11/4/26
11/2/26
Night Prayer: ALL SOULS DAY
As the sun sets on All Souls Day, Lord,
I lift up to you my family members,
loved ones and friends who have died...
(Take time to remember, even to write down,
the names of those for whom you pray tonight.
the names of those for whom you pray tonight.
If you make a list you can refer to it through
November, the Month of All Souls
and add to it as other names come to mind.)
You know each of them by name, Lord:
your love for them far exceeds my own,
even those I've loved the most...
I entrust them to your mercy
and pray that with all who've gone before them
you'll welcome them to heaven's joy...
Make safe their journey, Lord,
from my arms into yours:
embrace them with the lasting peace
that only you can give...
And grant me, Lord, the grace I need
to live my life believing
that one day I'll be one with you
and all of those for whom I pray this night...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me as I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
(Tonight's song is a beautiful blend of the human experience of
loss and grief and the promise of faith in the risen Lord...
No More Goodbyes by Tom Dermody
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
One day in the love of Christ
we'll meet once again
we'll laugh as we celebrate
a life with no end
where death has been overcome
by our risen Lord
And there are no more goodbyes
no more tears
no more loneliness
and no more fear
Our pain turns to joy
darkness to light
in God's heaven
there are no more goodbyes
No words tell the gratitude
we have for the gift
your life was to each of us
we'll never forget
May angels now lead you home
to our risen Lord
Where there are no more goodbyes
no more tears
no more loneliness
and no more fear
Our pain turns to joy
darkness to light
in God's heaven
there are no more goodbyes
Though now with our heavy
hearts
we go our separate ways
we trust in the certain hope
there will come a day
we'll join you in paradise
with our risen Lord.
There will be no more goodbyes
no more tears
no more loneliness
and no more fear
Our pain turns to joy
darkness to light
in God's heaven
there are no more goodbyes
In God's heaven
there are no more goodbyes
Moving Day!
Today, Monday, November 2 is moving day and I'm very excited!
I've scheduled an All Souls Night Prayer which will appear later today - and then I'll be taking a quick break. Once I've unpacked and set up my rooms to reasonable degree of livability - I'll resume posting - and I hope that's no later than Thursday. In the meanwhile - pray for me as I will for you!
11/1/26
Monday Morning Offering: ALL SOULS DAY
 |
| Morning Coffee by George Mendoza |
November wraps its dampened shroud
‘round nature’s shrugged shoulders:
our souls know well the chill, Lord,
of summer gone and winter oh-so-near...
our souls know well the chill, Lord,
of summer gone and winter oh-so-near...
Bare limbs scratch against gray skies,
and snatch the mourner’s veil
from hearts laid bare in shivering loss,
alone, exposed in grief…
November, Lord: no other month
could better claim the name All Souls
or set the scene for praying, weeping,
grieving those before us gone,
could better claim the name All Souls
or set the scene for praying, weeping,
grieving those before us gone,
marked with faith's signed Cross…
So this November morning, Lord,
I offer you my loved ones:
created by your hand,
claimed by saving grace
now held, I pray, in your embrace…
I offer you from my heart's depths
the ones I can't let go…
I offer from my hands to yours
the ones whose hands held mine...
I offer you a prayer of tears
for those whose absence haunts my days…
I offer from my selfish heart
the ones I hurt and bruised:
I pray you heal the wounds I caused
and with your gentle mercy, Lord,
the ones I hurt and bruised:
I pray you heal the wounds I caused
and with your gentle mercy, Lord,
forgive and pardon me...
I offer you a prayer, O Lord,
for those with none to pray for them:
brothers, sisters never met,
yet sisters, brothers nonetheless
for all are one in you...
I offer you all souls who wait
your final purging touch
to ready them for heaven,
for life with you forever,
for peace that has no end...
to ready them for heaven,
for life with you forever,
for peace that has no end...
I offer you my grief, O Lord,
refresh me in your tender care:
help me trust I'll see again
the ones I've lost to death, when
gathered in your kingdom's joy,
your mercy brings us home...
Beneath November’s canopy
walk others, Lord, who know as well as I
the depths of this month’s memories
and All the Souls for whom we pray:
make us gentle with each other,
mindful of the loss and grief
that binds us in your love…
Accept my mourning offering
on this dark November day
on this dark November day
until it dies and wakes again,
a new day born,
a promise
of what's yet to come:
the day that has no end...
the day that has no end...
(Take a few moments now to remember,
to write down or speak aloud,
the names of those who've died,
for whom you pray this All Souls Day...)
May these and all souls of the faithful departed,
through your mercy, O God,
rest in peace...
Amen.
For your prayer this day: Pie Jesu from Requiem by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Below are the words in both Latin and English.
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
Pie Jesu,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem,
sempiternam, sempiternam requiem.
Sweet Jesus,
you take away the sins of the world,
give them rest.
Lamb of God,
you take away the sins of the world,
give them rest,
eternal rest.
Night Prayer: SUNDAY 11/1
It's the night before I move to Boston and last-minute details have my attention - so here's a prayer from my archives which matches just precisely
the scene just outside my back door...
The leaves fall fast and furious!
They lay a rusty earth-toned carpet
stretching from my backdoor
to the church across the yard...
I cannot simply walk here, Lord:
some muscle memory, deep within,
sets my gait to shuffling
as I scuffle through the crisp and crunch
of leaves beneath my step...
As when I was younger, Lord:
a child on my way to school
or out in my backyard,
looking for a heap of leaves,
raked in rounded piles,
inviting me to jump, to dive
and softly land with glee and and pure delight
on pillows left each autumn
- fall's leafy parting gift...
I love that lovely swooshing sound:
- a soft shoe -
tapped on your dance floor
and whispering of your presence
underfoot and all around...
I'm too old now for diving
into heaps and piles of leaves
but grateful just to shuffle, Lord,
and softly dance and make my way
'cross autumn's backyard carpet
from my backdoor to the church...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.
Tonight, just the natural music of a walk through fallen leaves...
Walking on Fallen Leaves
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
Homily for Nov 1: All Saints Day
Here are the scriptures for today's mass, All Saints Day - and here's a link to a video of my homily, the text of which follows below.
ALL Saints' Day.
There's a
cue for a song if I ever heard one!
🎵 🎵🎵Oh, when the saints, go marching inOh, when the saints go marching inOh, Lord, I want to be in that numberWhen the saints go marching in
Who are
ALL these saints?
Do I want
to be numbered among them?
(We just sang that.)
What would
I need to do to be a saint?
Could I
ever be a saint?
Could *I* ever be a saint?.
Yes, you
could - in fact, you may be.
Who are
the saints? I have two simple answers to that question. Saints are people who
pay attention - and who pay attention to making sure that they strive every day
- to pay attention.
And to
what do saints pay attention? Two things.
They pay attention to GOD,
and they
pay attention to their NEIGHBOR.
That's
what saints do.
Saints are simply people who pay attention
to the
presence of God in their lives,
to the
presence of God in their prayer,
to the
presence of God in creation all around us,
to the
presence of God in other people,
and
especially those who are right around us
AND those
who are anywhere in the world
who are
most in need.
Saints are
people who pay attention to the presence of God at home – the place you left -
where you came from this morning. God was there. You may have thought you'd
come to God's house but God was already living in yours. Saints, pay
attention to the presence of God at home, at work, at school, in their
neighborhood, in the community, and in the world -especially in the lives of
those who are poor and most vulnerable.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to being
honest. and faithful,
to being
fair and just,
to being
loyal and trustworthy,
to being
pure and compassionate,
day by day
by day.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to their
own faults and failings,
because
saints HAVE faults and failings
- saints,
sin!
But they
ACKNOWLEDGE their faults and failings.
They
acknowledge that they're flawed,
that
they're not perfect.
Saints
aren't perfect.
Saints are
people who make amends
for the
sins they acknowledge and confess.
Saints are
people who forgive those
who harm and hurt them.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to the
implications and the consequences
of their
habits, their decisions, their choices.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to their
political stands and opinions,
to their
investments and how they spend their money,
to how
they entertain themselves.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to their
attachment to their possessions
and how
they share those possessions.
Saints are
people who pay attention
LESS to
their own counsel and comfort
and MORE
to the demands
of the
wisdom of the ages,
the Word
of God,
the truth, the truth,
that has survived
the test
of time and the tumult of history.
Saints are
people who know the difference
between
paying attention
- and not
paying attention.
Saints are
people who pay attention
when no
one else does.
Saints are
people who pay attention,
even and
especially,
when
others REFUSE to pay attention
to what's
right in front of them.
And among
all the saints who have paid attention,
all the
saints we honor and celebrate today,
among all
those saints
are the
people in my life and yours
- who paid
attention to us,
because
they paid attention to God:
the saints
in our lives who paid attention
and
provided for our needs and took care of us.
Today, we
celebrate all the saints,
all the
men and women, in our lives
who gave
us life,
who loved
us,
raised us,
who rocked us
in their arms…
Who first
told us the story of Jesus,
who
brought us to church,
who raised
us in the ways of faith,
who taught
us how to pray…
Who
understood us,
who
educated us,
who
protected us,
who always
had time for us,
who dried
our tears,
who
schooled us in fairness,
who taught
us to love our neighbor,
who were
patient with us,
who
corrected us,
who loved
us
even when we
did not love ourselves….
Who walked
the extra mile with us,
who
sheltered us from harm,
who taught
us to tell the truth,
who
forgave us
again and
again and again…
Who gave
us a good example,
who taught
us right from wrong,
who were
honest with us,
who
believed in us,
who shared
in our joy,
who shared
their joy with us,
who lifted
up our spirits when we were sad,
who
touched our souls in so many ways,
who healed
our hearts,
whose
integrity shaped our standards…
Who always
remembered and never forgot us,
who lived
a life of faith,
who
inspired us,
who
sacrificed for us
in more
ways than we know or remember…
who shaped and helped us make
our best
memories,
whose
wisdom came from God,
who kept
our secrets,
who
comforted us,
who
encouraged us,
who
challenged us,
who
defended us,
who
chastised us,
who
consoled us,
whose
lives modeled faithfulness,
whose
courage made us brave…
Who were
there for us through thick and thin,
who taught
us how to cope,
who taught
us how to hope,
who
trusted us,
who took
our side,
who taught
us to care for those around us,
who
recognized and nurtured
our gifts
and our talents,
who had
our back,
who gave
us a second chance,
again and
again and again…
Who were
our rock and our refuge,
who cared
for us when we were sick,
who helped
us become the persons we are,
who spent
their whole lives loving us,
who prayed
for us and prayed for us
- and pray
for us still.
THESE are
all the saints we honor and celebrate today.
These are
the holy men and women
who have
been in our lives
- my life
and yours –
who have
been God's gift to us
and for
whom, today,
we give
God thanks and praise….
And we
pray that ALL of US
- that we
might be counted among the saints,
numbered
among the saints –
we pray
that in our own day,
in our own
ways,
in the
eyes of God
and in the
lives of those around us,
that we
too
might be
counted, loved, and remembered
in the
company of ALL God's saints.
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