Mary Kaylor

June 1st, 2025

God of mystery and movement, we gather together this day, our hearts stretched between earth and heaven, between the weight of all that is and the wonder of what is promised. We come as those standing on the hillside with the disciples, eyes lifted toward the clouds, minds full of questions and spirits yearning for clarity.

You, Holy One, have never been confined to what we can see or touch or  understand. Your ways are not our ways—and yet you do not leave us alone. You ascend not to abandon, but to broaden the reach of grace. In the ascension of Christ Jesus, you draw all of creation into Your arc of redemption and the breath of new life.

Send us your Spirit,  God—your Advocate, your Wind, your Flame. Let her come among us as the wisdom we need to confront the hard truths of our world. Let her come as courage to speak peace in a time of war, to speak truth in a day captivated with power. Let her rise like fire in the bones of your people—kindling in us a justice that cannot be extinguished, a compassion that will not be bought.

In this world still torn by violence,  where missiles fall faster than mercy,  where greed governs decisions and profit mocks the poor,  where famine is not for lack of food but for lack of will— O God, how long?

And still, you are not silent.  Still, you are sending. Still, you are rising in the voices of peacemakers and prophets,  in the quiet labors of caregivers and teachers,  in the stubborn hope of those who dream of something more.

May we be among them. May we not stand idle, staring skyward for answers.
May we, like those first disciples, return to the world you love—to Jerusalem and Judea and all the places of suffering and need— to be your witnesses, your Body, your bold, boundless and broken Church.

In the name of the Risen One— the One who reigns not from a throne of gold but from a cross of love, and who sends us still by the power of your Spirit—
Jesus Christ, The One who taught us to pray saying: 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name…