Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

Gracious God of the Universe, the full and final end of days both attracts and frightens us. We long for an end of suffering, violence, division and pain. Our souls restlessly thirst for the fullness You created within us. We celebrate the victory of Your Reign proclaimed in Revelation when all corruption ceases and we live in an eternal harmony of the wedding feast of love. Thank you for the ways You are destroying evil, division and darkness, while calling us to wholeness – Your Shalom. Please do not let our fears of the unknown shrink our hearts. Help us to read the signs of the times: that Your Reign is breaking out in mysterious ways. Keep us alert in faith to the subtle and surprising ways You are giving birth for the fullness of Your Reign for each of us and all of us. We know the Son of Man is already coming on the clouds of glory. Help us to stand and live tall in faith and hope – and encourage Your fullness by the way we treat, include, respect, forgive and love one another.