Day of Prayer for Seafarers
Let us remember all those who work and live from the sea, among them sailors, fishermen, women and their families. Away from family and friends for many months at a time, working long hours and navigating some of the world’s most dangerous stretches of ocean, seafaring can be a tough, lonely and hazardous career. On this Day of Prayer for Seafarers 9 July, we pray especially for these 1.3 million hardworking men and women who are often forgotten.
Readings
Zech 9:9-10: See how humbly your king comes to you.
Ps 144:1-2, 8-11, 13-14: R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
Rom 8:9,11-13: If by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. Alleluia!
Matt 11:25-30: I am gentle and humble of heart.
Three Prayers
Heavenly Father: we pray to You for those on the perilous ocean that You will embrace them with your mighty protection and grant them success in all their rightful undertakings.
Grant them in all hours of need to see that they have a God who remembers them, and grant them grace in the hour of danger to commit their souls into Your hands.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who can rebuke the storm and bring it to silence, and lay the roaring waves to rest, show them who call to You out of the deep that You hear their prayer and will save them.
And finally bring us all to the only safe port.
Amen.
Source: Apostleship of the Sea New Zealand (Stella Maris)
Mary Star of the Sea
Mary, Star of the Sea, light of every ocean,
guide seafarers across all dark and stormy seas
that they may reach the haven of peace and light
prepared in Him who calmed the sea.
As we set forth upon the oceans of the world
and cross the deserts of our time, show us, O Mary,
the fruit of your womb, for without your Son we are lost.
Pray that we will never fail on life’s journey,
that in heart and mind, work and deed,
in days of turmoil and in days of calm,
we will always look to Christ and say,
“Who is this that even wind and sea obey him?”
Our Lady of Peace, pray for us!
Bright Star of the Sea, guide us!
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, pray for seafarers, pray for us.
A Prayer for Sea Sunday
Heavenly Father, we give thanks to you for your creation and all the beauty in this world. We thank you for the ocean, in its abundance, and for the people who toil on its surface. Without our brothers and sisters who are seafarers, we would not be able to enjoy all the blessings of this world. Enfold them in your fatherly love, guide their passage through storm, swell and darkness. May we always be mindful of our Global Family and be truly grateful for the sacrifices seafarers make each day. Amen
On this Day of Prayer for Seafarers please remember the contribution that seafarers make to your daily lives, and the Apostleship of the Sea that supports them.
More information on the Apostleship of the Sea Aotearoa New Zealand HERE
Stella Maris Australia have a range of supporting resources which you might like to view HERE