Prayers during troubled times
We’re inviting Religious to send us prayers and reflections which we can share via this website as we seek to support each other during this most difficult time. This page will be updated regularly with new offerings. Please email to : communications@corew.org
Prayers for the Pandemic: for a household in lockdown
God of the indoors,
who knew the confines of domestic space
at a time of little comfort,
help us in this time of confinement,
help us to see it as an act of love, in solidarity
with those who care for us and put their own lives
on the line for the sake of others.
Help us to ‘make room’ for each other, even if room is scarce,
help us to find reserves of patience we never knew we had,
to take offence less easily, to find in our hearts
an easy apology when we’re petulant.
Help us to be attentive, careful, and thoughtful.
May we draw deeply from the well
of our most loving times.
Prayers for the Pandemic: for those who are anxious
God of Gethsemane,
who knew deep anxiety,
the desire for the cup to be taken away,
your sweat dropping onto the clay of earth like blood,
be with those who suffer at this time
from anxiety, the fear of their world
running out of control.
The facts alone
fan the embers of anxiety
in all of us: the grim daily numbers,
the fear of falling ill, of facing our end.
In our loneliest darkness,
in the night of our Gethsemane,
may we find you there
Prayers for the Pandemic: for the keyworkers
God of a day’s work,
who knew the early start,
the long shift, the thankless task,
help us to ‘see’ keyworkers in the pandemic
in a new and lasting way –
the ones who leave home to mingle
with the virus
to keep us fed,
keep us safe, keep us clean,
to care for us: in school, in care, in intensive care;
help us to help them by being careful ourselves
and remembering, on the other side of this,
who deserves our esteem, our national applause,
our lasting care.
Prayers for the Pandemic: for those who miss going to church
God of the last supper,
who knew real presence: a beloved one
reclining into you, holding dusty feet as you poured water
over them, the tug at the hem of your garment,
touch us now, unable to receive
your risen body in church, unable
to gather as your body;
touch us with your word,
handed on from your mouth, from memory,
written down, broken and shared over centuries
from the pulpit, the kitchen table; touch us
with the glimpses we can see of spring,
of our vulnerable brothers and sisters,
of your presence within.
Prayers for the Pandemic: A Morning Prayer for a School Community
God our loving Father
we gather together this morning
but it’s not the same: many of us are not here
and there is distance between those who are –
not the distance of fear or mistrust,
but the distance of care, of thoughtfulness,
the distance that will help us to stop the virus from spreading.
We pray for friends and classmates who are at home.
We know we will see them again in real life
and value their real presence even more, the gift of friendship.
Help us to ‘see’ more clearly what is important,
the good things we had perhaps overlooked,
the small details of everyday life,
graced with your presence.
We pray for a better world to come out of this –
more grateful for the people who do the ordinary jobs,
more just in the way people are treated, more caring for the vulnerable.
We pray for a world which is more determined
to look after the earth, our common home;
a world that will live wisely, think deeply,
love generously.
We make all our prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen
( Raymond Friel )
Let us pray for all those who have been infected by Covid-19,
for all who fear infection,
for those who cannot move freely,
for the doctors and nurses who concern themselves so generously with those who are sick,
for the researchers who are looking for protective and curative medicine,
that in this crisis of our world God will give us His blessing.
(Silent prayer)
Almighty God, you are our refuge and strength!
Many generations before us have known You as powerful in all their needs.
Help all who are affected by this crisis,
and strengthen in us the belief that You will take care of each and every one of us.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Pope Francis 27 March 2020:
"In these days there's so much suffering. There's a lot of fear... The fear of the elderly who are alone in nursing homes, or hospitals, or in their own homes, and don't know what will happen. The fear of those who don't have regular jobs and are thinking about how to feed their children. They foresee they may go hungry. The fear of many civil servants.
"At this moment they're working to keep society functioning and they might get sick. There's also the fear, the fears, of each one of us. Each one knows what their own fears are. We pray to the Lord that He might help us to trust, and to tolerate and conquer these fears."
Prayer for a Pandemic
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 earning 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 who have no safe 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.
As fear grips our country, let us choose love.
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.
“And the people stayed home:
“And the people stayed home.
And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.
And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed.
And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”
-Kitty O’Meara
IN ADDITION, COREW HAS BEEN INVITED TO SHARE THE FOLLOWING:
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
You may or may not be familiar with our Emmaus Online Video Prayer and Meditation Library?
However, we have received requests from some of our members to extend access to our resources to communities, parishes and various ministry networks, by way of offering some spiritual support to people during the pandemic and to also help them celebrate Holy Week and Easter.
In response to this need we have prepared a complimentary resource kit of online videos and music downloads for children and adults.
Follow this link for access to the kit: Spiritual Resource Kit
You are welcome to send this link for the resource kit to your Congregational members, not only for their own use, but also for them to send out to their family, friends, colleagues and networks.
We hope and pray that these resources offer some spiritual comfort and nourishment to you and your communities.
Blessings to each of you during this very distressing time of uncertainty and concern.
Emmaus Productions
