Pause for Prayer: THANKSGIVING

 

Two prayers this morning...

 

The first is a Grace Before Thanksgiving Day Dinner, should you or someone else need a little help in offering a prayer before today's dinner... 

 

The second is my annual Prayer at an Empty Chair for those whose hearts are burdened with some measure of grief at the Thanksgiving Day table. 

 

I'll post a few more prayers during the course of the day... 

Grace Before Thanksgiving Day Dinner

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation!   

Through your goodness  we have so much
    for which to give you thanks and praise...

Make us grateful for all you've given us;
    may our desire for having more (and more)
    not blind us to all we have...

Make us grateful for all who love us:
    may no grudge or anger keep us distant
    from family and friends,
    neighbors and colleagues... 

Make us grateful for those who are with us:
    may no resentment isolate us
    from their loving embrace...

Make us grateful for the good work we've done:
    may our mistakes and failures
    not weigh us down or blind us to your mercy... 

Make us grateful for the freedom we enjoy:
    may we never take it for granted...

Make us grateful for the peace we find in you:
    let no other cause or victory take its place...

Make us grateful for our dreams:
    let no disappointment keep us from hope... 

Make us grateful for our faith in you:
    let no doubt cloud our trusting in your love...

Make us grateful
    for the meal we are about to share
and mindful
    of any and all who have so much less... 

Nourish and strengthen us
    to change what keeps so many hungry
while others, like ourselves,
    have much more than we'll ever need...

Give us grateful hearts, O God,
to praise and thank you:
    in good times and in bad,
    in sickness and in health,
    in plenty and in want,
    in sorrow and in joy...

This is the day that you made, Lord:
    let us be glad and rejoice in it
    and give you thanks and praise! 

Amen.

 Prayer at an empty chair...

This Thanksgiving, Lord,

there’ll be an empty chair at our table, 

an ache in our hearts 

and tears upon our faces...

We might try, we might even succeed
in shielding our grief from others 

but, Lord, we can't hide our hearts from you...

So, today we pray for (name your loved ones) 
whose loving presence we sorely miss
in these days of homecoming cheer....

Help us remember and tell again  

the stories of times we shared together,

the history of how we lived and loved...

 

Open our hearts to memories, Lord,

of blessings and burdens, sorrows and joys,

bundled together with ribbons of grace...

And with your ever-so-gentle touch
smooth and mend what brokenness
still stands in need of healing...

May the bonds you forged between us, Lord,

grow stronger as we remember

and grieve the ones we've lost...

 

Help us trust, as we believe, Lord,

that those who've now gone home to you

are seated at your table...

 

And refresh our hope in your promise
to gather us all together again

in your mercy, peace and joy... 

And help us lean on each other now 
for the strength we often need
to lift our drooping spirits...

Lord, open wide our hearts and souls
to your presence, warmth and comfort
all around, within and among us...

As you embrace the ones we miss 

hold us along with them, Lord,

in your everlasting arms... 

 

May we give thanks for all your gifts

especially for the peace we know

in family, friends  and faith...

 

We thank you for those with us now

and all whom we commend, Lord,

to your mercy and your love... 

 

In all things, Lord, in joy and sadness,

help us to remember:

because today's day you've made

we give you thanks and praise...

Amen.

  

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NIGHT PRAYER: Thanksgiving Eve

 Tomorrow, Lord,
    we'll overeat and drink too much,
 we'll stuff ourselves like turkeys,     

    then joke about how much we've had,
        with no room left for more...

 

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And then for several days:

    turkey sandwiches 

        and steaming bowls of turkey soup!
 

What we call left-overs, Lord,

    millions would think a royal feast...

Tomorrow, Lord,
    we'll eat all day and night
while others go for days and weeks,
    their cupboards bare, 

        their bellies empty, hungry...

May the day not pass tomorrow, Lord, 

    'til I find or fund a way to feed

those whose tables never groan
    beneath the weight of too much food
        and too much drink
            with plenty still left over... 

 

I'll do more than pray this week

    for those who hunger all year 'round;

I'll share my bounty with the poor

    whose cry is your cry, too...

   

Lord, open our hearts as wide as our mouths,
    let blessings flow as wine is poured:
        freely, gladly, to the brim 

    to share the best of all we have

        with those have so little...    

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. 

 

This quote from Dan Berrigan was on the cover of the program for my first mass, 52 years ago... 

 

 Looking for a place to donate? 

Try Food for the Poor.

 

Tonight's song has Eucharistic overtones - but then, our feeding others in the name of Christ is always a share in the breaking of the bread and the blessing of the cup...

 

Come Share the Table

    by Victor C. Johnson   

 

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESAY 11/26

 

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 11/25

On Thursday, Lord, we'll be getting together 

    with family and friends

        to meet and greet,

        to praise and thank you,

        to share and remember,

        to eat and drink,

        to laugh and cry

    and...

        to chat and talk,

        discuss and converse, 

        compare and contrast,    

    and maybe, just maybe, 

        we'll get into an argument...

 

We'll take different sides 

    and the topics will vary:

        the turkey - fresh or frozen?

        Cowboys or Chiefs? 

        white meat only - or drumsticks?    

        Fox or CNN? 

        cranberry relish - or  jelly? 

        who's holding back "the files?"

        green bean casserole: yay or nay?

        what's happening to our democracy? 

       mincemeat, pumpkin or apple pie?

   

Help us tread carefully, Lord,

    through the mine field of

        Thanksgiving Day dinner...

 

Remind us to begin our meal with prayer

    with time to name the gifts and blessings

        you've generously given us all...

Remind us, in prayer,

    that we're sisters and brothers,

        all daughters and sons of you, our God...

 

Give us the prudence and wisdom we need

    to patiently listen as others speak

       - whatever they have to say...

Remind us to begin with a prayer that graces

    the words we choose, 

    our tone of voice,

    the points we make 

        - and how we make them,

    all we share and all we receive

    as we gather together, 

    family and friends,

    sharing a table of love...

 

Keep us from speaking in anger, Lord,

keep us from shouting our point of view,

keep us from putting down other's ideas

    and from badmouthing those who speak them...

Keep us one in peace together,

keep us one in mind and heart,

keep us one above all else,

keep us one in you, O Lord,

keep us one 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'm so pleased to have found this song! 

Lord, Help Us Live In Peace

    by JD Martin 

 

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Lord, help us live in peace
from our blindness set us free.
Fill us with Your healing love
help us live in unity.

Many times we disagree
o’er what’s right or wrong to do.
It’s so hard to really see
from the other’s point of view.

How we long for power and fame;
seeking every earthly thing.
We forget the One who came
as a servant – not a king.

Jesus, help us live in peace
from our blindness set us free.
Fill us with Your healing love
help us live in unity. 

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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 11/25

In today's gospel, Lord, you ask,
"Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground
   without your Father's knowledge..." 

You know, you're familiar with, 
   every detail of my life, Lord:

 you notice things about me
   that totally escape my own attention 

and you hold everything about me
   gently, in your mind and heart...

 

You know and you hold close
   all my joys and sorrows, 
   my ups and downs,

   my joys and my grief,  
   my hopes and dreams,
   my regrets and disappointments...

You delight in my good works, Lord
   and you pledge your grace
      to help me grow, day by day...

You see my life as a work in progress
   and coach my efforts to reach my goals,

    drawing ever closer to you...

 

My failures are, 
   are in your view, Lord,
      steps on my way to victory...

 

In your eyes, Lord, my life's worth more 

    than many sparrows:
help me not forget or doubt:     

    this how you love me...

 

Amen. 

 

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

    by Lauryn Hill and Tanya Blount 

 

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Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is he
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches over me

His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me

His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me…

I sing because I´m happy
I sing because I´m free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me

His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me

He watches me
I know
He watches
Me

 

Image source

 

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Big Brother - from the 1950's, not 1984!

As a child I used to watch Big Brother Bob Emery who hosted one of the first television programs especially produced for children. I remember that you could write in and become a member of his Small Fry Club - and you might even get to join him as part of the in-studio audience.

 As a daily feature, Bob Emery would invite all of us watching at home to get a glass of milk and join him in toasting a photo of President Dwight D. Eisenhower while he played a recording of Hail to the Chief.

I recall that my dad, a died-in-the-wool Democrat, wasn't all that keen on my sister and me toasting Ike - and by the time the photo changed to JFK, we were teenagers and too old for Big Brother.

Presidential memories from my youth...

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 11/24

Thanksgiving's just a few days away, Lord,

    and there's still so much that crowds and clouds 

    our annual feast of thanks,

our gathering in gratitude

    for all good gifts around us...

Our world's security is threatened, Lord,

    by terrorism, violence and war... 

Our body politic is poisoned 

    with animosity, bias, lies and mistrust...

 

Our discourse is soured by

    name-calling, slander, insults and slurs..

Our souls are sick

    with scandal, loss, grief and disappointment...

We're so much in need of healing, Lord:

    longing for the remedy of your mercy,

    the ointment of your grace,

    the medicine of your mercy, 

    the tonic of your truth, 

    the balm of true humility

    the recovery of integrity

    and the mending of our brokenness... 

    

Open our eyes and lift our hearts

    to all your blessings all around us, Lord,

to the gifts you send from heaven above,   

    shared with us for us to share

        with neighbors near and far...

Lord, reconcile us

    to one another and to your Father;

lead us to this Thursday's feast 

    with grateful hearts

healed, made whole and joined as one  

    in prayers of thanks and praise...

 

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. 

 

We'd have to sing this song at least once this week!

 

All Good Gifts by Stephen Schwartz

    lyrics from by Matthias Claudius,  

        translated by Jane M. Campbell  

 

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We plow the fields and scatter 

    the good seed on the land
But it is fed and watered 

    by God's almighty hand.
He sends the snow in winter,
the warmth to swell the grain
The breezes and the sunshine, 

    and soft refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above.
Then thank the Lord, thank the Lord

    for all his love.

We thank thee then, O Father,
for all things bright and good:
The seed time and the harvest,
our life our health our food.
No gifts have we to offer 

    for all thy love imparts
But that which thou desirest,
our humble thankful hearts.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above.
Then thank the Lord, thank the Lord 

    for all his love.

I really wanna thank you Lord!
All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above.
Then thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord 

    for all his love!

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Monday Morning Offering: 11/24

Coffee in the Morning

Good morning, good God!

Thanksgiving's just a few days away, Lord, and I want to be ready on Thursday to thank you for all I have, especially what I have in abundance, all from your generous hands: Iwant to remember the ways you've helped me since last Thanksgiving, just a year ago...

Help me remember, Lord, all the times when your strength, not my own, helped me through some really rough patches...

Help me remember how, in your faithful love, you've never abandoned or left me alone...

Help me remember the gift of your mercy and pardon - every time I strayed from your grace...

Help me remember how each time I prayed you were right there, waiting and ready to hear me...

Help me remember you were always there - when just one more step seemed more than I could take...

 

Help me remember the pain I've endured, the hurt I've survived  and the healing your grace has provided...
 
Help me remember, Lord, the people who love and care for me: family and friends, colleagues and neighbors, near and far and right next door...

Help me remember as gifts from you the things I often feel entitled to: good food and clean water, warm clothing, a place to live, safety, liberty and freedom... 

Help me remember, Lord, all who serve, protect, defend and care for me - especially all those whose names I don't know...

Help me remember and be grateful for my vision, my hearing, my sense of touch, smell and taste 0  and all the good and beautiful things I experience through my senses...

Help me remember what I take for granted, and open my eyes to blessings and gifts I've wasted, or haven't used - or don't yet know are mine...

Help me remember that every good gift comes from you, my God: from your hand to mine, from your heart to mine - and all to be shared with others...

Help me remember and never forget my many reasons for thanking you and praising you - again and again and again...

Come this Thanksgiving Thursday, Lord, help me remember  (between the turkey and the football games) help me remember to thank you for all the gifts and blessings I've been privileged to receive...

This morning, Lord, and on Thursday - and on every day this week - I offer you my thanks, O God, from whom all blessings flow...

Amen.

 

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