May we learn in our hearts the words of St. Paisios the Elder/ whose feast was this past week and who said:/ "When there is respect for small things, there will be an even greater respect for the bigger things. When there is no respect for small things, then neither will there be for the bigger ones."/ We pray to the Lord.
God has placed a word of love in the heart of the church./ We ask for the church to be a bearer of compassion,/ healing and mercy for a broken world./ We pray to the Lord.
We pray for those who have had to evacuate homes and businesses while devastating fires burn./ For firefighters,/ rescuers,/ law enforcement/ and the many who volunteer to help./ For the protection of forests,/ orchards,/ vineyards and neighborhoods./ We pray to the Lord.
Renew us with gifts of kindness where there is cruelty,/ hope where there is despair,/ reassurance where there is anxiety,/ love where there is neglect,/ comfort where there is mourning,/ healing where there is sickness./ We pray to the Lord.
We pray to be willing and able to identify and love the neighbor in need,/ support and justice for those crushed by poverty./ For those who are forgotten,/ abused,/ un-invited,/ silenced,/ ridiculed,/ avoided./ We pray to the Lord.
The invasion of Ukraine is the unleashing of great darkness and sin./ We pray for the conversion of those who perpetrate the blasphemous assault against civilians in their homes,/ the laying waste of the earth,/ the destruction even of churches and monasteries./ We pray for the victims of war,/ especially the littlest children./ We pray to the Lord.
St. Paul writes:/ "May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from God's glorious power,/ and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience,/ while joyfully giving thanks to the Father,/ who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light./ We pray to the Lord.
