For several years I've posted a weekly Lenten series on a selected topic. On Fridays this year, I'll be featuring songs we sing to honor the Cross of Jesus. (Here are links to the first, second, third, and fourth 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 Michael Garrepy's stunning arrangement of Were You There? performed by Ensemble Altera. This hymn takes us beyond the Cross to the Resurrection which reminds us that here in Lent we do not pretend that Christ hasn't risen from the dead - much less deny that it's our faith in his rising that helps us to grasp and understand the mystery of the Cross...
I suggest you pray with the song first, and then move on to my Night Prayer...
It's the first day of Spring!Also known as the
vernal equinox, the spring equinox marks one of the two instances each
year when our sun and the Earth's equator align. The spring equinox
always falls on March 20 or 21 (occasionally on March 19 in a leap year).
We trust the signs of spring around us, that give us hope as we leave winter behind. We expect the fulfillment of what is promised. We hope in the beauty that waits, wrapped so tightly, until spring rains and the sun's warmth open and reveal what's hidden within.
Here are some "starters" for prayer this morning...
What signs of promise and hope are "budding"
in my desire for more than what I have right now?
What moments of strength are budding in my heart with courage to act, to hope, to dream again?
When winter weighs on me,
do I look for those buds? do I hope to find them?
do I expect to find them?
Even when I'm wrapped tightly
in the folds of worry and fear, God waits to open me,
to reveal what's within me, to draw forth more from me
than I could ever dream of...
When I find buds of hope in my life, do I trust God to bring them to blossom?
When spring stirs in my heart, do I trust God to work within me,
heart and soul, mind and body, to bring forth the goodness, the truth,
the best of who I am?
Lifting my face to the light of God's love and my life to the dew of the Lord's anointing, who knows what might spring to life within me, how God might renew me
and refresh my trust and hope?
Where there are buds
there is beauty waiting to bloom
in my yard, in my hope, in my heart...
It's the first day of spring
and as surely as nature stirs
in the still chilled earth so does the Lord stir within me with the promise and pledge
March
19 is the feast of Saint Josephwhich falls in Lent but since everything we know about Joseph comes from the Christmas story, we find ourselves back at the circumstances surrounding the nativity of Jesus.
Over 2,000 years ago, when Christ was about to be born, only Mary and Joseph knew the whole story of what was about to happen.... Can't you just imagine Mary asking, “Joseph… are you ready for this?”
We know there was at least one moment when Joseph was not ready for this: when he was ready only to quietly break off his betrothal to Mary - but then an angel spoke to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, be not afraid…” Be not afraid – of what? Be not afraid of taking Mary into his home as his wife? Of caring for a child he knew he had not fathered?
Yes, all of that.. but so much more! The angel was telling Joseph, "Be not afraid of how the mystery of God is weaving itself into your life, into your relationship with Mary and into your whole future. Be not afraid, Joseph, of how the mystery of God will touch your life, shape your life, turn your life around and stand it on its head!"
Like Joseph, all of us face times when God has allowed things to happen or has allowed things not to happen, that intimately touch, shape and turn our lives around in ways we never dreamed would happen, in ways we wish had never happened, in ways we prayed would never happen...
And in all of this the word to us is precisely the angel’s word to Joseph in his dream:
"Be not afraid because in everything,
and in all things
- God is with you...”
"Joseph, are you ready for this?" To be ready is to renew our faith, our trust, in all the ways the mystery of God’s presence is weaving itself into our lives: touching and shaping and turning our lives around in ways we had never have imagined, dreamed or asked for. And most of all, to be ready is to trust that God is with us in everything and in all things... Take a moment today to imagine Joseph's doubts, his anticipation, his anger… his regrets, his fears, his wonder, his confusion, his awe… And, imagine yourself in Joseph's dream... Imagine Joseph putting his fears aside and handing his troubles over to God...
Pause for Prayer
I come to you this day, Lord, with a heart
sometimes ready, sometimes not so ready, to trust you, follow you, love you...
My problems, my worries, my burdens sometimes loom larger than life
and back me into corners where I feel alone
and I wonder where you've brought me, where you'll lead me - even if you're still with me...
Lord, my heart needs a dream, an angel, a message reminding me not to be afraid...
Remind me as you reminded Joseph that with you I can face all things, accept all things, do all things, endure all things...
Especially when my life and my heart are spun around and upside down;
when my sense of direction fails me; when I fear the path I'm walking,
remind me then, Lord, not to be afraid,
to trust you're by my side and that with you I can be ready
for whatever comes my way...
I come today, Lord, with a heart
sometimes ready and sometimes not so ready,
but ready or not, Lord
- here I come -
and here I am and here I stand
in need of your love, in need of your grace,
today and every day of my life...
Saint Joseph,
pray for me and watch over me
as you cared for Jesus
in your arms and in your home
and in your heart..
Amen.
This song is about Joseph and his circumstances
but all of us might relate to this line in the refrain:
"Father tell me where I fit into this plan of yours..."
I'm feeling fine - and hope to feel even finer after a few days away! Posting will be light meanwhile but I'll be back to my usual schedule sometime on Saturday!
Tonight's prayer, the Patrick Compline, comes to us from the Nothumbria Community. (The word Complineis derived from the Old French word complir: to complete or bring to an end) This prayer combines lines from The Lorica of Saint Patrick (see this morning's Pause for Prayer - and tonight's song, below) with the verses of Psalm 16 - and ends with three beautiful blessings.
In the name of the King of life;
in the name of the Christ of love;
in the name of the Holy Spirit: the Triune of my strength.
I love you, O Lord my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.
My God is my rock in whom I take refuge.
I will praise the Lord who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
I place my soul and my body under your guarding this night, O Christ.
May your cross, this night be my shield.
Into Your hands I commend my spirit: redeem me, O Lord, the God of Truth.
The God of life with guarding hold you; the loving Christ with guarding fold you; the Holy Spirit, guarding, mold you; each night of life to aid, enfold you; each day and night of life uphold you.
May God shield me; may God fill me; may God keep me;
may God watch me; may God bring me to the nearness of His love.
The peace of the Father of joy, the peace of the Christ of hope, the peace of the Spirit of grace, the peace of every peace be mine throughout this night.
Amen.
This haunting musical setting of The Lorica is the work of Arvo Part. Of the several versions I've posted today, this is my favorite: this composer knows how to reach my soul...
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me Christ on my right, Christ on my left Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down Christ in me, Christ when I arise Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me Christ in every eye that sees me Christ in every ear that hears me Christ with me
Our prayer today is one usually attributed to Saint Patrick (387-461 A.D.) and goes by two titles: The Lorica (breastplate or shield) of St. Patrick and The Deer's Cry. Here are three musical settings of the prayer, followed by shorter and long longer samplings of the complete text.
1)The first is Shaun Davey's setting of much of the prayer's text, sung by Rita Connolly. 2) Second is Dwight Beal's adaptation of the Lorica text with a beautiful melody. Arvo Part's haunting choral setting of the section, "Christ with me..." The music here is powerful and haunting: this composer knows his way into my soul... 3) Next is Sir John Rutter's choral setting, "A Prayer of St. Patrick." (As many of you know, I love all of Rutter's work!) 4) And finally, the last entry below, a longer selection from the complete text of the Lorica.
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Christ to win me Christ to comfort and
restore me Christ in quiet Christ in danger Christ in hearts of all
that love me Christ in mouth of friend
and stranger.
The Lorica of St. Patrick
I arise today
through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
through a belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
through the strength
of Christ's birth and his baptism,
through the strength
of his crucifixion and his burial,
through the strength
of his resurrection and his ascension...
I arise today
through the strength of the love of angels...
in the hope of the resurrection,
in the prayers of ancestors in the faith,
in the preaching of the apostles,
in the faith of martyrs
in the innocence and purity
of the deeds of the righteous.
I arise today
through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
from snares of the devil,
from temptations of vices,
from every one who desires me ill,
afar and anear,
alone or in a multitude.
I summon today
all these powers between me and evil,
against every cruel merciless power
that opposes my body and soul,
against false prophets,
false laws and idolatry...
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and
restore me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger. Christ in hearts of all
that love me Christ in mouth of friend
and stranger.
Click on the bible above for Sunday's readings and some brief commentary on them.
Homily: February 22
A prayer for when you're worried, anxious, afraid...
Help for Haiti
Reach out to the people of Haiti with health care, education and community development through Health Equity International (formerly known as the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation).
