Morning Psalm
I open my heart, Loving God…
I place myself in your hands…
I breathe in the beauty of the rising sun…
I savor the gift of another day of life.
Wherever this day leads, let me rest in the assurance
of your presence with me, in me, around and under me.
Let me taste every moment and savor it all…
Hold me in your loving arms and breathe into me the blessing of peace.
Remove from my heart all fear, all anxiety, all that keeps me bound
and threatens my freedom, my growth.
For in you I find refuge…in you I find welcome…in you I find justice and hope…
in you I find my fullest self…and it is enough.
Return to the Lord, your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. (Joel 2:13)
With the remnants of ashes on our foreheads, with the reminder of both our mortality and our blessedness, we open our minds and hearts to you, God of All Good, God of All Love, and we lift before you those who truly need our prayers, our concern:
- · Those struggling for freedom and human rights in Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Burma, Sudan, and Afghanistan.
God of mercy, we rest in the assurance that you hear our prayer.
- · Those who struggle to supply life’s daily needs for themselves and their children in the Democratic Republic of Congo and especially in Afghanistan, where one half of all children under five are malnourished.
God of mercy, we rest in the assurance that you hear our prayer.
- · Those who work diligently for the rights of others, and for justice and dignity for all people, remembering especially Doctors Without Borders (Medicine sans Frontieres) and Pope Francis.
God of mercy, we rest in the assurance that you hear our prayer.
Forgive us, Loving God, for those times when we should have acted or spoken out but did not out of fear of what others would think of us. Keep us ever mindful of those who are daring to speak out every day, even at the threat to their very lives.
God of mercy, we rest in the assurance that you hear our prayer.
Forgive us for our conspicuous consumption, for tending to our wants instead of our needs, mindless of the overwhelming needs of others across the world and even in our own communities. Keep our hearts filled with the overwhelming gratitude which seems the only fitting response to your loving care.
God of mercy, we rest in the assurance that you hear our prayer.
Forgive us for our overuse and abuse of the incredible resources of this planet which is our home. Strengthen our resolve to be responsible stewards of all that you have made.
God of mercy, we rest in the assurance that you hear our prayer.
Most of all, Lord of Life, breathe into us a desire for and commitment to seeing and treating each person we encounter as a beloved child of God, created in the Divine Image, and so worthy of our respect and consideration. May we become peacemakers in our homes, our lives, our world, that we may live out the call to love as you have first loved us.
God of mercy, we rest in the assurance that you hear our prayer.
Return to the Lord your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
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