Short days, long nights . . .

 

Photo by JH.. ~ View from CSA Hermitage

O God of all seasons and senses, grant us the sense of your timing    

to submit gracefully and rejoice quietly in the turn of the seasons.

In this season of short days and long nights,

of grey and white and cold,

teach us the lessons of endings;

children growing, friends leaving, loved ones dying,

grieving over,

grudges over,

blaming over,

excuses over.

O God, grant us a sense of your timing.

In this season of short days and long nights,

of grey and white and cold,

teach us the lessons of beginnings;

that such waitings and endings may be the starting place,

a planting of seeds which bring to birth what is ready to be born—

something right and just and different,

a new song, a deeper relationship, a fuller love—

in the fullness of your time.

O God, grant us the sense of your timing.

Taken from Guerrillas of Grace by Ted Loder 

December 22, 2024: Sarah Simmons, CSJ Preaches for the Fourth Sunday of ...

Blessing for Waiting

 

Who wait for the night to end.

bless them.

Who wait for the night to begin

bless them. 

Who wait in the hospital room

who wait in the cell

who wait in prayer

bless them.

Who wait for news

who wait for the phone call

who wait for a word

who wait for a job - a house - a child 

bless them.

Who wait for one who will come home..

who wait for one who

will not come home

bless them.

Who wait with fear

who wait with joy 

who wait with peace

who wait with rage

who wait for the end

who wait for the beginning

who wait alone

who wait together

bless them.

Who wait without knowing

what they wait for or why

bless them.

Who wait when they

should not wait

who wait when they should

be in motion

who wait when they need to rise

who wait when they need to set out

bless them.

Who wait for the end of waiting

who wait for the fullness of time 

who wait emptied and

open and ready

who wait for you,

O bless.

https://www.janrichardson.com

 Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace

The Student Santa!

The students were having their briefing about how to be a good ‘Santa Claus’. The Christmas season was gearing up in the department store, and Alex was here on his first day as a ‘holiday-job Santa.’

‘Whatever you do, don’t frighten the children,’ the manager told them sternly. ‘Not even if the parents want you to!’

Armed with this advice, Alex started his first day.  The very first child that arrived, parents in tow, screamed blue murder the moment he set eyes on Alex’s fine new Santa outfit and long white beard. Nothing would pacify him. Not the parents’ admonitions to ‘be a brave little boy’, and not Alex’s own attempts to console the crying child.

Eventually, in despair, Alex hit on an idea. He began to peel off his ‘uniform’, bit by bit, starting with the white beard. The child stopped crying, and watched him, fascinated.  The red hood was removed, and a young and rather embarrassed face came to light. The glasses were removed, and two twinkling, youthful, blue eyes appeared. The red robe was discarded, and underneath it was an ordinary young man in blue jeans and sweatshirt.  The child looked on in amazement, until he was soon laughing and relaxed.

Once the relationship between them had been established, Alex started to put the ‘uniform’ back on again, and as he did so, he told the little boy a story of how, a very long time ago, God had come to live on earth with us, and so that no one would be frightened, God had come in very ordinary clothes and lived the life of a very ordinary child.  The boy listened, wide-eyed.

Soon, it was time to move on. The next ‘customer’; was waiting. The boy‘s parents moved away, rather disgruntled. ‘What a shame,’ they said. ‘It spoiled all the magic.’

‘The end of the magic, perhaps,’ mused Alex, ‘but the beginning of the wonder.’

Source Unknown

For Your Presence, We Give Thanks . . .

 

Father, Mother, God,
Thank you for your presence
during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence
during the bright and sunny days,
for then we can share that which we have
with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence
during the Holy Days, for then we are able
to celebrate you and our families
and our friends.

For those who have no voice,
we ask you to speak.
For those who feel unworthy,
we ask you to pour your love out
in waterfalls of tenderness.
For those who live in pain,
we ask you to bathe them
in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask
you to keep them company.
For those who are depressed,
we ask you to shower upon them
the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless
sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the
world that which we need most—Peace.

prayer - maya angelou

Waiting Time . . .

 Advent 

By Lucy Rose Johns

We are waiting for these aches and pains to be healed.      

We are waiting for the hunger within to be satisfied.                             

We are waiting for love to touch us.

We are waiting to be understood and really listened to.

We are waiting for decisions to be easy.

We are waiting to be inspired to love unlovable people.

We are waiting for financial cares to be resolved.

We are waiting for serenity to accept the things we cannot change.

We are waiting for courage to change the things we can.

We are waiting for wisdom to know the difference.

We are waiting to be appreciated.

We are waiting for justice.

We are waiting for the answers.

We are waiting for the dawn of a new day.

We are waiting for things to get easier.

We are waiting for a time of rest, peace, quiet.

We are waiting for patience.

We are waiting and waiting.

We are waiting

In joyful hope for the coming of the Lord!

Ignatian Examen for Advent

The Grace of Gratitude

I speak from my heart telling God why I am grateful,

being very particular and naming specific things:

gifts, people, events, blessings

How do I wait with gratitude?

The Grace to See

I walk with God through the experiences of my day

(or past year) giving thanks where I have grown,

and noticing where I have stumbled.

Where do I need the gift of light?

How do I wait with a discerning heart?

The Grace of Freedom

I ask for the grace to awaken my memory to anything from

my day (or past year) where God is inviting me to greater

freedom and peace.

I spend some time listening to my heart.

How do I wait in peace… in silence… listening?

The Grace of Mercy

I ask to feel hope, knowing that God will always give me

forgiveness. I ask God’s mercy in personal words that come

from my heart.

How do I wait in hope and with trust this

Advent Season?

The Grace of Transformation

I listen to my heart for invitations to change the way I pray,

live, work, love, play, relate, serve, or define success. 

What deep desire within me is waiting to be

uncovered, discovered, or recovered this

Advent Season?

I pray the Our Father that God’s Kingdom reign in my life.

Examen adapted by William Watson, S.J.

Advent Reflections