4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP

Let Us Never Forget!

 

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Master of the Universe:

On this most solemn of occasions, we open our hearts, minds, and souls to you.

As we remember the six million, the eleven million, the indifference, and the evil;

As we honor the heroes, the martyrs, the survivors, and the victims;

We ask you to soothe our souls, to amplify our memories, to strengthen our resolve, and to hear our prayers.

We ask for your presence in our midst; for healing, light, and love to soothe and ease our pain, as we commemorate the horrors that were committed not long ago. Please, oh Holy One, be gentle with our souls.

We ask that you help us to forever remember the stories we hear. As tales of the atrocities are shared, as we re-encounter the unthinkable, we ask that these memories be strengthened and never fade, in the hope that those who remember the mistakes of the past will not repeat them. Please, oh Holy One, amplify our ability to remember.

We ask that you strengthen our will, that you help us to ensure that the world does not again see such monstrosities. We say “never again” and we dedicate ourselves to this principle, to the idea that justice does not allow persecution, that genocide shall not be repeated, and that vigilance is the responsibility of freedom, at all costs. Please, oh Holy One, make manifest our resolve that these horrors remain but memories.

We ask that you answer our prayers. We pray that the call of evil falls on deaf ears, that those who fight for freedom and justice always prevail, that those who need protection do not become victims. We pray that the lessons we learn from this darkest hour allow all humankind to better itself, and to truly and nobly embody the idea that we are each made in Your image. We pray for the souls of the millions and millions of victims of this brutality; we pray that we honor their lives and their memories by observing this day, and by doing everything in our power and beyond to make sure that no such shadow again darkens our world.

Above all, we pray for shalom—for wholeness and peace—to be in our midst, now and forever. Please, oh Holy One, answer our prayers and bring us a world devoid of hatred, filled instead with peace.

Ken yehi ratzon – may this be God’s will. And may we all say together, Amen.

by Rabbi David Katz

---

This prayer was originally shared at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station’s 2014 Holocaust Remembrance Service.

Witnesses of Peace . . .

Lord, make me your witness.

In this world of darkness, let my light shine.

In this world of lies, let me speak the good news of truth.

In the world of hate and fear, let me radiate your love.

In this world of despair, let me spread hope.

In this world of systemic injustice and institutionalized evil,                                                                  let me promote justice and goodness.

In this world of sadness and sorrow, let me bring joy.

In this world of cruelty and condemnation, let me show your           

compassion.

In this world of vengeance and retaliation, let me offer your                 

mercy and reconciliation.

In this world of war, let me serve your gift of peace.

In this world of violence, make me a teacher and apostle of                                                         your nonviolence.

In this world of death, let me proclaim the new life of resurrection.

Help me to witness to the resurrection of Jesus by loving my

enemies, showing compassion, feeding the hungry, sheltering the    

homeless, serving the poor, liberating the oppressed, resisting    

war, beating plowshares, and disarming my heart and the world.

In the name of the risen, nonviolent Jesus, Amen

Taken from You Will be My Witnesses: Saints, Prophets and Martyrs, By John Dear

A Peace Prayer . . .

 

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

+ Blessing The Ordinary +

 

An Ordinary Blessing for Ordinary Time ~

Let these words
lay themselves
like a blessing
upon your head,
your shoulders,

As if,
like hands,
they could pass on
to you what you most need
for this day,

as if they could
anoint you
not merely for
the path ahead

but for this
ordinary moment
that opens itself
to you - -

opens itself
like another hand
that unfurls itself,
that reaches out
to gather
these words
in the bowl
of its palm.

You may think
this blessing
lives within
these words,

but I tell you
it lives
in the reaching;

it lives
in the ache
where this blessing
begins;

it lives
in the hollow
made by the place
where the hands
of this blessing
meet.

From: Circle of Grace by Jan Richardson

 http://www.janrichardson.com/index.htmlichardson.com 
©Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com

The Best Wine!

 Cana Wine

By Irene Zimmerman, SSSF

Woman Un-Bent (p.31)

“The weather’s so hot and no more wine’s to be bought in all of Cana!
It’s just what I feared . . . just why I begged my husband to keep the wedding small.”

“Does he know?” Mary asked.

“Not yet. Oh, the shame!
Look at my son and his beautiful bride!
They’ll never be able to raise their heads again, not in this small town.”

“Then don’t tell him yet.”

Mary greeted the guests as she made her way through crowded reception rooms.
“I must talk to you, Son,” she said unobtrusively.

Moments later he moved toward the back serving rooms. They hadn’t seen each other since the morning he’d left her . . . before the baptism and the desert time.They could talk tomorrow on the way to Capernaum.

She spoke urgently, her words both request and command to him: “They have no wine.”
But he hadn’t been called yet! He hadn’t felt it yet. Would she send him so soon to the hounds and jackals? For wine?

Was wine so important then?
“Woman, what concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come.”
Her unflinching eyes reflected to him his twelve-year-old self telling her with no contrition: “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

She left him standing there . . . vine from her stock, ready for fruit bearing . . . and went to the servants. “Do whatever he tells you,” she said.

From across the room she watched them fill water jars, watched the chief steward drink from the dripping cup, saw his eyes open in wide surprise.
She watched her grown son toast the young couple, watched the groom’s parents and guests raise their cups.

She saw it all clearly: saw the Best Wine pouring out for them all.

 

Artist Unknown

Part Two: A Love Too Small

 

Part Two

With that last bolt of lightning

a great calm came over me

and I felt free

the way I always feel, when

I’m finally able to own the truth.

 

God gave me back the pieces of my heart

without trying to fix them up or mend them

The Holy One looked at me with trust

with total confidence

as if to say,

I’ll be here when you’re ready to begin

the transformation of your heart

for we both know 

Your love is too small

That’s why your heart is so divided

That’s why the pieces never seem to fit.

 

I took the pieces back with reverence

My tears proclaiming

the truth of all I felt.

There was no pressure, no force

just the God of morning

asking for my love.

 

And now, every time I see those flashes

in the northern sky

I hear again, a voice

saying simply,

Your love is too small.

And I weep; I weep at the possibility

of who I could be.

(Used with permission)