Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 10/17

Photo by Rob Neeley

Lord...

 

If I'd but stop and just look up 

I'd see your brush strokes clearly
in branches high above...

If I'd be still and listen
then I'd hear your Spirit rustling,
whispering soft as falling leaves...

If I'd but stop and pause to pray
I'd find your presence stirring

in the breezes all around...

 

If I'd but stop and take a breath
then you might take my breath away

with autumn's awesome glory...

If I'd but lift a prayer to you
I'd find the peace I long for
in the seasons of my soul...

If I'd but stop and just look up

I'd find your brush strokes' beauty

in the trees and in my heart...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 10/16

 

Tonight's prayer is not in the usual format. The video below brings us  Archbishop Timothy Broglio's comments on the fifth anniversary (10/3/2020) of Pope Francis' encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti, a letter on fraternity and social friendship. Archbishop Broglio was the Archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services USA before becoming the current president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  His words and the papal letter he recalls are particularly poignant for current events.

 

I invite you to watch the video and then to reflect on the two prayers following it, prayers which Pope Francis wrote and with which his letter ends. 

 

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A Prayer to the Creator

Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.

May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognize the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.

An Ecumenical Christian Prayer

O God, Trinity of love,
from the profound communion of your divine life,
pour out upon us a torrent of fraternal love.
Grant us the love reflected in the actions of Jesus,
in his family of Nazareth,
and in the early Christian community.

Grant that we Christians may live the Gospel,
discovering Christ in each human being,
recognizing him crucified
in the sufferings of the abandoned
and forgotten of our world,
and risen in each brother or sister
who makes a new start.

Come, Holy Spirit, show us your beauty,
reflected in all the peoples of the earth,
so that we may discover anew
that all are important and all are necessary,
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves. Amen.

 

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.

Make Me A Channel of  Your Peace

   by Sebastian Temple 

 

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Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 10/16

 

I'm not sure, Lord,  

if there's anyone among us

who always tells the truth...

 

It's just so easy 

    to bend the truth,

    enhance the truth, 

    hedge the truth,

    embellish the truth, 

    hide the truth,

    color the truth,

    stretch the truth, 

    disguise the truth, 

    fake the truth,

    blur the truth, 

    pad the truth,    

    obscure the truth,

    suppress the truth,

    veil the truth, 

    bury the truth,

    and ignore the truth...

 

So many ways

    to avoid the truth

and oh-so-very-many times

    when it's just-so-very-tempting

to just skip the truth

    - and lie...

 

And, Lord, 

    there are lies all around us!

 

Big lies, small lies

    and all the in between lies

that keep us from the truth,

    from what's honest, real and factual,

        authentic and objective,

from what's certain, sure, transparent,

    reliable and proven...

 

Lead me to the truth, Lord, 

   teach me desire, to seek and love your truth...

 

Strengthen my conscience, Lord,

    and help me tell the truth

especially when lies

    might shield me from embarrassment,

    or save me from some punishment 

    or pave a smoother path,

    or make my life much easier    

    or maintain my good name

    or keep me from confronting

        what the truth would bid me face...

 

And give me, Lord, the knowledge, 

    the counsel, wit and wisdom

to see through all the falsehoods

    that confront me every day:

        - all the fabricated nonsense

            masquerading as statistics

        - all the anecdotal foolishness

            that substitutes for facts

        - all the outright lies and sophistry

            that fill the daily news;

        - all the B.S. oft repeated

            'til it passes for the truth...

 

Knowledge and counsel, 

    wit and wisdom:

that's what I need and pray for, Lord, 

    what I ask of your today... 

 

Recharge, reboot my intellect, 

    open up my mind!

 

Fill my thoughts with insight,

    common sense 

        and sound good judgement! 

 

Help me to see, 

    to perceive, to discern between

       fact and fiction,    

       sincerity and duplicity,

       the real and the sham,  

       substance and fantasy, 

       humility and pretense,

       the provider and the conman, 

       the giver and the grifter,  

       the true and the false, 

       the truth and the lie...

 

Make me first a person of truth, myself,

    that I might seek and find and know

what's true and sure and  certain around me:

    the truth of your presence, 

    the truth of your word,

    your truth, O Lord, that sets me free...   

 

Amen.   

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NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 10/15

All around the world,

    in every nation, land and clime,

    in cities, towns and neighborhoods,
    at work, in school and where we play,

    in churches, mosques and synagogues,

    in families and with our friends,

    in all our minds and hearts and souls,

    in the depths of who we are:

LORD

    slow us down and calm our fears,

    heal our wounded, broken lives,

    make us humble, make us wise,

    fill our thoughts with common sense,

    make us just in word and deed,

    forgive our proud and foolish ways,

    fill our hearts with love to spare,

    root out hate and prejudice,

    keep us faithful to your word,

    help us seek and speak the truth,

    turn our hearts to other's needs,

    make us channels of your peace,

    help us pardon as we're pardoned,  

    help us always do the next right thing,

    lead and guide us, day by day,

    help us love as you love us,

    and give us grace to do your will...

   

And all this we pray tonight, Lord,

     from the depths of who we are...

    

Protect us, Lord, while we're awake

    and watch over us while we sleep:

that together we keep watch for you

    'til we rest in a world at peace...

Amen.

 

A beautiful world-wide version

   of an old favorite...  

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

 

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 10/15

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NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 10/14

I've reached a time in my life, Lord,

when I find I'm often asking my friends:

    "Have I already told you this story?"

and that's because I often lose track

    of whom I've told what  - and how often! 

 

But I never need ask that of you, O Lord:

    you've heard my tale again and again

        and you know my saga by chapter and verse;

you never tire of lending your ear

    to hear my story of worry and woe,

        - a story (I know) you already know...

 

And when there comes a new twist in my plot,

    well, you know the whole of it, inside-out

and long before I know it myself

    - 'cause my story's a story you already know...

You know my  past in its every detail,

    and you know my future and all that it holds;

and all this you know, Lord, each time I come

    - to tell you a story you already know...

You know my sorrows and you know my joys;

    you know my losses as well as my gains;

you know my troubles and blessings, too,

    my ups and downs, my smiles and tears:

you're my co-author, Lord, in writing my life,

    - in telling a story you already know... 

Only you know the end of my story, Lord,

    and the chapters ahead that will take me there;

so give me some clues, some hints and some cues

    of how you're there on every page

writing your story of love for me

    in good times and bad, in sadness and cheer,

a story that's often a mystery to me

    - but a story you already know...

 

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 Already Know by JJ Heller

 

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Everything around me seems uncertain
My weary heart can't take much more surprise
I wish there was a point on the horizon
Something I could see with my own eyes

 

I need to tell you that I'm scared
I feel completely unprepared
And nothing's what it was two weeks ago

 

But you already know
You already know
Everything I'm scared of
Everything I hope
You hold my tomorrow
And all tomorrow holds
You already know

 

I can't seem to find the easy answers
Someday, I hope the suffering makes sense
I just need to know that you are with me
Even if you keep me in suspense

 

We talk so much these days
Because I have so much to say
You stay and listen to me closely even though

 

You already know
You already know
Everything I'm scared of
Everything I hope
You hold my tomorrow
And all tomorrow holds
You already know

 

Whatever I'm feeling
Whatever is coming
Whenever the ending
You're already there

 
You go before me
You go behind me
Wherever I'm going
You're already there

 

You already know
You already know
Everything I'm scared of
Everything I hope
You hold my tomorrow
And all tomorrow holds
You already know
You already know

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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 10/14

 

Some days, many days,

maybe even most days,

my life is filled with highs and lows:
  from tears and frustration
  to laughter and smiles
and then up and down

and all around 

and up and down 

once again...

Could be today
will be one of those days
so I'm hoping and praying

that this day will end
with my tears wiped away
and a smile in my dreams...

So I'm praying, Lord:

carry and hold me through this day's valleys

    of sadness, tears and regret;

and keep me moving, making my way

  to the heights of this day's joys...

Open my eyes and my ears, Lord,
open my mind, my heart and my soul
  to every lift, every rise,
   to every step forward and every step up
  to the heights of that peace that fills me
     with your healing, calming grace...

Let my tears, O Lord, be cleansing,
  and my laughter hearty and warm
that at this day's end, when day is done,
  my smiles outnumber my frowns... 

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 10/13

Though the days and nights grow cooler, Lord,

there's more than warmth

  in how my sweater hugs me snug

and how I'm swaddled by the comforter

  laid down upon my bed...

 

But the days are growing shorter

as the sun sets low and early

and as evening shadows lengthen

  no artificial light can fill

    my longing for the glow

      that fall has claimed...

 

Keep me hungry for the springtime,

for the warmth and light of sunshine, 

for the greening of what's faded, Lord,

and longer days to spend with you 

  in spirit, prayer and peace...

Protect me, Lord, while there's still light,

  keep vigil through the night

that awake, I keep the watch with you

  and asleep, rest in your peace...

 

Amen. 

Now In The Fading Light of Day by

   the monks of Saint Saviour Monastery

 

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Now in the fading light of day, 

Maker of all to you we pray, 

that in your ever watchful love 

you'll guide and keep us from above. 

 

Help and defend us through the night, 

danger and terror put to flight. 

Never let evil have its way. 

Preserve us for another day. 

 

Father Almighty this be done, 

through Jesus Christ, our Lord, your Son, 

whom in the Spirit we adore, 

who reigns with you forever more. 

 

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Monday Morning Offering: 10/13

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

This morning, Lord,  

I want to offer you
    - just a little bit more...

I want to offer you
a little bit more
    than I usually do...

I want to offer you
a little bit more
    than I usually consider enough...

I want to offer you
a little bit more then I did yesterday
    and last week, last month, last year...

I want to offer you
a little bit more
    than I easily let go...

I want to offer you
a little bit more than
    what comes naturally to me...

I want to offer you
a little bit more than  I might
    on my first impulse...

I want to offer you
a little bit more
    than what logic dictates...

I want to offer you
a little bit more
    than I'd keep for myself...

I want to offer you
a little bit more of my time
    for silence,
    for sitting still,
    for seeking your presence,
    for prayer,
    for just being with you...

I want to offer you
a little bit more of my time
    to seek out those in need,
    to reach out to others,
    to serve my neighbor
today, this week, this month, this year...

I want to offer you
a little bit more of my heart,
    especially the hidden places
    I try to keep to myself...

I want to offer you
a little bit more of my dependence
    on you, 

    your strength, 

    your help,
    your grace, 

    your mercy
    and your joy...

I want to offer you
a little bit more
    of all I hold back,      

    hold in,
    and hold tight in my grip,

    and all I'm slow to let go...

All of this, Lord,
    I want to offer this morning
but to follow through 

I'll need to offer you more
    of my heart, my soul, 

    my will, my mind,
    my dreams, my hopes 

    and my love...

So, even as I make this prayer
    help me give a little bit more of myself
        to you and my neighbor,
    not counting the cost
        but finding the joy that comes 

            from giving 

                just a little bit more...

Amen.   

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