This is a collection of prayers and blessings to guide you as you set out, travel, and return on pilgrimage. They were collected and offered by members of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (Greensboro, NC) for a virtual pilgrimage to Canterbury. May they bless you on your journey.
The Path
as found in Celtic Blessings: Prayers for Everyday Life by Ray Simpson
God bless the path on which you go.
God bless the earth beneath your feet.
God bless your destination.
God be a smooth way before you,
A guiding star above you,
A keen eye behind you
This day, this night, and forever.
God be with you whatever you pass.
Jesus be with you whatever you climb.
Spirit be with you wherever you stay.
God be with you at each stop and each sea,
At each lying down and each rising up,
In the trough of the waves,
on the crest of the billows
each step of the journey you take.
A Friendship Blessing
by John O’Donohue in To Bless the Space Between Us
May you learn to be a good friend to yourself.
May you be able to journey to that place in your soul where
there is great love, warmth, feeling, and forgiveness.
May this change you.
May it transfigure that which is negative, distant, or cold in you.
May you be brought in to the real passion, kinship, and affinity of belonging.
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them
and may you be there for them;
may they bring you all the blessings, challenges, truth, and light
that you need for your journey.
May you never be isolated.
May you always be in the gentle nest of belonging with your anam ċara.
Pilgrim’s Prayer
by Nineveh Murray
Dear God,
We ask your blessing as we travel today in spirit;
Guide our minds as we learn of those who came before us, traversing the pilgrim way.
Give us a hunger to seek your face in paths through fields,
along roads trod by many seeking the blessing of your presence.
Nurture our fellowship
And help us to see each other as a brother or sister
Sharing the journey to your blessed kingdom.
Amen.
Prayer Song from Ghana
as found in The Soul of a Pilgrim by Christine Valters Painter
Journeying God,
Pitch your tent with mine so that I may not be deterred
by hardship, strangeness, doubt.
Show me the movement I must make
toward a wealth not dependent on possessions,
toward a wisdom not based on books,
toward a strength not bolstered by might,
toward a god not confined to heaven.
Help me to find myself as I walk in others’ shoes.
Give Up Your Endless Searching
by Christine Valters Painter
Lay down your map and compass,
and those dog-eared travel guides.
Rest your weary eyes from so much looking,
your tired feet from so much wandering,
your aching heart from so much hoping.
Lay down on the soft green grass
wet with morning dew, and watch as
the tree heavy with pendulous pears
bends her long branches toward you,
offering you perfection in every sweet bite.
Give up the weight of knowing,
for the reverence of quiet attention
and curiosity, for the delight of
juice that runs in generous streams
down your chin.
Prayer for Racial Justice
by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As read by Bishop Michael Curry
When we do not see the gravity of racial injustice, shake us from our slumber and open our eyes.
When out of fear we are frozen into inaction, give us a spirit of bravery.
When we try our best but say the wrong things, give us a spirit of humility.
When the chaos of this [time] dies down, give us a lasting spirit of solidarity.
When it becomes easier to point fingers outward, help us to examine our own hearts.
God of truth, in your wisdom, enlighten us.
God of love, in your mercy, forgive us.
God of hope, in your kindness, heal us.
Creator of All People, in your generosity, guide us.
Racism breaks your heart. Break our hearts for what breaks yours, Oh Lord.
We pray in faith, Amen.
Celtic Benediction
by John Phillip Newell
Glory be to you, O God, for the gift of life unfolding through those who have gone before me.
Glory be to you, O God, for your life planted within my soul and every soul coming into the world.
Glory be to you, O God, for the grace of new beginnings placed before me in every moment and encounter of life.
Glory, glory, glory
for the grace of new beginnings in every moment of life.
The Journey Blessing
by Mary MacDonald in The Celtic Way of Prayer by Esther de Waal
God be with thee in every pass,
Jesus be with thee on every hill,
Spirit be with thee on every stream, headland and ridge and lawn;
Each sea and land, each moor and meadow,
Each lying down, each rising up,
In the trough of the waves, on the crest of the billows,
Each step of the journey thou go-est.
The Pilgrim’s Prayer
O God,
Be for us our companion on the walk,
Our guide at the crossroads,
Our breath in our weariness,
Our protection in danger,
Our refuge on the Way,
Our shade in the heat,
Our light in the darkness,
Our consolation in our discouragements,
And our strength in our intentions.
So that with your guidance
we may arrive safe and sound
at the end of the Road
enriched with grace and virtue
may we return safely to our homes
filled with joy.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen