Prayer for Navigating Uncharted Waters

Lord, your light is the light we need

as we travel through life’s mystery and challenges.
Yours is that still small voice that leads us
to the place where we need to go.
Your presence is the company we need
as we navigate the path before us.
May your love be our North Star, guiding us
when we have no map to follow.
We place our trust in you, O Lord,
and we place our trust in one another
as together we seek to go
where you want us to be.
Amen.

– Sister Margaret Palliser, OP

Prayer Before Surgery

Loving God, I entrust myself to your care today.

Grant that I may be restored to Health as I may continue to have
Faith and trust in You, Alone.

Guide the medical team with wisdom and compassion and bless their hands
To be instruments of your healing.

Your compassion and unconditionally love have brought be this far,
I ask you, Lord, “to hold me in the palm of your hands;”and be renewed health. Amen.


– Sister Margaret Theresa Oettinger, OP

Prayer for Children

Salish woman and grandchildren

One of my favorite pictures is that of a Native American Grandmother holding a small child tenderly in her lap. Her strong arms are around the child. Grandmother is a comforting presence; the child looks very content and secure.

Take a moment to recall the Jesus’ own words: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them!” [Mark 10: 14]

Jesus, as the mothers brought the children to you,
teach us how to lead the children to your lap.
Hold them tenderly.
Let them pour out their hearts and souls to you.
Bring them love, joy, laughter.
Free them from any kind of hurts.
Embrace them warmly.
Let them be in a holy communion with you.
Amen.

– Sister Dolores Shortal, OP (Dominican Sisters of Sparkill)

The God of Gentleness

Divine Gentleness 

   Descend upon us
That we may
   Encourage
   Rejoice
   Forgive, and
   Console one another
All the days of our lives.

– Sister Mary Murray, OP (Dominican Sisters of Sparkill)

Prayer for Peace

Good and gracious God,
May we hear and believe in Jesus’ words,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

May this promise of peace find a home in our hearts
and in the hearts of our sisters and brothers.
May this promise of peace be heard
by those who are poor, troubled, and anxious.
May it be heard by Earth herself.
May we treasure, embrace, and generously share
this gift of peace all the days of our lives.
Amen.

– Sister Eileen Gannon, OP

Prayer When I am Facing the Unknown

Every day we’re surrounded by challenges, Lord.
Some are easy to work through offering us opportunities to grow,
while others often seem beyond our limits.
Faced with a situation that could have a life-changing outcome,
we sometimes find ourselves feeling lost and alone.
Our minds are filled with “What Ifs” —
and we strain to see around the curve in the road in facing the UNKNOWN.

Help us to slow down, Lord, and live in the moment,
drawing on Your grace and the support of those around us.
Help us to realize that You are our greatest strength.
Let our prayer reflect our faith and trust in You.
Help us pray with open hands,
offering You our doubts and fears of what is unknown.
Bless us with the gift of resilience, believing we are never without hope.
Lord, you will forever be our guiding light. Amen.

– Sister Elizabeth Ehlers, OP (Dominican Sisters of Sparkill)

Stretch Us, O Lord

Merciful God,
These are stretching times.
Like a rubber band that expands to hold what is gathered in its circle,
we seem called to stretch ourselves beyond our normal limits:

We pray to stretch our vision to see beyond our own needs,
great as they may be at this time.
May we see more clearly the beauty
that surrounds us in all the marvelous creatures
—human, animal, and plant—
with whom we share Earth, our home.

We pray to stretch our heart space
to increase our capacity for compassion and respect
toward those from whom we would rather pull away.
May we open ourselves to those who are different from us
in their choices, values, and desires.

We pray to stretch our hearing
that we listen not only to those with whom we agree
but ever more carefully to those who disagree with us,
that we may learn from them what they hold dear.

We pray to stretch our voices to speak
on behalf of those, near and far,
who are silenced by tyranny, violence, or destitution.
We pray to expand our gratefulness
for all your creation, all of our family. Gather us in a circle of care
as we seek your grace in these stretching times.
Amen.

– Sister Aileen Donovan, OP (Dominican Sisters of Sparkill)