Birthday
Prayer- 5
A very Good morning and warm welcome to all of
you dear sisters.
As the sun is
coming up, as the roosters are crowing and as the alarm clocks are singing ,
Dear Lord, once again you remind us that it’s a new day, a time to praise you and
an opportunity to honor you by a sincere life.
Today Sr.
_________ heart overwhelms with joy and gratitude to God as she begins a new
year of her birth. Like a sunflower that follows every moment of the sun so I
turn towards you to follow you my God is the melodious song that comes forth
from her heart today. On this special occasion, the giver of life rejoices in
her birth. Let’s all join with her to thank and praise the creator and master
as she performs the Aarti.
The worms wriggle and birds
chirp with joy singing. Thank you Lord for this sunny day. The gentle breeze
whispers, Thank you Lord for this pleasant day. Whereas Sr. _______ explores
with joy and gay saying thank you Lord for its my birthday. Yes, dear sister
you are a precious gift and indeed today is a day of rejoicing and gladness, a
day of praise and thanksgiving to God as we celebrate your birthday. It’s a
great day for all of us as we join together to celebrate your precious life. We
were eagerly waiting for this day. Filled with joy and happiness on this your
day for the most precious life you have.
We join to thank and praise the creator of life. You are a dynamic person and a
unique gift to each one of us, to our community. You are a person of love and
you speak with love. We have experienced your love through your words and deeds
of kindness for us. Dear sister today we praise and thank God for the gift of
your beautiful person, the masterpiece of his creation. We rejoice with you for
the gift of your precious life and we celebrate it. We feel happy to express
our love, fellowship and solidarity with you. May God make your birthday
something special just as he made you. While we rejoice with you we extend our
warmest wishes from hearts sincere and true. Today we pray that you may have
love and life in its fullest and may this coming year of your life be for you a
better year than all others that are past. May happiness and joy be yours, on
the path ahead. Good health and fortune go with you for a glorious, wonderful
future wherever you may trade in his vineyard.
Hymn________
It shall be my Endeavour to reveal
thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act.” These words of Rabindranath Tagore ore
rightly express the life of Sr. ________ whose birthday we celebrate today. We
recognize in her the liveliness, childlike confidence in God, enthusiasm, far
sightedness, hospitality, availability to service and faith in Gods providence.
With these and many other qualities she has revealed God in her actions and
relationships. She allows God to flood her life with his power. Therefore we
see her deeply peaceful, firm and strong, always in quest of God’s will. We
discover Gods touch of love in her life and in the varied experiences that have
molded her life. Hymn__________
.
Dear Sr. _______today
grace is born afresh in your life to make you his gift of love visible to all
of us. Your birthday is not so much an achievement but it is simply an
expression of having accepted and fulfilled your mission as it has been given
to you. One of the sweetest things in life is the sense of satisfaction which
always comes as reward when we fulfill our mission which fills our hearts with
a lasting gladness. We wish you today the deep joy that comes from the sense of
your responsibility which has been entrusted to you to embrace Gods mission
with a renewed vigor and a genuine disposition of openness to God.
Hymn
…………
On your birthday
you are invited to reflect your nearness to God. Every year has gone by as
petal fallen from a flower, its function completed. It has dropped away. This
birthday tells you to make most of this moment to live your life moment by
moment. For these moments will become the next year of your life. So forget the
past, collect the good memories of yesteryears. As you enter into this new year
of your life full of hope, love.
And happiness, a
torch bearer of joy.
Life is God’s
gift to every human being. Be it long or short. The importance of living lies
in how one has lived one’s life. How much joy one has been able to spread
during his or her life time. Life is not always a bed of roses. Yet an optimist
is able to discover the roses amidst the thorns. The difficulties that come
into our life do not always engulf us unless we let ourselves down.
Difficulties make us strong and help us to be considerate, caring, loving and
hopeful.
Dear sister the
sisters of the province love you for the way you can be both strong and kind.
For the way you laugh and cry, feeling life from deep within inside. For the
way you are sometimes distant but never too far, for the way you reach out and
search for and bring out the best inside of all of us. For your openness, your honesty,
for looking into the farthest corners of your heart, and touching our inmost
thought. For your wisdom, your understanding………. Your love of simple things.
For always being our friend and letting us know it.
As you celebrate
your day today think of those who stood by you through sunshine and rain, to
keep alive your fading hope. Held you close in face of danger and helped you on
when the going was hard. Friends who have shared in this success story, for
sure, unmindful of what the world said, unperturbed by what others did, you
went ahead, worked hard to reach your goal daring all difficulties. Today is
yours! A day when you and all around you celebrate your joy of achieving your
goal. Be as you are –bold and beautiful yet humble at heart.
Gift: Persons
are gifts to receive and gifts to be given.
Persons are gifts which the father sends to us wrapped. Some are wrapped in a very ordinary wrapping
paper, some persons are gifts which come wrapped very beautifully and they are
very attractive. Others are wrapped
gently, delicately and creatively. But
the wrapping is not the gift. Gift
exists within the wrapping, which God the Creator has placed in the original
from. Let’s open the wrapping and look
for the gift with its originality. Now I
request Sr._________ to come forward to unwrap the gift of her person.
Opening the
gift:
1st
layer (Gentleness) : Sr. _______- the gift that you hold represents the
gift of yourself. The gentleness of your
life that you have shared with others.
It is greater to be great, but it is greatest to be as gentle as you
are. Lord, we thank you for sharing such
a great gift with us.
2nd
layer (Generosity) :
The gift is always meant to give that is what we have experienced in our daily
living with you dear sister. You are a
person always ready to share in terms of time, talents, ideas and thoughts and
happy to receive the life situations with more determination.
Son we remain
grateful to God for sharing this precious gift with us.
3rd
layer (Care and love): The gift silently communicates ‘handle
me with care’. Dear Sr. we the Sisters
of this community are cared and supported by you. With your animation our community and
province has bloomed and grown. With all
the ups and downs you dealt with the sisters and handled the situations with
love and care. We acclaim to God “Thank you Lord for dealing and handling us
with care.”
4Th
layer (Cheerfulness):
Cheerfulness and joy are the lubricants of a peaceful and serene life. A
cheerful smile, a friendly word, a hearty welcome for the sisters of our
provinces are The priceless little treasures from the store house of God that
reflected I the person of Sr. _________.
We thank you
Lord for the precious gift of cheerfulness in the person Sr.-
5th
layer (Spirit of prayer) : Prayer is a channel that brings the
waters of grace, to the barren regions of our souls, and makes it blossom in
virtue. Prayer has been the priority in the life of Sr._______ In the high and
low tidings, in the busy or relaxing moments she could steal and avail time for
God. In the joyful, in the peaceful stormy hours she experiences the power of
love and healing. We thank you Lord for the quiet moments of stillness in
prayer and openness to your grace.
6th
layer (Dedication):
“One who serves and seeks no recompense finds union with the lord. Such
a servant alone takes the masters guidance.” says Nanak, and on him is the
divine grace”. We have experienced in Sr.______ the deep dedicated spirit which
is an act of love for God and for the sisters of our province especially for
our community. In loving we feel loved, in serving we feel served and in
dying to self and sin we become alive
this is the goal of Sr.---- life. We praise and thank you Lord today for giving
Sr.--- as the efficient animator of our province.
Dear God, I
celebrate,
Everything that
happens in my life. All the things you
have given me: the sky, the stars, mountains trees and flowers do form part of
my celebration. Thank you for all the
people you have placed here around me on earth. Teach me to love them all. Help
me to be a friend to all. Even when it is difficult to do so. At such times
help me remember
that you are the
greatest friend of all. Lord my God, when your love Spilled over into creation you
thought of me I am from love, of love, for love. My life has been shaped in
beauty by your hand let my heart, O God, Always recognize Cherish and enjoy your
goodness in all creation. Direct all that is me toward your praise. Teach me
reverence for every person, all things. Energize me in your service,
O God, May
nothing ever distract me from your love------ neither health, nor sickness
wealth or
poverty, honor or dishonor long life or short life. May I never seek nor choose
to be Other than you intend or wish.
Psalm
62
is considered as a psalm of trust. Here the psalmist is filled with nostalgia
and a strong desire to return to the temple. Perhaps no other psalm so vividly
expresses the intimate relationship of
love between God and his faithful one. My soul clings to you.” The cling word
is often used to denote relationship with God. Dear sisters in the life of Sr.________
we do find the strong desire to be with God and to cling on to him throughout
her life. At this moment she is overwhelmed with joy and sings “O my God my God
for you my soul is thirsting.”
Hymn joyful lips C.70
Word
of God:- A gracious word
may smooth the way, a joyous word may light the way, a timely word may lessen
the stress, a loving word may heal and bless. With these thoughts let us expose
ourselves to listen to the word of God.
Isaiah 42: 1-9
Reflection
:- You are indeed a unique and unrepeatable
image and likeness of God himself. God does not make carbon copies of you and
me. You are a mystery of Love that we can only appreciate and never fully
understand. As god once said to Israel he also points out to you “here is my
servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights. I have put my
spirit upon to you to bring forth justice and love. Dear sister, God has waited
from all eternity for that moment of your birth. You are a sign that God wants
the world to go on.
Hymn
M .23
Dear Sr._______ today
shall we say thank you? Though we know that you seek no thanks. Yet, gratitude
that overwhelms our hearts urges us to recall how large hearted you were. And
we shall continue to cherish your patient ears, comforting look, warm touch and
encouraging pat. And above all your bountiful love.
Dear Sr. ______We
wish you joy,
We wish you
beauty, we wish you miracles and grace, we wish you love and success and strength
for your days. We wish you laughter, fun and happy times. Warmth in the cold calm
in the storm a world of special things.
We wish you
friends……. and dreams, and mountains you can climb, someone walking by your
side, we wish you gentle summer days, some rain and the freshness of spring.
W e wish you
peace, we wish you conflict; every season, in its tide. And most of all, a
sense of wonder…. to always surround your life
We wish you
lasting friendships to cherish unbeatable success in life. We wish challenges
as opportunities, keys to lead a happy life.
We wish you God’s presence everywhere obtainable
goals in life. We wish you opportunities at every moment, dreams of yours
coming true. These wishes are especially for you.
May God Bless
you always and all your ways. May you discover your true self, reach your full
potential. May you grow strong and healthy. In mind, body and spirit.
May you find
joy, challenge, meaning in your life. May you always seek truth even when it is
hard and painful. May you accept and
forgive both yourself and others.
May you be able
to find a silver lining behind every dark cloud of adversity. May you discover God in everyone
who comes into your life.
Hymn
:Count your blessings……..
Concluding
Prayer :
May you have enough
goals to lead a good life. Enough God’s wisdom to recognize right from wrong,
enough faith to keep you spiritual, enough time to spend with God, enough
health to serve other, enough wealth to share with the needy, enough joy to
make you laugh often, enough trials to keep you strong, enough friends to give
you comfort, enough goodness to love everyone, enough sight to see the earth’s
beauty, enough strength to give you best, enough success to keep you eager.
May the strength
of God direct you, may the power of God
preserve you, may the wisdom of God instruct you, may the hand of God protect
you, may the way of God guide you, may the shield of God defend you.
We
make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen
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