"Find a quiet place to be alone with Jesus..."
So I urged my parish in my Sunday homily, Lord:
to find, every day, at the same time of day,
a quiet place to sit with you, just for five or ten minutes,
a place to sit and talk with you, every day
in the the dwelling place of your grace...
This will be a more difficult task for some than others!
Parents with little children
and folks who live in noisy neighborhoods
may be hard put to find a quiet place,
a place to slow down, to recollect oneself,
a place to be with you, Lord: a dwelling place
of your presence and your peace...
But, oh - when it's found!
When the time's set apart and the place is at hand
- there you are, Lord!
You never fail to show up
- because you're always everywhere!
You are the ever living still point
in the center of this expanding universe
and yet - you dwell within me
and before me and behind me
and above me and below me...
That you would welcome me
to your dwelling place, Lord,
that you would choose to dwell in me
- this is pure gift and pure grace...
Even so, there are times when I'm lost
or feel that I've lost you, Lord,
or worse - that you've lost me
- but that never is the case...
When the baggage of my burdens
clogs my mind and fills my soul
it's sometimes hard to find you, Lord:
hard to make the time and find the place,
your dwelling place, our tent of meeting,
where you wait for me with peace
to calm me, refresh me, restore me
and draw my anxious heart
to your embrace...
How lovely your dwelling place, Lord,
your doors always open, welcoming me
to the peace and quiet of your presence;
inviting me in to slow down, to rest,
to be with you, to speak with you,
to hear your word and know
that I am cared for, blessed and loved...
Plant in me the desire, Lord,
to find, every day, at the same time of day,
a quiet place to rest and sit and talk with you
for five or ten minutes a day,
every day of the week...
Help me find your dwelling place
that I may dwell with you
and you with me, Lord,
that we may dwell as one
in your peace...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm wake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
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How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place by Liam Lawton
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord my God
how lovely is your dwelling place,
is your dwelling place, O God.
My soul is thirsting for the Lord,
how it yearns for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and soul ring out for joy to God,
the living God.
The sparrow finds herself a home,
and the swallow a nest for her brood.
She lays her young by your altars, Lord of hosts
my King and my God.
On day, O Lord, within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God,
I prefer to the house of the wicked.
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