the same but different

"Here they were...the same people they had always been, but also not the same, because something had happened: Love was among them."  (The Passage, p. 630)

Come among us again this day, O God of Love, that we may be transformed from the inside out. Amen.

Saturday...life to all life

Holy Spirit,
giving life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,

you are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.

- Hildegard of Bingen -

saturday: thorns to berries

Help me to please You
in humility of spirit,
in brotherly and sisterly love,
in pure simplicity,
in humble shyness,
in the protection of my senses,
in appreciation of life,
in alacritous obedience,
in sweet patience,
in spiritual discipline,
in a chosen poverty,
in holy tolerance,
in maturity of conduct,
in cheerfulness of spirit,
in all truth,
in good conscience,
in steadiness of faith,
in godly perseverance,
in strength of hope,
in the wholeness of loving,
and in the joyful harmony of Your kindness,
so the prickly thorn bush of my heart will be changed into a paradise of good acts and a red raspberry bush of total spiritual excellence, as if it were a field full of everything peaceful, holy, loving, and kind, all blessed by God!

~Catherine the Great, Spiritual Exercises~

Saturday: opening the windows

O God, You who are always doing a new thing, we confess that we sometimes close windows against the fresh air of new ideas, against the noise of other people’s worries, against the winds of change. God of every place and time, we confess that we often draw the curtains against people who are different, against world news or community concerns. Forgive us our insulation in our locked homes, our shuttered churches, the security systems on our hearts. Open up our lives, and let your Spirit blow through. Amen.

Saturday: Jesus Christ is Waiting

You Are Life

Holy Spirit,

making life alive,

moving in all things,

You are the source of all creation and all beings.

Holy Spirit,

cleansing the world of every impurity,

forgiving guilt,

anointing wounds,

glistening,

You are commendable.

You are Life.

You awaken and reawaken everything that is.

Hildegard of Bingen, from the Book of Divine Works

may you see clearly...

trust me and listen to the whole song--there's more prayer and biblical imagery than you think!

may this be our prayer today--to see clearly.

holy ground

Be still,
for the presence of the Lord,
the Holy One, is here.
Come before God
with praise and thanksgiving;
we stand on holy ground.
Be still,
for the presence of the Lord
is shining all around.
Holy fire, splendor, radiance
are here, lighting our way
and setting us on fire with love
as we stand on holy ground.
Be still,
for the power of the Lord
is moving in this place.
God comes to cleanse and heal,
to fill us with grace overflowing,
as we stand on holy ground.

adapted from the hymn "Be Still for the Presence of the Lord". Prayer from LiturgyLink.

God Who Dances...

May the God who dances in creation

and embraces us with human love

who shakes our lives like thunder

Bless us and drive us out with power

to fill the world with her justice.

Amen.

Janet Morley

Everlasting Arms

A few weeks ago on the main RevGal blog, we asked for descriptions of who we are as RevGalBlogPals. What words or phrases come to mind when you think of our community?

Those words and phrases were turned into a wordle and into new verses for the old hymn Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

At Big Event 5.0 last week, we sang the old and then the new verses at our opening and closing worship services. We hope you'll join in as we seek to "pray twice" in this way.

Here among these friends, truth we dare to speak,

leaning on the everlasting arms.

Courage we will find, as Your way we seek,

leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms!

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

In our sistership see God's realm is here,

leaning on the everlasting arms.

Share our stories, joy, laughter, hope, and tears,

leaning on the everlasting arms.

Know Myself

I thank you, Lord, for knowing me

better than I know myself,

and for letting me know myself

better than others know me.

Make me, I ask you then,

better than they suppose,

and forgive me for what they do not know.

attributed to Abu Bakr (573-634), father-in-law of the prophet Muhammad and first caliph.

We Praise You

We praise You, Lord, that You searched for us in Your humility.

We praise You, Lord, that You kept us in Your mercy.

We praise You, Lord, that You adored us in Your humiliation.

We praise You, Lord, that You provided for us in Your generosity.

We praise You, Lord, that You watched over us with Your strength.

We praise You, Lord, that You made us good with Your goodness.

We praise You, Lord, that You taught us in Your intimacy.

We praise You, Lord, that You lifted us up in Your love.

Mechthild of Magdeburg, "The Flowing Light of the Godhead"

Saturday: turning

Saturday: the promise of joy

"Love, I love You because You're full of joy! You're a Mother nourishing the kindness in us as if we are children at Your breast (and we are). You're rich beyond anything I can ever imagine. You're so rich that the soul clothed in You can never be poor. You share Your every gift with us and even give our souls Your beauty because You make us one with You. St. John tells us that God is love, and anyone who lives in love lives and God, and God in them."

~~Catherine of Siena, Letters~~

Saturday: best friends

"The soul that has devoted itself to God journeys along a rarely traveled path that soars. The soul that loves God guides a person's senses just like someone with sight will guide a friend who's blind.

"On this path of love the soul experiences true freedom because it lives without inner suffering. How so? Because the soul wants nothing but whatever it is the Lord wants.

"The soul that has God as its best friend trusts God, because the soul knows that God always organizes everything for the best."

~~Mecthild of Magdeburg, The Flowing Light of the Godhead~~

Saturday: contradictory love

"God's endless love contradicts the world and upsets all its pretentious meanings. The world seeks glory, honor, pleasure, pride, freedom from suffering, greed, hatred, resentment, and such small-hearted self-centeredness that no room is left for loving others for God's sake.
"But the God-Man chose utter poverty, insults, torment, ridicule, hunger, and thirst. Jesus scorned human glory and honor, always wanting the Father's glory and our salvation. Jesus persevered in true and perfect patience. There was no pride in Jesus, only a balanced humility."

~~Catherine of Siena, "Letters"~~

Saturday: the ground of fruitful vision

O cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration,

Soften the ground of our being and carve out
a space within us where your Presence can abide.

Fill us with your creativity

so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of your mission.
Let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with your desire.

Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share

what each being needs to grow and flourish.
Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us,

as we release others from the entanglement of past mistakes.

Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our true purpose,

but illuminate the opportunities of the present moment.

For you are the ground and the fruitful vision,

the birth, power and fulfillment,

as all is gathered and made whole once again.

a paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer, printed in this month's newsletter from my local hospital's spiritual care office.

Saturday: a place at the table

For everyone born, a place at the table,
for everyone born, clean water and bread,
a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
for everyone born, a star over head.

And God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace;
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice, and joy.

(A Place At The Table by Shirley Erena Murray)

Saturday: take a moment to hear...

There is hardly ever a complete silence in our souls. God is whispering to us well-nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God... God is always whispering to us, only that we do not always hear, because of the hurry, noise, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.
- Frederick William Faber (1814-1863)

Saturday: set free

The Master was exceedingly gracious

to university dons who visited him,

but he would never reply to their

questions or be drawn into their

theological speculations.

To his disciples, who marveled at

this, he said, "Can one talk about

the ocean to a frog in a well--or

about the divine to people who are

restricted by their concepts?"

~Anthony DeMello, from One Minute Wisdom~