SELECTED PRAYERS FROM SEPTEMBER INTERCESSION PAPER
COVER
I was one who loved life
and lived it as fully
and intentionally as I could.
I knew myself to be blessed,
I found joy in the beauty of the world,
I was grateful for the joys and gifts
of my family and friends,
for good and meaningful work to do,
and for God’s grace given generously
and abundantly every day of my life.
-Jeanne “Muffy” Paradise, SCHC (1990-2025)
SIMPLICITY OF LIFE: MONDAY
Musings on a Simple Life
I aim to live a simple life…but how?
Dispositions vary. “Keep it simple,”
Some say. They prefer a pure, perfect peach.
I love a complicated recipe.
Some love God. I love the Holy Trinity.
Some love one gorgeous tree, but I favor
All the details of God’s universe.
Help us know our own callings, with your help.
Relationships start with simple attraction—
But they put down sturdy roots. They survive anger,
loneliness, and unmatched ecstasy.
We strive to see you in all things everywhere.
A simple life can lead to complex friendships.
Long lives do shape coherent stories.
It’s a long way to your heart and presence,
We must talk, listen, comfort, yell and learn.
Dearest God, you are my one clear love,
But you also stun with your creation
Of a complex, single universe, where
Each depends on all, and all on each.
-Barbara Diamond, SCHC
UNITY OF ALL GOD’S PEOPLE: TUESDAY
Dear God of all peoples, help us to see past the things
that divide us and embrace the things that are the
same. Give us patience to hear each other, wisdom to
want to understand, and love to wait for guidance that
will bring us peace.
-Nikki Wood, SCHC
SOCIAL JUSTICE: WEDNESDAY
Lord Jesus, we sit before you in silence.
We raise up for your healing our nation.
Bless all Native Americans/Indians and tribes;
on all their land taken from them our nation rests.
Help us to join in recognition and restoration.
We sit before you in silence, Lord Jesus.
Bring us to active service to redress this native dispossession…
and to teach the right.
-A Companion
PEACE & RECONCILIATION: THURSDAY
True neighbors
Each one of us is special
One of a kind are we.
A helping hand to all:
Sharing what we have
Finding out what others lack,
Supplying their every need (if we can).
That’s true neighborliness,
Peace and reconciliation,
Harmony on earth.
-Rebekah Kuriyan, SCHC
GROWTH IN SPIRITUAL LIFE: FRIDAY
Loving God, help me to be ever more grateful for your gifts,
for the privilege of walking in the Way of the Cross
and for growing in compassion along the Way.
May I find the resting places I need to continue on the path to you, always in love.
-Susan Kraus, Discerner
PRAYERS PERSONAL AND GENERAL: SATURDAY
Precious Savior, may we remember that we are all
fearfully and wonderfully made. May we embrace
and honor the differences in us and in your
creation. Help us to understand that our jagged
edges are designed to perfectly fit together to form
the design that only you can see in totality. Make
us thankful for our part in this perfect design,
knowing that it isn’t complete without us, and all
others that you have created.
-Trish Hanna, SCHC
