Prayer for the Provincial Chapter 2022

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the successful General Chapter in this pandemic time.
It serves as a symbol of our shared desire to gather together
in person for the coming Provincial Chapter as we celebrate
of memories and continue to listen to what your Spirit has been telling us through your Son.
May we empty our bodies, minds and hearts of anything that obstructs, diverts or interrupts (Rnb, XXIII, 10) our humble efforts to recover our Franciscan identity of fraternitas and minoritas.
May we be a community of lesser brothers united to the Lord Jesus your Son,
like branches on the vine (Jn 15:1-15), and may this contemplative fraternity
be the appropriate source of abundant life and strength as we
commit to renewing our vision and embracing our future amidst the
many “griefs and anxieties” afflicting the human family and the rest of creation (Gaudium et spes, 4.1).

As your missionaries, let us together discern, study, form and act on
your Spirit of Love’s invitation to identify ourselves with the poor, marginalized,
abandoned, despised, and forgotten of our societies.
As we read the signs of these digital times, may we be open to
your clear demands of conversion of hearts in our life and
ministry for the young adults and the wounded.
Guide our dispositions regarding the use of money and
clericalism and care for our common home whose neglect produce
more migrants and refugees. Through the inspiration and guidance of Pope Francis,
who espouses our Franciscan charism, be with us as we set the
direction of our Franciscan life in this rapidly changing world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.