Praying Each Day in May

[MajestyJo]

MAY

I come into your presence, Father,
and ask that you help me
to be as trusting and close to you
as many little children are with their parents.
May my life today reflect
that you rejoice in my company.
May I rejoice in yours.

Let us pray:

On this day, Lord,
we can celebrate
many achievements of humanity
as a whole,
but never let us forget
that each and every individual
needs to be held in respect.
We pray today for the unemployed
and for those unable to work,
and we ask you to give success
to the work of our hands. Amen.

Psalm 8917: Give success to the work of our hands, Lord.
Mt 2514-30: Good or poor use of people’s talents.
2 Thess 36-12,16: Some of you are living in idleness;
anyone who refuses to work should not be given any food.

All that I am; Come let us go up to the
Lord; I am with you for ever (all who
labour); I give my hands; Lord, make me
a means; Lord of all hopefulness (verse
2 refers to labouring); Make me a channel;
Peace, perfect peace; Take my
hands; Thank you for fathers
This is an excerpt from the page of this date in
‘Praying Each Day of the Year’,
a 3-volume book
by Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

God our Father, open our eyes
to see the vision
that you have for each of us,
and lead us to grow in confidence
in who we are,
and in the faith
that you call each of us by name.
Show us how to live in such a way
that we respect and accept others
for who they are,
and do not judge them
as we ourselves
do not want to be judged.
Inspire us to be generous
in praising others
and in showing appreciation
for their achievements.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus,
we read in the Gospels
that you brought healing
and acceptance
to many people,
In your love
stretch out your hands
and touch me
and bring healing and wholeness
in my life. Amen.

Christ be beside me; For to those who love God; Holy Virgin by God’s decree; if God is for us; Lay your hands...

This is an excerpt from the page of this date in
‘Praying Each Day of the Year’,
a 3-volume book
by Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

O God, we are conscious
that many centuries of blindness
have blinded our eyes
so that we no longer see the beauty
of your Chosen People.
Across the centuries
our Jewish brothers and sisters
have lain in the blood which we drew
or caused to be shed
by forgetting your love.
Forgive us for the curse
we falsely attached
to their name as Jews.
Forgive us
for crucifying you a second time
in their flesh.
For we knew not what we did. Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

Lord,
lead us to be peace-makers,
building connections
between individuals,
focusing on what unites people
rather than on what separates us
and highlights our differences.
Lord, it’s easy to harm relationships;
instead,
give us the power of your Spirit
that we may build up and make new
the bonds between people.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

“We all have ideals, and as we have grown
up we have the choice whether to pursue
them or to give them up. If we pursue them
we may not attain them. At times we may
wonder whether there is any point in the
pursuit, because of the sacrifices involved.

“We need to strive to achieve more and
more, not for purely selfish motives, but
because of the recognition of some higher
purpose. The aim is to move with the greatest
possible freedom towards the realisation
of the best within us. This is the quest
of a lifetime, and sport plays only a small
part in it.”

Let us pray:

Lord, each of us
has different talents and abilities.
We ask you to inspire us
to discover and develop
the best within us.
Lead us to be
both humble and generous
in praising others
for the good use of their talents.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

One of the world’s greatest musicians,
Ludwig van Beethoven, began to lose his
hearing when he was only 26. This was
particularly tragic for someone so gifted
in using sound as music. When he realised
he could not be cured of his deafness,
he wrote the following prayer. As
we hear his words, we can pray for those
who are going through difficulties at this
time:

O God, give me strength
to be victorious over myself.
O guide my spirit
and raise me up
from these dark depths,
so that
I may fearlessly struggle upward
in fiery flight.
For it is you alone, Lord,
who understand me
and can inspire me. Amen

Beethoven’s last words before dying are said to have been: “I will hear in heaven.”

[MajestyJo]

We’ll use as our prayer today some words
written by Pope Paul VI (the sixth) about
25 years later:

Lord, God of peace,
we thank you for the hopes,
the efforts and the achievements
which your Spirit of peace
has inspired in our days
- stirring up love where there was hate,
sympathy where there was suspicion,
care where there was indifference.

Open our minds and our hearts
even more
to the specific demands
which love for others makes upon us,
so that we may be more truly
makers of peace.

Remember, God of mercies,
those who are oppressed,
those who are suffering and dying
for the birth of a world
in which all people
will be more truly
a single human family.

May your kingdom come
for all people of every race and language
- your kingdom of justice,
of peace, of love,
and may all the earth
be filled with your glory.
We make our prayer
through Jesus Christ,
the Prince of Peace. Amen.

[MajestyJo]

A Muslim once said: “At night you Westerners
see thousands of stars in the sky. We
Muslims see only a few stars - and God.”

Let us pray:

God of all nations and all people,
inspire us
to live in your presence each day.
On our journey through life
lead us to choose
the right direction,
and show us
how to respect and value others,
even if we do not agree with them.
May we find other people
as willing to help us
as we are willing to help them.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

We know, Lord,
that throughout our lives
each of us will experience
problems and difficulties.
Give us courage and strength
at those times
and prevent us then
from looking only at ourselves.
Keep our vision wide
so that, even in times of difficulty,
we may still be of help to others.
Help us not to be bitter
towards people or situations,
but empower us
to take the initiative
and break the cycle
of hatred, bitterness,
and evil actions.
Help us to transform
the difficulties that come our way
into opportunities for
personal growth
and service of others. Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Tomorrow, 12th May, is the anniversary
in 1935 of the start of “Alcoholics Anonymous”.
Two men in New York began to
support each other to stay sober. “Alcoholics
Anonymous” - or “A.A.”, as it is
often known - has small group meetings
in many towns each week. Those who
feel they have a drink problem are welcome
to attend group meetings, where
everyone is anonymous. No one is ever
charged money to attend. Members encourage
and support one another to live
a day at a time.

A.A. has “12 Steps for Recovery” from alcoholism.
Some people who don’t have
alcohol problems still find A.A.’s 12
“Steps for Recovery” to be a good guide
when times are difficult. The ‘12 Steps’
include the following:

- Realising and admitting that I am powerless
over my problem, and have
made a mess of my life;

- believing that only a Power greater than
myself can make me better, so handing
my life over to God’s care;

- taking responsibility for what has gone
wrong in the past, and admitting my
mistakes to God and to one other person;

- asking God to remove my inner problems
of character, and bring me healing.

We’ll use as our prayer today some words
used every day by A.A. members. This
prayer is often said together at their group
meetings.

Let us pray:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

Lord, remind us
that, along with our rights,
each of us
has duties and responsibilities
towards others. Amen.

[MajestyJo]

May 13

Let us pray:

Lord, we pray
for justice and peace in our world.
We pray, too, that those
who use violence as a weapon
may be touched
by the reaction of people
who have been hurt by violence.
Influence each of us, Lord,
to bring justice and peace
to our own part of the world this day.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

200 years ago smallpox killed many people.
It was a terrible disease and highly
contagious, killing 2,000 people every
year in London alone.

Edward Jenner was aware that people
who milked cows caught cowpox, a mild
disease. He discovered that no-one who
caught cowpox ever caught the deadly
smallpox.

On this day in 1796 Jenner inoculated an
8-year old boy with cowpox, which is not
a serious disease. 6 weeks later he injected
the boy with smallpox, but the boy
did not become ill. The much milder cowpox
had made him immune - he couldn’t
be hurt by the deadly smallpox.

Eventually Jenner’s work was appreciated.
Giving a mild form of a virus in
order to prevent a much worse illness,
became known as “vaccination”, after
the Latin word for “cowpox”, recognising
that that disease provided the clue
to making people immune - resistant -
to some serious viral infections.

Edward Jenner’s work helped save many
lives. 100 years later, Louis Pasteur did a
lot of work on producing vaccines to prevent
other serious illnesses. We now
know that an inoculation of a harmless
form of a virus causes the human body
to produce “antibodies” which stay in the
bloodstream, ready to fight against the
worst form of the virus if the person becomes
infected.

Viruses are so tiny that about 40,000 of
them, laid end-to-end, would measure a
millimetre. Such tiny things can destroy
life, just as small things each day - our
actions, our attitude - can take life away
from other people.

Let us pray:

Loving Lord,
I often see on the TV news
examples of inhumanity to others
- people being tortured, abused,
injured or killed.
I need to remind myself
that the commandment “do not kill”
also refers to my attitude
and what I do each day,
because it is in smaller ways
that I can destroy people
if I ignore them
or cut them off
or do them down.
Loving Lord, inspire me
to take care
of the smaller things of life
as well as the bigger issues. Amen.

[MajestyJo]

John Baptist De La Salle was declared the
Patron Saint of teachers on this day in 1950.

300 years ago, John Baptist De La Salle
encouraged teachers to look upon their
students as individuals, rather than as a
group. He talked of people needing to
“touch hearts”.

“Touching hearts” is about acknowledging
and relating with people as individuals -
helping each person feel that they are
noticed and matter, and are significant
and special. A personal approach or reaction
can make all the difference to an individual,
showing that someone is “bothered
enough” to care.

Someone today can be made to feel
“worthwhile” if I call them by their name.

I can show human warmth and concern
today if I acknowledge individuals with
eye-contact, a nod, a smile, or a word.

I can “touch someone’s heart” if I set out to
remember what the person says or does. At
another time I can repeat those personal
details, showing that someone cares enough
about them to remember.

I can build up people today if I help them
to experience success or meaning in their
lives, and feel good about themselves.

I can help raise someone’s self-esteem
today if I show that I respect and appreciate
that individual and bear in mind their
own special circumstances.

Someone today can feel valued if I invite
them to become part of conversation, to
become part of what is going on; setting
out to make sure people feel included
rather than excluded.

I can “touch hearts” today if I compliment
individuals.


Let us pray:

Loving Lord, inspire me
to bring out the best in others
and “touch hearts”
by being welcoming and generous
and always positive in attitude,
showing individuals
that they matter and are important.
May those
who are part of my life this day
treat me in the same way
as I treat them. Amen.

If I am lacking love; O let all who thirst;
We come to you, Lord, teach us how to pray.