Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 1/7

 

 

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Three years vs.. twenty-four hours...

This is the plaque honoring those who put their lives on the line in defense of the the members of Congress and the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, five years ago. It's been sitting in storage for three years now, waiting for Mike Johnson to find the time to get it hung. (Click for a larger image.)

 

Compare and contrast this with the mere 24 hours which passed between the board of the Kennedy Center announcing a name change for the Center for the Performing Arts and the installation of the DJT lettering above JFK's name on the building's facade.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 1/6

Here's my adaptation of some old Celtic verse that used to be prayed in the morning when stirring up the embers on the hearth from the previous night's fire. 

Lord, when my trust is only dust 

and my confidence in ashes:

    stir the embers of my faith...

When I've lost the breath 

to fan the dying cinders back to flame:

    stir the embers of my hope...

When it seems my fire's out 

and all the coals have now gone cold:

    stir the embers of my love... 

 Stir the embers of my heart, Lord,

    into flames of love for you
and for my family, for my neighbor

    and for all who are my foe... 

 

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. 

 

Stir Up the Embers by Charlie Hines 

 

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Stir the embers of my heart 

Burn away all that is not Yours 

Fan the fire, keep it bright 

Steal away all I've claimed as mine 

I'm Yours
yeah, I'm Yours

Save me from myself, here as I am 

Call me forward from where I stand

Stir the embers of my heart 

Burn away all that is not Yours 

Fan the fire, keep it bright 

Steal away all I've claimed as mine
I'm Yours
yeah, I'm Yours

Save me from myself, here as I am 

Call me forward from where I stand

Spread wide this fire 'till all I can see 

Exalted Jesus living in me: I'm Yours 

 

Steal away all I've claimed 

Fan the flames of You in me 

Steal away all I've claimed 

And fan the flames

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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 1/6

Image source

Only a few days into the new year, Lord,
but my heart's' already filling
with the blessings and the burdens
a heart is meant to hold...

• So here are my sorrows, Lord,
lifted up in prayer,
for your comfort and your healing...

• And here are my joys, Lord,
lifted up in prayer
together with my thanks and praise...

• And here are my needs, Lord,
lifted up in prayer:
please help me make it through this day...

• And here, Lord, are my family and friends,
lifted up in prayer
that your face might shine upon them...

• And here's my world, Lord,

especially my own nation, 
for you to bless with mercy, grace and peace...

 

Only a few days into the new year, Lord,
but my heart's' already filling
with the blessings and the burdens
a heart is meant to hold

so I lift them all to your in prayer,

you in whom I place my trust

and find my help and hope...  

Amen. 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 1/5

As this day ends, Lord,

    slow me down, close my eyes
       and open my heart to your presence...

I know you're here with me right now, Lord,
   waiting to spend time with me, 
   ready to hear me out,
   wanting to whisper a word of your peace...
 
You're here with me right now,
   waiting to strengthen me,
   ready to encourage me,
   wanting to console me...

You're here with me right now,
   waiting to calm me down,
   ready to lift me up,
   wanting to give me your peace...

You're here with me right now,
   waiting to forgive me,
   ready to guide me,
   wanting to hold me close to your heart...

You're here with me, Lord, as you always are:
   waiting, ready and wanting
      to help me be present to you;
   waiting, ready and wanting 
       to hear and to hold what burdens my soul

   so slow me down, Lord, and close my eyes        

    and open my heart to your presence...

 

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. 

 

You Are Here by by Dr Tumi 

 

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You are here 

and you said you'd never leave us

and we need you, Lord...

 

You are true

and your promises remain,

we trust you, Lord... 

 

You are King

and you reign forever more

with my life, Lord...

 

We love you, Lord... 

 

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Monday Morning Offering: 1/5

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

A new beginning, Lord!
A new week, in a new month, in a new year.

I know that new beginnings 

touch different folks in different ways 

so here are the prayers I offer you this morning...

• I pray today for all who've waited,
who've longed and hungered for a new year,

eager to see 2025 in the rear view mirror…

• I pray for those who are more than ready
to move beyond the hurt and disappointment,
the grief and burdens of the year just past...

• I pray for those who desire a new beginning,

who pray for a new grace

to look afresh at everyone, at everything

and at themselves... 

• I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,

to begin again, to trust again, to try again

to hope again in you 
and in your gracious love for us…

• I pray this morning for those who are stuck, Lord,

who’ve lost the energy, the courage, the desire
to look ahead to a new beginning...

• I pray for those who’ve lost a sense

of where one day ends and another begins...

• I pray for those so tired of yesterday

they’ve lost a taste for tomorrow…

• I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,

to begin again, to trust again, to try again

to hope again in you 
and in your gracious love for us…

• And I pray, Lord, for those too tired
to mark the beauty of a rising sun,
the solace of a silvery moon…

• I pray for those weighed down by worries, 
fears and problems,
burdened by too much work

and too little time to do it…

 

• I pray for those 

whose days and nights run together,
keeping them from rest and relaxation...

• I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,

to begin again, to trust again, to try again

to hope again in you 
and in your gracious love for us…

• And I pray for all who long, Lord, 

for the gentle way
you hold us when we’re weary,

strengthen us when we’re weak
and carry us from day to day...

• I pray for those who need to see
how faithfully you walk with us: 
day by day, week by week,
through every season, all year long...

• I pray for those who wait
for your healing of last year's loss and grief,
for the gift of your gentle presence,
for your peace in the year we've just begun... 

• I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,

to begin again, to trust again, to try again

to hope again in you 
and in your gracious love for us…

• Send your Spirit upon us, Lord,
to open our minds and hearts

to all you'll offer in this new year, 2026...

• May this truly be a year of grace:

may your mercy be our healing 
and your healing be our hope…

• I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,

to begin again, to trust again, to try again

to hope again in you 
and in your gracious love for us…

Amen.

 

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On the day of three kings - the Queens came late...

Epiphany by Janet McKenzie

 

The three kings of whom we sing are never mentioned in the gospel of the Epiphany.  Indeed, there are two kings in the story but they are Jesus and Herod. What the gospel does report is that an undetermined number of magi (Persian priests/seers/astrologers) came seeking the new born King of the Jews.  Our notion that they were male, kings - and three in number - is the influence of artists and composers who counted three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

 

For years now, at mass on the Feast of the Epiphany, I have read Norma Farber's wonderful poem, The Queens Came Late.  Below you'll find a video of my  reading the poem at mass this morning, followed by the text.

 

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The Queens Came Late 

The Queens came late, but the Queens were there
With gifts in their hands and crowns in their hair.
They'd come, these three, like the Kings, from far,
Following, yes, that guiding star.

They'd left their ladles, linens, looms,
Their children playing in nursery rooms,
And told their sitters:
"Take charge! For this

 Is a marvelous sight we must not miss!"

The Queens came late, but not too late
To see the animals small and great,
Feathered and furred, domestic and wild,
Gathered to gaze at a mother and child.

And rather than frankincense and myrrh
And gold for the babe, they brought for her
Who held him, a homespun gown of blue,
And chicken soup - with noodles, too
And a lingering, lasting, cradlesong.

The Queens came late and stayed not long,
For their thoughts already were straining far
Past manger and mother and guiding star
And a child aglow as a morning sun-
Toward home and children and chores undone.

 

 - Norma Farber in  

        When It Snowed That Night

 

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Homily for Epiphany 2026

 

Above you'll find a video of my homily for Epiphany which is based on this scripture and the text of my homily follows below.  (If a video doesn't appear above, click here!

They departed for their country by another way…

Almost a throwaway line at the end of the story of the Magi.

After their long journey from the east… after following the star… after inquiring all over Jerusalem… after a private audience with King Herod… after searching some more and finally finding the Child and his Mother… after offering him their gifts… and after a good night's sleep (including a mysterious dream) - they went home by another way…

You'll notice that the scripture here mentions only two kings, not three. In fact, the gospel doesn't even tell us how many Magi there were. But there were two kings in the story we just heard: Jesus, the the newborn king of the Jews; and Herod, appointed king of Judea by the Roman senate.

Having met both kings, the Magi take a pass on the one who lived in a palace, the one with power and prestige, the one sitting in the house of government  -  and they favor the infant king: powerless, and poor, living in a peasant's dwelling, the one who couldn't speak a word, but who somehow spoke to their hearts.

The Magi preferred Mary's simple home to Herod's royal court - so they went home by another way.

The Magi preferred to give their treasures to the child king rather than claim a reward, a bounty from Herod - so they went home by another way.

They didn't do what Herod had commanded them to d0 but rather followed a warning that came to them in a dream - so they went home by another way.

For us, you and me, Christmas is just behind us: the feast when we, like the Magi, pay a visit to the child Jesus. How about us? Have we already returned to business as usual? Have we picked up right where we left off before Christmas, before we stopped to celebrate the birth of Jesus?

Or have we chosen to go another way?

What difference, what change, if any, has meeting the child Jesus at Christmas made in our daily lives? What difference, what change does our faith make? What impact does it have on how we live our lives as Christians, as Catholics, as Americans? Does our faith ever direct and change the route we're traveling and the goals we're pursuing - so much that we find ourselves going another way.

Just hearing that the Christ had come, literally uprooted the Magi's lives. They left home on account of it and traveled far.

Searching for the Christ brought the Magi face to face with the politically and strategically powerful.

And meeting the Christ child, was enough to turn them away from the seduction of the influence and the prestige of the royal court - and to set them out on a brand new path, heading back home by another way.

 I have to make a confession here.

The Magi put me to shame and give me reason to ask: “How has my annual visit to the Christ child altered my direction, influenced the path I choose to walk, caused me to take another look at how I evaluate and relate to the politically powerful and seductive influences that bear down on my daily life?

Has my faith experience this Christmas - how does my faith experience - map the route I'm taking? map the route my life is pursuing? Or reroute my direction when I realize I'm heading the wrong way? Or determine to what king, to what authority, to what power and influence do I pledge my allegiance - as a Christian, as a Catholic, as an American.

To put it in the vocabulary of today's gospel, what star guides my way? Do I follow any star beyond the light of my own choices and desires, my own mind and my own will

And where is the star I follow leading me? More importantly, more tellingly, what star, whose star do I follow?

Again, in the terms of the Gospel story, what gifts do I bring to offer? Do I offer the best of what I have for others - or only what I feel I can most comfortably afford to give away. Do I keep the best of what I have for myself - and give others only some of what's left over from my excess?

Does my encounter with Jesus influence my response when I'm tempted by prestige, wealth and power?

Has my encounter with the Christ child given me a hunger, a thirst, a desire for what's simple, what's true, what's fair, what's pure, what's just?

Has my visit with Jesus this Christmas in any way, recharted my journey, the journey I'm on - or am I already back in Herod's royal court?

Is my visit with Jesus safely tucked away for another year - boxed up with the Christmas lights, the decorations, and the figures in the nativity sets.

As I said, the Magi put me to shame. But they do that every year! And they do it at just the right time! We celebrate Epiphany right after New Year's - our annual time for taking stock of what has been and our looking forward to improve, to grow, to make changes in the year ahead.

Even perhaps to discover: “You know what? I need to go home by another way!”

What we celebrate in the Christmas mystery is how God changed his root and came to visit us, in Jesus - came to dwell among us, came to dwell within us. God came to live another way: the way of human existence, suffering, and even death.

The Lord came this way, our way to show us another way: his way to live our lives. A way that leads not to palace life but to the humble royal home that is the heart of Jesus.

A taste of the royal feast to which we are invited is provided for us here at the Lord's table, at the altar, where Jesus, born of Mary, offers us a gift: the gift of his life for us in the Bread and the Cup of the Eucharist.

May the Sacrament we receive here, in which we meet and visit with Jesus, the Christ (not just on Christmas and Epiphany, but every Sunday) - may his a gift nourish and strengthen us all - to go home by another way...

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NIGHT PRAYER: Epiphany 2026

Photo by MS

This prayer connects a photo of a simple street scene in Brookline, MA with the star in today's gospel, guiding the magi to the Christ Child...  

A friend took this photo 18 years ago: a night shot wherein the darkness reveals more than daylight might have shown. A street light glowing like a star, a humble dwelling's greater light spilling out its doorway into the darkness: Epiphany!

I love this photo!  (Click on the image for a larger version)

Although I'm out of touch with my photographer friend, I hope that she might see this post and know that her work is still inspiring believers following that Star of wonder, star so bright...  

O Magi - were you confused?

Did you wonder if you'd taken a left for a right
    or misread the bright star's GPS?

Was it all a big mistake? Could this really be 

    the town?  the street? the place? the door?

 

But a light spills into night and beckons, calling: 

    "This way! Come this way!

    Let go your thoughts of what should be,

    what might have been, and

    open up to what is here, what's now,

    to where he is and where he dwells:

        he whose light and presence warm

            this chilled and darkened night!"  

 

Teach us wisdom, Lord:

    open our eyes to your star above

        and our hearts to your glowing presence

    living within us, all around us

        and just across the street,

    lighting the paths we walk each day, 

        lifting us up, out of our darkness,

            to find your radiant, holy face...

 

Protect us, Lord, in the dark of night,

    shine bright upon us while we sleep

that awake, we might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace... 

Amen.

 

This musical selection is perfect for tonight's prayer and offers us an ingenious arrangement, coupling a relatively new song (1991) with an old (1857) and well known Christmas carol... 

 

Come, Follow That Star by  

   Don Bresig and Nancy Price

 

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There's a star in the east and we must follow

    if we want to find the love of the tiny Child

Follow that star,

    come, follow that star

Sent from heaven above,

    he will change the world with his love

We must find him

    we must follow that star

 

Kings and travelers come from afar

    filled with hope and wonder they are

seeking ever, doubting never

    led by that shining light

 

Star of wonder, star so bright

    guide us through the dark of night 

now we seek him, soon to greet him

    tiny Child of truth and light

 

There's a star in the east and we must follow

    if we want to find the love of the tiny Child

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