Prayers for the week 29 January – 2 February 2018 The prayers this week are inspired by Mother Teresa, known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. She was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje (now the capital of the Republic of Macedonia). She was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She lived in India for most of her life and died on 5 September 1997. In 1950 Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation which has over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. The congregation manages homes for people dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; it runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics and family-counselling programmes, orphanages, and schools. The sisters run a local hostel on Seel St in Liverpool. Mother Teresa was canonised (made a Saint of the Church) on 4 September 2016.

Monday 29 January Lord God We live in an age when hasty, ill-informed and often damaging judgements are all too easy to make about others. Help us to understand that judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who we are. Our values of gentleness, dignity and companionship sit uneasily with harsh judgements. Allow us to treat the perceived shortcomings of others with love and respect: and may we always remember that the faults that we are quick to criticise in others , are often the ones that we most frequently exhibit ourselves. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord Amen

Tuesday 30 January

Wednesday 31 January Lord God Charity begins at home so we give thanks for the work that we are able to do for the homeless people in our own community. May we never tire of seeking out the sick, the suffering and the lonely and giving them the gift of our practical support and our prayers. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord Amen

Thursday 1 February

Friday 2 February Lord God Help us to understand that this simple statement contains a deep truth. That peace within ourselves begins with an ability to like the person that we are. When we have developed an inner peace, allow us to be generous in sharing the gift of peace with others: and let us never underestimate the power of a smile. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord Amen

Afternoon Prayer and Reflection Lord Thank you for the morning, for watching over me and walking with me. May I find joy and understanding this afternoon, in all I do. Grant me the zest and the strength I need to work for you until nightfall. Amen Let us pause for a few moments in silence and remember those family members and friends who need our prayers and support today………… Let us say together the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen May the Lord bless us and keep us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen