Pastor’s Prayers
Pastor’s Prayer for 18 September 2016
A Prayer for the Anniversary of 9/11
by the Rev. Jeremy Pridgeon
O God, our hope and refuge,
in our distress we come quickly to you.
Shock and horror of that tragic day have subsided,
replaced now with an emptiness,
a longing for an innocence lost.
We come remembering those who lost their lives
in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.
We are mindful of the sacrifice of public servants
who demonstrated the greatest love of all
by laying down their lives for friends.
We commit their souls to your eternal care
and celebrate their gifts to a fallen humanity.
We come remembering
and we come in hope,
not in ourselves, but in you.
As foundations we once thought secure have been shaken,
we are reminded of the illusion of security.
In commemorating this tragedy,
we give you thanks for your presence
in our time of need
and we seek to worship you in Spirit and in truth,
our guide and our guardian. Amen
–From UM Discipleship Ministries
Pastor’s Prayer for 11 September 2016
O merciful God,
whatever You may deny me,
do not deny me this love.
Save me from the idolatry of loving the world,
or any of the things of the world.
Let me never love any creature
but for Your sake and in subordination to Your love.
Take full possession of my heart;
raise there Your throne
and command there as You do in heaven.
Being created by You, let me live to You;
being created for You,
let me ever act for Your glory;
being redeemed by You,
let me render to You what is Yours
and let my spirit ever cleave to You alone.
– John Wesley
Pastor’s Prayer for 4 September 2016
O Supreme Physician
O Supreme Physician! O unspeakable Love of my soul! I have recourse to Thee. O infinite and eternal Trinity, I, though unworthy, ardently sigh for Thee! I turn to Thee in the mystical body of Thy holy Church, so that Thou mayest wash away with Thy grace all stains of my soul. I beseech Thee through the merits of St. Peter, to whom Thou hast committed the care of Thy Bark, to delay no longer to help Thy Spouse, who hopes in the fire of Thy charity and in the abyss of Thy admirable wisdom. Despise not the desires of Thy servants, but do Thou Thyself guide Thy holy Bark. O Thou, the Author of peace, draw unto Thyself all the faithful; dispel the darkness of the storm, so that the dawn of Thy light may shine upon the Head of Thy Church, and pour down upon him zeal for the salvation of souls. O eternal and merciful Father, Thou hast given us the means of restraining the arms of Thy justice in the humble prayer and ardent desires of Thy devoted servants, whom Thou hast promised to hear when they ask Thee to have mercy upon the world. O powerful and eternal God, I thank Thee for the peace which Thou wilt grant to Thy Spouse! I will enter into Thy gardens, and there I will remain until I see the fulfilment of Thy promises, which never fail. Wash away our sins, O Lord, and purify our souls in the blood which Thy only-begotten Son shed for us, so that with joyful countenances and pure hearts we may return love for love, and, dying to ourselves, live for Him alone. Amen.
–Catherine of Sienna
Pastor’s Prayer for 28 August 2016
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved …
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others …
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
From the fear of being despised …
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected …
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything …
That others may become holier than I, provided
that I may become as holy as I should …
–Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val
Pastor’s Prayer for 21 August 2016
Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.
May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors.
And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need.
So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.
–King Solomon’s Prayer of Blessing
1 Kings 8:56–61
Pastor’s Prayer –for 14 August 2016
Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and
healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic
charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and
longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be
dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the
refreshment of holy souls, our daily and super substantial bread, having
all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.
May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels
desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness
of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the
fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the
torrent of pleasure, the fullness of the house of God;
may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to
Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and
glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight,
with ease and affection, with perseverance to the end; and be Thou alone
ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure,
my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my
refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession,
my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and
rooted immovably. Amen.
–Prayer of St. Bonaventura