2/25/25

Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 2/26


  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

500 Pocket Crosses!


Above is a photo of 500 of this year's Pocket Crosses!  

 For a close up, here's one:


 To receive this year's Cross (free!) 

    - go to this link!



 

 

  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 2/25



I found an interesting passage online, written by Erin Whitten and dedicated to "the feelers."  Well, I know a lot of feelers and I know the burdens they carry - and you do, too.  So tonight, using some of Whitten's words (in green below) let's pray for the feelers among us, around us - and inside us...
 
Tonight, Lord,  I want to pray for the feelers,
    for those who live in the quiet spaces,
        feeling more than they ever speak...
 
I want to pray for 
    those who wear their hearts on their sleeves
        and who feel every unspoken word...
 
I want to pray for those
    who are moved by things
        that most people overlook,
    who see beauty 
        in the smallest details,
    who carry both the light and weight 
        of the world in their hearts...
 
I want to pray for those 
    who sometimes feel
        their heart's too big for their body, 
    who cry when they're happy,
    who ache when they see 
        someone else who's hurting
    who feel the pulse of the world
        in every quiet moment...
 
I want to pray for the feelers, Lord:
    the sensitive ones,
        the easily bruised,
            and those who are wearied by worry;
    my vulnerable brothers and sisters,
        compassionate, kind and forgiving,
            understanding, tender and lenient... 
 
I want to pray for the feelers, Lord:
    the thoughtful, perceptive, insightful ones
        who see what many may often miss,
        who discern what's hidden in other hearts
        and who feel at depths to many unknown...
 
I want to pray for the feelers, Lord:
    give them grace to accept 
        all their hearts take in;
    make firm their trust 
        in your presence and care;
    give them strength 
        to sustain what they sense and feel;
    and with your kindness and gentle mercy, 
        heal their wounded and broken hearts...
 
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.

 
Whole Heart by Brandon Heath
 
If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!
 

 
 
  

  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

2/24/25

Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 2/25


Who doesn't long and pray
for restful nights and peaceful days?

Who doesn't wait an end
to days of anxious, worried fears?

Who among us hasn't prayed
for nights of good, deep sleep?

Has anyone a heart 
that does not want and long and ache
to be accepted, known and loved? 
 
Don't all souls seek what's beautiful,
what's good, pure and gracious,
what's worth our keen devotion?
 
Who doesn't ask for good health?
for shelter, food and comfort? 
for liberty and freedom?

Indeed, is there anyone I know  
whose desires, wants and needs
differ all that much from mine?

We're all much more alike 
than the ways that we are not: 
in our souls our similarities 
outnumber our disparities.

From the same place deep within, Lord,
we share a common thirst
and all who share our hunger
seek that love that feeds the heart...

Help me, Lord, to see, 
to care for and to nourish
all the hearts of those around me,
and open wide my heart to all
who seek to feed and nourish me...

Amen.

  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 2/24

 
A friend called today, Lord,
and in the timbre of his voice
I could hear the heaviness
in his heart...

He talked, I listened,
I said a few words 
and he listened to mine...

At the end of the conversation 
he thanked me
and said how much it helped him 
just to talk, to share
- and I'm sure it did...
 
I'm glad he called, Lord,
and grateful to have been there
for him and with him...

But I know, Lord, 
and he knows, too,
that his heart's still heavy 
with the worry he shared with me
and anything and everything else
that's weighing on his soul...

I'm grateful for the opportunity, Lord
to be there for my brother, 
to lend an ear
and let him know he's not alone...
 
I think that helped, 
I hope that helped,
I trust that helped,
- I'm glad that helped...
 
But now, Lord,
I pray that you'll step in, 
as only you can do, 
and be there for my friend...
 
Give him the strength he needs,
the peace of mind he seeks,
some healing of his loss and grief,
and a calming in his heart, in his home,
and where he works...
 
All I could do was listen 
and say a few brief words
but you, Lord, you can do it all
so I pray you'll start were I left off 
and give my friend the peace he needs,
the peace that only you can give,
the peace that heals the soul...

A friend called today, Lord,
and I know 
that in the timber of his voice
you heard the heaviness in his heart...
 
Listen to his prayer, Lord,
hear him out and answer him,
heal him with your peace...
 
Be with us, Lord, while we're awake
    and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
    and sleep, rest in your peace...
 
Amen. 
 
This simple song from Taize pairs well with tonight's prayer.  You might pray this song for a friend who has asked to listen, to help, to pray - or you might pray it for yourself...

O Lord, Hear My Prayer by Taize
 
If a video doesn't appear below, click here! 
 
 

  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

Monday Morning Offering: 2/24


Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

Feeling something of a backache this morning, Lord,
a backache brought on by a backpack on my heart...

Some days that pack can be pretty heavy, Lord:
    it holds my hurts and helplessness,
    stores my grudges and discouragement,
    straps on old anger and anxiety…

And this pack has side pockets, Lord:
    holding fears and old tears close at hand,
    easy to reach and rely on
    when yesterday's pain seems easier
    than today's demands
    and more real than tomorrow's promise...

Some day's, my heart's bent over, Lord,
    from the burden of my baggage
and this morning I want to offer you
    this pack of my problems,
    the weight of my worries...

Help me let this pack slip, with healing grace,
    from my heart's hunched shoulders, Lord…
Give me the courage to let go of it
    for today, for an hour, for even a few minutes...

Let me know the lightness
    of a heart unfettered by fears,
    a mind delivered from doubt,
    a soul surrendered and serene...

Give me the courage, Lord, to open my pack,
to offer and place in your hands
    what I no longer need to carry,
    what weighs me down,
    what tires my soul,
    what keeps me from joy...

I offer you my fears for calming,
    my worries for easing,
    my pain for healing,
    my sins for mercy:
help me believe, Lord,
    in the light and peaceful heart
        you want me to have,
    the heart you offer me 
        this morning... 

Lord, give me the grace
    to let that pack slip from my soul's shoulders
        for today, for an hour, for long enough
    to stand and stretch and bask
        in the peace of a heart  
          unburdened by your grace...

And along my path this day, Lord,
    help me to lift the hearts of others,
trusting that in sharing each other's troubles
    our burdens are halved, not doubled...

In your heart, Lord,
    I place my own
and pray for healing
    and for hope...

Amen.


  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

2/23/25

NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 2/23


 
On Sundays, Night Prayer takes its lead from some element of the day's liturgy: this evening, the gospel proclaimed at mass.  These may be the most demanding words Jesus ever spoke.  Take a minute to read and review below an excerpt from what we heard at mass. (You can read the complete passage here.)

Jesus said:
“Love your enemies, 
    do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, 
    pray for those who mistreat you...
Do to others 
    as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
    what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them...
But rather, love your enemies
    and do good to them...
Be merciful, 
    just as your Father is merciful.
Stop judging 
    and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning 
    and you will not be condemned.
Forgive 
    and you will be forgiven..."
 
I'm still looking for another verse, Lord 
    - or maybe a footnote -
detailing what might be, 
    what must be, what should be
the situations and circumstances
    exempting, dispensing and excusing me
from the absurdity, the unfairness,
    well, the rigors 
of these foolish, unreasonable 
    demanding commands...
 
But I find no exclusionary clause here,
    no allowance for personal injury,
no exceptions for cause or convenience,
    no passes or coupons granting permission
to bypass or shortcut 
    your rules for love...
 
Each time I watch the news, Lord,
    I transgress your law of love.
I fail to do unto others
    as I'd have them do unto me.
Rather than pray for my enemies,
    I'm quick to curse and condemn them.
I'm always ready to judge and accuse
    - except when it comes to myself.
I pray for your mercy, 
    your pardon and peace,
but I'm slow to forgive the neighbor
    who trespasses against me...
 
Let your words, your rules and your law
    stretch me, Lord:
        beyond my pride and arrogance,
            my prejudice and bias;
        beyond my nasty judgments
            and my hasty condemnations;
        beyond my lonely selfishness
            and narrow-minded ways;
        beyond the bounds and limits
            of my uninformed opinions;
        beyond the small world I mistake
            to be the universe;
        beyond my blind acceptance
            of myself as always right;
        beyond my shameful hubris, Lord
            and to a self-acceptance
                of myself and of my sins
            in need of your sweet mercy 
                and your gracious, healing love...
 
Most of all, Lord,
    don't let me dismiss your words as
        absurd, unfair, 
            unreasonable or foolish
    but let them challenge me:
        to give of myself as you give to me,
        to forgive my neighbor as your forgive me,
        to love all others as you love me
        and to do unto others
            as I'd have them 
                do unto me...
    
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.
 
Love Your Enemies by Kyle Sigmon
 
If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!
 

 
 

  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

2/22/25

Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 2/23

Image source: Sugar Mountain Farm
 
A new day, Lord,
and here we are again,
you and I,
but I'm looking for more
    than the same-old-same-old...
 
I want to get to know you, Lord,
to know you better
    than ever before...

I want to know you're there, Lord.
Well, no, not there -
    I want to know you're here!

And I want to know
that you know me
and that you truly care -
   about me...
 
Please, Lord,
show up in my life -
    today... 

Get in my car, ride shotgun,
and take a ride with me
to wherever I may be going
or wherever 
    you want me to go...
 
And if it's a day
to just stay home
then come right in 
and take a seat -
    right by my side...
 
Be quiet, be talkative,
be obvious or mysterious
but most of all, Lord - 
    let me know you're there...
 
Come spend the day with me
as an old friend would.
Take a break and sit with me.
Join me for lunch or a cup of tea,
just be with me, Lord -
    let me know you're there...
 
Speak to me, Lord:
in a sentence, a phrase, 
a word or a grunt,
in the pages of scriptures
or the tales of my heart,
in my thoughts, in a dream, 
in a vision or image,
in the words of a friend,
    in my sorrows, my joys...
 
Whisper to me, Lord, 
or shout in my face!
Just say something I can hear
in my mind, in my heart,
    in my musing, in my prayer... 

I want to get to know you, Lord,
to know you better
    than ever before...
 
I want to know you're there, Lord.
Well, not just there or some everywhere,
I want to know -
    you're here!

Speak to me, Lord:
break the lonely silence
    and speak to me...

Unplug the ears of my heart,
break through my doubt and my pride.
Let the sound, the word,
the breath of your presence
echo within me,
somewhere inside me,
    deep in my heart of hearts...

Speak to me, Lord!
Help me hear you and trust you
and get to know you
    better than ever before...

Amen.

  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 2/22



This question has been on my mind, Lord:
    Of all I that I prize and possess,
    of all that consumes my time,
    of all that I fear and grieve,
    of all that troubles and worries me
        - of all of this, Lord -
    what will I have to offer
        on that last day
    when I stand before you,
        knocking on heaven's door?
                
Well, there are some things I know!
 
My hands will be empty
    as well as my pockets,
        not to mention my wallet and purse...
 
I'll  have no belongings, 
    no bling, stuff or toys, 
        no smart phone clutched in my hand...
 
I'll be naked and bare, fully exposed, 
    with nothing to cloak
        my failings and sins...
 
My achievements, degrees,
    my titles and honors,
        will be of no merit or value...
 
And I know this, too...
 
I'll have but my heart, Lord,
    my spirit, my soul,
        to offer to you as my gift...
 
Nothing is mine, Lord,
    save what you gave me
        to cherish, to nourish and share...
 
So I pray on that day, Lord
    when I come a-knocking,  
that my heart be as pure as it might be,
    my spirit be filled with your saving grace
        and my soul be awash in your mercy
for of all I have I can only offer
    what was first your blessing, 
        your gift to me...
 
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.

Take, Lord, Receive by John Foley, S.J.

If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!


Take, Lord, receive, all my liberty.
My memory, understanding, my entire will!

Give me only your love and your grace,
that's enough for me!
Your love and your grace are enough for me!

Take Lord, receive, all I have and possess.
You have given all to me, now I return it.

Take Lord receive, all is yours now.
Dispose of it, wholly according to your will.

Please pray for Pope Francis



It's a very old tradition that when asked to pray for someone, we pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be.  Please join me in offering those three prayers for Pope Francis whose medical condition is critical.
 
Our Father, who art in heaven, 
   hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
   on earth, as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread 
   and forgive us our trespasses 
   as we forgive those who trespass against us; 
and lead us not into temptation, 
   but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
 
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
    and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, 
   pray for us sinners now
      and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
 
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.


  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!