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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 1/27

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Over the next 24 hours, Lord,
    open my eyes and open my ears
    to all you want me
    to see and hear…

Open my mind

    to what's wise and true 
and my heart to all
    you call me to love…

Open my hands

    to help those in need

    of my presence and strength,

    compasion and comfort...
 

Open my mouth

    to speak the words, 

    the healing words,
    that others may need 

    to hear from me...

Open my soul

    to find a time, to make the time,

    to find a place to sit with you 

    in the silence
    where I might open my heart to you

    and all you're waiting to give me... 

      

And when I want to give in,

when I want to give up, 
when I want to shut down
    then open me up and refresh my spirit
    and help me begin again and again
    - and again and again and again -

    to open my heart to you... 

Amen.

 

Here's My Heart by Casting Crowns

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 1/26

 

O, Lord!

You've spent the day snowing us in, 

    slowing our steps

        - and hitting our pause button...

And sometimes, Lord, that's just what we need.

We need to be interrupted,

    inconvenienced, stopped in our tracks

        by the pure, soft beauty of your presence, 

settling gently, flake by snowy flake,

    dressing us and all around

        in a garment of pure grace...

Let the snow fall on our upturned faces, Lord,
    and like children catching snow flakes on the tongue,
        we'll taste the sweetness of your wintry gift...

Photo: Jeff Holmes

And snow angels, Lord!

Have we grown too old 

    for making angels in the snow?

Send some snowy angels, then, 

    to make of us the children

        you made us all to be...

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let your touch melt our souls, Lord,

as the snow chills our limbs

and draw us to your heart

where the fire of your love

burns with snapping, crackling beauty,

bright and warm, this wintry night...

And remind us, Lord,

of those burdened by the cold

and those who serve and shelter them,

- and those who plow and clear our streets

making safe our way from here to there

and back to home again...

And when the snow's been shoveled
and our pace is quick again,
keep us mindful of these moments
when the blanket of your presence
calmed and warmed our shivering hearts
and brought us close to 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.

(Two musical offerings tonight: the first as playful as snow angels - enjoy! and the second, as prayerful and reflective as new fallen snow...)

 

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Let It Snow by Alfonso Gugliucci

 

Winter Solitude by Ekaterina

 

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Pause for Prayer: MONDAY 1/26

 

Monday Morning Offering will return next week!

 

Forgive us, Lord, when we allow
the snow to rule our lives

even when it measures not in inches 

- but in feet... 

 

Forgive us, Lord, for stocking up 

on comfort food and alcohol
when all year 'round, without relief,
so many perish, hungry...

 

Forgive us, Lord, for griping 

'bout the frost and wind and chill 
when we have so much warmth to spare
and others - none at all... 

Forgive us our obsessing
over troubles small and passing
when neighbors 'round the world

are struggling daily - to survive...

 

Forgive us our not knowing
names of countries torn by war,
where danger fear and terror
threaten life each night and day... 

 

Forgive us our anxiety
for football and the playoffs
when greater crises everywhere
deserve our keen attention...

Give us some perspective, Lord,
to see how blessed we are:
how much we have to give away
and all we have to share...

Make us grateful and aware, Lord,

of all that we've been given:

all we have in great supply, 

the bounty that is ours...

 

Make us generous, freely giving, Lord,

until we really we feel it,
'til we feel the want ourselves and know

at last - we've served you well... 

 

Amen. 

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 1/25

This Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is annually observed (more often in theory than in practice) as Word of God Sunday  Our prayer this evening asks the Lord to speak a word, a word of good news, a word we need, a word we can hear and understand...

A word from you always lifts me, up, Lord

    so I'm praying for a word or two night...

Lift me up with a word of faith
   to help me trust in your presence,
      and your desire to free me from fear...

Lift me up with a word of love
   to help me see your image
      dwelling in my soul...

Lift me up with a word of hope
   to cut the darkness with your light
      and help me trust the peace you offer...

Lift me up with a word of light
   to help me see where you would lead
      and what you ask of me this day...

Lift me up with a word of healing
   to soothe the ache within my soul,
      the hurt within my heart...

Lift me up with a word of trust:
   trust in those who counsel me, who care for me
      and guide me when I'm lost...

Lift me up with a word of peace
   to free my soul from all that troubles me
       and locks me in my fears...

Lift me up with a word of wisdom
   to clear my mind of all that keeps me
      from trusting in your promise...

Lift me up with a word of strength
   when I am weak and cannot move
      for fear of stumbling, falling, failing...

Lift me up with a word of mercy:
   refresh my heart and soul
      with the grace that only you can give...

Lift me up with a word of wonder
   to open my mind and heart again
      to believe in beauty wherever I find it...

Lift me up with a word of courage
   to speak what's in my heart today
      and take the path I need to walk...

Lift me up with a word of joy
   in play and laughter, prayer and song,
      in friendship, care and love...

Lift me up with a saving word   

   to raise my soul from loneliness
      and fill my heart with peace...

 
Lift me up with a word from you, Lord,
   to help me trust you know my name
      and all I need to live and 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.

 

Your Words by Third Day

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Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 1/25

 

In the last couple of days, a friend posted the photo above, taken at Plum Island Beach in Newburyport, MA, and I immediately wrote asking for his permission to post it on my blog - Mike Sierra graciously said yes.  I wasn't sure when or how I'd use the photo but it's stark beauty told me I'd find a way, a reason.  Then another friend posted the reflection below and, upon request, Gregory Maguire  told me I could share it on my page.  It didn't take me too long, then, to pair the picture with the words.  I find each of them alone and both of them together to be a rich source for prayerful reflection.  I hope you do, too.  

 

"I now think of the time ahead 

as less of an ocean and more of a receding sea, 

perhaps sooner or later turning into quicksand..."

This is the day the Lord has made.

A day I might have rued.

Not a summer's day, to which 

comparison is a dicey proposition 

- almost nobody can win in that beauty pageant.

 

But as I once noticed an elderly Cambridge friend of mine 

drawing in her horizons 

- finding Norway too far away, then Manhattan, 

and then even the Harvard Faculty Club by taxi 

a bit of a campaign, so let's eat in 

- I now think of the time ahead as less of an ocean 

and more of a receding sea, 

perhaps sooner or later turning into quicksand.

 

I don't have a five year plan, 

but usually I have a five minute plan.

And sometimes do something else 

because I get distracted, like a dog on the sidewalk 

sensing something unnerving or curious. 

 

A conundrum, a holy mystery, 

this mathematical proposition:

regard and gratitude for the time to be lived in 

doesn't shrink with the portion size. 

 

Not unlike, I suppose, 

the capacity to take a new person into your love

regardless of how committed you are 

to everyone you've ever met. 

"The heart has infinite room inside it."

 

Today the volume expands to include 

a five year old boy with a backpack

and his family.

So the day is full of sorrow.

 

And yet I'm still grateful for the daylight, 

which seems obscene.

 

This is not a poem.

Just some thoughts 

as I'm in a doctor's examination room

in a holding pattern.

Waiting for therapy, relief, good news, and mercy.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 1/24

The forecast is calling for snow, Lord,

    - 8 to 22 inches of snow - 

        so let the preparations begin!

 

We'll rush to the stores for bread and milk, 

    chips and dips, beer and wine

        - all manner of tasty comfort foods -

    as we hunker down for what's to come,

        our shovels set by our doors....

 

We'll prepare for the worst:

    for the deepest, iciest, heaviest snow

        the skies might dump in our laps...

Would that we'd ready ourselves this well

    to prepare for the weather that comes without fail:

        gusts of pride,

        clouds of war,

        gales of greed, 

        squalls of anger,

        drifts of lust,

    from blizzards that cripple our fragile lives

        and our efforts to live in peace

    with our families and neighbors and enemies, Lord,

        with nature, ourselves and with you...

         

Prepare us, Lord - make us ready -

    and strengthen our will to do what's right

    and give us wisdom to make good choices

    and give us faith  in you and your word

    and plant your love deep in our souls

    and brace us with grace

        for whatever weather may come...

 

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 music, a powerful song, will touch us all and especially the hearts of those who are living through a storm right now...

 

Through The Storm by V. Michael McKay

   - performed by Yolanda Adams

 

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The storms of life will blow 

They're sure to come and go 

They meet me at a time 

when I'm calm and doing fine 

 

But the captain of my soul, 

he's always on board 

He rocks me in his arms 

While riding through the storm 

 

While riding through the storm 

Jesus holds me in his arms 

I am not afraid 

of the stormy winds and the waves

Though tides become high 

He holds me while I ride 

I found safety in his arms 

While riding through the storm 

 

I have no fear of the raging sea 

Knowing Jesus is there with me 

He can speak to the winds and the waves 

And make them behave 

All power's in his hand 

On sea or dry land 

I found safety in the master's arms 

While riding through the storm 

 

While I'm riding through the storm 

Jesus holds me in his arms 

No, I'm not afraid 

of the stormy winds and the rains 

Though the tide becomes high 

He holds me while I ride 

I found safety in the master's arms 

While riding through the storm

 

Yeah, while I'm riding through the storm 

Jesus holds me in his arms 

while I'm riding through the storm 

Let the winds blow, I don't care, 

I'm riding through the storm with Jesus

Let the rains fall down, 

I'm riding through the storm with Jesus 

Jesus is the captain of my soul

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Will we ever learn?

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Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 1/24

I was just thinking, Lord... 

You don't read the daily papers: 

    before the headlines fill page one

        you know the news, both good and bad...

You don't wait for weather reports:

    come rain or shine, highs or lows,

        your forecast  always hits the mark...

   

Without a calendar, clock or watch:

    you're never late or too early,

        you're always on time - and beyond it...

 

You know every doubt, every worry and fear

    but you're never unsettled or shaken:

        you're tranquil, serene, calm and at peace...  

 

So, I'm  thinking, Lord, how grateful I am 

    that you are, indeed, who you are:

        someone beyond the news of the day,

        someone above all the storms of this life,

        someone whose time is mystery unfolding,

        someone whose peace is never disturbed...

In you alone, then, I place all my trust,

    in you I find all of my strength and my hope;

be with me this day, and deepen my faith

    that in you, Lord, all manner of things shall be well...

Amen.

 

 

 

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 1/23

January 22 is the annual Day of Prayer for the Protection of Unborn Children but I made a calendar error when scheduling this post - so it comes a day late!  I'm grateful to Andy Alexander, S.J. whose (italicized) reflections I've incorporated in my prayer tonight.

Lord, we thank you for calling us to share

in the life of your one human family...

 

We thank you for all our brothers and sisters

and ask you to deepen the bonds of love among us....

We thank you and pray tonight especially

for our youngest and smallest sisters and brothers

who still make their home in their mother's womb...

We hold them in prayer, Lord

and promise never to deny or ignore them...

We remember those who are living

and commend them to your protection...

We remember those who have died

and who live forever in your arms...

We pray for all who witness

to the unique and blessed humanity

of these, our youngest siblings... 

 

We pray for all who find themselves in

unexpected, unwanted, even forced pregnancies

and we pray for those who stand by to offer

compassion, care, support and comfort...

 

And we pray for the consolation and healing

of all who've lost the children of their womb...

 

Our prayer for the protection of the unborn, Lord,

calls us to pray and to advocate 

for the dignity of each human person, 

at every stage of life, in every circumstance:

- for those who arrive, unwanted, at our borders;

- for any whose demands on us are unexpected,

challenging and burdensome;

- for those who live out of sight, on the margins,

with no one to champion their cause; 

- and for those who are difficult to defend:

murderers on death row, enemy combatants,

and those whose own choices have ruined their lives...

Through you all things were made, Lord,

the visible and the invisible:

awake in our hearts a reverence for the work of your hands

and renew among us a readiness to nurture and sustain

your precious gift of life...

 

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 Cannot Measure How You Heal by John Bell

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We cannot measure how you heal
or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith and doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.

The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hoped to find,
the private agonies inside
the memories that haunt the mind.

So some have come who need your help,
and some have come to make amends,
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present in the touch of friends.
Lord, let your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain
and make your broken people whole.

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