NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 11/16

On Sundays, Night Prayer will focus on an element from the day's celebration of Mass. Tonight our prayer rises from four words of counsel Jesus offers in today's gospel (Don't be deceived...  Be not afraid... I will give you wisdom...  Persevere and be secure...) assuring us that even when it seems all may be lost, there's everything to be gained...

When I can't tell right from wrong - when I don't know what to choose or what decision I should make - don't let me be deceived, Lord:  show me the truth of things,

just don't let me be deceived...

When I'm really up against it, when I fear what I don't know, when I'm alone and feeling weak - don't let me be afraid, Lord:  be my strength and my protection, just don't let me be afraid...

When nonsense seems as knowledge, when I'm slow to think things through, when the easy way seduces me - don't let me play the fool, Lord:  be my wisdom, be my light - just don't let me play the fool...

 

When I can't see past the moment, Lord, and I'm lost in my despair and I'm ready to give up - then help me persevere in trust and be my hope when I have none - just help  persevere and not give up...

        

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.

 

God's Not Done With You by Tauren Wells

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Standing in your ruins feels a lot like the end 

So used to losing, you’re afraid to try again 

Right now all you see are ashes where there was a flame 

Truth is that you’re not forgotten 

‘Cause Grace knows your name 

 

God’s not done with you 

Even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars 

God’s not done with you 

Even when you’re lost and it’s hard and you’re falling apart 

God’s not done with you 

It’s not over, it’s only begun 

So don’t hide, don’t run 

‘Cause God’s not done with you 

 

There’s a light you don’t notice 

Until you’re standing in the dark 

And there’s a strength that’s growing 

Inside your shattered heart 

 

Chorus

 

He’s got a plan, this is part of it 

He’s gonna finish what He started 

He’s got a plan, this is part of it 

He’s gonna finish what He started 

He's not done, God’s not done writing your story,

No, He’s not done God’s not done with you 

 

Chorus

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Charlie Brown gets it right!

 

 

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Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 11/16

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Some years ago I found this poem by Pat Schneider which led me to consider the ordinary things in my own life, things for whose patience I'm grateful.  Perhaps you'll be inspired to consider some of the ordinary things in your life whose patience serves and blesses you...

 

The Patience of Ordinary Things

It is a kind of love, is it not? 

How the cup holds the tea, 

How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare, 

How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes 

Or toes. How soles of feet know 

Where they're supposed to be. 

I've been thinking about the patience 

Of ordinary things, how clothes 

Wait respectfully in closets 

And soap dries quietly in the dish, 

And towels drink the wet 

From the skin of the back. 

And the lovely repetition of stairs. 

And what is more generous than a window?

"The Patience of Ordinary Things" by Pat Schneider
  in Another River: New and Selected Poems.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

For today's Pause for Prayer, spend some time with Pat Schneider's poem and then just look around you to find and be grateful to God for the patience of ordinary things...  Here are some ordinary things for whose patience I'm grateful... 

For the patience of time healing my wounds,
for the patience of tears bathing my pain,
for the patience of mercy forgiving old sins,
I give you praise and thanks, Lord...

For the patience of days keeping me going,
for the patience of growth when I'm dragging my foot,
for the patience of time biding my hurry,
I give you thanks and praise, Lord...

For the patience of morning waiting my rising,
for the patience of night to end my long day,
for the patience of sleep awaiting my rest,
I give you praise and thanks, Lord...

For the patience of others bruised by my faults,
for the patience of those who wait for my care,
for the patience of any whom I have offended,
I give you thanks and praise, Lord...

For the patience of those who forgive and forget,
for the patience of friends who put up with my quirks,
for the patience of those with whom I'm impatient,
I give you praise and thanks, Lord...

For the patience that's yours when I put off my prayer,
for the patience you show as you wait on my words,
for the gift of your grace ever patient with me,
I give you thanks and praise, Lord...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 11/15

I've been thinking about this, Lord:

 

And I've been thinking about those words

    not so much in their broad social and political sense

but in the personal and individual terms

    of my own life and circumstances...

 

I like to imagine myself 

    as one who doesn't discriminate, Lord,

        someone who doesn't judge rashly

but if I'm honest with myself

    I need to ask you to forgive and heal,    

any self-interested prejudice 

    in my thoughts and affections...

 

I pray you'll curb and eradicate 

    my subtly biased outlook on things;

    my unwarranted assumptions,

    my knee-jerk partisanship,       

    my unfounded preconceptions, 

    my purely subjective judgments,

    my unstudied stances and opinions,

    my nearsighted observations,

    my stubborn  favoritism,

    my ingrained dispositions,

    and my prideful self-assessment...

 

Send me the grace of your Holy Spirit, Lord:

    to open my mind to your infinite wisdom,

    to fill my heart with a love for your word,     

    to inform and counsel my thoughts and opinions,

    to clarify things I don't understand,

    to help me listen with an open mind,

    to teach me to see as you see, Lord

        and help me discern the real from the sham;

    to study what others profess and believe

        and to learn to respect what they think and say;     

    to humbly accept critique and correction,    

    to thirst for what's genuine, sure and authentic

    and to bend my knee, my mind and my will

        to reverence the truth when I meet it...

 

Lord, I like to imagine myself 

    as one who doesn't discriminate

        or quickly judge others

but if I'm honest with myself

    I pray you'll forgive and heal,  

        curb and eradicate

all that keeps me 

    from knowing and loving my neighbor 

and all that keeps us

    from living as one... 

 

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.

Help us Accept Each Other

    by Fred Kaan and Doreen Potter 

 

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Message on immigration from the US Catholic Bishops

 

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Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 11/15

Sometimes, Lord,
    I get lost inside myself...

I lose my way

    in a maze of distracted thoughts

    troubles and doubts, 

    anxieties and fears...

 

At the crossroads of decision

I don't know where to turn:

    left or right or straight ahead

        - or round and round round... 

 

I walk in circles in my mind

    and come to know, and much too well, 

        the world where I am lost,

with not a clue of where or how 

    to  navigate the narrow paths that trap me           

        in the corners of my mind...

 

Find me in the maze, Lord

    - search for me and find me!

 

Help me escape this thicket 

    of anxiety and fear

where I'm wandering, lost, alone

    in the forests of my mind... 

 

Take me by the hand, Lord:

    lead me, guide me, shepherd me

beyond my fears, beyond my tears,     

    from darkness into light...

Help me find my way, Lord,

    on the paths I fear to walk

and give me all the grace I need 

    to face what lies ahead of me,

         to go where you may lead...

 

Help me trust you'll find me, Lord,
    and gently guide my way
to a place I just can't see right now,
    a time I can't imagine,

to that peace I long and pray for

    and fear I may not find... 

 

Find me in the maze, Lord, and take me by the hand:

    lead me, guide me, shepherd me

    beyond my fears, beyond my tears,

        from darkness into light...

 

Amen. 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 11/14

All around me, Lord, 

the atmosphere is filled with 

50 shades of discord:

    anger, malice, rancor and tension,

    bitterness, venom, spite and revenge,

    slander, friction, conflict and payback...  

 

Are these the only paths to the truth?

Can't justice be done in more peaceable ways?

Must all our debate be contentious and hostile?

Will contempt and loathing ever lead us to love?

 

Break through all this and grace us, Lord,

    with wisdom, tolerance and patience,

    humility, docility and self-control, 

    with integrity, sincerity and fairness, 

    and a hunger for rapport and consensus... 

 

Help us discern and accept the truth 

    through open and honest debate; 

help us do what is right and just

    in ways that are worthy and noble;

and help us see that the path to peace

    is faithful, forgiving and selfless... 

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.

 

I used this song just a couple of weeks ago but I just didn't find another piece of music more apt for tonight's prayer... 

 

Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly 

    by  Pat Barrett

 

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It all comes down to this 

What you require of me 

Love my neighbor as myself 

And You above all things   

 

Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly 

With You, God 

In all things, in all ways, walk humbly 

With You, God   

 

It all comes down to this 

To be Your hands and feet 

Good news to all the world 

The truth will set us free   

 

Refrain 

 

It’s beauty for ashes 

It’s mourning to dancing 

It’s closer and closer 

The Kingdom of heaven (2X)

 

And years from now we’ll see 

The fruit our hands have sown 

Faith just like a seed 

The only way it grows

 

Refrain  

 

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Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 11/14

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Lord, as you lead me along my path today,
    keep me from dawdling or stalling:
guide me and give me the courage I need
    to follow wherever your Spirit might lead...

Show me the way, Lord:

    take my hand, 
    give me a map, 

    be my GPS, 

    open my eyes, 

    help me to focus,
    walk by my side,
    and guide my every step...     

Stay with me, Lord, 'til this day ends,
    give me strength when the going gets rough;
then rouse me when a new day dawns
    to walk with you the path that's mine...

Amen. 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 11/13

These leaves have done their duty, Lord!

 

                                               Photo by John McGinty

 

Last spring they budded barren branches, waiting to unfold in leafy beauty and fulfill their given task: to shade me from the summer's sun; to offer shady refuge and a cooler place to sit and read a book, or have a picnic, or hold a dear friend's hand...

 

Then, just at summer's end- a costume change for fall's finale, gracing us with glories 

only you, Lord, might have dreamed, designed, imagined...

And now the leaves fall gently, one by one: weaving me the carpet where I gently tread, listening for and hearing, in the rustling underfoot, chilled November's parting autumn song...

As the season ends these fallen leaves look up into the heavens, searching for their Maker and praying for the rest they've earned, the rest they so deserve...

 

And I look up to heaven, too, in praise of you, my Maker, as one day, like the fallen leaves, I pray I'll find the rest I seek, the peace that you have promised...    

The leaves have done their duty, Lord - may I do mine as well...

 

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... 

 

Tonight's music is instrumental,  a guitar solo by Martin Tallstrom, entitled Falling Leaves - Song for Autumn. Tallstrom has captured on his fret board the beauty and mystery of falling leaves.  As I listen to it, I imagine myself falling into bed, into sleep, at day's end -and- all who have fallen into God's hands, all who fell into God's peace today and those who will fall into eternal rest in the course of the night ahead...  The sound of the guitar, and the sound of our falling into God's embrace... may that sound be gentle, beautiful and peaceful beyond our imagining...

 

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Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 11/13

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When my heart is filled with sadness, Lord,
reach in to open me
to the joy this day may bring...

When I'm angry and upset today,
make room inside my heart
for peaceful thoughts can find a home...

When I can't let go my own way, Lord,
then nudge my heart to follow
wherever you might lead...

When I'm all caught up in my stuff
then enlarge my heart to reach out
to tend to others' needs...

When my thoughts are less than worthy, Lord
then cleanse my heart's ambitions,

my desires and intentions...

When fears and worries haunt me
help me face the things I can't change
and change the things I can...

When my soul is short on hope, Lord,

let your Spirit teach my heart to trust

in your abiding love...

When my heart's not sure of where to turn
then turn your heart to mine, Lord,
and lead me with your grace... 

Amen. 

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