NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 6/7

On Sundays, Night Prayer takes its lead from some element from the day's liturgy - today is the feast of Body and Blood of Christ.

 

Make me hungry, O Lord, and give me a thirst

 for what feeds my heart, nourishes my soul

     and strengthens my will to do the right thing...

 

Make me hungry, O Lord, and give me a thirst

     for what cleanses my thoughts, lifts my spirits 

         and purifies all my desires...

 

Make me hungry, O Lord, and give me a thirst

    for the truth of your word, the grace of your Spirit

         and the beauty of all creation...

 

 Make me hungry, O Lord, and give me a thirst

     for doing what's just, righting what's wrong,

         for making peace with my family and friends...

  

Make me hungry and thirsty for you, O Lord:

    for the bread of your truth and your wisdom,

         for the cup of your sweetness and healing;

    for the bread of your mercy and kindness,

        for the cup of your grace and refreshment;

     make me hungry and thirsty for you, O Lord…

 

 Make me hungry and thirsty for you, O Lord,

     for the bread of your body, given for me,

         for the blood from your side, spilled for me;

     for the bread of your body, bruised for me,

         for the blood of your heart, pierced for me;

     for the bread of your body, broken for me,

         for the blood of your life, poured out for me;

     for your body and blood, shared with me

         on your cross and the table of love...

  

Make me hungry and thirsty for you, O Lord,

     and nourish and strengthen my heart and hands

 to break and share the bread of my being,

     to pour myself out - and generously so -

 with all who hunger and thirst for you...

 

Make me hungry and thirsty for you, O Lord: 

    the bread of angels from heaven come down,

        the saving cup of eternal life…

 

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.

 

The Body of Christ by Sarah Hart

 

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This is the Body of Christ, 

beautiful, broken and blessed; 

miracle of the greatest of loves, 

presence of God in our midst. 

This is the Cup that he shares, 

endlessly emptied and poured; 

sacrifice made so that we might be saved 

now and forevermore. 

 

Amen, amen! 

We are healed by the Bread of life. 

Amen, amen! 

We are one in the Body of Christ. 

We are one in the Body of Christ. 

 

This is the Body of Christ, 

word become flesh by his grace; 

miracle of a myst’ry no tongue 

ever could fully explain. 

This is the Blood of the Lamb, 

gift of a heart open wide; 

poured from the Cross to the altar where love 

comforts and fills and provides. 

 

This is the Body of Christ, 

gathered in hope and in faith; 

bound by this love, this Body and Blood 

he offers again and again. 

All of the hunger we have, 

satisfied only by this; 

so we receive, we remember, believe 

and share so that others may live. 

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Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 6/7

 

This is the 18th year I've posted this prayer on Corpus Christi, a prayer which I wrote 55 years ago while in the seminary.  A good friend asked me what I believed about the Eucharist. I knew he was looking not for a text book answer but rather for what was in my heart. I wrote this reflection in response to his question. I know this helped me articulate my own faith in the Eucharist and I believe it helped my friend, too. As we celebrate today's feast of Corpus Christi, here's my old reflection on the breaking of bread...

 

BREAKING BREAD

Unless a grain of wheat 

falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat,
but if it dies, it bears much fruit...

John 12:24 

You have to listen with all of you
to hear the white-green shoot
pushing, rubbing, scraping up through
cool, moist earth: wheat being born...

It's a comforting sound when, finally,
you hear it and you know the growing sound
isn't out there, in the field
but in your frailty, your brokenness,
in you...

Then fear comes over you:
you'll be torn inside, again, until it hurts
and this may be the time
when growing leaves behind
the one you think you are,
harvesting the one

you were made to be...

Unless a grain of wheat 

falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat,
but if it dies, it bears much fruit...  

You don't have to listen so closely
to hear the wind shuffle its way
through fields of wheat
so you have to look very carefully
to see it's not the wind after all, but simply
wheat brushing against wheat,
wheat supporting wheat,
wheat enjoying wheat,
wheat embracing wheat...

The rustling becomes a symphony
of meeting, knowing, touching, growing:
wheat reaching out to wheat
not with fear, not with flushed face,
but only with the need to touch.
And the sound of reaching
is strong, enveloping, alive!  

Unless a grain of wheat 

falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat,
but if it dies, it bears much fruit...

Grinding grains of wheat: harsh,
breaking, crushing sounds,
a not soft noise - hard.
And now you don't want to hear
wheat being crushed:
it just doesn't look like wheat anymore
and maybe the explosion in you
wasn't a matter of life but...

water is cool
and now it is all around you:
bubbling and swirling
in flour ground of wheat
and now you're not surprised to know
you're listening to blood filling your veins,
flowing all through you - life...

And just before the fire consumed us, too,
we found bread: one beautiful brown loaf
of wheat, wind and water
all rising to life in bread...

Then came One who broke the bread
and was broken for us, like a loaf,
and we heard in the cracking and tearing of the crust
the Word of life grown, ground and given
for all who share
in the breaking of the bread... 

Unless a grain of wheat 

falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat,
but if it dies, it bears much fruit...

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NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 6/6

I believe in tomorrow

    when today is going nowhere...

I believe in peace of mind

   though my thoughts be greatly troubled...

I believe in prayer

    when my soul can find no words...

 

I believe in truth

    even when I cannot find it...

I believe in beauty's glory

    when all seems stark and barren...

I believe in joy and gladness

    though my heart be filled with sorrow...

I believe in friendship's comfort

    even when I'm all alone...

I believe in the sun

    even when it isn't shining...

I believe in love

    even when I do not feel it...

And I believe in you, my God,

     even when you're silent...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch for you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

Even When He Is Silent 

    by Kim Andre Arnesen

        performed by the Voces 8 

 

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The lyrics of this piece were scratched on a cellar wall, written by a Jew hiding in Cologne, Germany, during World War 2... 

 

 

I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining. 

I believe in love, even when I feel it not. 

I believe in God, even when He is silent.

 

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Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 6/6

 

I wrote this 12 years ago, revised it 4 years ago, and significantly expanded it for today...

 

Today, Lord, 

    let nothing and no one

        shake my faith in you, 
        keep me from your love,     

        rob me of my hope,     

        dull my thirst for justice, 

        shade me from your light,  

        threaten my integrity, 

        seduce me from fidelity, 

        still your voice within me, 

        indulge my pride and envy, 

        sway me from the truth I know,

        persuade me to act foolishly,

        diminish my self-worth,

        trigger my anxieties, 

        steer me from your path,

        tempt me with forbidden fruit,

        weaken my conviction, 

        curb my will to serve you,

        smooth-talk me with flattery,  

        hold me back from prayer,

        take advantage of my fears, 

        encroach upon my conscience,  

        make me doubt your mercy,

        close my heart to others,

        dampen my soul's joy,

        hide me from your presence, 

        distract me from your Spirit's way, 

        shield me from your grace

        or hinder me in any way

        from knowing, loving, serving you,
        my Lord, my God, my all...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 6/5

As I mentioned this morning, the month of June and the first Friday of all months are times of devotion to the Heart of Jesus... 

    Sculpture by Timothy P. Schmalz

 

Lord Jesus...

 

    you have a heart for all God's children:

        have a heart for me, O Lord,

    and open my heart as wide as yours

        to all I meet and know... 

 

    you have a heart for my greatest foes:

        have a heart for me, O Lord,

    and open my heart, even to those,

        who have no heart for me...

 

    you have a heart for people of every stance,

        conviction, opinion: 

    have a heart for me, O Lord

        and open my heart to those whose ideas

            have something to add to my own... 

         

    you have a heart for people who love

        in ways I don't understand:

    have a heart for me, O Lord

        and help me remember that where I find love

            - there I find you...

 

    you have a heart for people who hold

        no faith or belief or trust in you:

    have a heart for me, O Lord,

        and open my soul to all the ways

            their goodness might lead me to you...  

 

    you have a heart for the homeless and hungry,

        the stranger, the poor, the abandoned:

    have a heart for me, O Lord,

        and open my well-fed, cared-for self

            to share til I feel their need...

 

    you have a heart for the broken and wounded,

        the sick in body, mind and soul:

    have a heart for me, O Lord,

        and strengthen my hands to care for and tend

            those who reach out for my help...

 

    your heart has a love that's deeper and wider

        than any that I might imagine;

    so have a heart for me, O Jesus,

        and widen and deepen, expand and grow

            the heart I have for others

     for the the heart I have for my neighbor, Lord

        - no more, no less and only - 

                is the heart I have for you... 

 

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. 

 

I just found this song - perhaps the best hymn to the heart of Jesus that I've ever heard or prayed...

 

Heart of Christ Jesus 

    by Paul Nienaber, SJ (lyricist)

        and Karen Schneider Kimer (composer)

 

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Heart of Christ Jesus, love overflowing

Sharing our struggles, taking our part,

Dwell with your people, graces bestowing,

Heart of Christ Jesus, most Sacred Heart!

 

Heart of compassion, perfectly gracious,

Wounded by sinners' heartless rebuff,

Still you pursue us, seek us, embrace us,

Heart of Christ Jesus, self-giving heart.

 

Heart of a teacher, patiently guiding,

Leading us gently, lighting our way,

Courage and wisdom always providing

Heart of Christ Jesus, grace for each day.

 

Heart of a healer, skillful and caring,

Tending the wounded, broken and sore,

Show us your mercy, comfort unsparing,

Heart of Christ Jesus, strengthen, restore

 

Heart of a servant, humble and lowly

Be our example, model and call,

Sacred and sov'reign, faithful and holy,

Heart of Christ Jesus, open to all.

 

Heart of redemption, source of salvation,

Son of the Father, Incarnate Word,

Hope for the pilgrim, bright destination,

Heart of Christ Jesus, Savior and Lord.    

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Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 6/5

    Sacred Heart By Elizabeth Wang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole month of June and the first Friday of every month are traditionally times of devotion to the Heart of Jesus.  In that spirit, then, let us pray...

Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me...

Heart of Jesus, forgive me:
   pardon my sins and offenses...

Heart of Jesus, cleanse me:

    wash my heart of its shame and guilt...

Heart of Jesus, help me admit
   the faults I'm slow to acknowledge...

Heart of Jesus, help me discover
   how much I'm in need of your mercy...

Heart of Jesus, fill my heart 

    with your gracious and generous love... 

Heart of Jesus, embed my heart 

    with your gentleness, kindness and mercy... 

Heart of Jesus, ignite my heart 

    with the flame of your Spirit's fire...
 
Heart of Jesus, open my heart 
   to the gifts you offer me daily...

Heart of Jesus, help me forgive 

    those whose words have stung me...

  

Heart of Jesus, help me forgive

    those whose deeds have betrayed me...

 
Heart of Jesus, help me forgive 

    those who have hurt me most deeply...
 
Heart of Jesus, help me forgive

    those who don't ask for my pardon...

 

Heart of Jesus, help me accept     

     the amends of those who make them...  

 

Heart of Jesus, help me forgive

    as freely as you forgive me...

Heart of Jesus, open my heart 

    to the breadth and depth of your mercy
     
Heart of Jesus, open my mind 

    to your wisdom, your counsel and truth...

Heart of Jesus, bathe my soul

    in fountains and springs of your grace...

 
Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me, 

    and bring me to life everlasting...

Heart of Jesus, protect me

    and guard me night and day

that awake I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

 

Heart of Jesus, Hear by Bukas Palad

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Teach our hearts to love like yours, 

love of God most high! 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, 

keep us by your side! 

 

Save us all from death and sin, 

our King crucified. 

Crowned with thorns and sorrow, 

you give us new life. 

 

Listen to our prayer! Heart of Jesus, hear! 

Make us always yours, and hold us ever near. 

Wherever we may go, whatever we may do, 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in you. 

 

Grant us grace and all good gifts, 

heart of Christ, our Lord. 

Make your holy presence 

our home evermore! 

 

Fill us with your light and life. 

Guide us in your ways. 

Justice, peace, and mercy 

rule us all our days.

 

Listen to our prayer! Heart of Jesus, hear! 

Make us always yours, and hold us ever near. 

Wherever we may go, whatever we may do, 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in you.    

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