NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 11/6

Over the last several days, I've framed my prayer posts in terms of faith in God rather than in candidates or political parties. This was not an effort on my part to avoid or escape political realities in our lives, but rather to articulate that stance which our faith calls us to assume - precisely when facing those same realities.  A verse from the psalms (with my own flourish) puts it well:

Do not put your trust in princes, neither red nor blue,      

    nor in human beings, who cannot save. 

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; 

    on that very day their plans come to nothing. 

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,     

    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

                    Psalm 146:3-5         

I've found that the more I see God as the ruler of my life, the freer I am to examine and parse the political scene in which I live. In other words, from the perspective of faith I have a clearer perception of the world around me. For the record: I'm confident that I'm not looking through rose-colored glasses here and I know that my positions on issues have not changed. What has changed is my view of the larger picture; my peripheral vision on the electoral scene; and my capacity to see into,  behind and through the marrow of the America's political life.  The less I "put my trust in princes" the more I can see them for who they are - and what they are not.  I find in my faith, then, a great freedom - and a peace that I know only God can give...

You, O Lord, are my strength and my help,

    you rule my life 

        with your word and your wisdom, 

        your grace and your mercy,

        your blessing and peace...

In you, O Lord, I take refuge:

    let me never be put to shame.

Open my eyes that I may see

    and enlighten my mind that I may know

        the fullness of all your truth...

Be my help, O Lord, in my weakness

    be my hope in good times and bad;

be the light on my path that I may see

    the way that leads me to you...

 

Open my eyes, my mind and my heart,

    let me see the world as it is, Lord,

and give me the courage to do and to speak

    as you Spirit may guide and inspire...  

 

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.

 

Psalm 146 by Jason Silver

 

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 11/6

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 11/5

As I write this evening prayer, Lord,

    people are casting their ballots

in a contest whose outcome

    you've always known

while I might not know for days

    who will next call the White House their home...

If I could but see with your eyes, Lord,

if I could but judge with your heart, 

if I could weigh all the facts to be known

    in the scales of your singular wisdom

then I'd rest much easier through this night

    as I wait to learn who has won...

But my vision is narrow,

    my heart is biased

        my mind often plays the fool,

so I pray for patience, for trust and calm

    while waiting to know 

        what you know, Lord...

 

Renew my faith that whatever the news:

    you are Lord and God of us all;

    your truth will survive all our pretense and lies;

    your justice will never be compromised; 

    your grace always rises to meet our needs;

    your wisdom is far beyond our ken;

    you shepherd your people 

        through good times and bad; 

    you will not abandon your chosen, your own,

    your mercy will heal us

        and lead us to peace...

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.

 

He Will Come and Save You by Bob Fitts

 

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Pause for Prayer: ELECTION DAY 11/5

 

God, bless America:

    bless her land from sea to sea,

    her people young and old,

    her citizens, her voters,

    her leaders, old and new,

    her natives and her newcomers,

    her outreach to the poor,

    her love of precious liberty,

    her guarantee of justice,

    her protection of free speech,

    her defense of human freedom,

    her commitment to democracy,

    her Constitution's legacy,

    her present and her future 

    and her efforts to be faithful

        to your wisdom and your truth...

God, bless America

    with your healing, grace and mercy...

Amen.

 
God Bless America by WestBeatSings

 

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Did you know?

Did you know that Catholics 

    have a moral obligation to vote?

 

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One day more...

 

One day more
Another day, another destiny
This never-ending road to Calvary
These men who seem to know my crime
Will surely come a second time
One day more

 

I did not live until today
How can I live when we are parted?

One day more

Tomorrow we'll all be worlds away
And yet with you, my world has started

One more day all on my own
Will we ever meet again?
One more day with him not caring
I was born to be with you
What a life I might have known
And I swear I will be true
But he never saw me there

 

One more day before the storm
Do I follow where she goes?
At the barricades of freedom
Shall I join my brothers there?
When our ranks begin to form
Do I stay, and do I dare?
Will you take your place with me?

The time is now, the day is here

 

One day more

One day more to revolution
We will nip it in the bud
I will join these schoolboys
They will wet themselves with blood

Watch 'em run amok
Catch 'em as they fall
Never know your luck
When there's a free for all
Here's a little dip
There a little touch
Most of them are goners
So they won't miss much

 

One day to a new beginning
Raise the flag of freedom high
Every man will be a king
Every man will be a king
There's a new world for the winning
There's a new world to be won
Do you hear the people sing?

My place is here, I fight with you

 

One day more

We will join these people's heroes 

(I did not live until today)
We will follow where they go
We will learn their little secrets 

(how can I live when we are parted?)
We will know the things they know

One day more

Watch 'em run amok 

(tomorrow you'll be worlds away)
Catch 'em as they fall
Never know your luck
When there's a free-for-all
We'll be ready for these schoolboys 

(and yet with you, my world has started)
Tomorrow we'll be worlds away
Tomorrow is the judgment day

Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store
One more dawn
One more day
One day more

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 11/4

 

On election eve, Lord

    we pray for your grace and your help

May our passion for victory

    not defeat our sense of mutual respect...

 

May our difference in moral convictions

    not undo what we hold in common...

May our focused opinions and views

    not blind us to facts and truths...

May political ties and bonds

    not divide our families and friends...

May our zeal for our cause and side

    not give license for hate and contempt...

May the election's final outcome

    not lead to violence and harm...

May what we do in your name, Lord,

    not betray your law of love...

 

May your Spirit counsel and guide us

   whatever the outcome may be...

Protect us, Lord, from hostility

    and guard us from all that drives us apart

that together, we might keep watch for you

    and in unity find the gift of your peace...

Amen.

 

 

Love One Another by Newsboys

 

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Monday Morning Offering: 11/4

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

Some of my seasonal posts are among my personal favorites and I enjoy reworking them and sharing them with you year after year...

 

Good morning, good God...

The chill, the rain, the wind
have claimed all leaves
save those whose stubborn hold
will not let go 'til you, Lord,
say the word and then
they'll fall, spiraling

in autumn's letting go
when holding on to what's now past
might seem survival's only path
but you know, more than I,
you know my letting go may be
my only way to hold all I keep dear
and all I dearly try to keep...

Help my letting go, Lord:
I offer you my hold on things,
my stored up fears and tears,
my grip on all I won't let go,
that won't let go of me...

I offer you my fear of falling,
fear of letting go my heart
into your healing care,
into your promise to be there
to catch me safely in your arms...

I offer you and make my own
the prayer of falling autumn leaves
with trust you'll keep me through
the coming winter's wind and cold
as I let go my hold on all I've lost
- on all save hope of spring...

 

Gather, Lord, your falling leaves,
the pleas that spiral from my heart
in bittersweet November,
in my letting go my autumn soul 

into your gentle hands...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 11/3

 

On Sundays, Night Prayer will focus on an element from the day's liturgy. Tonight, we'll consider the great commandment of love in today's scriptures and pray with contemporary lyrics set to an old Scottish folk tune.  

 

Love...

 

With you, Lord, 

    love's not a suggestion,

    not a proposal or recommendation,

    not an option or a preference, 

    not a possibility or a probability,

    not a choice or an alternative,

no, with you, Lord,

    love is a command,

        a commandment,

in fact: 

    the first and greatest commandment of all..

 

But what a sweet command is love!

A commandment wise and prudent!

No other law precedes it!

Could any rule eclipse its light,

    its brilliancy and splendor?

When love is law - what other precept 

    stakes a greater claim upon our hearts, 

        our souls, our minds, our strength?

Love's your gift to us, Lord:

    your law, designed 

    to pardon and redeem us,

    to bring an end to hate and war,

    to bring us peace and freedom,

    to join and bind us all as one,

    to see that no one goes without,

        that no one's ever left alone,

    to safeguard what is just and fair

that we might find our deepest joy

    in you, O Lord, our God,

    the source of all our love,

    the love for which we long,     

    the love that's yours to give...

    

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.

 

 

Spirit, Open My Heart

 Lyrics by Ruth Duck, arranged by Alfred Fedak

 

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Spirit open my heart
To the joy and pain of living
As you love may I love
In receiving and in giving
Spirit, open my heart

1 God, replace my stony heart
with a heart that's kind and tender.
All my coldness and fear
to your grace I now surrender.

2 Write your love upon my heart
as my law, my goal, my story.
In each thought, word, and deed,
may my living bring you glory.

 Interlude

3 May I weep with those who weep,
share the joy of sister, brother.
In the welcome of Christ,
may we welcome one another.

 

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Homily for November 3

Here's a link to my homily for November 3,

   the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.

 

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