3/6/26
NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 3/6
For several years I've posted a weekly Lenten series on a selected topic. This year, on Fridays, I'll be featuring songs we sing to honor the Cross of Jesus. (Here are links to the first and second posts in this series.) The very fact that we sing of the Cross on which Jesus died is a testimony to our faith and belief that in his suffering we find our healing and our life... Tonight's selection is The Cross of Jesus by fellow Boston priest and friend, Francis Patrick O'Brien.
I suggest you pray with the song first, and then move on to my Night Prayer...
The Cross of Jesus by
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Come, O God, renew your people,
we who long to see your face.
Strengthen hearts that have grown feeble;
fill our lives with truth and grace.
Only you can win our freedom;
only you can bring us peace.
Only in the cross of Jesus
will the captives find release.
Deep within create a new heart;
melt away the winter chill.
Help us now to make a new start,
help us now to know your will.
Washed in waters of forgiveness,
cleansed in water of new birth,
Lead us to the cross of Jesus,
bringing life to all the earth.
In the darkness that surrounds us
we have lost you from our sight.
Even though your love has found us,
we embrace the powers of night.
Scatter now our deepest darkness.
Guide our hearts into the light.
Join us to the cross of Jesus,
help us set our living right.
Call us forth to walk in justice,
rescue us from sin and grave.
Through the power of your Spirit,
breathe in us the breath that saves.
Strengthen us in our communion,
one in Word and cup and bread.
Here within the cross of Jesus,
all who hunger will be fed.
Night Prayer
Your Cross, O Lord,
is a sign of contradiction
and only those who follow you,
only those who trust in you,
only those who love you
can see between your outstretched arms
the mercy we all thirst for,
the pardon we all need,
the freedom we all long for,
the promise we all hope in,
the lasting peace that's ours,
and the life that flows so freely
from your wounds and your pierced side,
from your sacrifice of all you had,
poured out for us in love,
that in your death
we might have life
and have it to the full...
You emptied out yourself, Lord,
gave your life that we might live;
on the Cross you tasted death
that we might all be born again...
May we glory in your Cross
and in its shadow find our light;
in your surrender, lift us up
in your redeeming, loving arms...
Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Perhaps you'd like to pray with the song again...
The Cross of Jesus
If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!
Come, O God, renew your people,
we who long to see your face.
Strengthen hearts that have grown feeble;
fill our lives with truth and grace.
Only you can win our freedom;
only you can bring us peace.
Only in the cross of Jesus
will the captives find release.
Deep within create a new heart;
melt away the winter chill.
Help us now to make a new start,
help us now to know your will.
Washed in waters of forgiveness,
cleansed in water of new birth,
Lead us to the cross of Jesus,
bringing life to all the earth.
In the darkness that surrounds us
we have lost you from our sight.
Even though your love has found us,
we embrace the powers of night.
Scatter now our deepest darkness.
Guide our hearts into the light.
Join us to the cross of Jesus,
help us set our living right.
Call us forth to walk in justice,
rescue us from sin and grave.
Through the power of your Spirit,
breathe in us the breath that saves.
Strengthen us in our communion,
one in Word and cup and bread.
Here within the cross of Jesus,
all who hunger will be fed.
Pause for Pra6yer: FRIDAY 3/6
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| Image source: Communio |
In Lent we prepare to remember the suffering and death of Jesus, preparing to celebrate his resurrection. From the moment he was conceived in Mary's womb, the heart of Jesus beat for us in love, compassion and mercy until that same heart stopped when he sacrificed everything that we might have life and have it to the full. Even now, the heart of the Risen Jesus beats for us and will for all eternity.
The first Friday of every month is a day on which Catholics have a custom of praying to the Heart of Jesus.
For your 10 minutes of Lenten prayer today, spend some time with this beautiful Litany of the Sacred Heart.
In the first section of the litany, you might ponder which attributes of Jesus' heart are the ones you need the most right now in your life...
In the next seven sections of the litany are a number of titles or names for the Heart of Jesus: which of these names reaches out to your heart and its needs today?
In the next to the last section are phrases that speak of Christ's love for us, especially in his suffering and death: how might those phrases have Lenten meaning for you this year?
And in the last section, we pray to love as the Heart of Jesus has taught us to love...
Find a place for prayer... sit in the silence... be still... and know that the Heart of Jesus is with you...
Let us pray...
Litany of the Sacred Heart
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
So loving
So humble
So gentle
So compassionate
So faithful
So wise
So patient
So steadfast
So tender
So spacious
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
God’s joy
God’s shalom
Harp of the Trinity
Wingbeat of the Spirit
Breath of God
Five-petaled rose
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Womb of justice
Birthplace of peace
Our dearest hope
Longing of our lives
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Freely flowing fountain
Spring of grace
Freshet of forgiveness
Merciful river
Mystical dew
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Warmth of our hearts
Transforming fire
Cosmic furnace
Enflamer of hearts
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Heart of evolution
Beginning and ending
Center of all
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Garden of virtues
Mystical dew
Table and food
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Our refuge
Our shelter
Our comfort
Our rest
Our welcoming breast
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Wounded by love
Pierced by our cruelty
Broken by our hardness
Mystic winepress
Poured out as gift
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Have mercy, gracious heart,
Give us gratefulness
Teach us tenderness
Let us learn to love.
Hear our prayer!
- Wendy Wright
Let us pray...
Lord of all our hearts,
open wide your Heart of mercy
and refresh us in this season of Lent
with the peace that flows from the font of your love.
Gracious Lord,
hear and answer our prayer.
Amen.
3/5/26
NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 3/5
I was thinking today, Lord,
of a disappointment I recently experienced...
Well, I wasn't so much thinking about it
as much as I was dwelling on it,
stewing over it, not letting it go...
And then, in a moment of grace,
I realized how small was my disappointment,
small and even minute, when weighed
with the all the blessings and joys,
I can count as gifts from your generous hand...
In that moment of grace I was able to see
how much I have to be grateful for:
my many reasons to thank you, Lord...
My cup runneth over, again and again,
and the jug of blessings from which you pour
seems always full - and full to the brim...
Even, Lord, in the hardest of times,
there's always a reason - and more than one -
for me to give you my praise and thanks...
There's always, always, always, Lord,
something for me to be grateful for...
Even upon the loss of a gift,
even the loss of a precious gift,
there's the gift itself to remember and cherish,
to dwell on and treasure with gratitude,
for the blessing and grace it brought to my life,
to my heart and my soul - and my memories...
All good gifts come from you, O Lord,
given, freely, from your hands to mine:
on loan to me as signs of your love,
entrusted to me to care for and keep
in the mystery of your great mercy...
Help me see beyond my disappointments,
beyond my losses, large and small,
help me see with eyes of faith and love
how kind and generous you are to me
and have been and will always be...
And help me remember, Lord:
there is always, always, always
something for me to be grateful for...
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.
Grateful For by Natalie Layne
If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!
It’s not always easy to see the good
When it doesn’t look the way I think it should
I know, I know what it feels like
When a smile don’t feel right
But even the stress of a million cares
Can’t cover the blessings You put everywhere
It don’t take rose-colored glasses
To see the gold in the madness
I just gotta take time
Slow down
Take a moment to see it now
The little things are what it’s all about
What it’s all about
I’ll take a look around
There’s something to be grateful
Something to be grateful for
It’s waiting to be found
Underneath the surface
Everything I’m searching for
Couldn’t find it in me
But I found it in you
I’m learning to see
'Cause You’re teaching me to
Take a look around
There’s something to be grateful
Something to be grateful
Something to be grateful for
Oh, grateful for Oh ,grateful for Oh, grateful for
For Your mercy, the morning light
For all of the ways that love has changed my life
I know You’re behind all the goodness
Don’t let me forget it
When the sun don’t shine
In the dead of night
If the tears keep rolling from my eyes
I know
You’re always by my side
That’s how I know I'm gonna be alright
Refrain
In the morning, I’ll be grateful
In the evening, I’ll be grateful
'Cause I know that You are faithful
You are faithful,
You are faithful
In the good times,
I’ll be grateful
In the hard nights,
I’ll be grateful
'Cause I know that
You are faithful
You are faithful,
You are faithful
Refrain
Tomorrow is a FRIDAY in LENT
March 6
is a FRIDAY in LENT
- a day of ABSTINENCE.
What does that mean?
On the Fridays of Lent
Catholics over 14 years of age
are expected to abstain from eating meat.
For more on this topic,
check out this earlier post.
Note:
Individual, personal health concerns and "doctor's orders"
always take precedence over regulations
for fast and abstinence!
Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 3/5
For another purpose, I was reworking and expanding a prayer I wrote 14 years ago and I realized how appropriate it would be for Lent, a season for asking the Lord to change our hearts...
Some things
in my life need changing, Lord,
- and I wish I could change overnight -
but change comes slowly to me
- because I come so slowly to change…
So, help me change, Lord!
Open my mind, my heart and my soul
to see the changes I need to make,
the changes you, Lord, are working to make
the changes I know you want to make
in my wounded, mixed-up, broken life…
Change me from the inside out:
reboot my heart till it beats as one
with your heart, Lord…
Change my thinking
till my thoughts sync with your thoughts,
with your wisdom and your word...
Change my attitude, Lord:
when I want to give up
– make me hopeful;
when I pity myself
– help me see your blessings;
when I want to give in
– make me strong of heart;
when I’m down on myself
– help me know I’m loved;
when I’m filled with doubts
– strengthen my faith;
when I’m giving up
– renew my resolve;
when I’m slow to act
– kick me in the butt;
when I’m prejudiced
– open my mind;
when I’m selfish and greedy
– open my heart;
when I’m proud and stubborn
- humble my spirit;
when I’m hot with anger
– cool my rage;
when I’m losing control
– reign me in;
when I’m stupid and foolish
– smarten me up!
Stretch me, Lord,
stretch me to be the person
you created me to be…
Open my eyes to see your hand
helping me change every day of my life…
Open my ears to hear your voice
guiding me through what I need to change…
Open my lips to pray, Lord,
for the help I need to make the changes
I find the hardest to make…
Open my mind to understand
how my thinking needs to change…
Open my hands to work for change
that will serve and lift up others…
Open my heart to your Spirit, Lord,
shaping, shifting and changing me
in the ways I most need to change…
Heal me and mend me, reform and repair
what's wounded and torn, broken and bent
my life, in my heart,
in my words and my deeds…
Some things
in my life need changing, Lord,
- and I wish I could change overnight -
but change comes slowly to me
- because I come so slowly to change…
So, give me the grace for change, O Lord:
the changes I really need in my life,
the changes that I find hardest to make,
the changes you want me to make in me,
the change that will change
and set me free…
Amen.
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