Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 6/23

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It's so easy in the moment
to see just this day's cloudy skies:
to fear the rain will never end,
the sun not shine again...

It's so easy to convince myself
that this day's troubles are my life,
their burden my sad lot,
that peace will never come... 

It's so easy to forget, Lord,
how many storms I've weathered,
the amazing grace you've offered
to keep me safe and sound...

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I've come and I've survived:
your grace has brought me safe thus far,
your grace will bring me home...

Amazing Grace by Pentatonix

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 6/22

Sometimes, Lord - life stinks.

And sometimes life's a burden. 

Sometimes life's an uphill battle.

Sometimes life is hard. 

Sometimes life is cruel. 

Sometimes life's a mystery. 

Sometimes life's not fair.

And sometimes life's a ...

- well sometimes life is best described 

    by words I won't use here!

 

Just now, Lord, my life doesn't stink

but there are so many people, Lord,

so many very good people whose lives are 

    painful, sad and empty,

    broken, burned and bruised by war,   

    overwhelmed by hunger and poverty, 

    impaired by disease and sickness,

    haunted by setbacks, letdowns and losses, 

    burdened with sorrow, mourning and grief,

    stretched by problems at home and at work, 

    wired with worry, fear and distress,

    unsettled by things beyond their control, 

    confused by questions too hard to answer,

    stressed by finances, debts and bills 

    and pushed, too often, too close to the brink...

 

So very many good people, Lord,

praying and reaching out to you

    for solace and comfort,

    a word of good news, 

    your healing touch,  

    the strength of your help, 

    your mercy and grace, 

    a respite from problems,

    a reprieve from worry,

    and a time of contentment,

    of peace and joy... 

 

There were days, O Lord,

- even many many days -

when you, too, knew and keenly felt

    how hard and painful this life can be:

you shared our distress, our grief and pain

    and you asked then as we pray now

to be spared this cup of suffering

    and be lifted up in saving arms

        that never will let go...  

 

Be generous, Lord, in helping us

to see you're always there

- with us and for us, behind and before us -

guiding us always 

and guarding the paths we walk through life

through good times and bad,

through thick and through thin,

to the peace you promise,

the healing that's ours,

in our faith in you

and your love for us... 

 

I'm praying, Lord, for all who feel

that life is hard, not fair - life stinks!

Ease their burdens and right what's wrong

    and let them inhale the beautiful scent 

        of the life that's theirs in you... 

 

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 found two songs for tonight's prayer and couldn't decide between them - so I'm offering both. The share the same title but each has its own lyrics.  I encourage you to listen to both - especially if you found yourself in tonight's prayer...  

 

God Help Me by Plumb

 

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There is a wrestling in my heart and my mind 

A disturbance and a tension I cannot seem to drive 

And if I'm honest, there's quite a bit of fear 

To sit here in this silence and really hear You 

 

What will You ask of me? 

Will I listen to Your voice when You speak? 

 

Help me to move, help me to see 

Help me to do whatever You would ask of me 

Help me to go, God help me to stay 

I'm feeling so alone here 

And I know that You're faithful 

But I can barely breathe 

God help me  

 

Sometimes things, they are black and white 

Sometimes they are not and that leaves us torn inside 

And in the middle, we are left to wonder 

Who we are, what You want and where we're going 

 

Oh such a mystery I don't always understand 

But I believe! 

 

Chorus  

 

I don't know the future, it's one day at a time 

But I know I'll be okay with Your hand holding mine 

So take all my resistance Oh God I need Your grace 

One step and then the other 

Show me the way 

Show me the way! 

 

Chorus 

 

God Help Me by Unspoken

 

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When I'm at my end, Tears pouring down
And I can't see past, What's in front of me now

When it's all too much, For this heart to take
There's one name I call, One prayer that I pray

 

God, help me now
Feels like there's no way out
But Jesus, You're faithful and able
And You've never once let me down
God, help me now

 

No matter the pain my heart may feel
No wound cuts too deep for Your love to heal

So when fear comes to find me and doubt starts to grow
I lift up my eyes, I know just where to go

 

God, help me now
Feels like there's no way out
But Jesus, You're faithful and able
And You've never once let me down
God, help me now

No one else (no one else)
No one else (no one else)
Has the power that's in Your name
Nowhere else (nowhere else)
Nowhere else (nowhere else)
Can I run to, and be saved

 

God, help me now
Feels like there's no way out
But Jesus, You're faithful and able 

And You've never once let me down 
God, help me now
God, help me now

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Monday Morning Offering: 6/22

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

I've mentioned this before, Lord,
but it stays in my mind, in my imagination -
and it's such a simple thing: 

it's the leaves on the trees...

 

A month and a half ago
I'd look out my second floor window
and see bare limbs scratching April skies 

where now, 

leafy branches brush puffy clouds 

on each rare day in June...

 

And for all this verdant beauty 

the trees did - nothing -

nothing but stand there:
soaking in the springtime downpours,

bathing in the brilliant sunlight, 
drawing moisture from the earth, 

budding branches,

greening leaves,

and fleshing out the glory

that lines my street

and fills my own yard...

The trees did nothing but stand there, Lord
- and you did all the rest...

Would that once or twice each day
I'd just stand there, Lord, 

or maybe sit or even kneel,
soaking in your showers of grace,
drawing up from each day's life
the moisture of your presence 

and bathing in the light that's found
only in the forests 

of my quiet time for prayer...

The trees do nothing but stand there, Lord
- letting you do all the work -
and then their beauty comes
and I find rest 

beneath their broad and shady arms...

Help me make some time each day,

help me find a place
where you and I can meet
and I'll do nothing 

but be still 

and simply rest  

in the quiet, 

in the silence of your presence
where I will bow and pray 

that you'll do, Lord,

what you do best... 

I'll pray you'll give me grace, Lord, 

to welcome all the ways 

you help me stretch and grow:
grace to let your life within me 

bud and leaf and flourish, 

filling my bare branches  

with the life that's only yours to give...

 

Slow me down, Lord:
bring me to a standstill,   

stop me in my tracks
and lift my face to yours;

let me meet you one-on-one,

eye to eye
and heart to heart...

 

Help me just sit quietly

while you do, Lord,

what you do best:

make of me the person

you created me to be...

 

Receive my morning offering, Lord,
and keep me faithful to it;

help me just to be here,

open to the gracious ways

you shape and grow my life each day

in mercy, love and wisdom... 

 

Amen.

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First day of summer

It's hard to believe, Lord:

    we're more half-way through 

        the sixth month of the year! 

 

It's hard to believe

    that in the same amount of time

        - we'll be in 2027... 

 

And it gives me pause to consider

    how much time I've squandered

        since this year first began...

 

So, tonight I pray for help, Lord,

    for grace, resolve and strength 

        to amend my careless ways...

 

Open wide my eyes and heart

    to all the times and places

        where you meet me on my way... 

 

Make me grateful for the time I have

    - my daily opportunities -

        to love and pray and serve...

 

Help me spend my time with gratitude

    for all the years I've lived

        - and for all that lies ahead...

 

Give me strength to live your word

    and give me wisdom and compassion

        to be gentle in my ways...

 

Help me grow old, Lord, with dignity

    - and graciousness and kindness

        for all whose paths cross mine...

 

I rejoice in every day, Lord,

    for each day you have made

is another day to know your peace,

    your mercy and your love... 

    

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. 

 

This Day God Gives Me by OCP Session Choir

 

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This day God gives me
Strength of high heaven,
Sun and moon shining,
Flame in my hearth,
Flashing of lightning,
Wind in its swiftness,
Deeps of the ocean,
Firmness of earth.

This day God sends me
Strength to sustain me,
Might to uphold me,
Wisdom as guide.
Your eyes are watchful,
Your ears are list'ning,
Your lips are speaking,
Friend at my side.

God's way is my way,
God's shield is round me,
God's host defends me,
Saving from ill.
Angels of heaven,
Drive from me always
All that would harm me,
Stand by me still.

Rising, I thank you,
Mighty and strong One,
King of creation,
Giver of rest,
Firmly confessing
Threeness of Persons,
Oneness of Godhead,
Trinity blest.

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Jesus Talk - at your 4th of July barbeque...

 Above you'll find a video of my homily for Sunday, June 21.  Here's a link to the gospel I preached on and the text of my homily follows below. (If a video doesn't appear above, click here!)

In last week's gospel, we heard how Jesus called his first and closest disciples - the 12 apostles. That story picks up with what we just heard where Jesus is giving his newly chosen team a pep talk. And what a pep talk it is! In just a few verses, Jesus tells them 3 times, “Don't be afraid.”

Imagine getting a new job and the first day on the job your boss tells you, “Now, don't be afraid of any clients or potential customers who try to kill you.” I don't think that even rookie cops are given that message - but it's what Jesus tells his top sales reps.

 

The assignment is clear. “What I tell you in the darkness, I want you to speak it in the light and everything, even what I whisper to you, shouted from the house talks.”

 

If nothing else, Jesus is being brutally honest and realistic with the apostles here. He wasn't kidding. The apostles all died a martyr's death. They were put to death for believing in the name of Jesus and preaching his gospel. With the exception of Judas, who took his own life after betraying Jesus, and St. John, who died a natural death, but only after earlier having been tortured a number of times - because he spoke what he heard in the darkness, and he shouted it from the housetops.

 

Well, as is always the case, what Jesus spoke to others 2,000 years ago, he is speaking to us this morning. Indeed, Christians, even today, in many places in the world, are imprisoned, tortured and put to death for believing in the name of Jesus and speaking his truth.

 

Now, it's unlikely that any of us here this morning will ever face such dire circumstances and consequences for simply speaking what we believe, what Jesus taught: we won't be asked to put our lives on the line for our faith. But that doesn't mean that we're not called to say out loud, in the light of day, the message Jesus has called each of us to share in our lives.

 

For example… if we find ourselves at a cookout on the 4th of July, how freely will we bring up - or conversely, how carefully will we avoid – sharing with others:

• what Jesus taught and told us about welcoming, caring for, and providing housing for a stranger…

 

• what Jesus told us about loving our enemies, blessing those who persecute us, and forgiving those who have offended and even harmed us…

 

• what Jesus taught us about laying down our weapons because, he said, those who live by the sword will die by the sword…

 

• what Jesus said about the importance of not judging others, lest we ourselves be judged…

 

• what Jesus said about how in the end we will be judged (and condemned or saved) according to how faithfully we have

   fed the hungry and thirsty,

   clothed the naked,

   cared for the sick,

   welcomed in those who lived on the margins,

   and visited those found guilty of crimes and sentenced to prison.

 

How freely will we bring up or carefully avoid what Jesus says about the problems in our world today.?

 

As you have probably heard or read over the past few months, Pope Leo has been rudely criticized for commenting on the world's problems - from the perspective of what Jesus teaches his followers - that's us.

 

The pope has been criticized for calling us to shout from the rooftops (or just chat at a barbecue) what we say we believe.

 

If you ask me, this is scary; if you ask me, this is something to be afraid of: speaking out what we believe, based on the teaching of Jesus.

 

And that's probably precisely why Jesus tells us over and over again, and three times in seven verses in today's gospel, “Fear no one. Be not afraid. Do not fear.” 

 

Now, it's not my intention here to write a script for what you and I should say over hamburgers and hot dogs on the 4th of July. Much less is it my intention to cause trouble or to disrupt our family or neighborhood gatherings.

 

But it is my intention - actually, it's my job as a preacher of the gospel - to remind all of us what Jesus taught and to remind us of his charging us to share what he taught - and to share it fearlessly.

 

Especially when the demands of truth and the plight of those in need are staring us in the face.

 

I've often said, in my homilies, and I'll say it again this morning:

Jesus and the gospels do not write legislation.

Jesus and the gospels do not lay out plans for immigration reform.

Jesus, on the gospels do not design programs of social service.

But for Catholic Christians - for all followers of Christ - Jesus and the gospels are the only place for us to begin.

 

When considering trying to solve the problems we face in the world, in our nation, in our communities, in our neighborhoods, in our families: Jesus is the only place to begin…

 

So, don't be afraid of those who can kill the body - or disagree with you and call you names at a backyard barbecue. Don't be afraid of them. Rather trust in your heavenly Father, whose eye is on the sparrow.

 

Trust your heavenly Father who entrusts to each of us (in our own situations and circumstances),  the Father entrusts to each of us the truth, the wisdom, justice, the witness, the demands, and the call - of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 6/21

 

It was 19 years ago that I first wrote the phrase, "Come summer with me, Lord..."  I've tweaked this text a number of times over the years but it remains (and continues to become) one of my favorites...  I offer it again this morning on the first day of summer 2026...

 

I remember childhood summers 

    that seemed without horizon:

a time and place as close to heaven 

    as any young heart might hope to dream...

 

A child’s summer, filled with joy,

    comes as gift from God;
a wondrous, timeless season

    of unending sun and fun

       - perpetual play! 

And who but you, O Lord, 

    might offer such a gift?

 

But where have childhood summers gone? 

Have I lost my hope 

    in summer's peace and promise? 

 

If I don't believe in summer

    - how can I hope for heaven -

          where summer's joy must surely never end;

 Heaven: 

    where summer's sweet and timeless peace 

        heals every other season's grief...

 

Come, summer with me, Lord,

    come, summer with me 

        deep down in my soul…  

Restore my faith in summer’s time, 
    in rest, in joy, in play, in you...

Come, summer in my heart, Lord,

    and dwell there as if summertime 

        would never ever fade or end, 

    as if all time were child's time, 

        eternal time,

    when school is always out

        - and joy is ever in... 

 

Come, summer with me, Lord,

    come, summer with me 

        deep down in my soul…   

 

In these long-awaited days, O Lord, 
    slow me down and give me time 

        to be alone with you,

    extra time to seek and find you

        always by my side... 

 

Let any summer doldrums calm

    and call me to a place of prayer,

        of meeting you again,
    bumping into you, Lord,
        on the streets of my vacation... 

 

Come, summer with me, Lord,

    come, summer with me  

        deep down in my soul… 

 

Help me relax, O Lord, 
    and find a place of peace

as when you took your own rest,
    leaving the crowds behind
and climbing to a mountain top, 

    or walking in the desert,
or sailing 'cross the waters 

    to find a quiet shore 

where you could find some time for rest

    in quiet groves

and in the blessed silence  

    find a place to pray... 

 

Come, summer with me, Lord,
    come, summer with me 

        deep down in my soul… 

 

Slow me down, Lord!

 

Let the busyness that rules me 
    and the work that owns my time

settle to a pace that lets me be
    - alone with you -
in a place where my heart speaks to yours
    and your heart speaks to mine

where in the silence, I can hear

    the whisper of your word...

Come, summer with me, Lord,
    come, summer with me 
        deep down in my soul…  

And if my summer's crowded, Lord,

    with work and things to do;
if vacation time is really short 

    or simply not in sight;
if my problems bear down hard 

    like the season's noonday sun

- even then, especially then -

    come summer with me, Lord, 

        come summer deep down in my soul...

 

When the sun comes up at morning,

    when the stars shine bright all night,

when the temperature is rising

      and when soft rains fall upon me:

Come, summer with me, Lord,
    come, summer with me 
        deep down in my soul…   

 

Send Us Your Spirit by Dan Schutte

 

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Send us your spirit, O Lord.

Evening enfolds us and holds us too near.

Wake the morning light. Make our living bright.

Shine on our darkness, O Lord

Teach us your wisdom, O Lord.

Shadows have clouded, have crowded our sight.

Give us hearts that see. Set our loving free.

Hear us and help us, O Lord.

Send us good summer, O Lord.

Winters have chilled us and stilled us too long.

Give us love's own fire. Be our true desire.

Send us your spirit, O Lord.

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