AECI Prayers and Reflections
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ON PRAYER
Prayer should encompass the essence of who we are
What little we do know of ourselves
Before the Beauty
The Presence
And the Omniscience
Of our Eternal Source
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PRAYER OF ST THERESE OF LISIEUX
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O my God!
I ask of Thee for myself and for those whom I hold dear
The grace to fulfill perfectly Thy Holy Will
To accept for love of Thee the joys and sorrows of this passing life
So that we may one day be united together in heaven for all Eternity.
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Amen
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ON GRATITUDE
In heartfelt thanksgiving
We see again
The bond between man and God
In mental thanksgiving
We take that step
Of trust along our route
In bodily thanksgiving
We release the tensions and imbalances
That hold our true self back
In spiritual thanksgiving
We touch a Unity with the Eternal and Good
Our original Unity
Alone, in spite of all
We thank God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit
And know his presence again.
Amen
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PRAYER OF ST JOHN OF THE CROSS
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O Blessed Jesus
Grant me stillness of soul in Thee
Let Thy mighty calmness reign in me
Rule me, O thou King of gentleness
King of peace
Give me control
Control over my words, thoughts and actions
From all irritability, want of meekness, want of gentleness,
O dear Lord, deliver me
By thine own deep patience give me patience, stillness of soul in Thee
Make me in this, and in all, more and more like Thee
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Amen
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ON REPENTANCE
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So very far away from You
In all that I have become
For truth to awaken me
I succumb
Before the one divine artist
I repent
Abandon
The soul does leave its old self behind
Confident
Free
It clings no more to deceit
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Amen
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PRAYER OF ST TERESA OF AVILA
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Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
All things are passing away
God never changes
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing
God alone suffices
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Amen
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ON FAITH
Lord,
We hold to your mercy and your intimacy
To your goodness
Amidst the tempests, the trials, the despair and the demands of life
In silence
With hearts of compassion
You shall shape all we encounter
By the radiant light of eternal love
We shall stay ever confident in faith
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Amen
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AECI PRAYER
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O’ Spirit of God
Guide us in the triumph of humility
Over competing worldly identities
Steer us towards the joys of trust
Away from indiscriminate and recurring fears
Direct us to a quiet, compassionate presence
To know the gifts of love
Free from the noise of blame and of strife
There to abandon our anger, frustration, restlessness
Before the divine light of each dawning day
Amen
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St Elizabeth of the Trinity : Pray for us​
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ON RENEWAL
Lord,
Help us to be open to your Spirit in these days ahead
To accept You, to accept others and to accept ourselves
In the fullness of Creation
So we can act renewed with Love
Speak renewed with Truth
And grow in your Eternal Peace
Amen
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PRAYER OF ST TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS
Who are You, sweet light that fills me
And illumines the darkness of my heart?
You guide me like a mother’s hand,
And if you let me go, I could not take
Another step.
You are the space
That surrounds and contains my being.
Without You it would sink into the abyss
Of nothingness from which You raised it into being.
You, closer to me than I to myself,
More inward than my innermost being—
And yet unreachable, untouchable,
And bursting the confines of any name:
Holy Spirit—
Eternal love!
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Amen
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ON PRAISE
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I am in praise
My heart lifts me towards the heavens
I know You more than I know myself
Abundant in gifts and in giving
A bountiful kindness through all of Creation
A Love hovering above and within
I am in adoration
I drink, I sing and proclaim only the patterns
Of your truthful and merciful Kingdom before me
I want for nothing. You are my roots
I am in praise
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Amen
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PRAYER OF ST TERESA OF AVILA
May today there be peace within
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones
And allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love
It is there for each and every one of us
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Amen
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THE CHALLENGE OF PRAYER
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In silence
With courage
Cast ‘the Self’ aside
The world and its vanities
Turn wholeheartedly
To the Eternal Thou
To shape and to heal
To pervade and to lead
A friendship rooted in the divine will
Magnifying Mercy as the one measure
Peace as the true foundation
In thanksgiving
A return to Light and to Hope
Where all real living
Authentic growth
Encounter
Will be of You
Of Love
Amen
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ON COMPASSION WITH CHRIST
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Christ has no body but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which He looks
Compassion on this world
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet
Yours are the eyes, you are His body
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours
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— St. Teresa of Ávila (attributed)
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