2/5/26
NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 2/5
Sometimes, Lord:
it's the simple, smallest things bring me peace...
It wasn't warm today
but it was milder and warmer than it has been
and so I drove to Waltham
- with my window open a few inches -
and in the rushing air I enjoyed,
what I took to be,
a promise of spring...
And it was warm enough
for me to spend an hour cleaning out my car,
sorting through the odd debris
that piles up in winter
beside me on the passenger seat
and in the back seat
- and in the trunk!
Three kitchen size trash bags
I dumped in the dumpster
and in letting go I felt the promise
of the cleaning springtime does
in my heart and in my soul...
And to top it all off - sunset came at 5:05!
I've been, recently, vaguely aware
that the days are growing longer
(thank you!)
and now the sun's still with us
even after 5, glowing with the promise
of the light and life
the spring will surely bring...
And after sunset I went out again
to Concord - and the first night
of a friend's showing of his paintings:
oh, the light he finds and brushes
from his palette to the canvass
'til a snow scene glistens,
silver, white and blue
and sunlight spills
through someone's kitchen windows,
warm with hope and promise
of a season yet to come...
And all this, Lord - in February!
But as I said...
sometimes, Lord,
it's the simple smallest things bring me peace...
And peace I found today
although there's still the cold and darkness,
still danger's threat and harm,
still violence and death in our cities' icy streets
crying out for light and warmth,
for an end to the hostility tearing us apart
and holding springtime hostage
'til we find the peace you are...
Yes I found peace, today, because sometimes
it's the very smallest things that bring me peace...
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.
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Tell me what I look like through your eyes
Tell me did I ever cross your mind
Wonder if I have to wonder why
There’s so many things that you could say
Why can’t you just come and set things straight
Tell me did you look the other way
They say it’s in the small things
That I can see your love
And I got all these big things
And they’re messing me up
And maybe it’s perspective
And that could change my mind
And one day all these small things
They will add up over time
Cos that happens all the time
Did you mean to teach me something new
Or show me how to love the way you do
Everyone keeps telling me
you only want the best for me
But that’s just something new to me that I believe
They say it’s in the small things
That I can see your love
And I got all these big things
And they’re messing me up
And maybe it’s perspective
And that could change my mind
And start seeing the small things
They will add up over time
Cos that happens all the time
Once in a while when my heart stops beating
I hear you say “if you just keep breathing
You’ll be alright promise I’m not leaving”
Now I believe it
They say it’s in the small things
That I can see your love
And I got all these big things
And they still mess me up
And I know it’s perspective
And that has changed my mind
Now I can see the small things
How they will add up over time
It just takes a little time
One step and you'll be fine...
This year's Lenten Pocket Cross
This is the 15th year for my Lenten Pocket Crosses and the first time I asked my readers to suggest an inscription for the Cross. I was surprised, thrilled and grateful to receive 55 suggestions! All were great... some were too long... and there were a number of repeats. The first suggestion that came in was Love Your Neighbor and I immediately thought: that's perfect! But as I read other suggestions I began see several themes repeating so I worked to bring them together and the result is the Cross you see above.
Thank you, one and all, for your responses!
Ash Wednesday is February 18!
If you would like to receive pocket Cross, please send me a self-addressed, STAMPED envelope. I would suggest putting 3 firstclass stamps on the return envelope to ensure that Cross I send you doesn't end up returned to me for insufficient postage.
If you're requesting more than one Cross, please provide an individual return envelope for each one - so that postage doesn't become an issue.
Please send your stamped, self-addressed envelopes to:
Fr. Austin Fleming
124 Cochituate Road
Wayland, MA 01778
There is NO CHARGE for these Crosses! Please do NOT send any cash or checks! If you're moved to be generous - consider making a donation to your favorite charity - or mine: Health Equity International - but please do NOT send ANY cash or checks. Please don't make me the middle-man for any charities!
The sooner you send your request, the better chance I have of getting your Cross to you by Ash Wednesday!
2/4/26
Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 2/5
For friends who offer good advice
exactly when I need it,
thank you, Lord...
For folks who understand
without a lot of explanation,
thank you, Lord...
For those who give the room I need
but never leave my side,
thank you, Lord...
For those who never fail to be
the friends they truly are,
thank you, Lord...
For a quiet place and time to pray
whatever most needs praying,
thank you, Lord...
For You who wait for me
however late I am in coming,
thank you, Lord...
For You who hear my every prayer
and take it to your heart,
thank you, Lord...
For You who are my hope and strength,
the deepest peace I know,
thank you, Lord...
For all good gifts that come my way,
for blessings great and small,
I thank you, Lord, and praise you...
Amen.
NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 2/4
Sometimes, Lord, I see everything so clearly:
I understand things,
I see where I've been and where I'm going
- everything fits and it all makes sense!
And then there are the other times...
Times when everything's fogged in
and I'm lost in the dark,
reaching, feeling my way forward,
my steps unsure on an unknown path...
And sometimes, Lord,
only a few hours separate
the clear skies in my soul
from the fog bank in my heart...
So, help me weather
the cloudy mornings and stormy nights
to make my way, day by day,
by your grace, Lord,
through this partly cloudy, mostly sunny life
I call my own...
to make my way, day by day,
by your grace, Lord,
through this partly cloudy, mostly sunny life
I call my own...
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.
The Storm is Passing Over by Charles Tindley
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Take courage my soul and let us journey on
for the night is dark and I'm still far from home
Thanks be to God - the morning light appears.
The storm is passing over
the storm is passing over
the storm is passing over
Hallelu!
Deportation statistics: a comparison
Here's a quick video look at monthly deportation statistics comparing the Biden and Trump administrations.
2/3/26
Two weeks from today: ASH WEDNESDAY!
God is about to do something in your life!
It doesn’t matter if you are 7, 17, 27, 37, 47, 57,67, 77, 87 years
old - God is about to do something in your life! Whether you come to church only
occasionally or every week - or not at all - God is about to do something in your life.
Perhaps
you're a mom or a dad, busy with a thousand things to do and 10,000 things to
worry about; perhaps you are a youngster in the third grade; you might be a
middle school or high school student; maybe you’re retired; perhaps you live
alone; you might be a young single adult; you might be happy or sad, tired or
rested; perhaps you are engaged to be married or you may have been recently
widowed; perhaps you are separated or divorced; you might be a single parent;
you might love the Church or you might be fed up with the Church; maybe you
have forgotten about God, or you might think that God has forgotten about you:
whoever you are, God is about to do something in your life.
Do you have an idea, a thought, a notion of how God might
want to touch your life this Ash Wednesday (February 18) and in the forty days of Lent that
follow? Perhaps you do! Perhaps you know, sense, intuit, fear or anticipate just what it is God may want to do in your life... OR... perhaps what God might want to do in your life this Lent is a complete mystery to you... Either way, don’t doubt for a moment that
God waits to touch your heart in the holy season ahead of us. As a matter of
fact, no day in our lives goes by
without the Lord reaching out to touch us, to speak to us, to forgive us, to
heal us, to comfort and challenge us. But Lent is a time when we make an extra effort, for 40 days, to listen for God’s word, to ask
for his mercy, to open ourselves to
his healing touch, and to invite the
Lord to enter more deeply into our hearts and lives.
AT LEAST OR A SEASON... for forty days, we make a special effort to be open to God -
and you can be sure that God is ready to take advantage of our seasonal
readiness! God is about to do something in your life.
Just what IS
Lent, anyway?
LENT is a season to do some spring-cleaning in the many rooms of our hearts and to ready them for celebrating God’s gift of new life at Easter.LENT is a season to prepare for Easter by: prayer (with the church and alone); fasting (learning to hunger for God); and generous giving (caring for the poor).LENT is a time for getting back to basics: to learn again and to practice for forty days how we should live as Christians every day of the year.LENT is a time for coming home: coming home to the Church community; coming home to prayer; coming home to God.LENT is spring training for Christians: a time to get in shape, spiritually; a time to strengthen what's weak within us and tone up what's already strong within us.LENT is a time to make the time to begin to actually do the things we so often say we want and hope to do - but just never seem to have or make the time to get around to doing them...LENT is a time for getting ready to celebrate EASTER (April 5). Easter is at the heart of our life as Christians and Lent is the way to prepare for Easter joy!
NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 2/3
Lord...
Be with me, stay with me,
close by my side...
Speak to me, hear me
and answer my prayer...
Lead me and guide me
along the right path...
Show me each day
what you want me to do...
Calm my anger
and heal my resentment...
Stand as a guard
at the door of my lips...
Give me the grace
to make wise decisions...
Save me from harm,
from temptation and sin...
Hold me and mold me
as you'd have me be...
Fill me with hope
when worry consumes me...
Grant me the courage
to speak what is true...
Keep me at peace
with all those I 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.
Be With Me, Lord by Marty Haugen
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Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble,
be with me, Lord, I pray!
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord most high,
who abide in the shadow of our God,
say to the Lord, "My refuge and fortress,
the God in whom I trust!"
Be with me, Lord...
No evil shall befall you, no pain come near,
for the angels stand close by your side
guarding you always and bearing you gently,
watching over your life.
Be with me, Lord...
Those who cling to the Lord live secure in God's love
lifted high those who trust in God's name
Call on your Lord who will never forsake you,
God will bring you salvation and joy.
Be with me, Lord...
be with me, Lord, I pray!
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord most high,
who abide in the shadow of our God,
say to the Lord, "My refuge and fortress,
the God in whom I trust!"
Be with me, Lord...
No evil shall befall you, no pain come near,
for the angels stand close by your side
guarding you always and bearing you gently,
watching over your life.
Be with me, Lord...
Those who cling to the Lord live secure in God's love
lifted high those who trust in God's name
Call on your Lord who will never forsake you,
God will bring you salvation and joy.
Be with me, Lord...
Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 2/3
Snow is God's reminder of what grace looks like.
It doesn't pick and choose where it will fall:
it covers everything...
Especially now, Lord,
in the middle of winter
when it's snowing all around us...
Especially now, when,
at every twist and turn,
the snow is piled high...
Especially now, when
the brilliant silver-blue
fills our senses with your beauty...
Especially now, remind us
how you blanket us with grace, Lord,
how you cover us with mercy...
How your grace falls from the heavens
down on us and all our neighbors,
on our country and the world...
How we're snowed in by your kindness,
not by flakes and not by flurries
but in drifts of your compassion,
your mercy and your grace...
Amen.
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