People's Prayers

Monday, October 26, 2026

Prayers of the People: The Heavenly Chorus ~ All Saints Sunday '26 [Pentecost 23] Yr A

For Sunday, November1, 2026, Readings: Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John:1-3,

Matthew 5:1-12

They will hunger no more, and thirst no more, the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd...[Revelation 7:9-17]

I sought the LORD and he answered me and delivered me out of all my terror...The LORD ransoms the life of his servants, and none will be punished who trusts in him. [Psalm 34:4, 22]

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children of God; and that is what we are...And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. [1 John :1-3]

[Jesus] taught them saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit...those who mourn...the meek...those who hunger and thirst...the merciful...the pure in heart...the peacemakers...those who are persecuted...Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven... [Matthew 5:1-12]

What does the designation Saint mean to you? Would you define it differently for yourself than for others? Has your concept of saint changed during your life? The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios ~ hay-gee-ose in US English, or hyee-ose in Greek ~ which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” Yet most saints and Saints, the ordinary and the officially designated, are/were flawed humans with real human frailties and struggles, even a few sins along the way. When and how then did their lives become so exemplary?

There are those people who have been given the title of Saint through some official process. There are some mythical folks who have the title unofficially whose legends, perhaps a composite of real and fictional people, hold great object lessons. And there are the many from far history to our current day who have done/are doing extraordinary things, humbly, in God’s name, through great faith and without such a precise designation. They seem to have a special light revealing itself to all around them.

The official designees have official days in their honor in some faith-communities. For the rest, we have All Saints Day to cover all those known to God, unknown to us, and even some we have known, whose presence in their and our own times have given us examples to emulate and/or at the very least inspire us.

It seems that defining "Saint" in this day and age still conjures a mind-image of someone many centuries and continents removed from our everyday place and time in this world; someone who is an example of complete perfection in every facet of life that is unattainable for us, and, if we're honest, undesirably difficult. For those so named, there seems to have been something extra in their attitude of life and in what drew others to them.

As an Episcopalian, I have come to appreciate that there are many on our Liturgical Calendar who are not designated official “Saints” but are remembered for particular gifts and talents that shone in ways that changed themselves and others in how to relate to God. The best discussion I have found of “sainthood” is from Sister Joan Chittister, a Roman Catholic nun, which follows. This piece offers us some food for prayerful thought on ways we might discover our inner saint:

"For centuries the church has confronted the human community with role models of greatness. We call them saints when what we really often mean to say is "icon," "star," "hero," ones so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness that they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human. They give us a taste of the possibilities of greatness in ourselves. What qualities will be necessary to live a life of integrity, of holiness, in the twenty-first century? What models of those values, if any, have been raised up to show us the way to God in a world that is more preoccupied with the material than with the spiritual, more self-centered than selfless, more concerned with the mundane than with the divine, more parochial than cosmic? (They) are male and female, Christian and non-Christian, married and unmarried, religious and lay, pragmatists and artists, named saint by a process or proclaimed saint by the people who lived in the shadow of their lives. They are people like you and me. With one exception, perhaps. In their eyes burn the eyes of a God who sees injustice and decries it, sees poverty and condemns it, sees inequality and refuses it, sees wrong and demands that it be set right. These are people for whom the Law above the law is first in their lives. These are people who did not temporize with the evil in one system just because another system could have been worse. These are people who saw themselves clearly as the others' keepers. These are people who gave themselves entirely to the impulses of God for the sake of the world."

~ Sister Joan Chittister, Roman Catholic nun and former Prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA, an activist, author and speaker on a variety of subjects such as spirituality, religious life, peace, and justice among others. The excerpt is from: "A Passion for Life: Fragments of the Face of God", Orbis, Maryknoll, NY, 1996

It does not matter if one is not an official Saint. There are certainly exemplary qualities of those who are official as well as those who are not, but they all stand out as Sr. Joan says, because: they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human. It is an attitude for us to acquire in our quest for eternal life. The readings from Revelation, Psalm 34, and 1 John all provide us with positive and comforting affirmations on God’s relationship with us, as well as a chance to reflect on how we can improve our relationship with God. The work of developing the conscious yet humble attitude of being a child of God, and regularly reminding ourselves that the full presence of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are within us always, can bring us ever closer to having that light shine through us, for our neighbors and for ourselves.

In the Gospel for this week, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches those present that often those who might be considered the least of us are especially blessed. It opens up a way of living for us to contemplate, a pathway of living intentionally into the blessings of God. As we look into the ideals of the Beatitudes, we may discover new habits of prayerfulness and a fresh Christ-consciousness in things we say and do. Examining our own personal attitudes of be-ing regularly, will take us through each day accompanied by that ever-growing Communion of Saints and saints until we, too, join the Heavenly Chorus.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Lord of All Saints and All Sinners, as we celebrate the Holy Saints of the Ages, we also commend to You the everyday saints who are living among us now. Grant us the wisdom to follow the examples set for us, to seek a saintly heart within our own flawed humanness, and to discover our blessed place in the Beatitudes of Christ.

Boundless, Forgiving God
Awaken our trust and hope in You

~ Lord of Us All, in these especially critical times, infuse us with continuing courage and strength to impel the leaders of our Community, our Country, and our World to end the ravages of war, reverse injustice, renounce evil, and encourage mercy, peace, and honor within themselves and in us all. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Awaken our trust and hope in You

~ Lord of Us All, release from distress and wipe away the tears of all whose spirits languish in serious illness, anxiety, and hopelessness, and endow those who give them care with energy, patience, and love. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Awaken our trust and hope in You

~ Lord of Us All, our hearts rejoice for those who have gone ahead, guided to the springs of the water of New Life by and in Christ. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Awaken our trust and hope in You

~ Lord of Us All, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Awaken our trust and hope in You

~ Lord of Us All, we offer You our praise and thanksgiving for all who have humbly accepted Your call to shepherd us toward Salvation in Christ. Guide their steps as our faithful role models, that together we may taste and see Your goodness in our lives. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Awaken our trust and hope in You

The Celebrant adds: Loving, Merciful God, open the eyes of our souls to see that our unique gifts from You, together with our mortal failings, may all be used for Your eternal purpose. Rebuild our hearts with humility and peace, worthy to answer the call of the blessed life for which we were created. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who live and reign together with You, as One God above all, through all, and in all, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Prayers of the People: ALL the Saints ~ 4th Sunday in the Season of Creation '26*

For Sunday, November 1, 2026, Readings: Maya Angelou**, Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3,

Matthew 5:1-12

I note the obvious differences In the human family. Some of us are serious, Some thrive on comedy… I note the obvious differences Between each sort and type, But we are more alike, my friends, Than we are unalike… [Maya Angelou]**

I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me out of all my terror...The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, and none will be punished who trusts in him. [Psalm 34:4, 22]

*The Season of Creation originated in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was formalized in 2008. It is designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. For more information see: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2026/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html We use Biblical and other readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of the 7 weeks of the Season. Alternate readings used are posted with an asterisk and follow the prayers below.

We have arrived at the Feast of All Saints. What does the designation Saint mean to you? For many of us, I expect, the mind-image that arises is of someone many centuries and far-away continents removed from our everyday place and time; someone who is an example of complete perfection in every facet of life that is unattainable for us mere mortals, and, if we're honest, living a life undesirably difficult for us to accomplish.

The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios ~ haygee-ose in US English, or hyee-ose in Greek ~ which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” Yet most saints and Saints, the ordinary and the officially designated, are/were flawed humans with real human frailties and struggles, even a few sins along the way. When and how then did their lives become so exemplary?

There are those people who have been given the title of Saint through some official process. There are some mythical folks who have the title unofficially whose legends hold great object lessons. And there are the many from far history to our current day who have done/are doing extraordinary things in God’s name and through great faith and without such a precise designation. Many of the Saints and Extraordinaries are listed in church calendars for special remembrance and honor. For the rest, we have All Saints Day to cover all those known to God, unknown to us, and those we have known, whose presence in their and our own times have given us examples to emulate and/or inspire our lives.

We are truly all in "this" together ~ this life, this planet, right now. All too often, especially in these fraught times, we look at others and others look at us as different because of skin color, regional accent, nationality, religion, political views, sexual orientation, life circumstance, or merely because someone lives in a different part of the world, the country, or the city. We all too easily dismiss, and worse ~ completely and immediately reject ~ those who aren't like us. Suddenly they become one of them, not to be trusted or valued as the full human person God created, and in God's own image. When we ignore, avoid, or dismiss an other person for such reasons, we damage ourselves and our souls by de-valuing a child of God’s making. We must remember that we each are an other to someone, or even to many.

Maya Angelou’s poem breaks through the self-imposed shields and barriers and says quite starkly, truthfully, unequivocally, that despite our obvious differences, We are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike. The psalmist reminds us that the Lord answers us and we are ransomed by our trust, even if, I believe, that trust is so deeply buried within us we have trouble finding it during difficult times.

The writer of 1^st John reminds us that the love of God gives us the gift of being called the children of God and those having this hope in God are purified through it.

And then we are blessed by this reading of the Beatitudes from Matthew. My prayer for this day is to keep me in as peaceful a mindset as possible, and especially to keep myself from repaying anger with anger, and strife with strife. Not easy in these unquestionably difficult times. Yet, as the saying goes: what I give out, I get back. I do struggle some days but I also feel supported in a strong faith environment that lives with a Christ-purpose, no matter the daily highs, lows, and challenges. As we work with and for the benefit of God's Creation in its totality, glory, and grunge, together we discover the hope of our calling, maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and frustrate the way of the wicked. Let us join with the Saints above and the saints among us as God’s hope and promise guides us to our great reward. If we get lost, we will be found if we but climb and seek.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Lord of All Saints and All Sinners, as we celebrate the Holy Saints of the Ages, we also commend to you the everyday ordinary saints we knew and those still living among us. Grant us, as your children, the wisdom to follow the examples set for us, to seek a principled heart within our own flawed humanness, and to discover our place among those blessed in the Beatitudes of Christ.

Boundless, Forgiving God
Rouse and quicken our trust in you

~ Lord of All Saints and All Sinners, in these especially critical times, infuse us with continuing courage and the strength of hope to impel the leaders of our Community, our Country, and our World to reverse injustice, renounce evil, and encourage mercy, peace, and honor within themselves and in us all. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Rouse and quicken our trust in you

~ Lord of All Saints and All Sinners, release from terror and distress all whose spirits languish in serious illness and hopelessness. Endow those who give them care with energy, patience, and love. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Rouse and quicken our trust in you

~ Lord of All Saints and All Sinners, help our saddened hearts rejoice for those who have gone ahead, guided to the springs of the water of new life by and in Christ. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Rouse and quicken our trust in you

~ Lord of All Saints and All Sinners, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Rouse and quicken our trust in you

~ Lord of All Saints and All Sinners, we offer you our praise and thanksgiving for all who have humbly accepted our call to shepherd us toward Salvation in Christ. Guide their steps as our faithful leaders, that together we may taste and see your goodness in our lives. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Boundless, Forgiving God
Rouse and quicken our trust in you

The Celebrant adds: Loving, Merciful God, open the eyes of our souls to see and treasure the unique gifts we and all others, even with our obvious differences, receive from you. Rebuild our hearts with humility and peace, free from the prison of hate, and keep us worthy to answer your call to the worshipful and upright life for which we were all created. We ask through Jesus, Son of Man, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, who together with You are One God above all, through all, and in all, for ever and ever. Amen.

**Human Family, a poem by Maya Angelou:

I note the obvious differences
In the human family.
Some of us are serious,
Some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived

As true profundity,

And others claim they really live

The real reality.

The variety of our skin tones

Can confuse, bemuse, delight,

Brown and pink and beige and purple,

Tan and blue and white.

I've sailed upon the seven seas

And stopped in every land,

I've seen the wonders of the world

Not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women

Called Jane and Mary Jane,

But I've not seen any two

Who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different

Although their features jibe,

And lovers think quite different thoughts

While lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,

We weep on England's moors,

And laugh and moan in Guinea,

And thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,
Are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
In major we're the same.

I note the obvious differences

Between each sort and type,

But we are more alike, my friends,

Than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
Than we are unalike.

Monday, October 19, 2026

Prayers of the People: The Human Family, Whole ~ 3rd Sunday in the Season of Creation '26

For Sunday, October 25, 2026, Readings: "Human Family"*, Psalm 146, Philippians 2:1-5,

Matthew 25:31-45

Praying–not a curse–only the hope that my courage will not fail my love. But if by some miracle, and all the struggle, the Earth is spared, only justice to every living thing (and everything is alive) will save humankind…Only justice can stop a curse. [Alice Walker*]

Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! Whose hope is in the Lord their God…who keeps his promise for ever…Who gives justice to the oppressed…opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down… [Psalm 146:5, 6b, 7a, 8b]

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit…make my joy complete…Do nothing from selfish ambition…Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ. [Philippians 2:1a, 2a, 3a, 5a]

Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me…Truly I tell you, that just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. [Matthew 25:40, 45]

The Season of Creation originated in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was formalized in 2008. It is designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. For more information see: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2026/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html

We use Biblical and other readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of the 7 weeks of the Season. Alternate readings used are posted with an asterisk* and follow the prayers below.

We are truly all in "this" together ~ this life, on this planet, right now. In this world from its beginnings, through all epochs, eons, and ages, and in reviewing our lives in current times, we look at "others" as different from ourselves by skin color, nationality, religion, political views, sexual orientation, life circumstance, or, merely, because someone lives in comes “here” from a different part of the world, the country, or the community. How easily we dismiss and worse, completely reject those whom we designate as not one of us. Suddenly "they" become one of them, not to be trusted or valued as the full human person God created in God's own image.

How very sad and tragic it is that we set ourselves, within our self-limited chosen circles, as above another individual or group as if our opinions, our neighborhood, our economic circumstance, or our political views are the only ones that matter.

Alice Walker minces no words describing the enormity of (their) crimes against humanity bringing such crimes from the global history of white colonization and the destructive privilege of wealth, to her people, her family, and her own experiences in our own times. Yet while outlining specifics for venting her justified rage, she suddenly turns us all to the stark necessities of saving our planet when she says So let me tell you: I intend to protect my home. Praying – not a curse – on the hope that my courage will not fail my love…only justice to every living thing (and everything is alive) will save humankind…Only justice can stop a curse.

In addition to the uplifting reminders of all the reasons the God of Creation deserves our continuous praise, the Psalmist also tells us quite frankly that we are not to put our trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help.When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish. [Psalm 146:3-4]

We humans find struggle with understanding and applying what Paul speaks of his wish for us to be of the same mind as Christ. In this portion of his letter to the Philippians, we are to be without selfish ambition and empty conceit, and to have humility and see to the needs of others, regarding them as better than ourselves. Struggle indeed! Humans, especially, it seems to me, western world humans, even with little or no economic, political, or other power-based standing, have much difficulty accepting that we are all ~ each and every ~ created by God and equal in God’s eyes. Those differences take on universal proportions that cause wars globally and locally, within neighborhoods and families, creating enemies antithetically to God’s intent and the mind of Christ.

Matthew’s Gospel reminds of us the words we think we know so well and utter easily and without deep examination of how we are to apply them in our everyday moments, especially in the most difficult circumstances: You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love God with ALL YOUR/MY heart, soul, mind, and YOUR/MY Neighbor as myself. Too many of us, it seems actually DO love God and our neighbors as we really do love ourselves: badly. Judgment, criticism, anger, mockery, even hatred, is often much more of a mirror than we would like to recognize, let alone admit.

The ways in which we care for each other ~ all others ~ and ourselves, with the love for God and our Human Family that Jesus has exhorted us to give, is a measure of the depth (or shallowness) of our own love for God. To prosper only ourselves and our us, may carry us in this short temporal existence but it is not the way of Jesus nor does it turn us toward the ultimate reward of eternal life.

The humility that Jesus exemplified is difficult to achieve and uncomfortable in an environment of excessive greed, selfishness, and disdain for the life of others and this planet. I am/We are called to seek to become united with God through prayer, which is the germinating power for our words and actions to be works of true charity, in the overflow of our love for God from within ourselves. It is time to relinquish marking my personal achievements and live more simply, putting one foot in front of the other, making each and every breath a prayer and every step in love and with love and toward the justice that will make our Human Family Whole.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Gracious Lord, our God, quicken our desire to actively live our faith by consciously loving and serving You with our whole hearts, souls, and minds with intention. Guide us to dare to follow Your command to love all humankind as if they are our selves, as we are loved by You.

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Response: Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

~ Gracious Lord, our God, guide those of us who have a choice for our political leaders, to responsibly choose as stewards of all humanity and of this entire planet, those who will lead, legislate, and personally act with sincerity and integrity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

~ Gracious Lord, our God, embrace all with Your tender care those who are burdened with serious illness, addiction, or emotional distress, and refresh all who provide support. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

~ Gracious Lord, our God, receive in joy and splendor, all those we commend with thanksgiving to live again in Christ’s enduring love. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

~ Gracious Lord, our God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

~ Gracious Lord, our God, we praise You and we thank you for those who answered the calling, anointing, and commitment to lead us in worship, in prayer, and companionship on our constant pilgrimage toward eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

The Celebrant adds: O God our Refuge, grant us the humility to delight in Your Law, to seek the way of the righteous in all that we do, and to be courageous in faith, sharing the Gospel in, for, and by the strength of Your Love. We ask through Jesus, our Savior Messiah; and the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom within; who together with You, live and reign as One God, every day, always, and forever. Amen.

Prayers of the People: Them Are Us and Us Are Them ~ 22nd Sunday after Pentecost RCL Yr A

For Sunday, October 25, 2026, Readings: Deuteronomy 34:1-12, Psalm 90:1-6,

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 22:34-46

Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. [Deuteronomy 34:10]

Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another...May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands... [Psalm 90:1, 17a]

We had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition...We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.

[1 Thessalonians 2:2b,4b]

...a lawyer asked [Jesus] a question to test him. "Teacher, which commandment...is the greatest?" He said..."You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [Matthew 22:35b-39]

We truly are all together in "this" life on this planet although you would think, especially given some of the hard-charging rhetoric, murderous attacks and murderous reprisals, here and around the world, that we can just stop interacting with others, just take care of us, and ignore them. Of course, one of the largest questions in this life is epochs, eons, and ages old: What is a universally satisfactory definition of who is us and who is them? This week in Matthew’s Gospel, we hear of a lawyer asking Jesus which commandment is the greatest? In Luke’s parable of the Good Samaritan, another lawyer asked Jesus, who is my neighbor? [Luke 10:25-37] We of the human variety are determined to answer this question correctly, which really means: to suit our own needs and wants, and keep within the rules we, or those we choose to follow, have set even when they can change on a whim. We build symbolic and genuine walls, fences, and tall gates that are all designed to keep out the uninvited, the unacceptable, the dangerous – in other words, those people, that kind, the others, THEM. But here’s a shocker, we each are the other, the “them” to someone else. We create and receive suspicion and fear when we step away from what we think is our own special sheltered space in order to enter another’s. Of course, we must protect ourselves and others from those who are truly dangerous and who would do anyone true harm. But all too often we categorize someone as dangerous because of gender, color, race, language, sexual orientation, make-up, hair styles, clothing, body art and piercings or lack of, accent, another neighborhood, region, or country, etc. It's much easier to have a big chart of absolutes – that group BAD, this group GOOD – and that way we don't have to think, engage, learn more about, slip into liking, and are able to avoid knowing that skin, organs, blood, and bones are the same in all of God's people.
      It's difficult, uncomfortable, even distressing at times, to sift through our own prejudices, judgments, dislikes, even hatred of an unknown person or group. It takes time away from the easier activities of going through life without having to think for myself simply because I know my group and we will avoid those outside of it because whoeever we have chosen to lead us will tell us how to think and what to do. It also involves looking into oneself – how do I really feel about me? Do I have trouble loving my self? Is it truly self-satisfying to dismiss or diminish another – or just an ego boost of a very false sense of superiority or, more likely, a genuine internal sense of inferiority?
      Jesus, answering this lawyer who is a Pharisee, in Matthew’s Gospel, gets directly to the point that all the Commandments of God can be cleanly distilled into just two: 1. Love God completely, 2. Love your neighbor as yourself. This concept is no surprise to the Pharisaic lawyer. Earlier in Deuteronomy, Dt 6:4-5 specifically, is the opening to the Shema (sheh-mah), which in Judaism is a part of morning and evening prayer: Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might. Earlier still, in Leviticus 19:18b, is …“you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” It is Jesus, however, who combines the two as the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it… and surprises them with what we now refer to as the “Summary of the Law,” when he says to those who would trap him: On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Think about it, if you truly love God and love your neighbor as your self, you will honor, and you won’t covet, steal, or break any of the other commandments.
     Yet the obvious questions remain as we search for loopholes and escape from the hard work: Who is my neighbor? Answer: Any/Every human you meet. OK, I have to “love” my neighbor, but do I also have to like my neighbor? Answer: Not in a best friend sort of way, but an attempt to get to know her, him, them, might surprise you, or might not, yet we are still called to love, especially when it’s the hardest to do. Loving another is often difficult because it isn’t based on reciprocation. Putting a face on a label challenges one’s pre-conceived notions and what one has been told to believe by parents, teachers, religious and political leaders, by neighborhoods, states, and countries. Loving your neighbor is more about acceptance and tolerance of differences as well as discovering similarities. Our instant judgements are not easy to overcome. Loving our neighbor is to be the same as how we love our self. That’s often the hardest piece to understand as all too often we do love our neighbors in the same way that we love our selves. It’s far too easy to see, yet not recognize, something in another that we dislike in ourselves. That takes some serious personal soul-searching and be able to prayerfully understand, and a find a way to like and then love our selves as Jesus does. And yes, there are those who are truly terrible and so our love must transcend likeability, and when that is particularly difficult, ask ourselves, so, really, what would Jesus do? Well, what Jesus would do might be above my merely human abilities to accomplish. Maybe in the case of the very trying, most offensive, and/or dangerous of people, we, with contrite hearts, pray for Jesus to love those who we acknowledge that we simply cannot even like.
    Jesus was saying to the lawyer in this week's reading, and in the Good Samaritan parable, just following the human-made-subject-to-change-rules isn't enough. We must be intentional in our efforts. And yes, we will fail, often, but we must keep trying. If we keep repeating to ourselves, as a mantra perhaps, Help me, Jesus, to Love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my might, and to love my neighbor as [and] my self, we will consciously and intentionally work to live and act within these two commandments. In that way, we will discover not only a stronger faith in God but also that as one of God’s Own Created: Them really are Us and Us really are them! Let’s all keep working on this, together.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Gracious Lord, our God, quicken our desire to actively live our faith by consciously loving and serving You with our whole hearts, souls, and minds with intention. Guide us to dare to follow Your command to love all humankind as if they are our selves, as we are loved by You.

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Response: Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

~ Gracious Lord, our God, receive in joy and splendor, all those we commend with thanksgiving to live again in Christ’s enduring love. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

~ Gracious Lord, our God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

Lord of Loving-Kindness

Prosper the work of our hearts and hands

Monday, October 12, 2026

Prayers of the People: Our Living Planet, 2nd Sunday in the Season of Creation ’26 Yr A

For Sunday, October 18, 2026; Readings: Isaiah 65:17-25, Psalm 96, St. Francis' Canticle of the Son, Matthew 6:25-34

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating… [Isaiah 65:17-18]

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth. [Psalm 96:7-9]

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessings. To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no man is worthy to mention Your name. [St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Sun]

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. [Matthew 6:26, 27, 28b-29]

Every day we read, hear, and see the terrible news about the climactic and human expense wrought by the condition of our planet from disastrous environmental events such as poisoned local water systems, intense and wide-range hurricanes, enormous wildfires, massive flooding, global heat records, and earthquakes that devastate huge areas and millions of people. It’s not quite mid-October as I write and just with recent hurricanes and several still raging, a historic and devastating hurricane season is here with a while to go until it subsides into winter. Other bad news is about the new and once rare yet now resurging diseases with a terrible impact on human existence. And, if not enough, there are the ongoing and sudden new wars as the global political and economic turmoil stresses the human psyches of uncountable numbers. All of this requires our continuous attention and purposeful action as our obedience to God-ordered stewardship of the Creation we inhabit.
Today we are to re-awaken our consciousness to our earthly surroundings close by and well beyond our mere location to learn and know more deeply this great gift of our Creator ~ Our Living Planet, Earth. Even in the midst of all else, it now is time again to re-examine its lushness, its highest peaks and deepest depths, the fragrances and the freshness; to re-discover our companion creatures, wild and tame, and the extraordinary interconnections of life among the plants and organisms that support us. Take a moment to marvel at the vastness of the oceans, the rhythm of the tides, the flow of rivers. We must look and see what has gone before, where we are now, and discover again our world's potential and our place within it. Most importantly, we are to discover ways to maintain and expand protections against industrial waste, general pollution, and multiple large islands of plastic and other marine debris in nearly every ocean of this Earth, the loss of precious water resources, and especially the vast impact of our own everyday thoughtless actions individually, collectively, and globally. This Earth and her resources provide oxygen for our breath, and breath-taking beauty in which we know the wonder of God.
We are called to be a servant to humanity as in Christ’s teaching and example. God has given us charge over all Creation: wild, animal, human, vegetable, mineral, water, air, land, and sea... Let us protect and prosper the gift we have been given and continually seek to recognize, know, protect, and give Praise to our God for the Sisters and Brothers that are our Sun, our Moon and Stars, the Wind and Water, the Fire, and our Mother Earth in all of her guises.

Click here for more information about the Season of Creation:

https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2026/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God of All that is, seen and unseen, grant us the humility to understand our true place in, and responsibilities for Your Creation. Help us to learn from every living creature, life form, land, sea, air, and planets, as we strive to be voice and champion for the protection and preservation of this gift of Earth, this Universe and beyond, that you lay at our feet.

O Lord, Breath of our Being
RESPONSE: We praise and bless You by our faith in action

~ O God of All that is, instill within us and all who lead the governments of our Planet, our Nation, and our Community, the urgency to feed all people, remove causes of disease and violence, eradicate homelessness and the desperation that requires political asylum. Guide us to assure the well-being of eco-systems and environments that sustain the life and existence of Your whole Earth. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, Breath of our Being
We praise and bless You by our faith in action

~ O God of All that is, surround the hearts of all who live with chronic illness or critical need with Your peace and healing; and grant endurance for those who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O Lord, Breath of our Being

We praise and bless You by our faith in action

~ O God of All that is, keep us in the knowledge that love never dies and that those we have sent ahead, have new and abiding life in the holy grandeur of Your Eternal Kingdom. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O Lord, Breath of our Being
We praise and bless You by our faith in action

~ O God of All that is, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

O Lord, Breath of our Being

We praise and bless You by our faith in action

~ O God of All that is, set alight the spirits of those called by You to lead us in Your Church, who guide us to make our destination to You clear, and join us to love, honor, and serve as Christ has taught and shown us by His example. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, Breath of our Being
We praise and bless You by our faith in action

The Celebrant adds: O God of Glory, awaken us each day with the renewed desire to restore and cherish Your precious gift of this living, breathing planet, the literal ground that supports every earthly being. Kindle our fervor to actively engage in whatever way we can to assure its health and wholeness, for all who live and breathe on this planet, now and always. We ask through Jesus, our Teacher and Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Limitless Energy of our souls; who together with You are One God, forever and ever. Amen.