Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 2/1

    Photo © Helen Maguire Newman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cold and chill, bless the Lord,
    frost and chill, bless the Lord,
        hoarfrost and snow, bless the Lord.
Praise and exalt him above all forever...
    (Daniel 3:67)

 

Your winter mystery, Lord:

    a filigree of beauty, 

    frosted in a holy haze

    inviting me to reach, to touch, 

    to shiver in your presence 

    'til your Spirit's warm embrace

    melts my heart in mercy's arms...

 

Your winter glory, Lord:

    etched in lacy, barren limbs,

    veiled above the river's mirror,

    muted in the morning mist,

    stilled in silver silence:

        a February sanctuary

        hushed and filled with grace...

   
Help me find your hidden blessings
    in this frigid time of year
when warmth is all I long for,

    what I pray for and desire...

 

Help me find your blessings, Lord,
    in whatever weather comes:
in the blasts that chill my nights and days,

    in seasons long and cold...

Help me bless you, Lord, and praise you
    in each season of the year,
help me find your holy presence
    in the seasons of my soul...

Amen.

 

Photo © HelenMaguireNewman

    
       

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NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 1/31

I've posted this on January 31 for a number of years, in part because the images of January - shivering and skating - into February are among my favorites of all I've written... 

As January shivers into February,
open my eyes, Lord,
and open my mind and heart
    to your power in a winter storm,
    your presence in the stillness,
    your beauty in the darkness all around me...

In this shortest month of the year help me find your peace:

    in the cold,
       wrap me in your mercy's warmth;
    in the snow,
       cover me with your saving grace;
    in nature's sleeping silence,
       help me find more time for prayer,
       time with you in winter's quiet,
       in the mystery of your love...

As January skates into February, Lord:

    open all I am,

        to all you have to give 

    and ready me for springtime

        and its promise of new life... 

 

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake,

    keep vigil while I sleep,

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace... 

 

Amen.

 

Dark of Winter by Shelley Jackson Denham

  sung by the Boulder Valley U.U. Fellowship Choir

 

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Anniversary of the birth of Thomas Merton

Today is the 111th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Merton. Theologian Dan Horan writes:

At this particular moment in history, on this specific anniversary of Merton’s birth, I’m drawn to reflect on a concept Merton introduced in the prologue to his essay collection Raids on the Unspeakable; namely, “the unspeakable.”

A play on the T. S. Eliot’s phrase “Raids on the Inarticulate,” from his Four Quartets, Merton’s notion of “the unspeakable” is intentionally ambiguous and aimed at those phenomena and experiences for which, as the expression goes, there are no words. In the prologue to Raids, he writes:

The Unspeakable. What is this? Surely, an eschatological image. It is the void that we encounter, you and I, underlying the announced programs, the good intentions, the unexampled and universal aspirations for the best of all possible worlds. It is the void that contradicts everything that is spoken even before the words are said; the void that gets into the language of public and official declarations at the very moment when they are pronounced, and makes them ring dead with the hollowness of the abyss...It is the emptiness of “the end.” Not necessarily the end of the world, but a theological point of no return, a climax of absolute finality in refusal, in equivocation, in disorder, in absurdity, which can be broken open again to truth only by miracle, by the coming of God…for Christian hope begins where every other hope stands frozen stiff before the face of the Unspeakable. 

 

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Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 1/31

Lord, I love this beautiful definition of love!

Perhaps because of how it's laid out here,

it occurs to me to use it as a template

for reviewing and assessing how well

my life does or doesn't fit this description...

 

So, I'm going to replace the word LOVE 

with some elements of my existence:

    My attitude is...
    My political stance is...
    My general demeanor is...  

    My communication with others is...     

    My interaction with folks I disagree with is...
    My approach to those who've hurt me is...

 

I'm gonna take some time today, Lord, 

to do this exercise and take some inventory:

    the definition of love counts for little

        unless and until it defines how I live...

 

Amen.      

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NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 1/30

 

I've posted several variations on this prayer, always near the end of January when Lent is on the horizon: Ash Wednesday is less than three weeks away! Here's my  most recent rendering...

It's here again, Lord: this season gray 

and charcoaled on the landscape of my heart, 

etched in the ice of long dark winter nights...

Every year there comes this time

'twixt the holly and the palm:

    my wintry wait for ashes

        and Lent's deep purple shades;

    this time between what's now long gone

        and all that's yet to be...

All of life comes in-between, Lord:
    in-between the times gone by
        and all that lies ahead;
    in-between the old and new,
        'twixt hope and disappointment,
    in-between anticipation

        and the peace of sweet fulfillment...

 

I live between my ups and downs,

    'tween tear-stained cheeks and smiles;

between all my achievements

     and the work I've yet to do;

between all I have lived

    and the mystery yet to come...

 

Because I'm in-between, Lord,

    always somewhere in-between,

make me mindful of the moment,

    help me keep it in today,

accepting things I cannot change 

    and changing things I can,

finding wisdom - in between -

    to give me patience with my past

to give me hope

    for what will be...

Be with me in this season

    gray and charcoaled in my heart,

be with me while I lie awake

    and when I fall asleep,

between the dusk and  dawn, Lord,

    'twixt your mercy and your grace,

be with me in this season,

   'tween my winter and your spring...

    

Amen. 

 

The In Between by Matt Maher 

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From death to life 

From darkness to a shine 

From fear to a peace I can’t explain 

From doubts to a hope 

Holding on and letting go 

Of all the empty promises of shame 

 

This is my song...

 

I was one way  

But now I'm different 

There was a clear change in 

A Holy collision 

Who I was 

And who I’ll forever be 

And He was the in between

 

From orphan to Your child 

From a stone to running wild 

From a seed in the ground 

To breaking out 

From a mess to a mess 

A blessing to a blessing 

A sea of failures bearing testimony 

 

This is my song...

 

I was one way  

But now I'm different 

There was a clear change in 

A Holy collision 

Who I was 

And who I’ll forever be 

And He was the in between

 

Love stretched out 

On a tree screaming out 

So that I could say 

You’ve not forsaken me 

 

You’re the first and the last 

My future and my past 

Who I was 

And who I will forever be 

You are the in between 

 

I was one way 

But now I'm different

There was a clear change in 

A Holy collision 

Who I was 

And who I’ll forever be 

And You are the in between

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Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 1/30

 

Psalm 51 is prayed every Friday in the Liturgy of the Hours and also happens to be the psalm for today's Mass. It's a prayer  that I trust all of us can and need to pray, regardless of where we stand on the issues of the day...

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions. 

Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me. 

Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge...

Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 

Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me. 

Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me...

Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise. 

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.  

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Cardinal McElroy joins Washington faith leaders in statement on immigration enforcement

 

 

Cardinal McElroy, Catholic Arcbishop of Washington, joined seven other faith leaders in signing this statement (below) dated Jan. 29,  that called the shooting deaths of Good and Pretti a "profound moral failure" that "demand our collective attention and response."

 

The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti – two U.S. citizens devoted to civic engagement and to caring for their immigrant neighbors – have left communities in Minneapolis and across the nation grieving, shaken, and rightly outraged. Their deaths are a profound moral failure, and they demand our collective attention and response.

As faith leaders in the greater Washington, D.C. region, we affirm the sacred worth of every human life. That commitment includes – and compels us to stand with – immigrants and others who are especially vulnerable in this moment. We condemn without reservation the use of indiscriminate and lethal force against civilians. The actions we have witnessed in recent days represent a grave departure from our nation’s deepest moral commitments and from the values of human dignity, restraint, and accountability that our faith traditions uphold. When the power of the state is exercised without regard for life, justice, or the common good, the foundations of democracy itself are put at risk. We speak out now from a place of deep love for our nation and a growing concern that our own local communities will potentially experience the same loss of life and turmoil we are seeing in Minneapolis.

Renee and Alex were killed while seeking justice for their community. We honor their lives by refusing to look away and by calling, together, for accountability from those entrusted with authority. At this pivotal moment in our nation’s life, we are faced with a choice: whether to allow fear, cruelty, and disorder to define us, or to respond with courage, conscience, and moral resolve. We stand with our neighbors, fellow clergy, and state and local leaders who have called on national authorities to end practices that place people in harm’s way.

Throughout history, people of faith have been called to speak when human dignity is threatened. We believe that call is before us now. Communities in the greater Washington region have already experienced the fear and disruption caused by aggressive enforcement tactics, including incidents near schools and houses of worship – places that should remain sanctuaries, not sites of intimidation. We will not accept the tearing apart of our neighborhoods or the normalization of dehumanization. We urge government officials at every level to recommit themselves to policies that uphold life, dignity, and the rule of law. And we call on all people of conscience to work together for a society in which every person can walk their streets without fear, and with the knowledge that they are seen, valued, and protected.

Robert Cardinal McElroy,

Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington

 

Rabbi Abbi Sharofsky,
Director of Intergroup Relations & Rabbi-in-Residence, 

JCRC of Greater Washington

 

Romi Sawhney, Executive Director,

Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GGSF)

 

Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt,

President of the Unitarian Universalist Association

 

The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde,

Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington

 

Behram Panthaki,

Head Priest, The Zoroastrian Association 

of Metropolitan Washington Inc

 

Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling,

Resident Bishop, The Baltimore-Washington 

and Peninsula Delaware Area, 

The United Methodist Church

 

Dr. Sousan Abadian,

Executive Director, 

Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 1/29

I came across this prayer online, a Night Prayer from the Northumbria Community, based in northeast England. (Here's some background on the history of this ancient prayer, known as the Felgild Compline.)  In these troubled times, I especially long for peace of mind and heart in the evening, before I go to sleep - this prayer is just what I need...

Calm me, O Lord, as You stilled the storm.
Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease.
Enfold me, Lord, in Your peace...

I will lie down this night with God,
and God will lie down with me;
I will lie down this night with Christ,
and Christ will lie down with me;
I will lie down this night with the Spirit,
and the Spirit will lie down with me;
God and Christ and the Spirit,
be lying down with me.

The peace of God
be over me to shelter me,

under me to uphold me,
about me to protect me,

behind me to direct me, 

ever with me to save me.

 

The peace of all peace
be mine this night 

in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

 

 

Psalm 134 sung by The Cathedral Singers,

   directed by Richard Proulx

 

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        In the silent hours of night,

            bless the Lord.

        O come bless the Lord, 

            all you who serve the Lord,
        who stand in the house of the Lord,
            in the courts of the house of our God.

        Lift up your hands to the holy place
            and bless the Lord through the night.

        May the Lord bless you from Zion,
            he who made both heaven and earth.

  

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Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 1/29

Deliver us, Lord...

From focusing on struggles

    and denying resolutions,

        deliver us, Lord...

From stalling at roadblocks

    and yielding our right to progress,

        deliver us, Lord... 

 

From dwelling on  problems

    and diminishing our blessings,

        deliver us Lord... 

 

From rehearsing all our troubles

    and missing their solutions,

        deliver us, Lord... 

 

From drowning in self-pity

    and refusing others' help,

        deliver us, Lord... 

 

From hiding in our sadness

    and declining joy's persuasion,

        deliver us, Lord... 

From presuming only bad news

    and expecting nothing more,

        deliver us, Lord... 

 

From whatever keeps us

    from believing in your love,

    from trusting in your faithfulness,

    from putting all our hope in you,   

    from leaning on your strength,

    from walking in your footsteps

    from living by your wisdom

from all that keeps us from your peace, 

    deliver us, O Lord... 

 

From ourselves and from our selfishness,

    deliver us, O Lord... 

 

From the tyranny of lawlessness,

    deliver us, O Lord...

 

From violence in our city streets,

     deliver us, O Lord...

 

From the hatred tearing us apart,

    deliver us, O Lord...

 

Without your grace we lose our way,

    apart from you we have no hope,

in you alone we find the peace

    to heal and fill our hearts and souls... 

 

Deliver us, O Lord,

    yes, in your kindness and your mercy,

        deliver us, O Lord... 

 

Amen.

 

Deliver Me by Aaron Shust

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