Beloved Mystery:  We praise and thank you for this amazing universe, our lovely planet, for fascinating flora and fauna and endless forms—we praise the wonder of you.  Holy One, you created Beings capable of every good and every evil; you created nature herself—gentle and destructive, gracious and stormy.  We stand in endless awe and gratitude for the gift of life.   We thank you and we love you, as we echo David’s praises of long ago.

Come let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy.

Your beloved child, Jesus Christ, prays anew on the desert; let us renew our intention to join him and our cherished priests, Berto and Hugh, with spiritual leaders everywhere, offering a rising tide of prayer for courage and strength and wisdom for all beings in need of love and sustenance. We unite our voices with millions of others in ancient prayers that reverberate over the ages.

We are put to the test, pray that we may all do well.

We pray from the desert of loss where masses of people cry for warmth, food, shelter, and clean water. We pray for the broken-hearted:  people whose lives have been crushed, people yearning to establish their families in safer lands, for little girls poisoned for speaking their truths, for the ill, the destitute, the persecuted, the tortured, the addicted, and we pray with renewed fervor for all those whose misdeeds have generated so many difficulties for all of life on this planet. May their hearts be softened, their minds enlightened, their spirits made whole.

We pray for the lost and the wayward that they might better know you. 

We pray for the children of this island, all their families, and their extended circles of love and concern: may they hear and heed the grace and wisdom of the ages and find their way to you, living lives of true goodness all their days.

May all the children of this vast world know shelter, safety, and enduring love.

We pray and thank all those who work to serve others: among them the librarians, teachers, medical personnel—and for Good Samaritans of every stripe from every walk of life—we thank them for being always ready to lend a hand to anyone in need, regardless of race, religion, or gender preference and identity. May their own needs be met, and may they know much love.

Come let us sing to the Lord, let all shout for Joy.

And we pray for all those on our parish prayer list:  ,,, and special concerns, known only to us  (pause).  We offer comfort to all who mourn, and for their beloved departed ones.

May their hearts be filled with joy and laughter once again, knowing that love is everywhere forever.