SAINT JOHN OF CAPISTRANO, PRIEST (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. 

Lord, we want to see your face so that we can gaze on your goodness and holiness and reflect it to the people we encounter each day. And so, in the spirit of today’s readings, we offer you this prayer:

“Lord, we long to live in a manner worthy of the calling you have given us (Ephesians 4:1). We long to walk all our days in humility and gentleness. Let those virtues accompany us as we go about our daily tasks. May we humbly accept correction and, yes, even criticism that seems unwarranted. May we humbly prefer your plans for our day to our own so that we can live and move and have our being in you.

“Lord, we long to bear with each other patiently and in love (Ephesians 4:2). May we do so even when those ‘others’ are too loud, too slow, or too far off on another track. May we patiently wait for you to work miracles in their hearts and minds. May we patiently pray and care for them and assume the best even when we think we see the worst in them. Lord, they dwell on this earth too, so they are yours. Help us to see and believe today that you love all whom you have made.

“Lord, we long to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). You preach peace to those who are far off and those who are near (2:17). Help us to preach it today too, first and foremost by the witness of the peace that fills our hearts and minds. Move us to seek your peace continually, to pursue it, and to follow after it where we sense it.

“Lord, we are one body, a people who live in the hope of our call (Ephesians 4:4). We believe there is one Lord through whom we exist and through whom all things were created. It is you, Lord! You have called us into one faith and one baptism, to know and love and serve you. May we always live in the unity that exists among us, which overcomes all differences and divisions.”

“Lord, help us to be a people who always longs for you. ”

Psalm 24:1-6
Ephesians 4:1-6
Luke 12:54-59