Taizé Prayer
Over the years this form of prayer has developed into a style that is both meditative and easily accessible to all people. It involves singing and listening to the word of God in an atmosphere of silence and peace. People may kneel or sit, taking whatever posture is most comfortable for them.
(c) Ateliers et presses de Taizé, 71250 Taizé, France
Nothing is more conducive to communion with the living God than a meditative common prayer with singing that never ends but continues in the silence of one's heart when one is alone again.
 Brother Roger (founder of Taizé) © Taizé, France
Taizé Prayer
A place to meet God
Through a blend of ritual reverence and simplicity...
In the midst of community
In prayer
for healing and wholeness for oneself,
for others, and for the world...
And to be renewed
 Icons
Icons contribute to the beauty of worship. They are like windows open on the realities of the Kingdom of God, making them present in our prayer on earth.
Singing
Repeating short musical phrases allows the words of the chant to become a prayer of the heart.
"Prayer expressed in song remains one of the most essential expressions of our search for God. Short chants, repeated over and over, emphasize the meditative quality of prayer. They express in a few words a basic truth which is quickly grasped by the mind and gradually penetrates into one's whole being."
Brother Roger (founder of Taizé) © Taizé, France
Scripture Reading
A text from the New Testament is read in multiple languages.
Silent Meditation
A five to ten minute period of silence is observed, a time for silent meditation.
“At times prayer becomes silent. Peaceful communion with God can do without words. 'I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.' Like the satisfied child who has stopped crying and is in its mother’s arms, so can 'my soul be with me' in the presence of God. Prayer then needs no words, maybe not even thoughts.”
Brother Roger (founder of Taizé) © Taizé, France
Intercessions
Praying for others widens the prayer to the dimensions of the whole human family. A sung response follows each intercession, including an opportunity to spontaneously voice concern for others.
Prayer around the Cross
All are invited to come forward and bring their burdens and the burdens of the world. This may be done by touching the cross, by placing the forehead against the cross or by kneeling near the cross.
Each Friday evening at the Taizé Centre in France, everyone gathers for the prayer around the cross, a moment to lay our own burdens and those of others down at the cross.
At the end of the service the people depart in silence.
As the psalmist wrote:
O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul.
O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
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