Prayers of reparation and atonement

May 2010

Fifteen Minutes on Fridays

Friday 7 May: Fifth Friday of Easter

Gospel of the Day: John 15: 12-17

If appropriate, light a candle.

Reflecting on the Gospel
Read the whole Gospel if time permits. If not, you might like to focus on the following sentence:

'This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.

Either:
Reverse the last two phrases …
As you breathe in, silently pray ‘as I have loved you’ –
and as you breathe out, ‘so love one another’.
As you breathe and pray – imagine the love of Jesus filling you with the in-breath –
and, as you breathe out, feel that love flowing from you to those who have been hurt by abuse.

or
Reflect on the things Jesus said and did that spoke of his love
for his disciples and others he encountered in his earthly life.
Which comes particularly to mind?
Try to create the scene in your imagination –
what Jesus might have looked like –
what did the other person/ people look like before and after the encounter?
Where are you in the situation?
Could you, in your imagination, bring someone who has been abused to Jesus?
How might they react?
How might Jesus react?

Prayer
Jesus, you see into the depths of human hearts,
and your own heart bleeds for the pain and shame that would hide itself from you.
In your infinite love, bring wholeness and healing to hearts broken by the betrayal of trust;
break open hearts hardened to the sin they have committed;
and hear the prayers of humbled and contrite hearts seeking the love and forgiveness
that only comes through you.

| Group Prayer for 7 May |

| 7 May |14 May | 21 May | 28 May |

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