Lent 2018 PRAYER BOOKLET LET US GO TOGETHER: Journeying to Peace and Hope in Timor-Leste MAI ITA BÁ HAMUTUK: La'o ba Dame no Esperansa iha Timor-Leste If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace truth. POPE JOHN PAUL II
How to use this Prayer Booklet A collection of short prayers is included in this booklet to complement lessons and themes from the Caritas resources for Lent 2018 entitled, LET US GO TOGETHER: Journeying to Peace and Hope in Timor-Leste. Many of the lessons in the Timor-Leste module already have prayers listed, however, this resource provides opportunities for prayers to be chosen and used at specific times. The prayers in this booklet have been divided into two categories: prayers for (1) primary students, and (2) secondary students. Each prayer fits a separate page and the orientation is landscape in the hope that it is easier for students to see the prayers on a device or a smartboard. Prayers for Primary students Prayer for Peace New Beginnings Timor-Leste Food for All Working Together Love Transforms God, Have Your Way Prayers for Secondary students Peace Makers on Earth Remembering Timor-Leste Overcoming Poverty Towards Reconciliation Journey Together Students enjoy soy milk sold by HAFOTI members during a break Mother and baby in Oemolo Village in Oecusse
PRIMARY Prayer for Peace E te Ariki, You are the Prince of Peace. Help us to be people of peace in all that we do. May we always show love at home. Help us to care for our family and say sorry when we need to. May we always show patience at school. Help us to see the needs of others around us and look to bring healing. May we always look to be joyful in all that we do. Help us to bring light even when there is darkness. The Pereira family work together on their garden We pray for your world. Where there is war, may there be peace. Where there is struggle, may there be peace. Where there is anger, may there be peace. May your peace come again.
New Beginnings PRIMARY E te Atua kaha rawa, You make all things new. You made the universe and everything in it. You made us and call us your own. As we begin Lent this year, may you open our eyes, to see things for the first time, to bring love where we can. Creator God, you make all things new. We rest in your creative arms. We are full of hope in the strength of your mighty hand. Creator God, you make all things new. May you fix everything that is broken. May you heal wounds on the outside and any pain that remains within. Timorese mother and baby in Aileu Help everyone in need of a new start. Be the light on their journeys. Thank you that you make all things new. Thank you that there is always a new start in you.
Timor-Leste PRIMARY E te Atua, Loving God, We praise you for your love. Thank you for Aotearoa New Zealand, the place we call home. We pray for our families, our friends, and all we hold dear in our country. We also pray for Timor-Leste, although it seems so very far away. May you be with the people of Timor-Leste, help the leaders to rule fairly and wisely. Be with families who struggle. Bring them hope, help them receive everything they need. The majority of Timorese families live in rural areas and are subsistence farmers May your Will be done. On Earth. In Aotearoa. In Timor-Leste. As it is in heaven.
Food for All PRIMARY O God, You entrusted to us the fruits of all creation so that we might care for the earth and be nourished by its bounty. We come before you, full of hope, to share food with all members of our global family. Through your wisdom, inspire leaders of government and of business, as well as all the world s citizens, to find solutions to end poverty and hunger. May no food go to waste and all hungry mouths be fed. In the name of Jesus, Rice is a big part of the diet throughout Timor-Leste Adapted from Caritas Australia s prayer, Food for All.
Working Together PRIMARY E Hēhu Karaiti, During your life on earth you drew people together, to live together, to work together, to pray together. You understood that people are happier when they know and experience the love of others. Teach us always to include everyone in our work, in our games, in our joyful times, and in our sad times. Pope Francis said, the only future worth building includes everyone. May we play a part in building stronger and happier communities. HAFOTI members in Aileu are a great example of success through working together
Love Transforms PRIMARY E te Atua o te Aroha, God of Love, Some people are capable of transforming difficult situations into something joyful with a simple smile. They seem to possess an inner light. They are channels of your love in the world. Thank you for people like Suzanne Aubert who transformed the lives of people neglected by others into lives of hope and dignity. Help us to be your instruments in the world, to bring joy through a simple smile and a helping hand. Two children sit together during the afternoon May we always be generous in sharing the aroha which you have given us.
God, Have Your Way PRIMARY E te Atua o te Rangimārie, God of Peace, Sometimes there are many different ways that we could go, but help us to choose the way of peace. When we could choose to be greedy and just think of ourselves, help us to be generous and think of the needs of others. When we could choose to be angry towards someone who has hurt us, help us to be forgiving and to build friendship again. In our world, there are many ways that things could go. The rich could get richer and ignore the poor. Or those of us who have a lot could change the world and share what we have with others. Grandpa and granddaughter E te Atua o te Rangimārie, Have your way in our world.
Peace Makers on Earth SECONDARY Heavenly Father, Help us be peace makers in this world. Following the words of St Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Lucas Pereira kisses his grandmother s hand before heading to school in Aileu P9 Help us be peace makers on your earth, that we may bring love and joy to your people, Empower us by your Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus. Amen
Remembering Timor-Leste SECONDARY Lord of the journey, The nation of Timor-Leste was born in 2002. Its journey to independence and self-sufficiency has been a difficult one marked by internal conflicts and the fight against poverty. Look upon the people of Timor-Leste as they seek to forge a future together where no-one is in material need. Guide the nation s leaders as they seek to promote the good of all. Guide the leaders of HAFOTI as they seek to provide livelihoods for Timorese women. There is still a long way to go on the journey. Grant to the people of Timor-Leste the gifts of perseverance, courage and love. Timorese women take part in a training session
Overcoming Poverty SECONDARY E te Atua, Loving God, It is not your will that anyone should lack the basic necessities of life. Yet some people toil day after day simply to have enough to eat. Blessed Oscar Romero said, It is not God s will for some to have everything and others to have nothing. Help those of us who have a lot to be generous with what we have and to think of creative ways in which we can share the bounty of the earth. HAFOTI members work hard to prepare virgin coconut oil in Oecusse
Towards Reconciliation SECONDARY Merciful God, We are aware of the human suffering which comes when one people or nation imposes its will on another. We see the devastation experienced by the people of Timor-Leste during many years of occupation. But now it is time for the nation to rise up and for individuals to forgive those who harmed them How is it possible for us to forgive those who have hurt us? What power does it take to choose to be merciful? After a difficult past many families are recovering Forgiving God, it is only with your help that we are capable of forgiving and building a future without recrimination or resentment. Teach us to be merciful, as you are merciful.
SECONDARY Journey Together Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall one will lift the other Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 E te Atua o te aroha, God of love, Thank you for the gift of friendship. Thank you for those who walk with us during the ups and downs of life. In the words of Pope Francis, help us to regain the conviction that we need one another. Timorese women smile for the camera When we are tempted to go it alone teach us the value of community and co-operation. Help us to take seriously our shared responsibility for others and for the world.