?
How can I serve Thee best,
who has loved me and given Thy life for me?
Thous has sealed unto me the forgiveness of all my sins
and offered me reconciliation and peace
in the blessed Sacrament
which Thou didst institute on this day.
Thou hast promised to give me with the bread and the cup
Thy body and blood for the remission of all my sins.
Oh, what Amazing Love!
What riches of divine wisdom!
In awe and wonderment I ponder this gracious gift.
May I ever appreciate this blessed Sacrament
that Thou has bidden me to use oft in remembrance of Thee.
May I come worthily each time when I approach Thine altar.
O Savior, cast me not away from Thy presence.
Let not my sins remain with me because of impenitence of heart
or because I doubt Thy Word and promises.
Let me become one with this blessed Sacrament.
Make me Thine, and give me strength to amend my sinful life
and walk closer to Thee.
Preserve in Thy Christian Church
this blessed Sacrament given on this day.
Let thousands and ten thousands find through it the
assurance of forgiveness, peace, and salvation.
And grant to me and all those that are Thine
to be faithful to Thy Word and Sacraments,
that Thy name be glorified,
Thy will be done,
and we at last live with Thee in Thine eternal kingdom, Thine forevermore.
Amen.
From the 1951 Lutheran Book of Prayer
“Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.”
Found at Episcopal Church.org
“Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.”
Found at Episcopal Church.org
“Oh, only for so short a while you
have loaned us to each other,
because we take form in your act of drawing us,
and we take life in your painting us,
and we breathe in your singing us.
But only for so short a while
have you loaned us to each other.
Because even a drawing cut in obsidian fades,
and the green feathers, the crown feathers,
of the Quetzal bird lose their color,
and even the sounds of the waterfall
die out in the dry season.
So, we too, because only for a short while
have you loaned us to each other.”
(Aztec Indian Prayer)
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“May the sweet light of change shine in the darkness,
May the first breath of each morning begin life again,
May the memories unfold as prayers for life,
May the love continue to fill the silence.
(Attributed to Zenju)
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“May you see God's 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.
When times are hard may hardness
Never turn your heart to stone,
May you always remember
when the shadows fall,
You do not walk alone.”
(Author Unknown)
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“The first thing we have to do
is to notice
that we’ve loaded down this camel
with so much baggage
we’ll never get through the desert alive.
Something has to go.
Then we can begin to dump
the thousand things
we’ve brought along
until even the camel has to go
and we’re walking barefoot
on the desert sand.
There’s no telling what will happen then.
But I’ve heard that someone,
walking in this way,
has seen a burning bush.”
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water,
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds,
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thorn bush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns forever and ever.”
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“The garden is rich with diversity
With plants of a hundred families
In the space between the trees
With all the colours and fragrances.
Basil, mint and lavender,
Great Mystery keep my remembrance pure,
Raspberry, Apple, Rose,
Great Mystery fill my heart with love,
Dill, anise, tansy,
Holy winds blow in me.
Rhododendron, zinnia,
May my prayer be beautiful
May my remembrance O Great Mystery
Be as incense to thee
In the sacred grove of eternity
As I smell and remember
The ancient forests of earth.”
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“Holy and perfect God,
you know I want to be available.
Help that desire sink deeply enough into my being
for me to actually change
and to say "no" to a least one worthy, but not urgent, task today.
Give me the ability to be open to the life I am leading;
not the one I am planning to lead.”
— Author Unknown —
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“We thank you, creator God,
for the goodly heritage you offer us,
from green downland
to the deep salt seas,
and for the abundant world
we share with your creation.
Keep us so mindful of its needs
and those of all with whom we share,
that open to your Spirit
we may discern and practice
all that makes for its wellbeing,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
(attributed to Rev. Peter Lippiett)
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“Let us pray for an end to the
Waste and desecration of God's creation
For access to the fruits of creation
To be shared equally among all people
And for communities and nations to find sustenance
In the fruits of the earth and the water God has given us.
Almighty God, you created the world and gave it
Into our care so that, in obedience to you,
We might serve all people:
Inspire us to use the riches of creation with wisdom,
and to ensure that their blessings are shared by all;
That, trusting in your bounty, all people may be
Empowered to seek freedom from poverty, famine, and oppression.”
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“Dear Mother earth,
Who day by day unfolds rich blessing on our way,
O Praise God! Alleluia!
The fruits and flowers that verdant grow,
Let them his praise abundant show.
O praise God, O praise God, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Amen.”
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“O Lord in Heaven,
may Thy name be praised
in utmost purity for ever and ever,
and may Thy kingdom come to us.
Please forgive our many sins, and
bestow Thy blessings upon our humble pathways.
Amen.”
Found in Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84
“O Lord, grant us the grace to grow deeper in our respect of
And care for your Creation.
Lord, hear our prayer.
O Lord, help us to recognize the sacredness of all of your
Creatures as signs of your wondrous love.
Lord, hear our prayer.
O Lord, help us turn from the selfish consumption of
Resources meant for all and to see the impacts of our
choices on the poor and vulnerable.
Lord, hear our prayer.”
(Author Unknown)
Found at Jesuit Resource.org
“All praise be yours, My Lord
through all that you have made.
And first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day...
How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars;
In the heavens you have made them, bright and precious and fair.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air...
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,
So useful, lowly, precious and pure.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you brighten up the night...
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother,
Who feeds us...and produces various fruits
With colored flowers and herbs...
Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks,
And serve him with great humility.”
- Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi
Found at Jesuit Resource.org