Find a quiet time and place to pray... take a few deep breaths...
be still... and know that God is near...
A word to reflect on:
How lovely is your dwelling place,
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts...
- Psalm 84
My dwelling places are many, Lord:
my house or apartment, my dorm or condo;
my neighborhood, parish and local community;
where I work, where I study, where I pray;
even my car or the bus, the plane or the train:
my dwelling places are many....
First of all, I thank you, Lord,
- Psalm 84
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)
My dwelling places are many, Lord:
my house or apartment, my dorm or condo;
my neighborhood, parish and local community;
where I work, where I study, where I pray;
even my car or the bus, the plane or the train:
my dwelling places are many....
First of all, I thank you, Lord,
not only for so many dwelling places in my day
but for the gift at each day's end of a door
to a place, to a room with a roof overhead,
the place I call home,
to a place, to a room with a roof overhead,
the place I call home,
whether large and spacious or small and cramped,
a place to lay my head at night and rest...
My dwelling may not be a castle
but how many homeless would deem it a palace
for its locks and safety, its light and warmth, a fridge for food,
but how many homeless would deem it a palace
for its locks and safety, its light and warmth, a fridge for food,
a shower and toilet, a bed and a pillow, an address for mail,
for it's being a place to return to each night
for it's being a place to return to each night
for being a place to call home...
I thank you for my dwelling place, Lord:
let me not take it for granted
and keep me generously mindful
of those who have no place they might call home...
And how lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts...
Your dwelling is the universe and all the heavens
- and beyond the heavens, Lord...
Your dwelling has no roof, no walls,
no beginning and no end...
The beauty of your dwelling's beyond anything
my mind might conceive or my dreams imagine
and yet - your dwelling place is with me and in me...
You who cannot be confined,
you choose to dwell within my soul
and make your home within my heart...
You, whom all creation can't contain,
you enter my humble quarters,
the spare, simple chambers of my heart,
and there, in Spirit, make your yourself at home...
And, Lord, as you can see,
I'm seldom ready for company,
for receiving any guests at all,
let alone, you, the greatest guest of all...
So, please forgive me,
(indeed, forgive me, Lord!)
for my house is not in order, not yet or ever ready
to be a place where you might dwell
a place you might call home...
And yet,
you come, you enter and you stay,
you don't leave, you don't go away,
you remain within me, always,
and in making of my heart your home
you make your heart a home for me...
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts...
When I walk out my front door,
I thank you for my dwelling place, Lord:
let me not take it for granted
and keep me generously mindful
of those who have no place they might call home...
And how lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts...
Your dwelling is the universe and all the heavens
- and beyond the heavens, Lord...
Your dwelling has no roof, no walls,
no beginning and no end...
The beauty of your dwelling's beyond anything
my mind might conceive or my dreams imagine
and yet - your dwelling place is with me and in me...
You who cannot be confined,
you choose to dwell within my soul
and make your home within my heart...
You, whom all creation can't contain,
you enter my humble quarters,
the spare, simple chambers of my heart,
and there, in Spirit, make your yourself at home...
And, Lord, as you can see,
I'm seldom ready for company,
for receiving any guests at all,
let alone, you, the greatest guest of all...
So, please forgive me,
(indeed, forgive me, Lord!)
for my house is not in order, not yet or ever ready
to be a place where you might dwell
a place you might call home...
And yet,
you come, you enter and you stay,
you don't leave, you don't go away,
you remain within me, always,
and in making of my heart your home
you make your heart a home for me...
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts...
When I walk out my front door,
when I leave my home for work or school,
for errands or play, to visit with friends,
to worship you,
I leave my home but never walk alone
for your dwelling place is in my heart
and where I go, you go with me,
at home within my soul...
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts...
O Lord of hosts...
In this quiet dwelling place of prayer, remind me, Lord:
I need not wait for you,
you're at home in me before I think to pray;
I need not call you near:
you're in my heart before I call your name;
I need not seek you out,
you're in my every heart beat - and I'm in yours...
In the silence of my prayer, Lord,
let me enter the dwelling you've made in my heart,
the place where you live in my soul;
let me live in your heart, beating in mine,
and be at home in the dwelling we share...
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts...
To ponder and pray over...
where's the Lord's dwelling place in my life?
Outside of my prayer time,
what's my awareness of God within me?
What kind of "house-keeping" does my heart need
to welcome in the Lord as my guest?
Am I pleased to have the Lord as a guest in my heart?
What will I ask of the Lord today?
From this prayer time, what word or phrase will I keep with me
to carry through the rest of my day?
From this prayer time, what word or phrase will I keep with me
to carry through the rest of my day?
(After you spend some time with these questions,
pray the reflection above one more time...)
Here are some tips for praying 10 minutes a day. If you find these daily prayer reminders helpful, please let me know - and share them with others. You'll find an archive of these daily posts here.
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"I rejoiced when I heard them say, we go to God's own home."
ReplyDeleteI remember you singing this in rounds in the little chapel at Deer Park, as you began your first year at Notre Dame.