Please indulge me with one more post-retreat prayer post! At Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, MA there's a gathering room with a fireplace where I spent a few hours most evenings. A pastor from Paramus, NJ who also makes this priests' retreat every year has become the unoffiical keeper of the fire - and he does a great job. Some evenings I read by the fire, prayed by the fire or blogged by the fire. This year I made a short video of the beauty of this warm experience to share with you...
I miss the fireplace, Lord:
the dance of its mesmerizing flames,
the crackling, firecracker popping
breaking the silence as nameless logs
give up the ghost for my warmth and delight...
I miss being so close to such a gift:
so primal, elemental,
so dangerously beautiful, so seductively enticing;
so clearly born of you, sparked
by your divine imagination; burning
to catch my attention; glowing,
your light in my darkness, your warmth in the chill,
your spirit bringing life where there was none...
Near the hearth or far away, Lord,
be the light and warmth that keep my soul alive:
tend the fire of your grace and burn with heat
to melt my heart with love for you...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me as I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Hymn to the Eternal Flame by Stephen Paulus
Every face is in you, every voice,
Every sorrow in you.
Every pity, every love,
Every memory, woven into fire.
Every breath is in you, every cry,
Every longing in you.
Every singing, every hope,
Every healing, woven into fire.
Every heart is in you,
Every tongue, every trembling in you,
Every blessing, every soul,
Every shining, woven into fire.
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