For Dispensing the Clouds Within

For everything in us that may hide your light:
O God, deliver us. -- from the Oremus website, Ash Wednesday

Love

Julian of Norwich was told by God:

Love was the meaning.

Who showed it to you? Love.

What was shown to you? Love.

Why was it shown to you? For Love.

Keep yourself in that love and you will learn more of it.
And you will never learn anything else--ever.

(Gerald May's version of lines from Julian's last (86th) chapter of her Revelations of Divine Love found in May's The Awakened Heart, p. 246.)

Ash Wednesday Prayer

Marked by Ashes

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .
This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already
halfway home
halfway back to committees and memos,
halfway back to calls and appointments,
halfway on to next Sunday,
halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
of failed hope and broken promises,
of forgotten children and frightened women,
we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

~ Walter Bruggemann

(For over thirty years now, Walter Brueggemann (b. 1933) has combined the best of critical scholarship with love for the local church in service to the kingdom of God. Now a professor emeritus of Old Testament studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, Brueggemann has authored over seventy books. Taken from his Prayers for a Privileged People (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008), pp. 27-28. )

Found on Textweek.

Shrove Tuesday Prayer

Shrove Tuesday Prayer

Jesus, forgive my sins.

Forgive all the sins that I can remember,

and also the sins I have forgotten.

Forgive the wrong actions I have committed,

and the right actions I have omitted.

Forgive the times I have been weak in the face of temptation,

and those when I have been stubborn in the face of correction.

Jesus, have pity on me, and make me whole. Amen.

By Mark Camp

Found at Upsidedown B

Hallelujah

Sunday Prayer

Holy and Gracious God
We give you thanks for the gift of life
for the gift of your Son
for the gift of the Holy Spirit

Lead us through the trials
the suffering and sorrow
the challenges and struggles
the tired times and dark places

Be with those who weep
or cannot sleep
who have no peace
who seek release

Lead us
with grace
with love
with peace

Fill us
with hope
with patience
with stamina

Transform us
in your image
in your Son
in your Name

Transform us
to grow
to understand
to see

Transform us
that we
can be
made whole

And in wholeness
may we
be
the hands and heart of Christ.

Amen.

Saturday Prayer

Earth-shaking, sky-rumbling, all-powerful Trinity:
Behold your Church.

We thank you for claiming for yourself
servants from every nation and time
to be a royal priest dedicated to your service.
Lord of glory,
send us out to do the work you have given us to do.

We thank you for our common vocation
of giving witness to your coming reign.
Lord of glory,
send us out to do the work you have given us to do.

Sift us like wheat,
convert the catechumens,
turn homeward the penitents
and welcome those who are strangers.
Lord of glory,
send us out to do the work you have given us to do.

Clothe your Church with words and deeds that free and heal.

Lord of glory,
come in your might.

Light our lamps with the oil of your Spirit.
Lord of glory,
come in your might.

Make us and all your Church vigilant and alert for your knocking on doors.
Lord of glory,
come in your might.

Loving and merciful God,
hear the prayers of those who cry to you, and shine with the light of your presence on those who live in the shadow of death.
May we rejoice in your saving help
and sing you songs of praise
in the Name of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

-Stephen Benner

A Prayer For Quiet

I have, O Lord, a noisy heart. And entering outward silence doesn't stop the inner clamor. In fact, it seems only to make it worse. When I am full of activity, the internal noise is only a distant rumble; but when I get still, the rumble amplifies itself. And it is not like the majestic sound of symphony rising to a grand crescendo; rather it is the deafening din of clashing pots and clanging pans. What a racket! Worst of all, I feel helpless to hush the interior pandemonium.
Dear Lord, Jesus, once you spoke peace to the wind and the wave. Speak your shalom over my heart. I wait silently...patiently. I receive into the very core of my being your loving command, "Peace, be still." Amen. -- Richard Foster

Thursday Prayer

Open wide the window of our spirits,
O Lord, and fill us full of light;
open wide the door of our hearts,
that we may receive and entertain thee
with all our powers of adoration and love.
Amen.

~~Christina G. Rossetti, 1830-1894

Wednesday Prayer

Prayer When in Doubt

Gracious God, I feel so uncertain, so unsure. I want to trust that you are real and present, that you are acting on my behalf, that you hear and will answer my prayers. Yet, my confidence is spent, my faith flat. You speak in my heart and tell me to seek your face, and I am seeking -- longing for the sureness of your presence, the touch of your breath, the warmth of your love. In my doubt, O God, let your Spirit hover over me with the gentleness of angel’s wings, until I am opened to faith and once again recognize the pattern of your face. I ask this for the sake of your love. Amen.

from Explore Faith

Tuesday Prayer

Holy One,
Creator of all that is, was and will be -
There are so many ways to praise you!
Help me this day to find the one
that brings me the most joy.
Because I know that my delight,
delights you.
Amen!





photo credit unknown

Prayer for Healers

Dear God,

I surrender this session to You.

I ask that my interaction with this person be used for Your purposes.

I surrender all worldly thoughts I would bring from my past and ask, in this moment,

to be filled with Your wisdom.

May I be used as a channel for Your healing power, for by myself I can heal no one.

Rather I remember that Your power within me does the work.

Show me how to love this person and listen to [her] and counsel [her] as You would have me do.

May I remind [her] of [her] own magnificence that through this memory [she] might awaken to truth.

May I minister to [her] truly through Your words and Your thoughts and Your love.

Amen



Marianne Williamson, Illuminata pps. 236-237)

Sunday Prayer

Gracious God
We come to you
broken
seeking
to be made whole.

On this night/day
we pray for those
who weep,
who have died
who are struggling.

Compassionate God
We come to you
tired
yearning
for peace and harmony.

Loving God
We offer our
suffering
looking
for solace and comfort.

Holy God
Take our fears
tears
losses
and heal us.

In our darkness
be with us
hold us
contain
and sustain us.

Gentle God
anoint us
with your
peace
and love.

Amen.

Saturday Prayer - O Creator past all telling

O creator past all telling,

you have appointed from the treasures of your wisdom

the hierarchies of angels,

disposing them in wondrous order above the bright heavens,

and have so beautifully set out all parts of the universe.
You we call the true fount of wisdom

and the noble origin of all things.

Be pleased to shed on the darkness of mind in which I was born,

The twofold beam of your lightand warmth to dispel my ignorance and sin.
You make eloquent the tongues of children.

Then instruct my speech and touch my lips with graciousness.

Make me keen to understand, quick to learn,

able to remember;

make me delicate to interpret and ready to speak.
Guide my going in and going forward,

lead home my going forth.You are true God and true man,

and live for ever and ever.

--St Thomas Aquinas, 1225-74

Thursday Prayer

My loving God, you have turned my complaining into gratitude, my screams of despair into proclamations of joy. How can I help but explode with praises and vow to spend eternity in thanksgiving to you? You are my hope and salvation, the morning sun and the evening star, my shade in the desert heat, my warmth in the cold of night. You are the Bread of Life, and life-giving springs when my soul is parched and dry. You are the answer to my agonizing questions, the fulfillment of my deepest longings. I am yours, O God, yours forever. Make my life a perpetual offering of praise. For the glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Leslie F. Brandt, From Complaint to Gratitude: A Book of Christian Prayer. Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1978. 76.

Wednesday Prayer

I simply cannot get this to embed, but it's what called out to me last week-end.

(If someone else is more adept at embedding youtube, go for it!)

Tuesday Prayer

One of the things that accompanied me, followed me, surrounded me, wrapped me is that feeling of gratitude for whatever happens. That event was like being picked up by the scruff of the neck and shaken. And God says, "This is your only life! Just be grateful for it. Just be grateful that you've got these days and these hours and these wonderful people in your life. Just be grateful for that."




Martha Conant reflects on the aftermath of surviving a plane crash in the book
Listening Is An Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the Storycorps Project by Dave Isay.

True Reality

The practice of true reality is simply to sit serenely
in silent introspection.

Bright and penetrating, you can immediately return,
accord, and respond to deal with events.

Everything is unhindered,
clouds floating up to the peaks,

The moonlight flowing down mountain streams.

Zen Master Hongzhi, 1129

Sunday Prayer

flickrfoto

Here is one of my favorite healing prayers, used with anointing:

In the name of God
our healer
we pray.

Receive Christ’s healing touch
to make you whole
in body,
mind,
and spirit.

May the power of God
strengthen you,
the love of God dwell in you
and give you peace.
Amen.

(From the Ministry for Healing, The New Zealand Prayer Book)

God of life
God of hope
God of all

Lift us
on your love
like eagle's wings

Sustain us
Guide us
Heal us

Then send us
forth into
the world

That we
may love
as you love.
Amen.

(from my heart)

Saturday Prayer

O God, you are our blessed light,
--awaken us this new day.
By the resurrection of your Son, you have enlightened the world,
--and given us new hope.
By your Spirit you gave wisdom to the disciples of your Son,
--send your Spirit upon us and make us faithful.
Light of the nations, shine on those who dwell in darkness,
--open their eyes to know you, the only true God.

Obeying God

"The trouble with the usual notion of 'Christian obedience' is that it represents a childhood model of living. Fearing confusion, a child naturally wants supervision and direction. A child wants a superior power to provide order and direct his destiny--and so do childish adults. But let's face that desire and call it what it is, namely, a temptation to disobedience. For we are called to obey not God's power, but God's love. God wants not submission to his power, but, in return for his love, our own."

William Sloane Coffin, Letters to a Young Doubter, Westminster John Knox Press, 2005. 70.

Wednesday Prayer

Ye Mists and Exhalations that now rise
From Hill or steaming Lake, dusky or grey,
Till the Sun paint your fleecy skirts with Gold,
In honour to the World's great Author rise,
Whether to deck with Clouds th' uncolour'd sky,
Or wet the thirsty Earth with falling showers,
Rising or falling still advance his praise.
His praise ye Winds, that from four Quarters blow,
Breath soft or loud; and wave your tops, ye Pines,
With every Plant, in sign of Worship wave.

John Milton, Paradise Lost, Morning Prayer of Adam and Eve (V, 185-194)

Tuesday Prayer

I would be true, for there are those who trust me; I would be pure, for there are those who care; I would be strong, for there is much to suffer; I would be brave, for there is much to dare; I would be brave, for there is much to dare. I would be friend of all--the foe, the friendless; I would be giving, and forget the gift; I would be humble, for I know my weakness; I would look up, and laugh, and love and lift. I would look up, and laugh, and love and lift. I would be faithful through each passing moment; I would be constantly in touch with God; I would be strong to follow where He leads me; I would have faith to keep the path Christ trod; I would have faith to keep the path Christ trod.

i would be true - howard arnold walter - 1906

Principle and Foundation

Lord my God,
when Your love spilled over into creation
you thought of me.

I am

from love
of love
for love

Let my heart, God, always

recognize,
cherish,
and enjoy your goodness in all of creation.

Direct all that is in me toward your praise.
Teach me reverence for every person, all things.
Energize me in your service.

Lord God,
may nothing ever distract me from your love...
Neither health nor sickness
wealth nor poverty
honor nor dishonor
short life nor long life.

May I never seek nor choose to be other
than you intend or wish. Amen.

(Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, adapted by Jacqueline Syrup Bergan and Marie Schwan)

Sunday Prayer: Epiphany 4

Holy and gracious God,
we give thanks
forall the blessings
of this life.

Help us
to hear when you call,
see where you lead;
May we respond
to your prophets
when they appear.

Loving God,
fill those
who suffer
or struggle
or live in fear
with your peace.

Comfort
those who weep
the broken
the shattered
the lost
with your hope.

God of our desire,
bless us,
that we
maybe a blessing
to all we meet.