When do the Twelve Days of Christmas begin? They begin Christmas Day itself, leading us to TWELFTH NIGHT, the eve of Epiphany, January 6. Through these dozen days, Night Prayer will focus each evening on one of the many gifts we've received from God. Tonight: the gift of a New year...
On the seventh day of Christmas,
the good Lord gave to me:
A New Year beginning,
Hope for tomorrow,
Friends as good as gold, Faith in God above,
Angels sent from heaven,
Shepherds keeping watch
And a Child born in Bethlehem town!
It's the eve of 2022, Lord,
and I want to thank you for the new year ahead
but what's a new year to you?
You're timeless, you're eternal,
you're the One who always was, is and will be...
You don't live by a calendar, schedule or day planner:
no clocks tick in heaven where it's always day,
the one day you have made
and where there's always glorious light,
the light no darkness can extinguish...
Marking time in days and weeks,
in months and years and centuries -
that's my naive attempt, Lord,
to grasp what's far beyond my reach:
the timeless You who came in time
to draw me to eternity...
I've had 365 days of 2021
and a new count starts tomorrow
but for you, Lord, all is now...
Though you guide each step I take
and you know my every thought
you neither grieve the year now past
nor anticipate the new one
for in you is only now
and in you is only peace...
Save me then, O Lord,
from drowning in my past
and keep me mindful, in the moment,
lest the future's draw beguile me
and turn my heart and mind
from the day that you have made,
the day that's now at hand,
the only day I have,
the day when you invite me,
in silence, grace and prayer,
to meet your timeless presence
dwelling deep within my soul...
Not at midnight, Lord, but now,
not tomorrow, Lord, but now,
not next year, O Lord, but now:
you meet me where I am,
you meet me as I am,
you meet me in the moment,
in this moment, only now
and draw me into you,
into your heart, into your peace,
into your timelessness already
dwelling in my heart...
Not at midnight, Lord, but now,
not tomorrow, Lord, but now,
not next year, O Lord, but now:
in this moment you are present,
all around me and within me
make me mindful of your presence,
in this moment, in this hour,
in this day which you have made...
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.
If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind;
Should old acquaintance be forgot, in the days of auld lang syne*
Looking back on all the years gone by:
How I loved
How I’ve lost
When I cried
The memories in my heart
I will carry with the scars
As my light
For my journey on
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind;
Should old acquaintance be forgot, in the days of auld lang syne
When I picture what the world could be:
We are kind
We are one
We are free
There’s no hatred in our hearts
And no one to tear apart
All the joy
For our journey on
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind;
Should old acquaintance be forgot, in the days of auld lang syne For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup of kindness, dear, for the days of auld lang syne
Let’s live in love and kindness dear
In the days of auld lang syne
* Translated literally, Auld Lang Syne means old long since, or more figuratively, old times or back in the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please THINK before you write
and PRAY before you think!