Prayers for Easter 6A and Mother’s Day

Loving God,
you are the source of life and love.
In Christ you make your home among us,
and through your Spirit you draw us into peace.
Hear the prayers we bring before you today.

We pray for your Church throughout the world.
For places where faith is flourishing,
and for places where discipleship is costly or wearying.
Teach us to embody your love not only in words, but in lives shaped by compassion, courage, and truth.
In this Easter season, renew your people with the hope of resurrection and the gift of your peace.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for the nations of the world.
For leaders entrusted with power and responsibility;
for communities torn by war, violence, displacement, or fear.
Grant wisdom where there is division, restraint where there is anger, and mercy where there is suffering.
Guide us all toward the hard and holy work of reconciliation.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for all mothers and for those who have nurtured others with tenderness, patience, and strength.
We give thanks for mothers, grandmothers, foster mothers, stepmothers, carers, teachers, mentors, and all whose love has shaped our lives.
On this Mother’s Day, we hold before you relationships marked by joy and gratitude, and also those marked by grief, absence, estrangement, or longing.
Comfort those who mourn mothers no longer with us, those who long to be mothers, and those for whom this day carries pain.
May your gentle love surround every heart.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for our local communities.
For schools and hospitals, farms and businesses, neighbourhoods and homes.
For all who feel isolated, anxious, or overwhelmed.
May we become people who make room for one another, reflecting the hospitality of Christ who says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for all who are sick, suffering, or in need.
For those facing illness in body, mind, or spirit;
for the lonely, the grieving, and the exhausted;
for those awaiting diagnosis, healing, or hope.
Grant comfort to the troubled, strength to the weary, and peace to those weighed down by fear.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We remember before you those who have died,
and those whose memory we carry quietly within us.
Trusting in the promise of Christ,
prepare in us hearts ready for your eternal dwelling place,
where sorrow and death shall be no more.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

God of love,
through the risen Christ you prepare a place for us
and through the Holy Spirit you remain ever near.
Receive these prayers,
and shape us into a people who live your peace in the world;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen