Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”

At 7 in the morning we members of the Abbey gather for prayer. The half-hour service consists of a hymn, Psalms and listening to Scripture. Of the four times a day we meet for prayer, morning, forgive me, is my favorite. I love mornings. Towards the end of this prayer, we have a litany, about seven or eight prayers of intercession. One morning recently we had prayers very similar to these (below) which I think many of us would find a helpful model when we pray from grateful hearts. The response that morning was: "We thank you, O Lord."

For your presence in our midst.

For your never-ending and generous mercy.

For the beauty and bounty of all creation.

 For the diversity of the human family.

 For Pope Francis as he pleads for more generosity to the hopes of migrants and refugees.

 For love between friends and neighbors.

 For the gifts of forgiveness and reconciliation.

 For Pope Francis as he urges on us the hope of the Gospel to drive away the gloom of our world.

 For the wisdom of our elders.

 For the lives and love of all who have died.

And each of us, of course, can add our more personal reasons for Thanksgiving. For example: For the medical people who treat my brother’s cancer; or, for the patience and gentleness of the teachers in elementary school. -- For all this, we thank you, O Lord!

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

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