Malou’s Prayer 2019

In my country, the Philippines, any corporate event or gathering will not be complete without the Invocation otherwise known as the opening prayer.  It is as if the event will not be successful if the organizers chose not to supplicate and plea to the heavenly spirits for guidance, strength and protection while the affair is on-going.

Surprisingly, one of the most popular posts I have in this blog is an Invocation.  I often see my blog’s stats sour high during Christmas season because folks assigned to lead the prayer in their respective event, program or party seem to search online on samples of beautiful prayers.  I can attest that Malou’s prayer has been so popular in the past few years! 

needs to have my photo before the whole stressful yet fun event starts!

malou & edwin, the designated hosts of the program

Last January 21, being the yearly designated organizer of a company’s Employees’ Night Grand Ball, I again designated Malou to compose and lead a gorgeous and inspiring prayer.  Despite having so much going on in my head that night – anxiety, pressure, worries and apprehensions – to ensure and make the party a success, Malou’s pleasing prayer consigned my being at ease.

And because of that, I again requested Malou for a copy.  She said okay when I told her that I am to post it in my blog.  Here it is…

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the blessings of 2018.

Thank you for bringing us together tonight and giving us another reason to celebrate our successes, our friendships, our teamwork, our lives.

We thank you most of all Lord for giving us 40 fruitful years and may we be blessed with so much more.

As we face the New Year, may You grant us the strength and the courage to live each day to the fullest, being a reflection of Your love to each other.

May you grant us the wisdom to perform our daily jobs and bless us with the inspiration to carry on each day.

Deliver us Lord from everything that will destroy us and help us to put our trust into your perfect care.

May we be to each other a beacon of light, a loving and forgiving friend, a strength to hold on to, a joy to look forward to, and an inspiration to keep us going.

May You bless our company with another 40 years of success and may we be a blessing to the people we serve.

All good things are not possible without You, Oh Lord.

 All glory and honor be to You Lord God, now and forever, Amen!

 

Gondohhh, di ba???

Malou’s Opening Prayer

malou domingo

Organizing a company Christmas Party is a big task to accomplish year after year for an HR practitioner like me.  Committees of various responsibilities need to be reminded, assisted and monitored about the status of their respective tasks.

This year, I requested Ms. Malou Domingo, our company’s Marketing Manager to deliver the Opening Prayer for LJC Restaurant Group’s Support Service Christmas Party.  When the party was on-going, I personally asked Malou for a copy of what she has prepared because I was impressed by what she has composed and rendered for the group.

I personally believe that the Opening Prayer is one of the most vital parts of any social gathering since it is a spiritual yearning for the awareness of God’s presence during the course of the revelry.  The prayer was unadorned yet grateful, pleasing, appreciative and sincere. It moved me!

Here is the simple yet pure and remarkable invocation written by Malou…

“We thank You Lord for gathering us today.

We thank You most of all for giving us a reason to celebrate each year…

… a chance to reunite with friends and co-workers,

… a chance to enjoy each other’s company

… and a chance to reconcile and to leave the past behind

so that we may look forward

to better working relationships in the coming year

2010 has generally been a good year for all of us

and we thank you for the blessings you have given.

There were setbacks yes

but we trust that these are only ways for You

to open up new doors and new opportunities for us.

Bless our gathering today and bless this place

and bless each and everyone and our families as well.

We will soon welcome a new year and we will step into it

with full trust in You who makes all good things possible.

Bless us with joy, peace, good health, prosperity

and most of all wisdom to know how to attain all these.

To You be Glory forever, Amen.”

And when I absorbed what Malou has said and I said my Amen, I knew that the party will be fun and will be a success.  And it definitely was!

Isang malaking palakpak sa ‘yo Ms. Malou!