Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 10/15

Photo by Mark Penta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord,

    help me remember, 

        help me see

            and help me believe

    that this tree's beauty can't compare

        with the glory of grace within my heart...

Lord, 

    help me remember, 

        help me see 

            and help me trust

    that your Spirit afire, deep in my soul,

      outshines a forest of autumn glow...

Lord, 

    help me remember, 

        help me see and understand

    how fading leaves, in letting go,

       fall and new life in you...

        

Amen. 

   

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NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 10/14

Can you imagine living 

1,693 nights and days

under full-scale war?

Ukrainians don't have to. 

 

 

Ukraine's colors frame my Night Prayer candle: 

    a weak nod to the nightmare 

        of bloodshed and destruction

            suffered by my family, 5,000 miles away...

My family? Yes, my family...

 

We're brothers, sisters, one and all:

    we share a common bloodline

    flowing from the Cross:

        our DNA and lineage are royal and divine;

    we're children born of water 

        and the Spirit who unites us,

    who makes of us a family,

        the whole of humankind...

Don't let the distance shield me, Lord,

    from what my brothers suffer,

    from the loss my sisters bear,

    from the nightmares of my grandkids,

    from the bombing and the shelling,

    from the ruins and the rubble

        that were once my family's home...

 

My family's not that far away,

    twelve hours on a plane,

and faster still with just a click -

    to reach and offer needed help

from those who gather here in prayer

    'neath Ukraine's blue and gold... 

 

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.

As my own nation 

withdraws its support from Ukraine, 

I must ask again and again:

My family?  Yes, my family

    - and your family, too.

 

We Are One by Emu Music

 

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 10/14

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Night Prayer: TUESDAY 10/13

In the middle of it all, Lord,
    whatever "all" might be...

In the thick of what confounds me
    and hijacks my attention...

Apart from all the nonsense
    that clutters up my life...

Regardless of my problems,
    my anxieties and fears...

In spite of doubts that simmer
    in my thoughts and in my heart...

Aside from what distracts me
    and disturbs my concentration...

Lord...

 

Come to my assistance,

    help me find my way to peace...

Help me make some quiet time
    and find a place where I can rest...

Help me share with you the whole
    of what my soul holds deep inside...

Help me lay aside the burdens
    and the troubles of this day...

Help me rest with you beside me,
    there to calm my anxious soul...

Help me find in you the strength I need

    to do the next right thing...

 

Help me hear your word, your wisdom

    and your truth to guide my way...

 

In the middle of it all, Lord,

    whatever "all" might be,

help me find my to you

    who dwell already in my heart... 

 

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. 

 

In the Middle of It All by Danielle Burns  

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You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

 

I'll trust You in the pruning 

You take away everything I don't need 

I trust You in the dying 

You're the joy that's set before me 

I've learned there's nothing I need but You 

I'm thankful for every season with You 

 

I'm gonna lift up my hands 

I'm gonna sing out with praise 

In the middle of it all 

In the middle I'm gonna lift up my hands 

I'm gonna sing out with praise 

In the middle of it all  In the middle 

 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

 

Your word, my food Your presence, my drink 

I've tasted and I have seen 

Everything with You is possible 

Every little step is a miracle, a miracle 

I've learned there's nothing I need but You 

I'm thankful for every season with You 

Refrain 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

At my end New life begins 

Springtime's coming 

It's surely coming 

I've sown in tears 

But I'll reap in joy 

Springtime's coming 

It's surely coming 

At my end New life begins 

Springtime's coming It's surely coming 

I've sown in tears 

But I'll reap in joy 

Springtime's coming 

It's surely coming (3X)

 

Refrain

 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good

  

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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 1013

 

I believe it may be time to share this frog's wisdom once again...
 

In a small pond

 a frog, 

squatting on a lily pad,

listened attentively to an angel 

describing heaven's joy.

At the end of the discourse

the frog asked:     

Is it something like mud?

 - Anonymous

 

It's a wise frog indeed, Lord,
who finds heaven 

in the mud...

 

But what of me?

Have I listened to your angel? 

Am I as wise as a frog

atop his lily pad? 

 

Can I find a taste 

of heaven's joy,
right here where I am,

in the mud of daily life?

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Strong statement from the Archbishop for U.S. Military Services

WASHINGTON, DC — His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, today issued the following statement on the proposal to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad:

“In addition to supporting and subscribing to the statement by my brothers the Bishops of Texas, it is my duty to express my disapproval of what is proposed regarding the execution of the terrorist Hasan in the Archdiocese entrusted to my spiritual care to be done by those for whose salvation I have been constituted as the Archbishop for the Military Services, USA.

“First of all, I renew my expression of heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those who died in the attack at Fort Hood.  It was an attack that disregarded the dignity of the human person. I had the sad duty of presiding and preaching at the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in that attack.

“Secondly, I repeat the opposition of the Catholic Church to capital punishment.  The Catechism was already clear and Pope Francis made it even clearer.  The dignity of the human person is again at stake.

“Thirdly, do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries?  The crime committed by Nidal Malik Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose?  Has the potential moral injury, which the members of the firing squad might experience, been considered?  Will the exposure of a live-stream to the young and impressionable during the 250th anniversary year of our independence be able to be repaired?  The US military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world.  Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheel chair to the whole world? Does this decision reflect the dignity of the human person?

“I call upon all men and women of good will to ask that this decision be reconsidered and, at the very least, do what is possible to keep the exposure to the live-streaming of the proposed execution from the vision of the young and impressionable.  As I would in the case of a procured abortion, I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church.”

Read the Texas bishops’ statement here.

 

 

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Night Prayer: MONDAY 10/12

The first reading at mass this morning included this verse:

    For freedom, Christ set us free...

 

It's your desire, Lord, 

    it''s your mind, your plan, your will, 

        that we be free...

 

That we be free from

    all that hobbles and hinders us,

    all that blocks and binds us, 

    all that holds us back and keeps us down, 

    all that ties us up and locks us in,

    all that shackles our spirits,

        our freedom and progress...  

 

There are so many things, Lord, 

    from which we pray to be freed:

        illness...

        fear...

        doubt...

        war... 

        grief... 

        anxiety... 

        pride...

        injustice... 

        unhealthy relationships...

        prejudice... 

        unhappy memories...

        worry...

        abuse... 

        loneliness... 

        envy...

        sadness...

 

So many things in life, Lord, 

    inhibit our desire

        to know you, love you and serve you... 

 

But you desire our freedom, Lord,

    our peace and well-being,

        our serenity, joy and calm

and for all these gifts and blessings

    you have set us free... 

 

Then, help us grow close to you, Lord,

    close and ever closer 

for the path to you 

    is the path to freedom 

and the path of freedom

    leads to you, ever closer to you

into the freedom that's only ours  

    in your strong, loving and merciful arms...

 

From all that makes us less than free,

    free us, O Lord, with the gift of your grace,

to know you, to love and to serve you 

    ever more and ever more... 

 

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. 

 

Tonight's song is not so much a prayer to be free as it is a celebration of the peace that is ours in the freedom Christ offers us...  

On Eagles Wings by Michael Joncas 

 

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And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand

 

The snare of the fowler will never capture you
And famine will bring you no fear
Under His wings your refuge, 

His faithfulness your shield

 

You need not fear the terror of the night
Nor the arrow that flies by day
Though thousands fall about you, 

near you it shall not come

 

For to His angels He's given a command
To guard you in all of your ways
Upon their hands they will bear you up
Lest you dash your foot against a stone 

 

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To Kill A Mockingbird

Last night I saw To Kill A Mockingbird at The Huntington Theater in Boston. It's up through November 8 and I highly recommend it for your consideration. This is a stage production of Harper Lee's novel as adapted by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing and A Few Good Men).  Sorkin tells the story for an audience now  now 66 years beyond the book's publication date in midst of the civil rights struggle and does so masterfully without a hint of clumsy or obvious updating. The set is remarkably simple and evocative while the musical thread of a single violin and voice perfectly ties the whole presentation together with a subtle and haunting beauty.

Whether you remember Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson or will meet these characters for the first time - this play will speak to you as much about our own times as it does about our past.

 At The Huntington 

 

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Monday Morning Offering: 10/12

Image: George Mendoza

I often lose the day, Lord,

when I’m anxious for tomorrow

- or trapped in days gone by...

Fretting over what’s now past,

worried ‘bout what’s yet to come,

- I miss the day at hand….

Yesterday has slipped my grip,

tomorrow’s still beyond my reach:

today’s the only day I have…

Only yesterday I saw you

as I trust I will tomorrow 

- but today’s the day we meet…

You meet me in today, Lord

- for you, all time is now -

and now’s my time with you…

Free me from what’s history 
and all that’s not yet happened:
keep me present to the moment…

Make me mindful, Lord,

of where I am - not where I was
or where I’d rather be…

Keep me mindful, Lord,

of all I feel and think
and say and do...

 
Just keep me in the moment, Lord,
mindful of your presence
and your promise to remain...

Keep me present to this hour, Lord,
to all that's true, within my reach,
and living in my heart...

Focus me on who I am,
on what I have and how I stand
today, within your grace...

Keep me in today, Lord,
the day you've made and given me,
the only day I have...

I offer you this day, Lord,
it's all I have to give,
I offer you my now

and I offer it with love... 

Amen. 

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