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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Words of hope in the face of loss...

 

Catholic journalist John Allen died this week after living with cancer for four years.  His passing is a great loss to the Church: his balanced, insightful, sober commentary has been a rich source for peoples of all faiths for several decades.

 

Upon the death of her husband, his wife and fellow journalist, Elise Allen, offered a beautiful reflection on hope in the face of loss.  I believe that even those who never heard of John Allen will find wisdom here...

In my husband’s suffering and death, we learned that hope is not a superficial wish that everything will get better, or that painful circumstances will change, but it is an attitude and perspective with which to live life that is chosen and which matures the more it is embraced. In the spirit of "where sin abounds grace abounds all the more," the same can be said about hope. Where pain and suffering are present, so is hope, and it is present everywhere: in the love and generosity of those around us, and in the many little signs and blessings God sends to assure us that we are not alone.

 
Hope is not empty, and it does not disappoint when things don’t go our way or when God doesn’t answer prayers the way we want; in fact, it is precisely in those moments that hope holds its most precious meaning, because they challenge us. They force us to dig deep, to look beyond ourselves to God, remembering that his design for our lives is one of love, and it is far bigger than our limited understanding. As cliché as this is to say, Christian hope ultimately lies in the fact that we have been offered eternal life. The Jubilee of Hope was a potent reminder of this, and I am so humbled and grateful that after being reminded of this so clearly during the jubilee, John now gets to bask in that beautiful and mysterious gift to which we all aspire.

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Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 1/23

Mid Summer Night's Gathering by Laurie Pace

 Folks will cross my path today
   and ask for my time,
   seek my company,
   lean on my shoulder,
   tell me their story,
   reach for my help,
   reveal their grief,
   share their joy,
   request my prayer,
   look for a smile,
   shed a tear,
   and need a friend...

May I be there for them, Lord,
   as you're always there for me...

And...

I'll meet folks today who'll 
  give me their time,
  walk by my side,
  lift me up,
  hear me out,
  lend me a hand,
  bear my grief,
  share my joy,
  promise their prayer,
  smile upon me,
  dry my tears,
  and be my friend...

Open me up to their love, Lord,
   as I open my heart to yours...

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NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 1/22

It's curious, isn't it?

I'm always on your mind, Lord,
    even when I've forgotten you...

Though I ignore and snub you,

    you never turn your face from me...

 

When I pull back, resisting you, 

    you offer me your warm embrace...

 

You're at the end of every road 

    I take to run away from you...

You make your home within me
    though I've locked my heart's front door...

You listen to my every word
    though silent I may be...

You come to mend and heal me
    when I deny my wounds...

You empty out your self for me

    when I'm filled with self-pity...

You never give up loving me
    though I give up on love...

Your mercy's deeper than my sins,
    my guilt drowns in its shallows...

Your grace is always there for me
    when from your face I turn...

Without you I have nothing, Lord,
    and all I have is yours...

It's all very curious, isn't it? 

Oh, yes - indeed, it is!

 

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. 

 

GOD by Aprilia Maturia

 

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I tried to hide in the dark of night, 

but you saw my soul in your perfect light. 

Caught in the storm, couldn't find my way. 

Then you swept in, pushed the clouds away.

Oh God, you always know what's good in me.

You see the root beneath my shaky tree. 

When I get lost, you guide me where to go. 

Your love's the compass. 

In you I grow. I grow.

 

Some days I stumble, my steps unsure, 

but your grace lifts me, it's a love so pure. 

In every shadow, in every fight, 

you're the anthem bursting through my night.

Chorus

 

When the world spins, I can barely stand. 

You take my heart and hold it in your hand. 

No doubt or struggle, no mountains too steep; 

your whispers, my heart, my soul, you keep.

Chorus

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