Holy God, please unite me with the good Shepherd who is loving, wise, faithful and vigilant. Make creative use of the person I am and through grace may become. Where I cannot achieve what is required, please supply what is needful. Use me as a human witness of Your living gospel to others. Let Your kingdom of the Spirit come among the souls You entrust to me.
As I love and serve You, and as I minister to Your people, I bring them truths divergent from this world’s logic, so allow Your Holy Spirit to convey Your gospel to them through me. Lead me to best use of modes of communication to convey Your love and truth. Be manifest in my cheerful personality, my devotion and prayer, my wise instructions, my writing, my conversation, through my body language in its subtleties, so that others are always drawn to You through me.
In my strengths and limitations, minister to others through me. Do not let my failures discourage me, for there is much to be done between sowing and reaping, and the harvest depends upon Your nurture. Your warmth and rain blesses my labour and its fruits may manifest only in Heaven!
With each experience and observation, make me a more sensitive instrument of Your love. Left to myself, I can err in countless ways, and even harm, or alienate another person from You.
To those You entrust to my witness, please give growing awareness of the ceaseless operation of Your grace. Let them realise that their lives are held continually in Your love. Give them faith that You can heal, purify and make whole (sanctify) each willing person, however ‘lowly’, in the ordinary human realities of life.
Give trust and fidelity to anyone willing to assist me with prayer and support…I ask the intercession of our sisters and brothers in Heaven, and the holy Angels, guardians of humankind! Do not forget us whom God loves and creates for Himself. He seeks to lead us into communion with you also…So profoundly love and cherish us—in guidance, intercession and blessing—that the tide of God in our lives ever swells with your tremendous reservoir of merit and grace, and above all, with the merit of our Redeemer.
Jesus, grant us the graces of Your kingdom brought to reign amongst us! Let Your name be glorified and Your will be completed in us! Meet our spiritual and temporal needs, personal and communal. Forgive us our offences as we forgive others, by giving us Your forgiveness and compassion for each other. Protect us from sin and danger so that we shine as Your living word to all people. This I ask of You in praise and thanksgiving, Jesus, good Shepherd, whose witness I am.
