40 Days of Prayer and Reflection - Table Prayers For Lent

Blessing for the Family Meal

Bless us, Lord, and the food we are about to eat. May our love

for one another, and the food we share, strengthen us to

share your love with others. Amen.

Holy Week—Lord of Faithfulness

Blessed are you, Lord of Faithfulness.

Through your relationship to the Father you show

Us what it means to be faithful to our commitments

And our relationships.

Help us to be faithful to our values and beliefs,

And to reach out to you in the forgotten and downtrodden.

All: Lord, hear us and keep us in your love.

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40 Days of Prayer and Reflection - Table Prayers For Lent

Blessing for the Family Meal

Bless us, Lord, and the food we are about to eat. May our love

for one another, and the food we share, strengthen us to

share your love with others. Amen.

Week Five—Lord of Healing

Blessed are you, Lord of Healing.

You remove the pain of separation and want,

And heal us of all our hurts.

Help us to be for others,

In our family and world,

The healing and hopeful presence

That Jesus is for us. Amen.

All: Lord, hear us and keep us in your love.

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40 Days of Prayer and Reflection - Table Prayers For Lent

Blessing for the Family Meal

Bless us, Lord, and the food we are about to eat. May our love

for one another, and the food we share, strengthen us to

share your love with others. Amen.

Week Four—Lord of Compassion

Blessed are you, Lord of Compassion.

You feel the pain of those in need

And take their suffering upon yourself.

Help us to identify more with those in need,

In our neighborhoods and throughout the world,

And to do our part to ease the burdens they bear.

All: Lord, hear us and keep us in your love.

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40 Days of Prayer and Reflection - Table Prayers For Lent

Blessing for the Family Meal

Bless us, Lord, and the food we are about to eat. May our love

for one another, and the food we share, strengthen us to

share your love with others. Amen.

Week Three—Lord of Hospitality

Blessed are you, Lord of Hospitality.

You welcome all with open arms.

No one is a stranger to your love and concern.

Remove the fear and hesitation that keep us

From moving beyond the known and comfortable.

Help us rejoice in the personal and cultural differences

That proclaim your multi-hued love.

Draw all people together in praise of the God who is One.

All: Lord, hear us and keep us in your love.

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40 Days of Prayer and Reflection - Table Prayers For Lent

Blessing for the Family Meal

Bless us, Lord, and the food we are about to eat. May our love

for one another, and the food we share, strengthen us to

share your love with others. Amen.

Week Two—Lord of Growth

Blessed are you, Lord of Growth

You grew up, like us, in a family

Where love and support were daily needs.

Help us to share the best of ourselves with our family,

To affirm each other’s growth and cherish each other’s gifts.

We ask this in the name of Jesus, our brother, Amen!

All: Lord, hear us and keep us in your love.

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40 Days of Prayer and Reflection - Table Prayers For Lent

Blessing for the Family Meal

Bless us, Lord, and the food we are about to eat. May our love

for one another, and the food we share, strengthen us to

share your love with others. Amen.

Week One—Lord of Life

Blessed are you, Lord of Life.

You take on our humanity and call us to be all we can.

Give us the courage we need to change our lives.

To live, like Jesus for others.

Help us grow daily in our commitment and caring.

All: Lord, hear us and keep us in your love.

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40 Days of Prayer and Reflection - Ash Wednesday Blessing of a Home Cross

Ash Wednesday Blessing of a Home Cross
Many families have a cross or crucifix which hangs on a wall in their home. On Ash Wednesday, the family can gather to bless this special Home Cross. Use this Cross during the days in Lent.


Place the Home Cross on a table.


Pray
We bless this cross this Ash Wednesday to remind
ourselves that we, as family members, are called to die to
our own wants and needs and to be of service to each
other. Let our kissing of this cross give us the courage to
be faithful to our Lenten Journey.


The Cross may be passed to each member to kiss.


On Good Friday place the cross in a position of prominence in the home as a visual reminder of Jesus’ great love for the people of our world.


Wondering What Ash Wednesday Is All About?

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Epiphany Blessing for Our Homes

One German tradition for the Christmas season is that of the childrens' festival between January 1-6 (Three Kings Day). After a Mass the children go from house to house to gather offerings for the poor. They are dressed as the three kings and carry sticks with stars on the top. At the homes they sing songs and recite messages of Christmas. At each house they paint a series of letters and numbers of blessing over the door frame that remain until the next year.

The blessing is as follows;


All gather outside at the main entrance to the home (inside if it's too cold!)

Leader: Peace be to this house.

All: And to all who live here.

Leader: Bless, O Lord,
this household and family,
and allow all of us who live in this home
to find in it a shelter of peace and health.
Inspire each of us to develop
our individual talents
and to contribute wisdom and good works
for the benefit of the whole family.
Make our house a haven for us all,
and a place of warmth and caring
for all our friends who come to visit us.
Enlighten us with the brilliance
of your Epiphany star,
so that, as we go into the world,
we might clearly see our way to You
and discover You in our work and play.
This we ask to your glory
and in the power of your kingship.

All: For yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory now and forever, Amen.

Bless the house with the sign of the cross.

After the blessing, the initials of the following Latin blessing are written over the main doorway in chalk (any color you like); Christus Mansionem Benedicat 'Christ bless this house' (The Initials also correspond to the traditional names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) The Finished blessing inscription would look like this: 20 + C + M + B + 11 (where the + is a cross and the "11" stands for 2011; change the year accordingly).

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Discovering God in Your Back to School Rush

It's happening in our home, I'm sure it's either happening now, or you can 'remember when' the big back to school rush sweeps in and takes over your life. If you're anything like Melissa and I you balk at even looking at the school supplies when they make their appearance that first week of August. Like ostriches with their heads in the sand, we duck our heads, avert our gaze and try to pretend that the summer is still as seemingly endless as it was when we were 8.

Time and the turning of the seasons are not so supportive our our desires though, and there comes a point when you can't deny any longer that one season is winding down while another is ramping up. That, and the fact that we're beginning to run out of ideas to keep the kids amused and to prevent them from driving us crazy! It all points toward a time for changes.

Still, how many of us are able to open our eyes and our hearts to see God at work even within the midst of our shopping for loose-leaf, rulers, another calculator, another brand-new backpack, pens, pencils, and the exact brand of pencil crayons that "all the other kids" are sure to have? Can God even be in the middle of this great and frenzied flurry of activity?

Father Paul Brian Campbell, SJ, over at his "People for Others" blog has shared a list from Denise Gorss detailing the ways God can be, and wants to be involved in our lives, even in the midst of our most hectic times. She does a wonderful job of tying the kinds of things we find ourselves doing as we prepare our families for the shift from summer schedules to fall, to the kinds of things that help us to deepen our relationship with God.

A few of my favorites;

1. Have your supplies ready.
With school, it’s backpacks, notebooks (spiral or computer kind), pencils, and crayons. For finding God, it might be a notebook for reflective journaling, a helpful Web site for theological information, or a favorite prayer book. We can meet God with nothing, but sometimes it helps to have a few guides on the journey.

2. Do your homework. We can get by in faith life with going to church once a week, but that’s the minimum in a relationship with God. For maximum understanding, we need to do some work between “classes”—daily prayer being the most important. A relationship with God also grows from time spent in learning more about our faith, whether in a formal parish setting, informal conversations with other people of faith, or private time in reading and conversation with God.

And my personal favorite for as long as I can remember;

5. Take a break for recess. Educators know that children need breaks in the day for their minds to work most fully when it is time to focus. Retreats are one adult version of recess, allowing us to step back from the everyday tasks and reflect on what’s most important. Even if you don’t have time or resources to go away on a retreat, there are ways to step away from the ordinary to get a fresh perspective.

You can find the entire 'to do' list here; 6 Back-To-School Lessons For Finding God
I hope the transition finds you well and perhaps you, as I do, will find God's presence brings you much needed peace within this flurry of activity. I leave you with two prayers of blessing for the start of the school year;

Blessed are you, Lord God,
creator of body, mind and heart;
you have sent the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge
to guide your people in all their ways.

At the beginning of this new school year,
we implore your mercy:
bless the students, teachers and the staff of our schools,
that together we may grow in faith, hope, and love
as we learn from you and each other
how to follow your Son Jesus.

Expand the horizons of our minds,
that we may grow in wisdom,
understanding and knowledge;
deepen our commitment to seek the truth of your ways;
and enliven our faith to reach out to those in need.

Glory and praise to you, Lord, God,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.

Amen.

or

God of wisdom and might,
we praise you for the wonders of our being,
for mind, body, and spirit.
Be with our children as they begin
a new school year.
Bless them and their teachers and staff.

Give them strength and grace as their bodies grow;
wisdom and knowledge to their minds
as they search for understanding;
and peace and zeal to their spirits.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.


Peace and God Bless

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