The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

            candle, Bible

 

            City of God (Schutte)

            Come to Me (Weston Priory)

            Come to the Water (Foley)

            I Have Loved You (Joncas)

            Isaiah 49 (Landry)

            O Healing Light of Christ (Landry)

            Healing River of the Spirit (Beach Spring)

            Precious Lord (Dorsey)

            Holy Darkness (Schutte)

            On Eagle’s Wings (Joncas)

            Peace Is Flowing Like a River (Landry)

            Shelter Me, O God (Hurd)

            The Cry of the Poor (Foley)

            You Are Mine (Haas)

           

Jesus, giver of life and hope, you knew the love of a human family and the warm companionship of your disciples; and though few of them remained with you at Calvary, you found even there the support of your friend and your mother and of unnamed women. We pray that those today who live with HIV and AIDS may also be blessed with tender and loving companions, who will give them practical help in their times of need and offer them hope in their times of darkness. May they find in us too an unseen source of strength as they and we are held together in your love.      

From: http://www.dioceseofprovidence.org/serving_one_another Used with permission.

 

            Antiphon:   God is my rock and my fortress.

 

            In you, Yahweh, I take shelter;

            never let me be disgraced.

            In your righteousness deliver me, rescue me,

            turn your ear to me, make haste!

            Be a sheltering rock for me,

            a walled fortress to save me!

 

            For you are my rock, my fortress;

            for the sake of your name, guide me, lead me!

            Pull me out of the net they have spread for me,

            for you are my refuge;

            into your hands I commit my spirit,

            you have redeemed me, Yahweh.

 

            God of truth, you hate those who serve worthless idols;

            but I put my trust in you:

            I will exult and rejoice in your love!

            You, who have seen my wretchedness

            and known the miseries of my soul,

            have not handed me over to the enemy.

            You have given my feet space to spare.

 

            Take pity on me, Yahweh,

            I am in trouble now.

            Grief wastes away my eye,

            my throat, my inmost parts.

 

            For my life is worn out with sorrow,

            my years with sighs;

            my strength yields under misery,

            my bones are wasting away.

 

            To every one of my oppressors

            I am contemptible,

            loathsome to my neighbors,

            to my friends a thing of fear.

 

            Those who see me in the street hurry past me;

            I am forgotten,

            as good as dead in their hearts,

            something discarded.

 

            I hear their endless slanders,

            threats from every quarter,

            as they combine against me,

            plotting to take my life.

 

            But I put my trust in you, Yahweh,

            I say, “You are my God.”

            My days are in your hand,

            rescue me from the hands of my enemies and persecutors.

 

            Let your face smile on your servant,

            save me in your love.

 

            I invoke you, Yahweh;

            do not let me be disgraced,

            let the disgrace fall on the wicked!

            May they go speechless to Sheol,

            their lying lips struck dumb

            for those insolent slurs on the virtuous,

            for that arrogance and contempt.

 

            Yahweh, how great is the goodness

            reserved for those who fear you,

            bestowed on those who take shelter in you,

            for all to see!

 

            Safe in your presence you hide them

            far from the wiles of humanity;

            inside your tent you shelter them

            far from the war of tongues!

 

            Blessed be Yahweh, who performs

            marvels of love for me

            in a fortress-city!

           

            In my alarm I exclaimed,

            “I have been snatched out of your sight!”

            Yet you heard my petition

            when I called to you for help.

 

            Love Yahweh, all you devout;

            Yahweh, protector of the faithful,

            will repay the arrogant with interest.

            Be strong, let your heart be bold,

            all you who hope in Yahweh!

                       

            Glory . . .

 

 

           

            Jeremiah 8:18—9:1

            Matthew 8:14-17

            2 Corinthians 4:16-18

            James 5:14-16

 

            Blessed be our God who hears our cries and heals broken hearts.

 

            For all those who live with the effects of HIV/AIDS, we pray . . .

 

            For all those who wait to die because they have no access to medication, we pray . . .

           

            For the children who received HIV as a legacy from their parents, we pray . . .

           

            For orphans and families who have lost loved ones, we pray . . .

 

            For those who are stigmatized and ignored because they have AIDS, we pray . . .

 

For researchers and scientists who work tirelessly to find a cure, we pray . . .

 

For healthcare workers and caregivers who comfort and encourage, we pray . . .

 

For all who have lost hope because of AIDS, we pray . . .

 

For those who have died with AIDS and all those who mourn their passing, we pray . . .

 

 

 

            God of all compassion,

            comfort your sons and daughters

            who live with AIDS.

            Spread over us all your quilt of mercy, love, and peace.

 

            Open our eyes to your presence

            reflected in their faces.

            Open our ears to your truth echoing in their hearts.

 

            God of life, help us find the cure now

            and help us build a world in which no one dies alone

and where everyone lives accepted, wanted, and loved.

 

In solidarity with people living with HIV and AIDS throughout the world,

with our missionaries who minister to them

and in Jesus’ name, we make this prayer.