TAIZÉ

Prayer for Each Day

 

Holy Week 1

Song

Psalm

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
You are far from my plea and the cry of my distress.
O my God, I call by day and you give no reply;
I call by night and I find no peace.

Yet you, O God, are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our forebears put their trust;
they trusted and you set them free.
When they cried to you, they escaped.
In you they trusted and never in vain.

But I am a worm and no man,
the butt of all, laughing-stock of the people.
All who see me deride me.
They curl their lips, they toss their heads.
“He trusted in the Lord, let him save him,
and release him if this is his friend.”

Yes, it was you who took me from the womb,
entrusted me to my mother’s breast.
To you I was committed from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not leave me alone in my distress
Come close, there is none else to help.

from Psalm 22

Reading

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

Isaiah 53,2-5

or

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Matthew 26,26-29

Song

Silence

Litany of praise

O Christ Savior, like the seed fallen to the ground, you suffered death. United to you, our life will bear much fruit.
—We praise you, Lord!

O Christ, you went down to the lowest point of the human condition; you remain close to all who are abandoned.
—We praise you, Lord!

In your love you took upon yourself our sins; innocent, you accepted death to free us from death.
—We praise you, Lord!

By your love you conquered evil and hatred, and you live for ever at the Father’s side.
—We praise you, Lord!

You listen to us in your goodness and you visit us in our misfortune; fill our hearts to overflowing by revealing to us the light of your face.
—We praise you, Lord!

Our Father

Prayer

O Christ, you give everything, you give your life and also your forgiveness; it will never vanish. And we stammer our response: Christ, you know that I love you. Perhaps not as I would like to, but I do love you.

or

Jesus, joy of our hearts, you remain alongside us like someone who is poor and also as the Risen Lord. You want to turn us into people who are fully alive, not lukewarm. And every time a distance opens up between ourselves and you, you invite us to follow you by remaining close beside you.

or

Bless us, Christ Jesus; when threatened you did not retaliate, and you come to heal us by your compassion.

Songs


Other prayers

For more prayers see the bottom of the page.

Most of the prayers on this page can be found in the book “Prayer for Each Day”. See Books, CDs, DVDs