Welcome Christ in the Stranger

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O God, you led St. Benedict to seek you through prayer, work, obedience, and life in community. Through his intercession, give me a listening heart and bring holy order to my days. Keep me faithful in small duties, peaceful with others, generous to the stranger, and steady on the way that leads to life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pause in silence, and bring to mind the intention you are praying for.

In the app, your own saved intention rests here during the silence. The narration stays the same for everyone.

for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.

The Rule asks that guests be received with reverence because Christ comes in the stranger. Hospitality is more than entertaining people who make us comfortable; it makes room for interruption, difference, and need. A welcome can become an encounter with the Lord, offered with wise boundaries.

Jesus, make me attentive to you in the stranger and the person who interrupts my plans. Give me wise generosity and a welcoming spirit. Through St. Benedict's intercession, let my home, parish, and presence offer dignity and peace today. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

St. Benedict, wise teacher of those who seek God, carry my intention before the Lord. Pray that the holy Cross may guide and protect me, that peace may govern my relationships, and that prayer and work may become one faithful offering. Help me begin again each day and persevere with Christ to the end. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.