St Joseph's College

Prayer for a Pandemic 

from the pen of Father Larry Tensi  

 
May we who are merely inconvenienced
remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close
remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
remember those that have no place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market
remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
remember those who have no home.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, 

let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbours.
Amen.
 

May we have the courage… to love, learn and serve

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LOCKDOWN

A reflection by Richard Hendrick, OFM

Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Autumn is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
 

May we have the courage… to love, learn and serve

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Daily Prayer

 

Loving God, the qualities we see lived out so well in some people, are a reflection of your own goodness, and we know that we have much to learn from these people.  Inspire us to live our lives in a similar way, respecting others as equals, and loving them as you love us. 

May we have the courage… to love, learn and serve

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Daily Prayer

 

Loving God, until the time of the printing press, people copied the Gospels, writing them by hand.  Slowly the Gospel took shape – both on the page and deep within themselves.  We ask that now, the Gospel, the Good News, may be written in us.  Not with ink, but with the Spirit of God.  Only then will we grow as a credible witness to the wealth of your love.

Day by day, as the pages of our own life turn over, remind us that you write our name on the palm of your hand.  We ask this prayer through Jesus, who is your word, living amongst us.  Amen

May we have the courage… to love, learn and serve

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 Presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple

 

On the 2nd February, each year we celebrate the “Presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple”.  Just as our parents brought us to the church to be baptised when we were infants, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the God.  On this day candles are blessed and lighted to show that Jesus is the light of the world.  This light helps us to understand new things no matter how young or how old we are.

 

Prayer:  God of light, help us to continue to search for an ever-greater light so that we may understand our world.  May your light shine on us so that we come to know you and love you more each day.  Help us to proclaim you in our words and actions.  Amen.  May we have the courage… to love, learn and serve.

 

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Daily Prayer 

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Loving God, in your wisdom you have brought us into being, to find joy in communion with one another and in relationship with you.  We thank you for the blessings you pour upon us.  Help us to accept the power of your Holy Spirit to be witness to your love.  We make theses prayers and the prayers of our heart, through our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  May we have the courage… to love, learn and serve.

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Daily Prayer 

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Holy Spirit, open our minds and our hearts to receive God’s profound love.  Let the love of God shine through us, so that those who may not know God can experience God, through us.  Help us on our spiritual journey and ignite our hearts, so that we may spread the good news throughout the world.  We ask this prayer in Jesus name.  Amen.

May we have the courage… to love, learn and serve.

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