PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
January 1, 2012
Greeting
This is the first day of the new year,
the first day of the rest of your life.
It is fitting, then, that we begin it
in the Lord’s Presence,
For He is the First Cause of all things
and the first fruits of the resurrection.
Penitential Prayer
Hear our prayer for the new year as we confess our weaknesses and seek Your strength.
Instead of feeling unwanted,
may we know that You love us unconditionally.
Instead of being weak,
may we feel the throb of Divine power with us.
Instead of being ineffective,
may we know we can participate in Your
victories.
Instead of feeling worthless,
may we realize that You have a purpose for us.
Instead of feeling fearful,
may we experience Your Powerful Divine Presence.
Instead of being undirected,
may we accept the guidance of Your Spirit.
Instead of being undisciplined,
may we follow Your prescriptions for a well-ordered life.
Instead of feeling self-righteous,
let us humbly confess our sinfulness.
Blessing
Look not backward, lest you become fearful.
Look not sideways, lest you be tempted.
Look not downward, lest you become discouraged.
Look only upward, and forward, to the road which leads both to duty and to glory.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
January 8, 2012
Greeting
Dear baptized Christians,
women and men,
parents and children,
sons and daughters,
brothers and sisters,
sinners and potential saints,
Christ calls you to serve others. Can Christ count on you to be of service? Come, and give your answer!
Penitential Prayer
Lord, we who are Your baptized people,
have acted like turncoats;
have acted as though we knew all the answers;
have lost our taste for the Holy Spirit;
have lost our zeal for Christian mission;
have lost our spirit of loving service.
Nevertheless, Lord, we want to make a new effort.
We want You to know that You can count on us.
We want to accept Your forgiveness, because we want to keep on trying!
Blessing
We came to hear the Lord’s Word
and reaffirm our baptismal vows in His Name.
We go now with His Word on our lips,
and His Name in our hearts.
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
January 15, 2012
Greeting
In Jesus, our Messiah, God is present among us.
Through Jesus, our Messiah, God assures us that we are never abandoned;
From Jesus, our Messiah, we will learn where we are going.
But, in the Name of Jesus, let us all admit that we need direction.
Speak Lord, Your servants are listening!
Penitential Prayer
Father,
We have listened only after deciding in advance what You had to tell us;
We have been guilty of selective tuning, letting in Your message of comfort and security, but shutting out Your message of responsibility and commitment;
We have refused to recognize Your voice in the cries for help transmitted through throbbing, suffering, living flesh;
We have turned off to Your solemn declaration that, “Whatever You do to my brothers, however humble, you do to Me.”
Father, for these sins of pride and disbelief, we beg Your mercy.
Blessing
Go forth now …
full of joy and the Holy Spirit,
boldly proclaiming the Good News:
Look! There is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
January 22, 2012
Greeting
This is the time of fulfillment!
The reign of God is at hand!
Reform your lives!
Believe in the Gospel!
Follow Jesus!
Penitential Prayer
God, our Father, we admit that we have failed to be the followers of Christ you want us to be.
When duty has called we have shirked it.
We have defended our actions with excuses.
We regret our failures.
We regret those mistakes which cannot be changed.
We surrender them to You. Save us from being tortured by them. Release us from their yoke, so that we can move forward into the future unafraid, knowing that even if we fail, Your help which comes to us through Jesus Christ, is never out of reach.
Blessing
Each of us is called to follow Jesus in his or her own unique, individual way. Jesus knows our limitations and our capabilities and guides us accordingly. Jesus knows where He is leading us, but we must follow.
Take up His Cross
and follow Him!
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP
January 29, 2012
Greeting
“Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach … And His teaching made a deep impression on them because He taught them with authority” (Mk. 1:21,22).
Be alert and attentive so that you also may
become spellbound by His teaching.
Penitential Prayer
Father, we know that Your Son Jesus did not remain a little baby, but grew in wisdom and stature, teaching in the synagogue, asking and answering questions.
As followers of Your Son, we too wish to grow in wisdom, and in the knowledge of Divine Truth.
But we acknowledge that all too quickly after Christmas our enthusiasm for worship and study fades.
We often come to Your house to be
entertained rather than to be challenged.
We find ourselves applying the sermons to other people rather than to ourselves.
We allow ourselves to be slaves of the clock, and the parking lot.
Forgive our inattention to our worship experiences.
Forgive us, Lord, instill in us the desire to learn and to grow, to stretch our minds and our faith, and to grasp more completely the truths of Your Divine revelation.
Blessing
May you advance
in wisdom.
May you grow
in faith,
in hope,
in love for God and man.
