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5 (PROPER 1)

      Matthew 5:13–20

      Let us pray to the Lord who has called us to be faithful in his service.

      Give to the Church power to proclaim your great works and to shine as a light that will draw all people to love and honour your name … May your people never lose by sin or negligence the holiness which is given to all who trust in you and seek to do your work.

      As people seek their own ways and turn away from obedience, bring them to know that the Law of God is strong and does not change as human fashions change … Give courage to any who have gifts which they do not know, or which they have failed to use, and lead them into the light of the divine purpose fulfilled.

      Bless those who do the work of God in our community, who tend the sick in mind or body and bring aid to the infirm … May they have strength to continue, and may they be an example, that others shall follow in the paths of mercy.

      Look with compassion on all who have lost the assurance of faith and purpose in life which they once had … May they know that they are not cast out from your love but may be won back to the way that cannot be found by human will alone … Bless those who in sickness and distress still shine brightly in their patient trust.

      Receive into glory the souls of those whose light shone as a witness in the world, and have mercy on those whose light was darkened by sin or suffering … May they too shine with the light that cannot be extinguished, and find the peace that they did not find here.

      We pray in the name of Christ, in whom all the commandments are fulfilled.

      EPIPHANY 6 (PROPER 2)

      Matthew 5:21–37

      Let us pray to the Lord who has given us a new and greater Law.

      Give grace to the Church to follow the commands of the gospel, and to teach them so that all may serve in faith and obedience … Cleanse us from anger, strife and impurity, and empower us to fulfil the example of Christ, in firm resolve and gentle compassion.

      Guide into peace a world where there is so much hatred and bitterness, where the power of law is used for revenge and gain, where hurtful words are spoken in scorn … Forgive the breaches of trust, the false promises, the anger which breeds its own destruction … Open the way of reconciliation to the minds that are closed against it.

      Wherever disputes threaten the harmony of our homes, where there is hostility towards neighbours, where tension is growing in places of work, teach us to forgive and to acknowledge our own mistakes … Shield us from careless speaking in moments of stress.

      Have mercy on all whose lives have been broken by quarrels with those they have loved … Bring healing to the marriages that are falling apart, and comfort where relationships have failed … Grant that those who are in legal difficulties may be relieved and find mercy in the course of justice.

      May the departed find rest in the new life where all anger is ended, all injuries forgiven, all damaged hearts made whole … As we remember that promise of glory, let its light shine on our lives in this world and be our guide.

      May our prayers be accepted in the name of Christ, in whom alone we may be reconciled.

      EPIPHANY 7 (PROPER 3)

      Matthew 5:38–48

      Let us pray as the children of one heavenly Father.

      Fill the Church with the love that does not come from agreement and fellowship alone but reaches out to embrace those who are hostile and scornful … Let no task seem too heavy, no forgiving gesture too costly, because all is done in the strength of God who pardons and saves to the uttermost and has made us his messengers here on earth.

      Correct in mercy the errors which divide people into friends and enemies … Heal all divisions which set nations, races, religions in opposition to one another … Cleanse the world of all the darkness which seeks revenge and claims that it is justice.

      May the love that is in our homes never become nar-row and excluding, but let it reach out to all who can be drawn into our care … Make the life of this community a token that we are all children of one Father, and bless its members who patiently serve those who are in need.

      Have mercy on those who suffer because of faults that have not been forgiven, and those who do not know how to forgive but are caught up in a cycle of retaliation … Give peace and a fresh start to those who are weighed down by guilt, because they have failed in love and generosity and do not know how to make amends.

      Pardon in their last hour those who die unreconciled and still bearing a load of anger … May they too be numbered with your children whose deaths were peaceful and all be blessed together in everlasting life.

      Christ give us grace to offer our prayers in love for all people.

      SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE LENT

      Matthew 6:25–34

      Let us pray to God, the giver of all beauty in heaven and earth.

      Inspire your Church with zeal to seek the Kingdom, setting aside all worldly concerns that may lead away from the goal … Let your people live each day as if it were the first and the last of your purpose for us, to make known the righteousness which is not our own but the fruit of your bounty.

      As we give thanks for beauty of the natural world, we pray that it may not be lost through human greed and folly … May those who have control of change act responsibly, as knowing that they are stewards of a treasure not of their making, a glory beyond the riches of the kings and rulers of the earth.

      When troubles come in our lives and we are concerned for ourselves or those near to us, make us free from the anxiety that destroys hope and show us the way that is opening before us … Confident in the love that sustains what love had created, let us seek to do your will in all things.

      Comfort those who are weighed down by worry about food and clothing and other bodily needs … Help the individuals and the agencies working for the relief of poverty and give generous compassion to all who have enough to spare for others.

      Bless in your nearer presence those who have ended their span of life and entered into beauty beyond anything they knew upon earth … May they find peace in the Kingdom where anxiety has gone and there is no more fear, because God’s righteousness is all in all.

      We pray through Christ who has taught us to trust and not to be afraid.

      SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE LENT

      Matthew 27:1–9

      Let us pray to God who leads us to see his glory and hear his voice.

      As the Church has been called to be the servant of your glory, may she be worthy to be your dwelling on earth … It is good for us to be here, and we pray that we may be filled with the wisdom of the Law, the vision of the Prophets and the grace of Jesus Christ now and in all time to come.

      Bless the people of the world with the light that leads them to the heights where they may see your glory, and the strength to return to the plain where the work of life must go on … Guide those in authority to hear the wisdom of the past and to see with clear vision where their present duty lies.

      As we go about our daily lives, grant us the times of peace when we may be aware of the glory that is all around us … Through our prayers and meditations bring us closer to the Saviour, to follow him as the first disciples followed, and to know his fullness as they knew it.

      Have mercy on those whose suffering lets them see only the darkness of the cloud and keeps them from hearing the voice of divine assurance … Dispel the fear that holds many back from knowing that God is love and calls us to draw near and adore him.

      May those who have died in the faith of Christ, and in this world received a partial vision of his glory, now enter into the fullness of his presence … May they dwell for ever in the holy place from which the blessed ones are never turned away.

      May our

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