5/27/26
5/26/26
NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 5/26
I've only read the first pages of Pope Leo's letter but I'm already breathing in (again) the heady fresh air John XXIII spoke of when he opened the Second Vatican Council and invited the Church to open its windows and let the fresh air of the Spirit blow through.
Leo is opening the windows again!Lord,
Founded on Christ, the living stone, we experience the powerful and mysterious action of the Holy Spirit, and we believe that every authentic human effort to cooperate with him for the good will be blessed by our heavenly Father, in whom we place our hope. For this reason, we can diligently contribute to every initiative that builds a more just world, and we can call others to collaborate in promoting the integral development of every human being. We wish to engage in dialogue with all men and women of our time, with whom we share in the events, questions and aspirations of humanity. Together with them, we seek to identify new paths for the common good and for promoting a dignified life for all. Indeed, openness to dialogue is an integral part of the Church’s vocation because, constituted in Christ as “a sacrament of communion..." she recognizes history as the place where the Gospel challenges and directs human experience. (Magnifica Humanitas #2)
I can feel the rush of the Spirit's wind
coming with gifts to fill the Church
and to fill the world
with wisdom, understanding and counsel
with fortitude, knowledge, and love of you...
I can see the hope the Spirit brings,
hope for a harvest of
love, joy, peace, and patience,
kindness, goodness and faithfulness,
gentleness, generosity and self-control...
Leo is calling on all of us, and on the whole world,
to open our hearts, our minds and our souls,
to remember again who made us,
who called and calls us
to do what is just, to love what is good
and to walk, humbly, with you...
We seek, we hunger and long for, Lord,
the peace we cannot give ourselves,
the peace that only you can make,
the peace that only you can give...
Help us welcome your Spirit,
your word, your will and your wisdom;
help us believe again
that all can be one,
that we can be one
with you, with one another
and with the wonder of all of creation...
Send the wind of your Spirit, Lord,
to open our windows and breathe in us
your mercy, your love and your grace...
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.
The Wind Is Blowin' Again by Lanny Wolfe
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The wind is blowin' again,
the wind is blowin' again
Just like the day of Pentecost,
Just like the day of Pentecost,
the wind is blowin' again
There was a crowd gathered 'round
from all over town
They came to see what it was all about
There was a sound that came down
They came to see what it was all about
There was a sound that came down
from the upper room
Where the Holy Ghost was being poured out
It sounded just like the roar of a mighty wind
As it fell on every one of them
And the wind that blew at Pentecost
Where the Holy Ghost was being poured out
It sounded just like the roar of a mighty wind
As it fell on every one of them
And the wind that blew at Pentecost
- thank God it's blowin' again!
2. The wind of God is blowin'
through the world today
As the prophet Joel said it would do
For peter said on the day of Pentecost
It's for you and your children too
So open up your heart and let the wind blow in
You'll never, never, never be the same again
For the wind that blew at Pentecost
As the prophet Joel said it would do
For peter said on the day of Pentecost
It's for you and your children too
So open up your heart and let the wind blow in
You'll never, never, never be the same again
For the wind that blew at Pentecost
keeps blowin' and blowin' again
Leo's Letter
Yes, I'll be posting on Pope Leo's first encyclical letter: Magnifica Humanitas - once I've read it and had an opportunity to put some thoughts together.
In the meantime, I encourage you to read it, too - right here!
5/25/26
Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 5/26
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners
they are the charming gardeners
who make our souls blossom.
- Marcel Proust
- Marcel Proust
Make of me a gardener, O Lord,
in the garden of souls you've planted,
souls entrusted to all of us
to care for, nurture and serve...
Let me be as sunlight and warmth,
coaxing others to bud and to sprout;
and let my words be a gentle rain,
refreshing parched and thirsty hearts...
Let my presence be soil for all
to thrive in, to grow and to flourish
but then I'll leave all the pruning to you,
lest, in haste, I do any harm...
And come, tend my own garden, Lord
be my ground, my grace and my light;
prune away and weed out what I really don't need;
help me grow and bloom and bear fruit!
Amen.
NIGHT PRAYER: Memorial Day
I've offered this post for the last couple of years - I can't imagine a better Night Prayer for the close of Memorial Day! Please be sure to play the Taps widget before going on to the prayer...
Taps
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Taps sounds the end of day
and Taps sounds the last of days
when the soldier, sailor, pilot
completes a life's last mission
and rests until another trumpet
sounds the end of time
and you, O Lord, will come again
and call them home to you...
As Taps sounds this night, O Lord,
we commend to your sweet mercy
those who've gone before us,
laying down their lives for love
of homeland and of freedom...
As we hear the notes of Taps this night
remind us, Lord, how we're all called
to love our neighbor as ourselves,
to share our life as you shared yours,
in loving, willing sacrifice,
in mercy and in love...
Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
and watch over us as we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Tonight's music is a vocal version of Taps, lyrics below. You'll find a history of Taps here, and of the lyrics here.
TAPS: Day is Done by Jari Villanueva
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Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky
All is well, safely rest
God is nigh.
Thanks and praise for our days
Neath the sun, neath the stars, neath the sky
As we go, this we know
God is nigh.
Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.
God is near, do not fear, friend, goodnight.
Memorial Day Prayer
I wrote this prayer 18 years ago for the Town of Concord's Memorial Day Parade and Exercises.
A Prayer for Memorial Day
In the quiet sanctuaries of our own hearts,
let each of us name and call on the One
whose power over us is great and gentle,
firm and forgiving,
holy and healing...
You who created us,
who sustain us,
who call us to live in peace,
hear our prayer today...
Hear our prayer for all who have died,
whose hearts and hopes were known
to you alone…
Hear our prayer
for those who gave their lives
in the service of others
and accept the gift of their sacrifice…
Hear our prayer
for those who put the welfare of others
ahead of their own
and give us hearts
as generous as were theirs…
Help us to shape and make a world
where we'll lay down the arms of war
and turn our swords into plowshares
for a harvest of justice
where we'll lay down the arms of war
and turn our swords into plowshares
for a harvest of justice
and the victory of peace…
Comfort those
who grieve the loss of loved ones:
let your healing be the hope
that heals their hearts...
Hear our prayer today
and in your mercy answer us
in the name of all that's holy...
Amen.
Hymn to the Fallen by John Williams
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5/24/26
Monday Morning Offering: 5/25
 |
| Coffee in the Morning |
Good morning, good God!
Lord, I'm fresh from yesterday's Pentecost
but still in need of your Spirit
and your Spirit's powerful gifts...
but still in need of your Spirit
and your Spirit's powerful gifts...
So, I offer you a confession of foolishness, Lord,
especially the foolishness of sin in my life:
give me your Spirit's gift of right judgment
to discern between right and wrong,
to discern between right and wrong,
good fun and folly, love and lust,
self-care and selfishness,
humor and harm,
conversation and gossip...
humor and harm,
conversation and gossip...
And I offer you my desire for the Spirit's gift of courage:
to follow where my prayer leads me,
to be faithful to my convictions,
to speak and act when I'm afraid to speak and act,
to venture beyond my own comfortability
and to be fearless in walking by your side...
I offer you my stubbornness, Lord,
and pray for the Spirit's gift of understanding:
open me to the depths
of what others think and feel
to the depths of others's suffering,
to the good in another's point of view
and to acceptance of your will for me
when I truly just don't get it...
I offer you my dense and dull obtuseness
and pray for the Spirit's gift of wisdom:
to see you in all peoples and in all things,
and to see everyone and everything
through your eyes;
to see the truth as you know it;
to see your hand at work at all times;
to find meaning in suffering;
and to discover your warm fingerprints
on every bit of my life
and on the whole of creation...
I offer you my pride and know-it-all attitude, Lord:
and pray you'll give me the Spirit's gift of knowledge:
deepen my desire to know you and to love you;
make me hungry to know the truth of your Word;
make me thirsty for your Spirit's counsel in my conscience,
teach me to know and love the path you walk, Lord
and give me the desire to follow you;
deepen my love for our Church and its teachings
and for all that leads me closer to you...
In a world that often and easily forgets you, Lord,
give me the Spirit's gift of reverence:
give me a spirit of profound respect for you
and for the people you call your own;
make me humble in your presence
and among my brothers and sisters;
give me a love for prayer and time for prayer,
and give me a spirit of prayer
that leads me to rely on you
to be my light and my salvation...
I offer you my tendency to rely on myself, Lord,
and pray for the Spirit's gift
of wonder and awe in your presence:
increase my desire to be with you
and never to be separated from you, Lord;
keep me from anything or anyone
who keeps me from you;
teach me to find joy
in knowing you are always with me;
and teach me to find peace
in trusting that you are there
even when I cannot find you...
You offer many gifts, Lord,
and I know I need them all
and I know I need them all
- every single one of them -
and I need them every day!
Amen.
NIGHT PRAYER: Pentecost Sunday
On Sundays, Night Prayer will focus on an element from the day's celebration of Mass. Beginning with the first reading from today's mass, we'll pray for the help of the Holy Spirit in our own lives and in the life of the world around us...
Send your Spirit, O Lord,
over the whole of creation,
over all that is seen and unseen,
and give us the wisdom, the desire and will
to conserve and share all the many gifts
you've entrusted to our care...
Send your Spirit, O Lord,
over all the nations around the globe
and by the grace of your Spirit's power:
help us lay down our weapons
and bring an end
to terror, violence and war...
Send your Spirit, O Lord:
help us warmly greet and welcome the stranger
who comes to our shores and knocks on our doors
seeking refuge, relief
and a place to call home...
Send your Spirit, O Lord:
to heal our divided country,
to mend our broken government,
to make fair and just our system of laws,
to provide for the common good
to protect the weak and defenseless...
Send your Spirit, O Lord, into the hearts of us all:
to enlighten our minds, our thoughts and ideas,
to shape the decisions and choices we make,
to prompt us to do what is kind and pure,
to lead us to serve without counting the cost,
to help us work for a peace that lasts,
to turn to you in our sorrows and joys,
to give you thanks for your saving love
and for every good gift that's ours...
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.
Send Us Your Spirit by Dan Schutte
performed by The Sunday 7pm Choir
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