Prayer for a time of mourning

Oh God of completeness
God of wholeness
God of everywhere and everytime
All embracing God of love
God who touches the universe entire, and every particle of creation individually

When we come to times of loss in our lives
When we feel broken
When we feel abandoned or alone
When we feel separated from those we love
When we reach the limits of our ability to embrace the world, and realize with heartache and sadness that there are those who we feel are now and must remain forever beyond the extent of our grasp.

Help us to remember that no person is ever outside your grasp.
And as we exist in you, and you in all things, that we are also, always in contact with all things that are or ever were.

Today we don’t seek explanations
We don’t require philosophy or proof
Give us simply the consolation of faith
The strong embrace of love
The gentle breath of assurance
The comforting stillness of peace
The healing touch deep in our soul

And encourage us, Divine Spirit of compassion, to be the living embodiment of your universal connection as much as we are able.
We can be the consolers
We can be the embracers
We can be the assurers
We can be the peacemakers.
We can be the healers

We offer our lives, we who are blessed in so many ways, to be a blessing to others, whenever and wherever we are able.

the present moment

God of this moment.
Divine spirit of this moment, and now new spirit of this next moment
Honored personages of fleeting time that enter and exit the world in such rapid succession.

I seek to honor you completely while you stand here.
Help me to see that there is no more important face than the one before me.
Let me trust that there is never a more important task than the one I’m engaged in.
Here is where I am called to be.
Now is the time.
Allow me the blessing of fully experiencing this holy moment of time before it vanishes.

Today is the day to care about the world as it is now.
Tomorrow it will be too late to address the suffering of today.
And today is too early to begin suffering pains that haven’t yet arrived.
Let neither remembrance of past joy nor anticipation of future joy eclipse the joy of now.

Now we live in reality.
Now we are surrounded by reality.
The future is a fantasy world, and the past is closed room.

My prayer is that each day I live that day
With gratitude and respect.

Prayer for the new year

O Time, rolling through our lives
Measured in years. Measured in decades.
But measured also in days and hours and minutes.

God of moments, and of experiences.
Divinity of fleeting thoughts and passing encounters.

Help us to honor each moment of our lives as the precious gift it is.
Help us to recognize each moment of life as one more opportunity to live out our ideals.
Forgive us quickly and compassionately for the moments we have let pass without proper attention
But steal our resolve to be more careful with the days to come.

Let this be the year that our souls come to their maturity.
Let this be the year that our souls have a growth spurt.
Let this be the year that we begin to be that person we were meant to be.

That person of worth and dignity who sees the worth and dignity in others
That person of justice and compassion
That person who accepts all others equally
That person who this year strives forward on our quest for truth and meaning
Who speaks out when our conscience is troubled, who participates in the democratic process
Who builds the world community of peace, liberty and justice for all
Who recognizes our place in the interdependent web of all existence, and who cherishes that connection and celebrates it.

May this be a year where we honor the gift given to us at our birth.
And at the end of this year, repay that gift with a year of life worthy of your generosity.