Prayer for America 08/31/05

Godspeed Gennaro

Father, I can feel summer loosening its grip. Children are getting ready to go back to school. I know they'll soon be sitting in classrooms, some resisting, some engaging in the process of learning. And I know their teachers will be put to the test to excite their minds with knowledge.

Please, Father, help those teachers succeed in breaking through short attention spans and late nights and missed meals and too much TV and the normal frenzy of childhood. America's future depends on those children learning math and science and history. Give those teachers the strength, courage, and wisdom to teach what's right in the best way possible. And help those children learn, Father, even if it is in spite of themselves.

Prayer for America 08/30/05

Godspeed Gennaro

You are our strength, O Lord, and so we ask for a measure of your courage when we feel timid, frightened, and overcome be the chaos in the world. Be our Rock and our Redeemer, and fill us with your power so we can face whatever is to come in our lives and our world. Amen.

Hope knows that in the midst of feeling all alone, God is still with us.

Prayer for America 08/29/05

Godspeed Gennaro

God, let us mount up on wings of eagles and transcend the suffering of our nation. With hope and faith to guide us, let us fly to a heavenly place where peace, love, and fellowship prevail. Like the majestic hawk that soars above the earth, let us rise to any challenge put before us. Bless our nation, O Lord, and make us stronger still.


The answer to senseless destruction is purposeful creation.
Art, in all its forms, is a great healer.
If you can write, write.
If you paint, paint.
If you're a potter, turn pots.
You are a child of God, so fill your life with creation.

Prayer for America 08/28/05

Godspeed Gennaro

God, as Americans, help us be aware of and respect other people and other nations. It is easy to focus only on ourselves and to forget that we are only one part of a larger world. Don't let us become self-serving and prideful. Don't let us fall into the trap of superiority. Help us realize that the rest of the world does not need to be like us.

America represents so much that is good--freedom, liberty, creativity, and individuality. Help us realize, however, that other countries and other people also represent many good things. Help us respect other lands, not look down on them. Help us be thankful for our national identity without thinking we must transfer it onto all other nations. Help us not to become a self-centered people incapable of seeing the world beyond our borders. Amen.

Prayer for America 08/27/05

Godspeed Gennaro

When I sit on the porch with a glass of iced tea and look out across the freshly mowed grass, I am thankful for the small pleasure of a job well done. Part of what makes our country great are those small and common jobs we do with satisfaction and with joy.

Make this my offering to you today, Lord. Give me some small things to do, and make me glad to do them. Help me to do them well and to add to the grand total of a great nation, a nation where work is a privilege and workmanship is a source of pride. Amen.

Police Officer Terence Flomo

Godspeed Police Officer Terence Flomo

Prayer for America 08/26/05

Godspeed Gennaro

Heavenly Father, help our nation protect those who are unable to defend themselves, guide our children so they do not lose their way, give hope to those in despair, and offer liberty to people enslaved by sin. Remind us that we are the people and that we each must do our part--or our prayers will be small bandages to large wounds and broken hearts. Amen.

To help another is not simply kindhearted--it's American.

Prayer for America 08/25/05

Godspeed Gennaro

We thank you for the doctors, nurses, and technicians who help make our bodies strong and well. Give them the wisdom and the skill to do your work. We are grateful for the healthy care that wew have now that keeps us well, and we are grateful for the healthy care that we may need in the future.

As the Great Physician, give us the cures we lack and the compassion we need. And when we fail, help us to turn to you, the God who heals. Amen.

Hopeful eyes perceive the light where other eyes see only night.

Prayer for America 08/24/05

Godspeed Gennaro

God, give us the gift of compassion, that we may know how it feels to walk in another's shoes. Give us the gift of tolerance, that we may accept those who are different even if we do not understand those differences. Give us the gift of hope, that we may look beyond the dark nights of pain and suffering to the dawn of a new tomorrow. Give us the gift of understanding, that we may know our sacred place in the world and use it for the good of all humankind. Amen.

Prayer for America 08/23/05

Godspeed Gennaro

There is no God like our God.
Righteousness and justice form the foundation of God's throne.
God's goodness is known throughout the earth.
The love of God is unfathomable.
We sing your praises.
There is no God like our God!

Let us live today so that when future generations look back on our lives they say respectfully, "They lived generous lives dedicated to the good of their nation."

Prayer for America 08/22/05

Godspeed Gennaro

Father, today we pray for the leaders of our country.

Please, God, grant them

humility as they fill the role of civil servant,

integrity as they represent the people of their constituencies,

honesty as they deal with other leaders,

compassion as they work for citizens with critical needs,

vision as they look ahead to what this country can be and can do.

God, we know their jobs are difficult. We know they face tough decisions on a regular basis. Protect their minds, their hearts, and their souls. Thank you for the role they play in this country. Guide them in the directions that will prove best for everyone. Amen.

Prayer for America 08/21/05

Godspeed Gennaro

Some prayers are best left unfinished, God of abundance, and this will be an ongoing conversation between us. Each day, I discover new gifts you offer me and my country, and the list of reasons to be thankful grows. As I accept your gifts and live with them thankfully, guide me and other Americans to become people who share with others, here and around the world, so that they, too, can live abundantly. May someone, somewhere, someday say of us, "I am truly thankful to have these people in my life."

Take time to reflect on the people and things around you. It is in these quiet moments that inspiration grows and we recognize the miracle of life.

One Year Anniversary

Captain John Taylor

Firefighter Rey Rubio

Today is the one year anniversary of the death of Captain John Taylor & Firefighter Rey Rubio. You both will NEVER be forgotten!!

Prayer for America 08/20/05

Godspeed Gennaro

Blessed Father, comfort our nation's citizens today. Remind us of your steadfast love and concern for us and that you will never forsake us. Give us wisdom to understand that your ways are not our ways nor are your thoughts our thoughts, and that there is a time and a purpose for everything under heaven. We turn to you in faith, Good Father, knowing that you will keep watch over your flock.

We never outgrow our need for faith. No one is too strong, too mature, or too experienced to benefit from its grace.

Prayer for America 08/19/05

Godspeed Gennaro

When we doubt your miracle-making power, Lord, show us the ordinary miracles of season, of hope regained, of love from family and friends, of civil decency, of humility, and of surprises that turn out to be miracles that remake our lives.

The one thing this country needs, above all other things, in its efforts to thrive is this: knees bent in humble adoration while individuals fervently pray to God Almighty.

Prayer for America 08/18/05

Godspeed Gennaro

Help us, God, to heal and rebuild when we are hurt. Help us to forgive and forget when we are wrong. Help us to console and comfort when we are sad. Help us to be one and stand tall when we are afraid. Help us to live and be proud because we are Americans. Amen.

Living the American dream doesn't mean we don't have to act. It means we plan, we act, and then we trust in God to help us reach our goals.

Gennaro Pellegrini

Godspeed Gennaro

I'm unable to speak at this point in time.
But here's a few pictures I have of this great American Hero.
You, Sir, will be missed beyond words!!

Gennaro, I can't believe you're gone...

Godspeed Gennaro

Prayer for America 08/03/05

Help us to put out trust in you, O God. We see that the things of this world do not sustain us. When trouble comes we are like saplings swaying in the wind, and we fear our roots are not strong enough to hold us firm. Let us be rooted in your love and nourished by your constant presence, that we might stand tall even when adversity threatens to tear us apart. As you have been with humanity throughout the eons, stay by us now and help us be worthy of your love and care. Amen.

Great faith is not found; it is made of tiny demonstrations of commitment on a daily basis.