My Lord, here we are -in front of you -once more, at the beginning of this brand new year. You’ve helped us sofar. Help us again and again. Don’t give up on your children, don’t turn your back on them, not even when they turn their back on you, for it is in your arms theywill seek comfort in cold, lonely nights. Help us to overcome our weaknesses, fears and worries, and to become stronger in faith, hope and love.
Teach us to be humble and never to forget the goodthings you’ve done in our lives. Help us to become better persons, and show us how to bring your light to thistormented world. Keep us on the right path and guide our steps in accordance with your will.
You know the depth, the length and the width of our souls. You know the peaks and the abysses, the echoesand the tones of our being. You know how far we can go, how much we can achieve, how much we can bear. Helpus make the best of what you’ve given us. Help us reachour full potential for the glory of your Name and the well-being of our neighbours.
Search our hearts and bring your light into every dark corner of our being. Don’t let any spot of darkness remain in us, for it will only spread and grow like a disease. Plant good seeds, so that we can bear good fruit.
Bless us with your divine love. Wherever you find a wound, heal it. Wherever you find pain, soothe it. Wherever you find fear, turn it into courage. Wherever you find frustration, change it into acceptance. Wherever you find resentment, change it into forgiveness.
Turn our every thought into a silent prayer and our everydream into a garden of blessings. Turn every wrong intoright and every disappointment into an inner urge tocarry on and never give up.
Make this year a better year for all of us. Bless us withcountless blessings. Help us be how you want us to be. As pure as a dove, as strong as a lion, as humble as a lamb, as wise as a snake, and use all these gifts to make the world a sunnier place, even if only for one human being.
Give us the patience of Job, the devotion of the apostles, the mercy of Jesus, the strength of the saints, the passion of Mary Magdalene, the ardour of the early Christians.
Open our eyes and ears, so that we can learn from all things, great and small, how wonderful you are. Let usrejoice in the thought that you, our Creator, are with us atall times, that to you we surrender everything we’ve gotand everything we are until the last day of our lives.
Amen