Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 2/20

Two weeks from now it'll be Lent, Lord,

so this morning I'm praying 

you'll help me sit down, be quiet

and get a head start

on preparing and planning

what I'll do this year for Lent...

Or...

 

Or maybe what I really need to do 

is to sit down, be quiet 

and give you some room in my soul,

so you can get a head start 

on preparing me 

for what what you've got planned,

what you want to do 

in my mind and heart, in my life 

this Lent...

After all, Lord,

who knows better than you 

what needs to change in me:

    in my words and my deeds,

    my thoughts and desires,

    my appetites and habits,

    my relationships and affections,

    my prejudice and bias,

    my honesty and fairness,

    my selfishness and pride

    my integrity and loyalty...

 

Who knows better than you:

    how my heart needs rebooting,

    my path needs rerouting,

    my prayer needs deepening,

    my generosity needs stretching,

    my honesty needs honing,

    my passions need taming,

    my ego needs humbling,

    and my conscience needs fine tuning...

   

Who knows better than you, Lord,

    what things I should give up, let go,

        leave behind, sacrifice, give away 

            and learn to live without?

Who knows better than you, Lord,

    the time I could spend with you in prayer 

        that instead I waste in foolish, empty ways?

Who knows better than you, Lord,

    all I have - and all that I could share -

        with those who have much less than I?

Who knows better than you, Lord,

    how my heart might heal this Lent?

    how my faith might grow this Lent?

    how my ways might change this Lent? 

    how my hope and trust in you might change

        this Lent - and in my life...

 
You have a plan, Lord,

    a plan for me for Lent,
a plan for what you want to do
    in my heart and in my life 

        in those sacred 40 days...

 
Help me see and know your plan,
    your Lenten plan for me, Lord,

and open wide my heart 

    with your gracious, healing mercy...

 

Amen. 

Ash Wednesday is March 5 . . .

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 2/19

 

I saw this meme on line, Lord:

 

 

Short and sweet, just a dozen words,

but oh-so-hard to do!

 

Accept what is?

Really?

Accept "what is" with all its messiness?

Its rough edges?  Its hurt, pain and suffering?

Accept "what is" 

when the last thing I want to acknowledge

is that the fix I'm in 

is my life today, 

the hand I've been dealt,

the mess I've made,

the way things are,

the reality of my existence

and the place, the very place,

the only place 

where you wait to meet me,

to make yourself present

and help me accept 

my life as it is today...

 

Oh...  maybe I'm beginning to understand...

 

But, let go what was?

"Let go" what I loved?

What I cherished and treasured?

What I dreamed of, planned for, 

prayed, hoped and worked for?

"Let go" what I want to hold on to?

"Let go" all things that glom on to me?

"Let go" what I need (or think I need)

to exist, to survive and be happy?

"Let go" what I cling to

- even those things -

that keep me from finding you,

falling in love with you,

from claiming and naming you

first in my life,

in my mind and my thoughts,

and deep in my heart of hearts?

To "let go" the people, the places and things

that I really don't need

without which I'd likely be

freer, more peaceful

and closer to you...

OK... it's starting to make sense...

 

But, to believe in what will be? 

To believe in what I don't yet know?

To believe in what I can't yet know?

To believe in a future 

whose length, breadth and depth 

are a  mystery to me?

To believe in a future I cannot see,

cannot touch, 

cannot predict, 

cannot feel,

cannot control?

To believe in a future

that well could be 

nothing like

what I've dreamed of, planned for,

prayed, hoped and worked for? 

To trust in a future beyond my reach,

out of my hands, 

distant, untold and elusive, 

inscrutable, hidden, uncharted:

a future known only to you, Lord,

who hold in your hands

the whole of my past,

my life as it is

and knowledge of all that I'll ever need

to become the person you made me to be,

to go wherever your Spirit may lead,

to speak and to do what your word commands

and to live forever

in peace

with you...

 

Hmm... it's all coming together...

Still not easy, Lord, 

but slowly, more and more 

I see the wisdom here: 

this is how things are, 

there is no other way

and in all this lies the truth

of who you are in my life

and who I am in yours... 

Accept what is...

    Let go what was...

        And believe in what will be...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

 

The Serenity Prayer Song

    by the Serenity Prayer Project 

 

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 2/19

NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 2/18

Yesterday morning, Lord,

leaving the house for the 9:00 mass,

I found the path from my back door

and across the parking lot to the church

to be a sheet of glistening ice,

hemmed in by banks of frigid snow... 

The few steps I took

were slow, unsure and scary...

 

Near the end of the walk way I could see

a giant, glistening, frozen puddle 

blocking any further progress,

stopping me in my tracks...

 

I waved over a parishioner driving into the lot

but she couldn't pull her car close enough

for me to safely make my way

over the ice and snow and into her front seat...

 

I had my walking stick with me,

a souvenir of my time in Colorado,

but it wasn't enough to guarantee my safety

over what lie underfoot...

 

Unable to get from here to there,

I sadly had to tell the folks 

there'd be no mass that day...

 

Ice, Lord!

Ice - and the limitation of unsteady legs

that have walked me through ice and snow

for close to eight decades...

 

Ice, Lord!

And the limits aging weighs

on heavy, tired, unsteady legs...

 

Well, Lord, 

I didn't learn much about ice yesterday

but I learned a lot about limitations:

about how things slowly

slow you down,

sap your energy, 

check your pace

and circumscribe  

the world in which you move...

 

So, help me, Lord,

help me find you in my limitations:

    make me grateful for the peace that comes

        when life and time slow down;

    with your perfect sense of balance,

        guide my halting, unsure steps;

    in my weakness help me feel your strength,

        your strong arms there to hold me;

    let me find you always by my side,

       walking at the pace I set;

    with your Spirit's grace and power,

        open wide my heart to all the ways

            you bring me peace and joy... 

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

 

 Even In My Old Age (Ps. 71)

    by Aaron Shust

 

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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 2/18

Saint Paul was right, Lord,
when he asked:
    Why do I so easily do
        the things that I don't want to do
    and yet so often fail to do
        the very things I want?

I'm thinking of the good things, Lord,
waiting in my heart and mind:
    prayer I mean to offer,
    help I want to give,
    faults I should confess,
    habits I can change... 

It's my "To Do" list, Lord:

    work I've left undone,

    loose ends left untied,

    promises not kept,

    peace that's mine to make...

 

And yet, instead of these, Lord,

I do the things that bring me only grief

    - not the happiness I thought I'd find
        by going my own way...

I pray then for the grace, Lord:
    to come to you in prayer,
    to lend a helping hand,
    to name my faults and failings
    and to change what I must change... 

 

Help me leave behind
    whatever drains my spirit
and help me, Lord, to do those things
    that fill me with your peace...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 2/17

Here, Lord, is a list

of qualities, traits and values

I often find lacking 

in myself, 

in others

and in the world where I live:

    honesty

    patience

    integrity

    self-discipline 

    consistency

    courage

    gentleness

    thoughtfulness

    loyalty

    humility 

    diligence 

    repentance

    faithfulness

    self-control 

    authenticity 

    openness

    courtesy 

    detachment

    attentiveness

    wholesomeness

    cheerfulness

    reliability

    holiness

    graciousness

    politeness 

    moderation

    charity

    helpfulness  

    earnestness  

    modesty 

    benevolence

    maturity

    tenderness

    intelligence 

    wisdom

    self-confidence

    prudence 

    tolerance

    spirituality

    discretion

    perseverance 

    docility

    rationality

    warmth

    purity

    caution 

    affability

    empathy

    prayerfulness

    realism

    flexibility 

    hopefulness

    decency

    optimism

    sincerity

    compassion

    generosity

    friendliness

    kindness 

   

I'm lacking in so many ways, Lord,

and I need your help, 

    your mercy and your grace,

to fill me up 

    where I'm empty and hollow;

to heal me where

    I'm broken and wounded;

to complete me where

    I'm limited and wanting;

to strengthen me where

    I'm hesitant and weak;

to anoint me with

    the gifts of your Spirit;

to confirm in me

    my faith and belief;

to open me up

    where I'm narrow and selfish;

to nurture in me

    your wisdom and will;

to bring to full stature

    the person I am,

the unique human being

    you call me to be...

   

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

 

This song was written for children but I believe its simplicity and innocence recommend it for tonight's prayer...

 

Grow Me, Lord by Ruth Elaine Schram

 

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Monday Morning Offering: 2/17

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

So much of my prayer, Lord,
is a kind of give and take:
I offer you something and I ask, I hope, 
for something in return...

Today's no different, so please be patient
with how little I seem to have to offer
and how much I want in return...

I offer you this day's challenges
and pray for strength to accept and meet them...

I offer you my failures and pray
for the humility to see them
and the grace to rise above them
- and to try again to tomorrow...

I offer you what sorrows are mine today
and pray you help me carry them  

- with faith and hope and love...

As I offer you my joys this day, Lord,
help me work to put the happiness of others
ahead of my own...

I offer you my fears this day
and I pray for courage
to make it to and through tomorrow...

I offer you this day's unexpected problems, Lord,
and I pray for patience 

 to deal with them and cope with them...

 

I offer you my laziness this day
and pray for you to shake and wake me
to this day's opportunities to 

live fully, change gracefully, live healthily
and become the person you made me to be...

I offer you my eyes, Lord:
let me see the world around me
- as you see it...

I offer you my ears:
help me hear the cry
of those in need...

I offer you my voice:
use my words for healing, Lord,
and for making peace...

I offer you my thoughts:

bless and anoint them 

with your Spirit's wisdom...

I offer you my imagination:
keep it true and bright and pure
and at the service of your grace...

I offer you my hands:
work through me, Lord,
for good of others...

I offer you my feet:
lead my steps on the path
you've marked out just for me...

I offer you my heart, Lord:
heal and shape it
according to your Word...

I offer you this day, Lord,
for this is the day that you have made,
the day you've given me,
the only day I have
today...


Amen.

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Woe is me! -OR- How blessed I am!

My homily for February 16

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NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 2/16

On Sundays, Night Prayer takes its lead from some element of the day's liturgy.  Both the first reading and gospel at mass lay out "two ways" for living one's life: blessing and woe.  We follow Jesus who is our way, our truth and our life. 

There are so many roads I might travel, Lord,

so many paths I might walk, 

so many highways, byways and shortcuts

so many back roads, freeways and trails...

 

There are so many crossroads,

on ramps and off ramps,

exits, detours and alternate routes,

so many choices and so many options

for finding my way to you and to home...

 

Send me your Spirit to lead the way,

to guide my steps with wisdom and care,

to direct my journey along your path,

to walk your way, Lord,

the Jesus way...

 

You are are my way, my truth and my life,

yours is the road that leads me home...

 

You lead me safely to where you call me:

home to you and your merciful arms,

home to the place you've prepared for me,

home to your peace and joy without end...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

 

The Jesus Way by Phil Wickham

 

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