Copy and paste into worship material

Liturgy: Intercession

 

Let us pray

We seek the grace to cast away the darkness:
To say we are sorry for what wrong we have done
And for what right we could have done but did not.
Let us now in all humility put on the vest of light
To wear for the difficult actions of the daily journey,
So that, if the day ever came,
We could give a good account
Of what we intended to do
And what we did do.

O God:
Make us watchful, and make us faithful,
That we may not sleep through our concerns,
But be active and aware,
And able to become joyful
In the service of others and ourselves.

There is the race before us,
Which we have little choice but to run.
We find that our feet and legs drag,
In what seems to be a weight upon them,
As we tackle what comes before us.
In running this race,
Let us pause to see what precisely drags us back:
And here in this place loosen them off,
To move more speedily
In our relations with one another -
And within ourselves.

So prepare the way ahead:
Asking ourselves and those around us
To help clear the paths that they and we pursue,
So that we who walk and run the journey
Can, in hope, say that it fulfilled
What we did and who we can be.

Let us be glad
When the journey brings the lightest day:
The morning star arises in our hearts,
And the whole day dawns;
The radiance arrives and floods upon us
In a revelation of truths
That can even more generate sweet silence;
And all this brings us to a new birth,
Confirming our faith in our worth,
Confirming the insight of our minds,
Confirming the journey on which we are set,
And on which we continue to humbly move.

 

That which sees the opened heart
Where all desires are known
And no secrets can be hidden
Bring these around!
Correct, cleanse and put right,
So that we may perfectly love
And live with integrity and in harmony with all.

We have done wrong
Against our friends, our neighbours and our enemies
By thought, in speech and through actions:
Because we are weak;
Because we lack self-vigilance;
And because we are wilfully negative. [slight pause]
This is the sacred moment to say sorry;
This is the point, here in this setting, to begin again:
To then move on with a positive intent,
Treating those we meet as we would wish to be treated,
To thus live with integrity and in harmony with all.

Thus, with mercy and in peace,
We do turn around and begin again,
To pursue the good
In all our dealings.
Amen.