Leader:
We pray to you, good and gracious God, and ask you to renew your grace in us that we might recognize your presence among us.

All:
We give you thanks
God of abundance,
For bread and friendship and hope.

Reader 1:
As we gather to celebrate this birthday-
we thank you for the blessings
you have given to the Congregation of the
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Reader 2:
You blessed us through the loving hearts of our founding members:
Mary Frances, Margaret, Rose, Eliza and Catherine-
first in Ireland , then in Philadelphia ,
when on November first, eighteen thirty-three,
they gathered in St. Joseph Church
to make the vows that proclaimed to the world
the dawning of a new community of religious women.

Reader 3:
So we, the followers of these splendid women,
meet to celebrate that glorious moment and to proclaim that,
years later, their spirit and dedication lives on in us,
and in all those whose lives have touched ours
in the past one hundred and seventy-five years.

All:
Bless our coming together today.
Give us birthday joy and celebrating hearts!
Grant that we may always see the wonders in our midst.
We thank you for all that has been and we place our future
in the hands of Mary, Mother of Mt Carmel. Amen