Taizé

Prayer live from Taizé

Matthew — 2025-01-07T15:30:00Z

Every Saturday

Every Saturday, evening prayer is livestreamed from Taizé at 8.30 pm (CET | UTC+1) on the Taizé social media networks. The link will be published here afterwards.

Order of prayer — 09/08/2025

Song	Alleluia (94)
Psalm 23	Alleluia 22 (77)
Reading	Psalm 27:4
Song	Atme in uns (158)
— Silence —
Intercessions	Kyrie 9 (83)
Song	In te confido (46)
Prayer
Song	Laudate Dominum (10)
Gospel	John 20:19-23
Songs	Az egek és a földek (118)
	Ô toi, l'au-delà de tout (149)

All songs from Taizé are © Ateliers et Presses de Taizé.
The song numbers refer to the Taizé songbook 2025-2026.
The songs can also be found from this page.

Every day

You can receive each evening prayer on live audio from Taizé

Monday to Sunday at 8.30pm (CET | UTC+1) from the Church of Reconciliation live audio. The interface is available in a frame on the home page of the site and below.

Prayer live from Taizé

Prayers in replay

Hera are audio clips of the two most recent prayers to allow those who wish to pray at another time to do so.

2022-02-28 20:30

Your browser does not support the audio element.

2022-02-27 20:30

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Typical order of a prayer

A section on our website helps with learning the Taizé songs and the different voice parts.

Evening prayer

Song
Psalm
Bible reading
Song
Silence
Intercessions or litany of praise
Song
Blessing
Songs

Prayer for Each Day

webadmin — 2024-12-02T19:04:34Z

For more prayers see the bottom of the page.

Most of the prayers on this page can be found in the book “Prayer for Each Day”. See Books, CDs, DVDs

Prayer Vigil for the Care of Creation

John — 2023-10-25T09:50:29Z

Christians around the world are coming together from September 1st to October 4th for prayer vigils, reflection and concrete actions around care for creation. For the third year, we propose below a schedule for a vigil inspired by the common prayer in Taizé.

Proposal for a time of prayer

Song

Nada te turbe

Psalm

Bonum est confidere

O Lord, how numerous are your works,
wisely you have accomplished them all;
your creatures cover the earth,
how manifold are your marvels, O God!

You send out your breath, they are made,
you renew the face of the earth.
For ever the glory of the Lord!
Let our Master be glad in his works!

All life long, for the Lord I will sing,
while I live, I will praise my God;
may the Lord take pleasure in my words,
since all my joy is in God.

from Psalm 104

Reading

See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. (...) Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 65:17-18.24-25

Song
Ô toi l'au-delà de tout

Silence

Prayer for Creation

Between each intercession Misericordia Domini can be sung.

1) Loving God, you are present in the universe and in the least of your creatures, surround all that exists with your tenderness. -We pray to you.

2) Creator God, teach us to take care of creation, where everything speaks to us of you. -We pray to you.

3) Loving God, we pray for all who suffer from fire and water, earthquakes and storms. May they remain hopeful in spite of their difficulties. -We pray to you.

4) Creator God, awaken our praise and our gratitude; give us the grace to feel intimately united to all that exists. -We pray to you.

5) Loving God, we entrust to you all the people, especially the youngest ones, who are implementing new projects in the face of the climate emergency. -We pray to you.

6) Creator God, you are with us always; sustain us in our struggle for justice, love and peace. -We pray to you.

7) An intention for a current situation

Our Father

Prayer by Brother Alois

Holy Spirit, you set us free, free in order to love those you entrust to us; free also to look in a new way upon creation. All that is created comes from you as a gift which you entrust to us.

Songs

Laudemus Deum
L'ajuda em vindra
Aber du weißt

[1]

[1] Photo: Cédric Nisi

Preparing a time of prayer

Jean-Patrick — 2021-02-23T21:30:00Z

How can we keep on praying together? People often ask this question after a stay in Taizé, or else after taking part in one of the meetings outside of Taizé.

Here, then, are some of the more important elements that go to preparing a prayer that is meditative in character and “that has neither beginning nor end”.

To begin the prayer, choose one or two songs of praise.

Psalm

Jesus prayed these age-old prayers of his people. Christians have always found a wellspring of life in them. The psalms place us in the great communion of all believers. Our joys and sorrows, our trust in God, our thirst and even our anguish find expression in the psalms.

One or two persons can alternate in reading or singing the verses of a psalm. After each verse, all respond with an Alleluia or another sung acclamation. If the verses are sung they should be short, usually two lines. In some cases, the congregation can hum the final chord of the acclamation while the solo verses are being sung. If the verses are read and not sung, they can be longer. It is not necessary to read the entire psalm. Do not hesitate to choose just a few verses, and always the most accessible ones

Reading

Reading Scripture is a way of going to “the inexhaustible wellspring by which God gives himself to thirsting human beings” (Origen, 3rd century). The Bible is a “letter from God to creatures” that enables them “to discover God's heart in God's words” (Gregory the Great, 6th century).

Communities who pray regularly customarily read the books of the Bible in systematic fashion. But for a weekly or monthly prayer, more accessible readings should be chosen, as well as ones that fit the theme of the prayer or the season. Each reading can be begun by saying “A reading from...” or “The Gospel according to Saint....” If there are two readings, the first can be chosen from the Old Testament, the Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles or the Book of Revelation; the second should always be from one of the Gospels. In that case, a meditative song can be sung between the readings.

Before or after the reading, it is a good idea to choose a song celebrating the light of Christ. While this is being sung, children or young people can come forward with candles to light an oil lamp set on a lampstand. This symbol reminds us that even when the night is very dark, whether in our own life or in the life of humanity, Christ's love is a fire that never goes out.

Song

Silence

When we try to express communion with God in words, our minds quickly come up short. But, in the depths of our being, through the Holy Spirit, Christ is praying far more than we imagine.

Although God never stops trying to communicate with us, this is never in order to impose. The voice of God is often heard only in a whisper, in a breath of silence. Remaining in silence in God's presence, open to the Holy Spirit, is already prayer.

The road to contemplation is not one of achieving inner silence at all costs by following some technique that creates a kind of emptiness within. If, instead, with a childlike trust we let Christ pray silently within us, then one day we shall discover that the depths of our being are inhabited by a Presence.

During a time of prayer with others, it is best to have just one fairly long period of silence (5-10 minutes) rather than several shorter ones. If those taking part in the prayer are not used to silence, it can help to explain it briefly beforehand. Or, after the song immediately preceding the silence, someone can say, “The prayer will now continue with a few moments of silence.”

Intercessions or Litany of Praise

A prayer composed of short petitions or acclamations, sustained by humming, with each petition followed by a response sung by all, can form a kind of “pillar of fire” at the heart of the prayer. Praying for others widens our prayer to the dimensions of the entire human family; we entrust to God the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and the sufferings of all people, particularly those who are forgotten. A prayer of praise enables us to celebrate all that God is for us.

One or two persons can take turns expressing the petitions or the acclamations of praise, which are introduced and followed by a response such as Kyrie eleison, Gospodi pomiluj (“Lord, have mercy”), or Praise to you, Lord. After the written petitions or acclamations are finished, time may be left for people to pray spontaneously in their own words, expressing prayers that rise up from their hearts. These spontaneous prayers should be brief and be addressed to God; they should not become an excuse for communicating one's own ideas and opinions to other people by formulating them as a prayer. Each of these spontaneous prayers should be followed by the same response sung by all.

Our Father

Concluding prayer

Songs

At the end, the singing can go on for some time. A small group can remain to sustain the singing of those who wish to keep on praying.

Other people can be invited for a time of small group sharing nearby, for example by reflecting together on a Bible text, perhaps using the Meditation and Reflection section of this site or the monthly commented Bible passages.

Information on songbooks and other resources can be found on the page "Books CDs and DVDs"

Daily Prayers by Brother Matthew

2020-08-17T14:00:00Z

Monday, 6 July 2026

Christ Jesus, when you say to us, "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate," you reveal to us the very heart of God. Little by little, every desire to judge others fades away as we enter into the mystery of this merciful love. And throughout our lives, the light of your presence transforms us.

Sunday, 5 July 2026

Christ Jesus, even in times of trial, you sought to bless God—the Creator of all things—for you knew that his love always makes its way through. It is not necessarily those who are self-assured who are ready to welcome this love, but the little ones who stand before you with empty hands. Yet to everyone you offer rest, and you desire to lighten the burden of all. Day by day, your Holy Spirit transforms us so that we may become, like you, gentle and humble of heart.

Saturday, 4 July 2026

God of love, you love without counting the cost and you are never reproachful to us. When we look upon the face of your Christ, we understand the lengths to which you are willing to go to reveal this love. Through the Holy Spirit, grant us a generosity that risks everything for you and for the people you entrust to us.

short prayers

Other prayers

The prayer read at noon by Brother Matthew is published each day on this page http://www.taize.fr/prayers. You may also find online the Bible text read during the midday prayer at Taizé and a short daily meditation by Brother Roger.

Prayer

David — 2020-02-10T15:39:15Z

How to prepare a prayer service

Comment préparer une prière ?

Ein gemeinsames Gebet vorbereiten

¿Cómo preparar una oración?

Come preparare una preghiera?

Jak przygotować modlitwę?

Como preparar uma oração?

Как подготовить молитву?

Jak připravit modlitbu?

Як самастойна падрыхтаваць малітву?

Kuidas palvust ette valmistada?

Kako pripremiti molitvu?

Hogyan készítsünk elő egy imádságot ?

Kaip paruošti pamaldas?

Kā sagatavoties lūgšanai?

Een gebedsviering voorbereiden

Ako pripraviť modlitbu?

Hur förbereder man en bön?

Як підготувати молитву?

如何預備祈禱會

기도 준비

Young adults and prayer at Taizé

Thomas — 2006-01-28T18:30:45Z

One of the brothers considers how young people take part in the prayer; he underlines three dimensions of prayer in Taizé which seem to him to echo the searching of the young.

Three times each day, everything stops on the hill of Taizé: the work, the Bible studies, the small-group discussions. The bells call everyone to the church for prayer. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of young adults from many different countries across the world pray and sing with the brothers of the community. Short songs sung over and over again that, in a few words, express a basic reality, quickly grasped by the mind. Then the Bible is read in several languages. At the center of every prayer service, a long moment of silence offers an irreplaceable opportunity to encounter God.

We brothers are often impressed by the ability of the young people to remain in our church, sometimes for hours on end, in silence or supported by meditative singing. They themselves are sometimes astonished to discover how much they have prayed in Taizé. When we ask the groups we meet at the end of their stay what has struck them the most, the reply comes quickly, without hesitation: “the prayer!” And yet how many of those who speak so enthusiastically about their experience of prayer seem at first sight hardly to be “experts”! That is all the more touching.

We ourselves, once again, remain surprised by this. What enables the young people to become truly open to an inner dialogue in prayer? How to we manage to let them discover that, even without knowing how to pray, even without knowing what to ask for or what to expect, God has already placed in us the longing for a communion?

Without really being able to reply to these questions, I can nonetheless mention three dimensions of prayer in Taizé which seem to me to echo the searching of the young: an accessible prayer, a meditative prayer, a prayer of the heart.

An accessible prayer

The community's prayer has changed quite a bit over the years; it has become constantly simpler. Brother Roger was always concerned that nothing in the prayer should appear inaccessible. For him, to read a text that was too long or too complicated could keep people from perceiving that relationship of love that the presence of the Holy Spirit offers in prayer.

This concern to make the inner experience of prayer accessible to a large number is the reason why the community developed a way of praying with simple and meditative songs. Not that everything was adapted for young people. In one sense, the Taizé chants are not in themselves songs written in the style of the music of the young. I believe that our songs are deeply rooted in the monastic tradition. By their vocabulary, which is that of the psalms, the long tradition of sung prayer that began in the earliest assemblies of Israel. By their meditative, and even repetitive, character. Basically, the community began by singing the psalms and it still does so today. But rather than singing the whole psalm, we focus on a single verse, meditating on it together, letting it echo and find in us the experiences that it will bring to light.

What touches the young people in Taizé is perhaps the sense that we strive to make the expression of faith as simple as possible, without at the same time watering it down. They feel instinctively that the prayer proposed to them is not so much the translation into their own language of a reality that is foreign to them, but rather an invitation to a search that draws them onwards beyond themselves, that, by placing on their lips words from another age, gently forces them to de-center themselves, to empty themselves. Young people are very good at sensing this. They can distinguish discourses filled with themselves from those which create space by clearing out certainties. Perhaps they sense that, by adapting our prayer to their presence, we wanted as a community to widen our road, to extend to all the intimacy that we wish to live in God. In this sense, it is very important that the singing be done continually by all and not just by soloists or singers who would only leave the refrain to be sung by the assembly.

A meditative prayer

Prayer with the songs of Taizé is also meditation on the Bible. I am so surprised on All Saints' Day, when our church is packed with French high-school students, to discover how naturally 2,500 young people sing words like “May I exult and rejoice in your love!” from one of the most recent songs written in French. I have the feeling that, by repeating one or two verses, the song opens for them a direct access to the Word of God and enables them to interiorize, to incorporate the beauty and even the “roughness” of the biblical words. And then, when words already known by heart are rediscovered by reading them, some texts are illuminated with an unexpected light.

I sometimes wonder if our way of singing is not a kind of introduction to lectio divina, that way of reading the Word attentively that opens a space to let the text reverberate in all its dimensions. The Jews speak of “masticating” the Torah. One of the rabbis quoted in a collection of Jewish texts from the first centuries after Christ said, “Turn the Torah around and around in all directions, for everything is found there; it alone will give you true knowledge. Grow old in this study and never abandon it; there is nothing better you can do” (Mishna Aboth 5, 25). In Taizé, the repetition of the songs echoes this mastication, this respiration of the Word.

A prayer of the heart

Another aspect that often touches me when I listen to young people speaking about the prayer in Taizé is the capacity that the time of silence in the middle of the liturgy has to give them the opportunity to focus on what is within them. They know how to describe what that silence makes possible: “to take stock,” “to listen to your heart,” “to think about your problems,” “to empty your mind,” “to take a break,” “to do some soul-searching,” “to drop your masks”… When they are together, they are not afraid of the silence. On the contrary, many say that at first the ten minutes seem long, but afterwards, they fill up by themselves.

I wonder whether what they are trying to put into words does not correspond to what Eastern Christians call the “prayer of the heart” and also “keeping watch over the heart.” “Keep watch over your heart vigilantly,” says the Book of Proverbs, “for from it flow the springs of life.”
(Proverbs 4:23).

The heart is the center of human beings in the Bible, a focal point where all the energies converge. For the monks of the Eastern tradition, praying by repeating a short phrase coordinated with the rhythm of breathing is first and foremost a prayer of the heart, in other words an effort to unify all the energies to allow them to pass through the fire of the heart in the crucible of love. By unifying the feelings, the energies, the heart is the place from which good intentions can arise like purified water. Prayer as vigilance, awakening and listening enables us to concentrate, to re-center our own desires and to synchronize them with love. Prayer is that preparation of the heart to be attentive to the vigilance that love requires in different situations.

Through singing and silence, young people discover that they are able to have new hearts, simple hearts in the original meaning of the term, a heart without a fold, an unfolded heart. The first Christians spoke of prayer as a way of melting the “spiritual fat” that weighs down our thoughts and desires. The image of folds is equally suggestive: an unfolded heart is a heart stripped to the essentials, a heart that remains close to its desires, and in this way discovers more clearly how God calls it to be creative. “Every desire within us that calls to God already constitutes a prayer. Your desire is already your prayer. There is an inward prayer that never stops: your desire. If you want to pray, then never stop desiring.” (Saint Augustine, Commentary on Psalm 37.)

Unhindered, open to a certain transparence, the heart also learns how to bring decisions and intuitions to maturity, to trace out the lines of a way of life. To discern as well the delicate situations and the dead-ends. In this sense I hope that young people can understand that “Prayer does not make us less involved in the world. On the contrary, nothing is more responsible than to pray. The more we make our own a prayer which is simple and humble, the more we are led to love and to express it with our life. Brother Roger, “Letter 2005, A Future of Peace”.

By these three dimensions of prayer that we try to share with the young: “de-centering” oneself, “mastication” of Scripture and “vigilant listening” of the heart, our deepest desire is to make them aware of the conviction that Brother Roger left us in his last unfinished letter:

“God remains alongside us even in the fathomless depths of our loneliness. God says to each person, ‘You are precious in my sight, I treasure you and I love you.' Yes, all God can do is give his love; that sums up the whole of the Gospel.”

Prayer and song

To discover the prayer of Taizé, listen to some songs, read the music and deepen the value of silence.

Prayer intentions

webadmin — 2004-08-17T22:00:00Z

Each Friday evening at Taizé, everyone gathers for the prayer around the cross – a moment to lay down at the cross of Christ our own burdens and those of others.

Daily Bible readings

webadmin — 2004-05-07T22:00:00Z

These short readings are those read, day by day, at community prayer in Taizé. The Bible reference given indicates a slightly longer passage. - Prayer / NoUpdateMention, inc-readings, readingrss.php

Icons in worship

Jean-Patrick — 2003-07-26T22:00:00Z

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.

Although icons are images, they are not simply illustrations or decorations. They are symbols of the incarnation, a presence which offers to the eyes the spiritual message that the Word addresses to the ears.

According to the eighth-century theologian Saint John Damascene, icons are based on the coming of Christ to earth. Our salvation is linked to the incarnation of the divine Word, and therefore to matter: “In the past, the incorporeal and invisible God was never represented. But now that God has been manifested in the flesh and has dwelt among men, I represent the visible in God. I do not adore matter; I adore the creator of matter, who has become matter for my sake, who chose to dwell within matter and who, through matter, has caused my salvation” (Discourse I,16).

By the faith it expresses, by its beauty and its depth, an icon can create a space of peace and sustain an expectant waiting. It invites us to welcome salvation even in the flesh and in creation.

The icon of the Virgin Mary in the Church of Reconciliation, Taizé.

“This icon was blessed by Metropolitan Nicodim of Leningrad, during his visit to Taizé in 1962”