Adult / Couple
Pray!
Prayer for this New Year of 2016
Lord, You who live outside of time,
and reside in the imperishable moment,
we ask your blessing on the New Year
and upon your gift of time.
Bless our calendars,
these ordered lists of days, weeks and months,
of holidays, holydays, fasts and feasts -
all our special days of remembering.
May these servants, our calendars,
once reserved for the royal few,
for magi and pyramid priests,
now grace our homes and our lives.
May they remind us of birthdays and other gift-days,
as they teach us the secret
that all of life
is meant for celebration
and contemplation.
Bless, Lord, this New Year,
each of its 366 days and nights.
Bless us with full moons and new moons.
Bless us with happy seasons and a long life.
Grant to us, Lord,
the New Year's gift
of a year of love. AMEN.
(Adapted from Ed Hayes - Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim)
Lord, You who live outside of time,
and reside in the imperishable moment,
we ask your blessing on the New Year
and upon your gift of time.
Bless our calendars,
these ordered lists of days, weeks and months,
of holidays, holydays, fasts and feasts -
all our special days of remembering.
May these servants, our calendars,
once reserved for the royal few,
for magi and pyramid priests,
now grace our homes and our lives.
May they remind us of birthdays and other gift-days,
as they teach us the secret
that all of life
is meant for celebration
and contemplation.
Bless, Lord, this New Year,
each of its 366 days and nights.
Bless us with full moons and new moons.
Bless us with happy seasons and a long life.
Grant to us, Lord,
the New Year's gift
of a year of love. AMEN.
(Adapted from Ed Hayes - Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim)
Learn!
Here are some New Year's Resolutions that might be new to you and are worth considering.
1. I will live in the present moment. I will not obsess about the past or worry about the future.
2. I will cultivate the art of making connections. I will pay attention to how my life is intimately related to all life on the planet.
3 I will be thankful for all the blessings in my life. I will spell out my days with a grammar of gratitude.
4. I will practice hospitality in a world where too often strangers are feared, enemies are hated, and the "other" shunned. I will welcome guests and alien ideas with graciousness.
5. I will seek liberty and justice for all. I will work for a free and fair world.
6. I will add to the planet's fund of good will by practicing little acts of kindness, brief words of encouragement, and manifold expressions of courtesy.
7. I will cultivate the skill of deep listening. I will remember that all things in the world want to be heard, as do the many voices inside me.
8. I will practice reverence for life by seeing the sacred in, with, and under all things in the world.
9. I will giv up trying to hide, deny, or escape from my own imperfections. I will listen to what my shadow side has to say to me.
10. I will be willing to learn from the spiritual teachers all around me, however unlikely or unlike me they may be.
by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
1. I will live in the present moment. I will not obsess about the past or worry about the future.
2. I will cultivate the art of making connections. I will pay attention to how my life is intimately related to all life on the planet.
3 I will be thankful for all the blessings in my life. I will spell out my days with a grammar of gratitude.
4. I will practice hospitality in a world where too often strangers are feared, enemies are hated, and the "other" shunned. I will welcome guests and alien ideas with graciousness.
5. I will seek liberty and justice for all. I will work for a free and fair world.
6. I will add to the planet's fund of good will by practicing little acts of kindness, brief words of encouragement, and manifold expressions of courtesy.
7. I will cultivate the skill of deep listening. I will remember that all things in the world want to be heard, as do the many voices inside me.
8. I will practice reverence for life by seeing the sacred in, with, and under all things in the world.
9. I will giv up trying to hide, deny, or escape from my own imperfections. I will listen to what my shadow side has to say to me.
10. I will be willing to learn from the spiritual teachers all around me, however unlikely or unlike me they may be.
by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Do!
Home blessing at New Year/Epiphany
If you have not already done so, ask God to bless your home throughout this next year.
Use the following prayer:
All gather at the front door of the house.
The prayer begins with the sign of the cross:
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
With chalk one (or more) person writes the numerals of the year and the initials of the three
Magi along the lintel of the door way to read:
20 B+C+M 16
All then pray together:
O Lord, bless our home this year
with health and goodness of heart,
with gentleness and joy.
Give us patience, forgiveness and healing.
As the Magi welcomed Jesus,
the true light of the world,
so may we recognize him in every guest
and especially in those who are in need.
May all who pass through this door
arrive and depart in peace.
Lead us to Christ,
your eternal gift to us,
who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
Use the following prayer:
All gather at the front door of the house.
The prayer begins with the sign of the cross:
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
With chalk one (or more) person writes the numerals of the year and the initials of the three
Magi along the lintel of the door way to read:
20 B+C+M 16
All then pray together:
O Lord, bless our home this year
with health and goodness of heart,
with gentleness and joy.
Give us patience, forgiveness and healing.
As the Magi welcomed Jesus,
the true light of the world,
so may we recognize him in every guest
and especially in those who are in need.
May all who pass through this door
arrive and depart in peace.
Lead us to Christ,
your eternal gift to us,
who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.