Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 10/17

Lord, you know everything

    that will happen in my life today...

 

Everything...

Lacking such knowledge...

 

    I might worry and fret

        over things that I don't know...

 

    I may hide from things 

        I have no need to fear...

 

    or spend my day second guessing

        all I say and do...

So, give me the faith I need, Lord:

   to accept this day as it may come,

        no matter what it brings...

   to live this day with trust

        that you're always by my side...

 

    to find in everything today

        your blessing, strength and peace...  ,

Lord, you know everything

    that will happen in my life today...

Everything...

Help me find in everything today

    the grace to hope in you...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 10/16

How is it possible, Lord,

that the eighth month,

the first of the year's last quarter,

- is now half gone?

 

I thought that when I grew older

time might pass at a slower pace

for want of the harried busyness 

that once filled my days and some nights, too,

haunting my sleep and my dreams...

 

But no!

 

Time marches on and moves apace 

with the planets, the sun, the moon,

the stars and the calendar's months 

tracing my path and keeping account

of my life, my years and my days... 

 

Now I have free time - and plenty, for sure!

But even my free time fills up, is consumed

by I-don't know-what

 - or maybe I do...

My days are brimful with rest and time 

for musing, reflecting and mulling over

    all that has been, all that's been mine,

    all that I've done - or didn't get 'round  to

and all the love that swept me up,

    held me close, 

    took me in,

    guided my steps, 

    cared for my needs,

    befriended my soul, 

    overlooked my faults,

    forgave my misdeeds,

    healed my hurt

and on thousands of days, 

    in thousands of ways

revealed and shared, and generously so,

    your mercy,

    your presence,

    your peace... 

 

Oh, some of my musings are not as sweet:

    there've been times of hurt, loss and pain,

    times of longing, need and want,

    times all alone and lonely times, 

    times when hope was all but gone, 

    and times when I wondered where time had gone

    and how much time was left for me...

 

And now, Lord - something like October -

    I'm in my 80th year, at the beginning 

    of the last quarter of my life,

    a life much more than half now spent...

 

And I'm pleased, now that I'm older, Lord,

to find that life moves on apace

with all that's real and passing,

with all that's true and lasting,

with all that is within your hands:

    holy, broken, saved, redeemed,

    wounded, healed and lifted up

    by grace that knows no time...

 

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 

  

In His Time by Diane Ball

 

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Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 10/16

 

    Photo by CC

 I've had a few unusually busy days and rather to leave this space blank this morning, I'm offering tis poem by Mary Oliver - it's definitely a place to pause for prayer!

Song for Autumn

Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now
how comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of the air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees, especially those with
mossy hollows, are beginning to look for

the birds that will come—six, a dozen—to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
stiffens and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its long blue shadows. The wind wags
its many tails. And in the evening
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.

- Mary Oliver

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 10/15

It's a lesson I'm always learning, Lord

    - again and again and again -

but I wish I could finally get it

    and cone to understand

that when I tackle a task I've avoided,

    when I make the change I've needed to make,

    when I see to the work I've neglected,

    when I speak the word I've been holding back,

    when I deal with an issue I've tried to ignore,

    when I face a problem I've long denied, 

    when I pick up and carry the burden that's mine,

    when I open my eyes to what's plain as day,

    when I get off my duff to make my move,

    and finally do the next right thing

then

    strength I thought I'd lost returns,  

    grace restores my faith in you,

    a stillness calms my troubled soul, 

    the peace I've longed for calls my name,

    the load I bear is less by half,

    healing pays my heart a visit,

    hope begins to softly whisper, 

    light appears to pierce my clouds,

    and tomorrow comes, a welcome guest...

 

It's a lesson I'm always learning, Lord

    - again and again and again -

but I wish I could finally get it

    and come to understand

that my taking care of business

    bares my soul for healing grace...

    

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. 

 

BTO's Taking Care of Business just didn't seem fit the bill here! Here's a tune I found that comes closer to the mark...

 

God Will Take Care of You by Aohad King 

 

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Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 10/15

Photo by Mark Penta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord,

    help me remember, 

        help me see

            and help me believe

    that this tree's beauty can't compare

        with the glory of grace within my heart...

Lord, 

    help me remember, 

        help me see 

            and help me trust

    that your Spirit afire, deep in my soul,

      outshines a forest of autumn glow...

Lord, 

    help me remember, 

        help me see and understand

    how fading leaves, in letting go,

       fall to find new life in you...

        

Amen. 

   

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NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 10/14

Can you imagine living 

1,693 nights and days

under full-scale war?

Ukrainians don't have to. 

 

 

Ukraine's colors frame my Night Prayer candle: 

    a weak nod to the nightmare 

        of bloodshed and destruction

            suffered by my family, 5,000 miles away...

My family? Yes, my family...

 

We're brothers, sisters, one and all:

    we share a common bloodline

    flowing from the Cross:

        our DNA and lineage are royal and divine;

    we're children born of water 

        and the Spirit who unites us,

    who makes of us a family,

        the whole of humankind...

Don't let the distance shield me, Lord,

    from what my brothers suffer,

    from the loss my sisters bear,

    from the nightmares of my grandkids,

    from the bombing and the shelling,

    from the ruins and the rubble

        that were once my family's home...

 

My family's not that far away,

    twelve hours on a plane,

and faster still with just a click -

    to reach and offer needed help

from those who gather here in prayer

    'neath Ukraine's blue and gold... 

 

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.

As my own nation 

withdraws its support from Ukraine, 

I must ask again and again:

My family?  Yes, my family

    - and your family, too.

 

We Are One by Emu Music

 

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 10/14

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Night Prayer: TUESDAY 10/13

In the middle of it all, Lord,
    whatever "all" might be...

In the thick of what confounds me
    and hijacks my attention...

Apart from all the nonsense
    that clutters up my life...

Regardless of my problems,
    my anxieties and fears...

In spite of doubts that simmer
    in my thoughts and in my heart...

Aside from what distracts me
    and disturbs my concentration...

Lord...

 

Come to my assistance,

    help me find my way to peace...

Help me make some quiet time
    and find a place where I can rest...

Help me share with you the whole
    of what my soul holds deep inside...

Help me lay aside the burdens
    and the troubles of this day...

Help me rest with you beside me,
    there to calm my anxious soul...

Help me find in you the strength I need

    to do the next right thing...

 

Help me hear your word, your wisdom

    and your truth to guide my way...

 

In the middle of it all, Lord,

    whatever "all" might be,

help me find my to you

    who dwell already in my heart... 

 

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. 

 

In the Middle of It All by Danielle Burns  

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You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

 

I'll trust You in the pruning 

You take away everything I don't need 

I trust You in the dying 

You're the joy that's set before me 

I've learned there's nothing I need but You 

I'm thankful for every season with You 

 

I'm gonna lift up my hands 

I'm gonna sing out with praise 

In the middle of it all 

In the middle I'm gonna lift up my hands 

I'm gonna sing out with praise 

In the middle of it all  In the middle 

 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

 

Your word, my food Your presence, my drink 

I've tasted and I have seen 

Everything with You is possible 

Every little step is a miracle, a miracle 

I've learned there's nothing I need but You 

I'm thankful for every season with You 

Refrain 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

At my end New life begins 

Springtime's coming 

It's surely coming 

I've sown in tears 

But I'll reap in joy 

Springtime's coming 

It's surely coming 

At my end New life begins 

Springtime's coming It's surely coming 

I've sown in tears 

But I'll reap in joy 

Springtime's coming 

It's surely coming (3X)

 

Refrain

 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good 

You're so, You're so good

  

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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 1013

 

I believe it may be time to share this frog's wisdom once again...
 

In a small pond

 a frog, 

squatting on a lily pad,

listened attentively to an angel 

describing heaven's joy.

At the end of the discourse

the frog asked:     

Is it something like mud?

 - Anonymous

 

It's a wise frog indeed, Lord,
who finds heaven 

in the mud...

 

But what of me?

Have I listened to your angel? 

Am I as wise as a frog

atop his lily pad? 

 

Can I find a taste 

of heaven's joy,
right here where I am,

in the mud of daily life?

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Strong statement from the Archbishop for U.S. Military Services

WASHINGTON, DC — His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, today issued the following statement on the proposal to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad:

“In addition to supporting and subscribing to the statement by my brothers the Bishops of Texas, it is my duty to express my disapproval of what is proposed regarding the execution of the terrorist Hasan in the Archdiocese entrusted to my spiritual care to be done by those for whose salvation I have been constituted as the Archbishop for the Military Services, USA.

“First of all, I renew my expression of heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those who died in the attack at Fort Hood.  It was an attack that disregarded the dignity of the human person. I had the sad duty of presiding and preaching at the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in that attack.

“Secondly, I repeat the opposition of the Catholic Church to capital punishment.  The Catechism was already clear and Pope Francis made it even clearer.  The dignity of the human person is again at stake.

“Thirdly, do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries?  The crime committed by Nidal Malik Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose?  Has the potential moral injury, which the members of the firing squad might experience, been considered?  Will the exposure of a live-stream to the young and impressionable during the 250th anniversary year of our independence be able to be repaired?  The US military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world.  Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheel chair to the whole world? Does this decision reflect the dignity of the human person?

“I call upon all men and women of good will to ask that this decision be reconsidered and, at the very least, do what is possible to keep the exposure to the live-streaming of the proposed execution from the vision of the young and impressionable.  As I would in the case of a procured abortion, I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church.”

Read the Texas bishops’ statement here.

 

 

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