On the Solemnity of Pentecost we bring the true yearnings of our hearts to the Holy Spirit. We ask for everything. Nothing is left uncared for or neglected in prayer. I write this litany and ask you to add to this sacred prayer the needs of your life and your perspective on the world. Next week we will be able to pray our prayers together.

Response: Ancient Spirit of God, refresh and renew us!

For people recently baptized and confirmed in faith…

For people who have left faith communities…

For people who no longer trust the Church…

For people who have been marginalized by faith communities…

For people who serve our faith communities…

For people longing for deep and lasting faith…

For people who feel unworthy of this earth because of self-loathing…

For people chained by mental illness and thoughts of suicide…

For people emotionally and sexually abused by families and clergy…

For people sentenced to prison because of mental illness…

For people ignored by society because of diseases of the mind…

For people living in shells of isolation and loneliness…

For people surviving multiple addictions…

For people existing under bridges and abandoned buildings…

For people who will never find adequate employment because of addictions…

For people relapsing this day…

For people holding on to recovery by only a breath…

For people who support and walk with wounded addicts…

For people who struggle to find heartfelt peace…

For people lost in war and national violence…

For people searching for survival in a foreign land…

For people grieving veterans and loss of dreams…

For people charged to bring peace among nations…

For people living among gunfire and insecurity…

For people living with chronic pain…

For people existing in fear because of undiagnosed diseases…

For people without adequate healthcare…

For people fearing loss because of illness…

For people longing for genuine healing in mind and body…

For people who care for our ill…

For people who have lost spirit and joy…

For people in transitions because of job loss…

For people who feel trapped in relationships…

For people who have lost family support…

For people needing to rebuild their lives because of storms and floods…

For people grieving family members and loved ones…

For people locked in past regrets…

For people fearful about death…

For people crippled by hoarding of relationships and wealth…

For people who long for a happy death…

For people who trust the Holy Spirit…

Response: “Bless us, O God”

This blessing takes place on the First Sunday of Advent at the 10:00am Mass. Father Ron welcomes people at the beginning of the liturgy and then invites everyone into the lobby of the building. Father Ron will invite everyone to silence then he will sing the litany.

For the homeless, seeking shelter, we pray…
For the forgotten, believing in companionship, we pray…
For the mentally ill, longing to be understood, we pray…
For the abused, hoping for a safe environment, we pray…
For the angry, expressing trust in community, we pray…
For the hungry, knowing God satisfies, we pray…
For the suffering, struggling to find compassion, we pray …
For the dirty, searching for acceptance, we pray …

For the new born and catechumens, walking toward the waters of baptism, we pray…
For the hungry of heart, desiring Holy Eucharist, we pray…
For the restless, hearing God in Scripture, we pray…
For the weak, discovering the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, we pray…
For the ill, touching God’s strength in Anointing of the Sick, we pray…
For the sinful, believing in the power of reconciliation, we pray….
For the lost, finding their place at God’s table, we pray…
For the marginalized, resting in a new home of peace…
For those asking for marriage, believing in God’s covenant, we pray…
For the dead, entering the doors for the last time, we pray…

For all the staff, volunteers and parish community entering the doors in faith and service, we pray…
For people afraid to enter…
For those peering into our windows…
For those urinating on our doors….
For those selling drugs at our doors…
For those prostituting themselves…
For those we ignore…
For those we can not help or console…
For those who sleep at our doors…
For those entrusted to God alone…

And for all God’s people…
And for all God’s people…
And for all God’s people…

(After the litany is sung, the presider will sum up the prayer with the collect.)

Let us pray:

God of our longing and source of life,
In these Advent days,
We wait to be awakened to your presence among us.

Help us welcome the lost and faithful.
Give us courage to hear the voices of fear.
Welcome the hungry to your table.

Bless these doors of entrance to our community.
May these doors remind us of our journey to the gates of heaven.
May these doors teach us how to welcome the lost on earth.

Bless these doors and open your salvation to your people.
We ask blessings in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen

(The presider will then bless the doors with holy water. After that gesture of prayer Father Ron will invite everyone to go back into the chapel to begin the opening hymn. The presider goes to the back of the center aisle and processes as the usual start of Mass.)