The Lenten Journey: Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday signals the start of Lent, the Season of the Year when we have the opportunity to change, to begin again, to renew ourselves.  We are all invited by Pope Francis in his message for Lent 2018 'to take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm', sustained by the traditional practices of almsgiving, fasting and prayer.

During the Season of Lent (14 February-29 March 2018 ), the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation invite you to join with us and with the Mercy community globally in praying these intercessions:

• In a world of violence and denial of basic human dignity, may we be lights in the darkness:
Create in us new hearts, O God

• In a world of abundance which allows children to go hungry, may we work to banish famine and malnutrition:
Create in us new hearts, O God

• In a world which places ambition and the quest for wealth and power above the values of family and faith, may we stand as witnesses that you are the source of all true happiness:
Create in us new hearts, O God

• In a world where disagreements and longstanding enmities are resolved by war and civil disruption, may we be reconcilers and unifiers:
Create in us new hearts, O God

• In a world created through your love and charged with your presence, may we teach others to see your face in all people and all creation:
Create in us new hearts, O God

• In a world which hungers for meaning and searches for you, may we accompany those journeying to Baptism and support them through our prayer and witness:
Create in us new hearts, O God

You might also like to post a prayer, thought or reflection in our prayer space
Resources to aid your Lenten preparation can be found here

Source: Morning and Evening Prayer of the Sisters of Mercy