Tuesday Prayer

For the mysterious gifts of
early summer, Thank You.

For the bird, for all the birds, heard not seen.
For new purple on the hedge.
"What are they?" "I don't know but I call them butterfly flowers."

For the berries (blue) and the fruits (vermillion),
too beautiful and possibly dangerous to eat, but wonderful to admire.
For the mole somewhere under that fresh turned mountain of earth.
For orange, red, yellow, white, purple thriving in harmony in the front flower bed.
For cloudless sky. Again.

For the suburban sounds of early summer - sprinkler, lawn mower,
a kids' bike making another skid mark in the driveway.
For the perfect little hands of the squirrel peeling apart a pod of something.
For a dog whose whole body wags with hope and unearned love.

For You in all of these things.
Thank you.

Modeh Ani

מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה, רבה אמונתך.

Modeh ani lifanecha melech chai v'kayam shehechezarta bi nishmahti b'chemlah, rabah emunatecha.

I offer thanks before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great.

(Awakening prayer, offered while still in bed)

Sunday Prayer

Gracious One
be with those who
seek you this day

Those who bleed
in body
mind
or spirit

Those who cry
from depths
heart
soul longs

Gracious One
be with those who
do not know You

The lost or
spirit blind
deaf
to your love

Gracious One
who love us as
mother
father
sister
brother
friend

Startle us
beckon, guide
push
awaken us

Gentle One
gift us
love
not earned, free

Gracious One
be with us
be with us
be with us
be.

Amen.

Thursday Prayer

Take, O take me as I am;


Summon out what I shall be;


Set your seal upon my heart


And live in me.


from Come All Ye People by John Bell and the Wild Goose Resource Group of the Iona Community

Wednesday Prayer

May the Lord Jesus touch our eyes, as he did those of the blind. Then we shall begin to see in visible things those which are invisible. May he open our eyes to gaze, not on present realities, but on the blessings to come. May he open the eyes of our heart to contemplate God in Spirit, through Jesus Christ the Lord, to whom belong power and glory through all eternity.

~ Origen (ca. 184-254)

Sicut Cervus, Palestrina

As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, my God.

Sunday Prayer

Oh my!
God,
Still the waves
that rock this
life.

Settle
fast
beating hearts
anchor fear
breath.

Stir in us
hope
take hold, now
faith, Oh God,
God?

Awaken
love
embrace us
still the wind
fear!

Silence, awe
God.
God with us
God in us,
Love.

Gentle wave
Christ
in and through
us, hand, heart,
Faith.

Amen.

Prayer For a Gratitude Attitude

Gracious God, in the busy-ness of my day, I sometimes forget to stop to thank you for all that is good in my life.

My blessings are many and my heart is filled with gratefulness for the gift of living, for the ability to love and be loved, for the opportunity to see the everyday wonders of creation, for sleep and water, for a mind that thinks and a body that feels.

I thank you, too, for those things in my life that are less than I would hope them to be. Things that seem challenging, unfair, or difficult. When my heart feels stretched and empty, and pools of tears form in my weary eyes, still I rejoice that you are as near to me as my next breath and that in the midst of turbulence, I am growing and learning.

In the silence of my soul, I thank you most of all for your unconditional and eternal love.

Amen.

From Chi Rho

Light a candle

Light a candle at Gratefulness.org

Lord, I hear your voice calling. Empower me to be your representative this day. May all I meet receive the gift of hope through the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through me. Let me remember that the light of a single candle defies the darkness of the world. It is time for me to arise and shine. Amen.

Tuesday Prayer

image

Comfort

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

Sunday Prayer

Photo by Mompriest, Grand Canyon, April 20, 2009

Gracious God, we give you thanks this night/day for the gift of life. We thank you for being the foundation that supports our roots, for anchoring us richly, for nourishing us through the rockiest days, the stormy nights, the wind, rain, and cold. In times when it seems all but impossible to stay grounded, you hold onto us. We thank you for being there even when we are certain that we are all alone, abandoned to harsh elements.

God of life, we thank you for all the blessings of our lives. For this on-line community that supports, sustains, and manifests images of You, of love and compassion and hope, through pain and hurt feelings, sorrow and loss.

Compassionate One, we ask that you be with those tonight who need you most. Those we are struggling with their last breath, those who are taking their first breath, those who need release and the chance to take a deep cleansing breath. Bring them your peace.

God of grace, lead us into your truth, your ways. Help us, leaders, followers, in all walks of life, to hold before us a vision of your love. Help us, all, to love as you love, generously, all. Give us your eyes, your heart, help us to be your hands, help us to mend the broken places.

Merciful God, forgive us when we fail, pick us up when we fall, sustain us when we doubt, guide us when we fear, embrace us when we cry. And then help us to do the same with those we meet, those we know, those we encounter day and night, even those whose lives we do not know. Help us to see deeply into the pain we cause knowingly or not, help us to exhale your mercy that others may inhale your love.

Amen.

On Intercessory Prayer

Simply to stand still before God on behalf of anyother is ultimately a passive stance, even though Scripture shows us that action and energy are also called for. This is a prayer of trust, of enormous faithfulness, of simply "hanging in." I don't know what intercessory prayer does, or how it does it -- but it does. -- Margaret Guenther, Toward Holy Ground

Thursday Prayer

Come now, dear friend,
turn aside for awhile
from your daily employment
escape for a moment from the tumult of your thoughts.

Case aside your weighty cares,
let your burdensome distractions wait,
free yourself awhile for God
and rest awhile in Him.

Enter the inner chamber of your soul,
shut out everything except God
and that which can help you in seeking Him,
and when you have shut the door, seek Him.

Now, my whole heart, say to God,
"I seek Your face,
Lord, it is Your face, I seek."

~~Saint Anselm (1033-1109)

O God, turn your Spirit loose now, and us with it, that we may go where the darkness is.

To face with you the terrible uncertainty of tomorrow:
of what will happen,
what might happen, what could happen,
to me,
and to our children,
and to our friends,
to our jobs, to our relationships,
to our world.

Facing the uncertainty, Lord, grant us grace,
to look at it directly and openly,
to laugh at it with crazy faith in the crazy promise
that nothing can separate us from your love.

To laugh for the joy of it,
the joy of those saving surprises that also stir in the darkness.
And so we trust, despite the dark uncertainty of tomorrow,
in the light of our todays, in the cross,
and in a kingdom coming,
and so we move on and pray on,
with Jesus, our friend and redeemer.

Amen.

~ from Ted Yoder's Guerillas of Grace

Tuesday Prayer

Question: Now that June is here, can we get our Christmas music yet?

Answer: Yes.

Jesus, our brother, kind and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude;
And the friendly beasts around Him stood.
Jesus, our brother, kind and good.

"I," said the Donkey, shaggy and brown,
"I carried His mother up hill and down;
I carried His mother to Bethlehem town."
"I," said the Donkey, shaggy and brown.

"I," said the Cow, all white and red,
"I gave Him my manger for His bed;
I gave Him my hay to pillow His head."
"I," said the Cow, all white and red.

"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn,
"I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm;
He wore my coat on Christmas morn."
"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn.

"I," said the Dove, from the rafters high,
"I cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry;
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I."
"I," said the Dove, from the rafters high.

Thus all the beasts by some glad spell,
In the stable dark were glad to tell
Of the gifts they gave Emmanuel,
The gifts they gave Emmanuel.

Not One, Not Two

Benedict, whose whole way of life is steeped in the psalms, relies heavily on the psalms here to prove God's probing presence to the individual soul. God, Benedict says quite clearly, is within us to be realized, not outside of us to be stumbled upon. It is not a game of hide and seek we play in the spiritual life. It is simply a matter of opening our eyes to the light which drives out the darkness within us.

"How does a person seek union with God?" the seeker asked."The harder you seek," the teacher said, "the more distance you create between God and you.""So what does one do about the distance?""Understand that it isn't there," the teacher said."Does that mean that God and I are one?" the seeker said."Not one. Not two.""How is that possible?" the seeker asked."The sun and its light, the ocean and the wave, the singer and his song.--Not one. Not two."....

Humility lies in knowing who we are and what our lives are meant to garner. The irony of humility is that, if we have it, we know we are made for greatness, we are made for God.

Joan Chittister, The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages

Sunday Prayer

God of our Mother
birthing new life
through chaos

God of our Father
building hope from
the dark night

God of our Sister
comfort us in
times of sorrow

God of our Brother
guide us through the
storms, calm water

God of the Night
brighten our dark
days, warm light

God of the Day
show us the way,
love as you

God, mystery
One in Three and
Three in One

Parent, child, friend
Comforter, Grace
Spirit, Love

Lover, One, All
Infinite One
Compassion

Sun, Moon, and Stars
Earth, Wind, and Fire
Water, Life.

In Your Image
Abide in us
We in You

In your Image
In Your image
Mystery.

Amen.

A Blessing

May God bless you with a restless discomfort
about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression,
and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for
justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer
from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may
reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that
you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able,
with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you
and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

Amen.

A Fourfold Franciscan Blessing

Thursday Prayer

I remember
who I am
in the light of
whose I am.
I give thanks
for the holy places
where you
have revealed
yourself to me,
O God. . . .
And for all the
holy places
I have yet to
know--
this I do know:
I will find you. You are
already there--waiting for
me. And I remember who
I am in the light of
whose I am.

~~Connie Nelson

Bideaux, Rene O. (compiler). A Book of Personal Prayer. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1997. 73.

Wednesday Prayer

Hear my voice when I call, O LOrd;

be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, "Seek God's face!"

Your face, O lord, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me,

do not turn your servant away in anger;

You have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me,

O God my Saviour,

Though my father and mother forsake me,

the Lord wil receive me.

Teach me your way, O Lord;

lead me in a straight path.

Amen.

~ Cuthbert of Northumbria (635-87)

from Celtic Daily Prayer

Tuesday Prayer

CAPABLE FLESH

The tender flesh itself
will be found one day
-quite surprisingly-
to be capable of receiving,
and yes, full
capable of embracing
the searing energies of God.
Go figure. Fear not.
For even at its beginning
the humble clay received
God's art, whereby
one part became the eye,
another the ear, and yet
another this impetuous hand.
Therefore, the flesh
is not to be excluded
from the wisdom and the power
and now and ever animates
all things.


by St. Irenaeus
adapted and translated by Scott Cairns and
found on the very first page of
An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith
by Barbara Brown Taylor

Come, Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit.

Spirit of truth,

you are the reward of the saints,

the comforter of souls,

light in the darkness,

riches to the poor,

treasure to lovers,

food for the hungry,

comfort to those who are wandering;

to sum up, you are the one in whom all treasures are contained. -

Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (1566-1607)