Night Blessing

(Night time is beautiful; a bedtime prayer for children)


The moon and stars dance overhead
To let us know it’s time for bed.
Night holds us in a safe embrace,
So we may rest in this soft place.

Thank you, dear God, for this past day
With time to learn and time to play.
Thank you for friends, and family too,
God bless them all, and bless us too!

God, guide our dreams, for your love’s sake,
Bless all with peace until we wake.
Jesus, stay near, with angels bright,
And guard us through this blessed Night.



-- Leslie Scoopmire, written August 4, 2023. This was first published at Episcopal Journal and Cafe's Speaking to the Soul on August 10, 2023.

This was written when I searched for hours and could not find prayers that did not need adaptation because they mentioned death, and/or only imagined children living in a two-parent household, and/or used exclusive masculine terms for God. It is also meant to reassure kids that the night is not frightening.

Blessing of the Magi

There is no reversing
this road.
The path that bore you here
goes in one direction only,
every step drawing you
down a way
by which you will not
return.

You thought arrival
was everything,
that your entire journey
ended with kneeling
in the place
you had spent all
to find.

When you laid down
your gift,
release came with such ease,
your treasure tumbling
from your hands
in awe and
benediction.

Now the knowledge
of your leaving
comes like a stone laid
over your heart,
the Family.liar path closed
and not even the solace
of a star
to guide your way.

You will set out in fear.
You will set out in dream.

But you will set out

by that other road
that lies in shadow
and dark.

We cannot show you
what route will
take you home;
that way is yours
and will be found
in the walking.

But we tell you,
you will wonder
at how the light you thought
you had left behind
goes with you,
spilling from
your empty hands,
shimmering beneath
your homeward feet,
illuminating the road
with every step
you take.


-- Jan Richardson (1967- ) American Methodist artist, poet, and theologian, from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

Once Blessed

So that I stopped
there
and looked
into the waters
seeing not only
my reflected face
but the great sky
that framed
my lonely figure
and after a moment
I lifted my hands
and then my eyes
and I allowed myself
to be astonished
by the great
everywhere
calling to me
like an old
and unspoken
invitation,
made new
by the sun
and the spring,
and the cloud
and the light,
like something
both
calling to me
and radiating
from where I stood,
as if I could
understand
everything
I had been given
and everything ever
taken from me,
as if I could be
everything I have ever
learned
and everything
I could ever know,
as if I knew
both the way I had come
and, secretly,
the way
underneath
I was still
promised to go,
brought together,
like this, with the
unyielding ground
and the symmetry
of the moving sky,
caught in still waters.

Someone I have been,
and someone
I am just,
about to become,
something I am
and will be forever,
the sheer generosity
of being loved
through loving:
the miracle reflection
of a twice blessed life.

-- David Whyte (1955- ), Anglo Irish poet and philosopher, from The Bell and the Blackbird, 2019.

Suburban Prayer

Grant us for grace
oppositions, stimyings
sand in our pet gears
a bubble in the cozy blood

Crowd our real estate
with the rag tag real, the world.
Marry us off, lonely girls
to Harlem and Asia. This Lent
celebrate in the haunted house, the world.

--Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016), American Jesuit priest, activist, dissenter, pacifist, and poet, from And the Risen Bread: Selected Poems, 1957–1997 (1998).

Blessing for a Pregnant Woman

The following may be used either privately or at a public service.

 

O Lord and giver of life, receive our prayer for N. and for the child she has conceived, that they may happily come to the time of birth, and serving you in all things may rejoice in your loving providence. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

 

When appropriate, any or all of the following may be added:

Blessed are you, Lord God. You have blessed the union of N. and N. Amen.

Blessed are you, Lord God. May your blessing be upon N. and the child she carries. Amen. 

 

Blessed are you, Lord God. May this time of pregnancy be for N. and N. months of drawing nearer to you and to one another. Amen. 

 

Blessed are you, Lord God. May N. and N.’s experience of birth be full of awe and wonder and the joy of sharing in your creation. Amen. 

 

Blessed are you, Lord God. Let the fullness of your blessing be upon those whom we bless in your Name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. 

 

-- From the Book of Occasional Services, 2018, pp 139-140

Blessing for a Child

May God protect you from every danger that you face.
May God give you the strength and courage to take failure, not as a measure of your worth, but as a chance for a new start.
May you care for the body that God has given you and thus be filled with health and wholeness.
May prosperity come your way, so that you are free from worry about food and drink, about home and shelter, but
may you never be so caught up in material things that you forget that the essence of life lies not in possessions or money but in love, and in God.
May you find the joy that is ever present in God's creation.
May you find fulfillment in whatever you choose to do.
May you use your talents to serve in the way that God intends you to, helping your fellow humans and walking in the light of God.
May you fully love and may you be fully loved.
May your happiness be unmarred by evil, spite, or maliciousness, either your own or someone else’s.
May your path be one of goodness -- leading to changes for the better in the lives of others.
May you be a source of light and inspiration to your family and friends, and maybe the same to you.
May God fill you with wisdom and grace, with virtue and knowledge, with patience and action, and with understanding and love.
May you be forever comforted by a strong and enduring faith in God, who created you and who sustains your life.


--Ms Elizabeth K. Camp, in Elizabeth Rankin Geitz, et al, eds, Women's Uncommon Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing), 2000

The Love and Affection of the Angels

The love and affection of the angels be to you, 
The love and affection of the saints be to you, 
The love and affection of heaven be to you, 
To guard you and to cherish you.

-- From the Carmina Gadelica III, collected by Alexander Carmichael and his family from the Outer Hebrides and the Scots Highlands

Blessing (Be each saint in heaven)

Be each saint in heaven,
Each sainted woman in heaven,
Each angel in heaven
Stretching their arms for you,
Smoothing the way for you,
When you go thither
Over the river hard to see;
Oh when you go thither home
Over the river hard to see. 

-- from the Carmina Gadelica III

Monday Prayers (For Beginnings)

At every beginning
bless our dreaming
and our doing.

This day (week, month, year) lies before us,
full of the mundane and the miraculous,
the known and the unknown.

Be the breath we take before each step.
Be the source from which we draw strength.
Be the end toward which we direct our hope.

Open our eyes to all that is around us.
Open our ears to the song the soul yearns to sing.
Open our hearts to the love that lives through us,
Open our hands to the task the moment requires.

Let us do the one thing,
the thing before us,
as if all creation
and out very life
depend upon it,

as if You are bent over,
watching and listening
and willing us
to do it well.

--Carla A. Grosch-Miller,  from Psalms Redux: Poems and Prayers, 2017

The Protecting God

Lord, be with us this day,
Within us to purify us;
Above us to draw us up;
Beneath us to sustain us;
Before us to lead us;
Behind us to restrain us;
Around us to protect us.

--St. Patrick, from A Celtic Psaltery, 2001, compiled by David Adam

The Journey Prayer

God, bless to me this day,
God bless to me this night;
Bless, O bless, Thou God of grace,
Each day and hour of my life;
   Bless, O bless, Thou God of grace,
   Each day and hour of my life.

God, bless the pathway on which I go;
God, bless the earth that is beneath my sole;
Bless, O God, and give to me Thy love,
O God of gods, bless my rest and my repose;
   Bless, O God, and give to me Thy love,
   And bless, O God of gods, my repose.

-- St. Brendan the Voyager (484-577) Irish monk, whose feast day is May 16.

Blessing of the Hands

Blessed be the works of your hands, O Holy One.
Blessed be these hands that have touched life.
Blessed be these hands that have nurtured creativity.
Blessed be these hands that have held pain.
Blessed be these hands that have embraced with passion.
Blessed be these hands that have tended gardens. 
Blessed be these hands that have closed in anger.
Blessed be these hands that have planted new seeds.
Blessed be these hands that have harvested ripe fields.
Blessed be these hands that have cleaned, washed, mopped, scrubbed.
Blessed be these hands that have become knotty with age.
Blessed be these hands that are wrinkled and scarred from doing justice.
Blessed be these hands that have reached out and been received.
Blessed be these hands that hold the promise of the future.
Blessed be the works of your hands, O Holy One.

-Diann Neu, from the book Earth Prayers

Beltane Blessing

Bless, O Threefold true and bountiful,
Myself, my spouse, and my children,
My tender children and their beloved mother at their head.
On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling,
On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling.

Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,
All kine and crops, all flocks and corn,
From Hallow Eve to Beltane Eve,
With goodly progress and gentle blessing,
From sea to sea, and every river mouth,
From wave to wave, arid base of waterfall.

Be the Three Persons taking possession of all to me belonging,
Be the sure Trinity protecting me in truth;
Oh! satisfy my soul in the words of Paul,
And shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory,
Shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory.

Bless everything and every one,
Of this little household by my side;
Place the cross of Christ on us with the power of love,
Till we see the land of joy,
Till we see the land of joy.

What time the kine shall forsake the stalls,
What time the sheep shall forsake the folds,
What time the goats shall ascend to the mount of mist,
May the tending of the Triune follow them,
May the tending of the Triune follow them.

Thou being who didst create me at the beginning,
Listen and attend me as I bend the knee to Thee,
Morning and evening as is becoming in me,
In Thine own presence, O God of life,
In Thine own presence, O God of life.

-- anonymous, collected by Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912), folklorist among the Scots, and published in Carmina Gadelica (Hymns of the Gael) I.

Beltane was a holiday observed on May 1.

Epiphany blessing

“He is my chosen one, and I am pleased with him.

I have put my Spirit upon him.

He will reveal justice to the nations.” Isaiah 42:1

May the path
that Christ walks
to bring justice
upon the earth,
to bring light
to those who sit
in darkness,
to bring out those
who live in bondage,
to bring new things
to all creation:
may this path
run through our life.
May we be
the road Christ takes.

-- Jan Richardson (1947- ), American Methodist poets, writer, teacher, and artist, from The Painted Prayerbook. 

Epiphany House Blessing- "Chalking the Doors" (Episcopal)

Celebrant   Peace be to this house, and to all who dwell in it.

Antiphon
The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
     for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
     the Almighty has done great things for me,
     and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
     in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
     he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
     and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
     and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
     for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
     to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
     as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Antiphon
The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

Celebrant     The Lord be with you.
People          And also with you.
Celebrant     Let us pray.

Collect
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Blessing of the Chalk
V: Our help is in the name of the Lord
R: The maker of heaven and earth.
V: The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in:
R: From this time forth for evermore.
V. The Lord be with you.
R: And also with you.
V: Let us pray.

Celebrant
Loving God, bless this chalk which you have created,  that it may be helpful to your people; and grant that through the invocation of your most Holy Name all who use it in faith to write upon the doors of their homes the names of your saints, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, may receive health of body and protection of soul for all who dwell in or visit their home; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The lintel of the door is then chalked as follows:

20 + C + M + B + 19

Celebrant
The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God's Son who became human two thousand and eighteen years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.

The Celebrant then says this prayer
Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live here with the gift of your love; and grant that they may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives they touch. May they grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen them; and preserve them in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and for ever. Amen.

The Celebrant then says this blessing
May God the Father, who by Baptism adopts us as his children, grant you grace. Amen.
May God the Son, who sanctified a home at Nazareth, fill you with love. Amen.
May God the Holy Spirit, who has made the Church one family, keep you in peace. Amen.

And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you forever. Amen.

The Peace may then be exchanged.

-- from the Book of Occasional Services, 2003, pp. 47-50, with additional material from https://www.azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3163149

Epiphany House Blessing (non-Episcopal)

Gather at the door of the house or church building.

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.

Then, bless the house with the sign of the cross.

After the blessing, the initials of the Magi (traditional names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) are written with chalk over the main door way of the house, like this: 20 + C + M + B + 19 (the + is a cross; the "19" stands for 2019; change the year accordingly).


--Adapted from commonly used parish prayer

The Year As A House: A Blessing

Think of the year
as a house:
door flung wide
in welcome,
threshold swept
and waiting,
a graced spaciousness
opening and offering itself
to you.

Let it be blessed
in every room.
Let it be hallowed
in every corner.
Let every nook
be a refuge
and every object set
to holy use.

Let it be here
that safety will rest.
Let it be here
that health will make its home.
Let it be here
that peace will show its face.
Let it be here
that love will find its way.

Here
let the weary come
let the aching come
let the lost come
let the sorrowing come.

Here
let them find their rest
and let them find their soothing
and let them find their place
and let them find their delight.

And may it be
in this house of a year
that the seasons will spin in beauty,
and may it be
in these turning days
that time will spiral with joy.
And may it be
that its rooms will fill
with ordinary grace
and light spill from every window
to welcome the stranger home.

—Jan Richardson (1947- ), American Methodist poet, writer, artist, and liturgist, from the Painted Prayerbook

Image: Fr. John Giuliani, the Magi (Chiefs from the East)

Christmas Affirmation

Let the love that shaped earth and heaven
dwell within us this Christmas.

Let the love that created humanity
dwell within us this Christmas.

Let the love that overcomes suffering and hatred
dwell within us this Christmas.

Let the love that causes us to rejoice with loved ones
dwell within us this Christmas.

Let the love that forgives and renews
dwell within us this Christmas.

Let the love that brings reconciliation after separation
dwell within us this Christmas.

Let the love that brings the blessing of peace
dwell within us this Christmas.

And may we share that peace
with all people near and far.

Amen.

from Prayers for Christmas, posted on the Christian Aid website

Send us anywhere you would have us go

Holy God,
Send us anywhere you would have us go,
only go there with us.
Place upon us any burden you desire,
only stand by us to sustain us.
Break any tie that binds us,
except the tie that binds us to you.

And the blessing of God Almighty,
Creating, Redeeming and Sustaining, be with you — 
those you love, serve and challenge —
this day and forever.

Amen.

Depart now in peace

Depart now in peace

and as you go, remember
by the goodness of God you were born into this world,
by the grace of God you have been kept all the day long
     even unto this hour,
and by the love of God revealed in the face of Jesus, you are being redeemed.

The Blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son & Holy Spirit
be with you and remain with you all you days.
Amen 

--The Rev. Dr. John Claypool