Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 12/23

My favorite verse in the song, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of humankind;
Bid all our sad divisions cease,
And be for us the King of Peace...

Let's pray...

You reign over all the nations, Lord:
lift our eyes from our self-destructive paths
to see as you do that there is one world,
one human family, one life given to each of us,
deserving of reverence and respect,
of care and compassion,
because that life is a gift from your hand...

Come and wrap my life in the reign of your love:
come and rule over my thoughts and desires,
rule over my dreams and schemes;
rule over my envy and jealousy,
my angry grudges and resentments;
come rule my heart
with your word, your truth,
your law and your justice...

Let your rule over me be the measure
of my compassion, my generosity,
my pardoning of others,
my mercy and my gentleness...

With princely power,
mend and make peaceful
all our sad divisions:
first in my family,
and then among colleagues at work,
classmates at school,
in my neighborhood,
and in my church...

And mend the sad divisions
I know within myself, Lord...

(If we can't mend divisions
within arm's reach, Lord,
how can we hope for peace
between nations?)

As a new born, Lord,
bring joy and peace to these last Advent days,
these days before Christmas
and to every season in the new year ahead...

Amen.  


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