Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: +1 646 558 8656
INAUGURATION 2021 PRAYER
Opening Song: Somewhere to Begin | Sara Thomsen
https://youtu.be/ei54clvS1m4
Opening Prayer:
Merciful God, when we face division and uncertainty, fill our hearts with Your gentleness and patience. Provide us with courage, compassion and wisdom to be the voices of calm and unity when we encounter conflict and discord.
Loving God inspire us to be Your voice of love and may we be a unifying presence in these times of distress for our nation. Help us to listen more and respond in love when we find ourselves in defensive situations that create division among us.
May Your Spirit live in us as we journey on the road ahead. Reveal to us daily opportunities to embrace each other’s differences, respect other points of view and be open to our diverse communities.
God of Compassion, You taught us to love our dear neighbor. In the wake of our recent election, we pray that we work together. Give us strength to be healing instruments of unity and reconciliation. Amen.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, CA
Reading: Hosea 14:1-9
Listen, Israel: Come back to YHWH, your God. Your corruption has been your downfall! Take words with you and turn to YHWH. Say to God, “Free us from our wrongdoing and accept our prayer instead of bulls, we offer you our lips. Assyria cannot set us free. We will not ride on their horses. We will never again say “YHWH” to something our hands have made, for it is only from you that the orphaned find mercy.”
“I will heal their rebelliousness and love them freely, for my anger against them has subsided. I will be as the morning dew for Israel and they will bloom like the lily. Their roots will spread like the cedars of Lebanon. Their branches will stretch forth. They will be as beautiful as the olive tree and their fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. People will once again find comfort in their shade. They will be as abundant as the grain. They will be as fruitful as a grapevine and they will be as renowned as the wine of Lebanon. What more does Ephraim need with idols? I will answer you and watch over you. I am like a luxuriant cypress, and all your fruit comes from me.” Those who are wise will take these things to heart. Those who are prudent will learn these things well. YHWH’s roads are smooth. Those who are just can walk on them, But the corrupt stumble and fall.
Reflection Time
Prayer of Petition
May God bless you with discomfort...
at easy answers, hard hearts,
half-truths, and superficial relationships.
May God bless you so that you may live
from deep within your heart
where God’s Spirit dwells.
May God bless you with anger...
at injustice, oppression,
and exploitation of people.
May God bless you so that you may
work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears...
to shed for those who suffer from pain,
rejection, starvation and war.
May God bless you so that you
may reach out your hand
to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with
enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference
in this world, in your neighborhood,
so that you will courageously try
what you don’t think you can do, but,
in Jesus Christ you’ll have all the strength necessary.
May God bless you to fearlessly
speak out about injustice,
unjust laws, corrupt politicians,
unjust and cruel treatment of prisoners,
and senseless wars,
genocides, starvations, and poverty that is so pervasive.
May God bless you that you remember
we are all called
to continue God’s redemptive work
of love and healing
in God’s place, in and through God’s name,
in God’s Spirit, continually creating
and breathing new life and grace
into everything and everyone we touch.
Troubadour: A Missionary Magazine," published by the Franciscan Missionary Society,
Liverpool, UK: Spring 2005.
Reading: Thich Nhat Hahn from Creating True Peace
Let us offer the world the best flowers and fruits of our practice: lucidity, solidity, kinship, understanding, and compassion. Let us give rise to the determination to look deeply into the nature of fear, anger, hatred, and violence and to give rise to the eyes of compassion. Breathing in, I am aware of violence within myself and within the world. Breathing out, I am determined to look with the eyes of compassion at the violence within myself and within the world.
In this very moment, we invoke all of our spiritual teachers to be with us, to help us embrace the suffering of our nation. We ask them to embrace the entire world as one nation, to embrace humanity as a family. We ask their help as we become lucid and calm, so that we know exactly what to do and what not to do. We know that many people at this very moment are trying to rescue others, to support them, to ease their suffering. Let us be there for all of them and embrace them tenderly with all our compassion, understanding, and awareness. We know that with the energy of mindfulness, concentration, and awakened wisdom, we can practice to lessen violence every day. We know that responding to violence with compassion is our only path.
Let us bring our attention to our in breath and our out breath. We are aware of the presence of all our spiritual ancestors within us, supporting and guiding us to go on the path of nonviolence, understanding, and compassion.
Closing Prayer:
Let us pray for a peaceful transition of power in the inauguration of President Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice-president.
Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us.
Let us pray and pledge ourselves to work for equality and justice for everyone in our country-no exceptions as we confront discrimination and conspiracy theories that are rooted in hatred, untruth, and threats of violence.
Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us.
Let us pray for wisdom for our political leaders as they respond to the assault on the Capitol.
Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us.
Let us pray and pledge ourselves to foster unity in diversity in our country.
Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us.
Let us pray that all civil and military leaders will follow their oath to the Constitution.
Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us.
Let us pray and pledge ourselves to treat others with kindness.
Response: Holy One, you speak and work through us.
A Prayer for Unity in Diversity at this Time of Crisis –
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Closing Song: Feeling Good | Nina Simone
https://youtu.be/_Z5wSHcPmZY
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