In Thanksgiving for Abundance!

In Thanksgiving . . .

“We thank our God every time we think of you. In every prayer we utter, we rejoice at the way you have all continually helped promote the Good News of Peace with Justice from the very first day. We are sure of this much, that the God, who has begun this good work in you, will carry it through to completion. Our prayer is that your love may abound more and more, both in understanding and in wealth of experience, so that with a clear conscience and blameless conduct you may learn to value the things that really matter, up to the day of Christ Jesus. It is our wish that you be found rich in the harvest of justice which Jesus Christ has ripened in you, to the glory and praise of God.” (Adapted from Philippians 1:1-11)

We thank you for visiting our CSA website and this blog. We wish you blessings and thank you for your prayers and support.
 
Gratefully,
 Sister Jean

Thanksgiving Prayer 

 In the spirit of humility we give thanks for all that is.
 We thank the great spiritual beings who have shared their wisdom.
 We thank our ancestors who brought us to where we are now.
 We are grateful for the opportunity to walk this planet,
 to breathe the air,
 to taste the food,
 to experience sensations of a human body/mind,
 to share in this wonder that is life.
 We are grateful for the natural world that supports us,
 for the community of humankind that enables us to do many wondrous things.
 We are grateful that we are conscious,
 that as intelligent beings we can reflect upon the many gifts we have been given. ~ Tom Barrett

 Native American Prayers

Oh Great Spirit,
 Whose voice I hear in the wind,
 Whose breath gives life to the world,
 Hear me!
 I come to you as one of your many children.
 I am small and weak.
 I need your strength and wisdom.
 May I walk in beauty.
 Make my eyes behold the red and purple sunset.
 Make my hands respect the things that you have made,
 And my ears sharp to hear your voice.
 Make me wise so that I may know the things
That you have taught your children--
 The lessons that you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
 Make me strong, not to be superior to my brothers, but to be
 able to fight my greatest enemy: myself.
 Make me ever ready to come to you with straight eyes, so that
 When life fades as the faded sunset
 My spirit will come to you without shame. 
 ~ John Yellow Lark

 Earth Teach Me to Remember
 Earth teach me stillness
 as the grasses are stilled with light.
 Earth teach me suffering
 as old stones suffer with memory.
 Earth teach me humility
 as blossoms are humble with beginning.
 Earth Teach me caring
 as the mother who secures her young.
 Earth teach me courage
 as the tree which stands alone.
 Earth teach me limitation
 as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
 as the eagle which soars in the sky.
 Earth teach me resignation
 as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
 as the seed which rises in the spring.
 Earth teach me to forget myself
 as melted snow forgets its life.
 Earth teach me to remember kindness
 as dry fields weep in the rain.
 ~ Ute, North American

 

Meeting Our Edge . . .

Photo by John Hill

There is a story about a group of people climbing to the top of a mountain. It turns out it's pretty steep, and as soon as they get up to a certain height, a couple of people look down and see how far it is, and they completely freeze; they had come up against their edge and they couldn't go beyond it. The fear was so great that they couldn't move. Other people tripped on ahead, laughing and talking, but as the climb got steeper and more scary, more people began to get scared and freeze. All the way up this mountain there were places where people met their edge and just froze and couldn't go any farther. The people who made it to the top looked out and were very happy to have made it to the top.

The moral of the story is that it really doesn't make any difference where you meet your edge; just meeting it is the point. Life is a whole journey of meeting your edge again and again. That's where you're challenged; that's where, if you're a person who wants to live, you start to ask yourself questions like, "Now, why am I so scared? What is it that I don't want to see? Why can't I go any further than this?" The people who got to the top were not the heroes of the day. It's just that they weren't afraid of heights; they are going to meet their edge somewhere else. The ones who froze at the bottom were not the losers. They simply stopped first and so their lesson came earlier than the others. However, sooner or later everybody meets his or her edge.

Pema Chodron
From 'The Wisdom of No Escape'

One Nation Under God . . .

 

A Prayer for Our Nation

May we as a nation be guided by the Divine
 to rediscover the sacred flame of our national heritage,
 which so many have given their lives to safeguard;
 
Let the wounds of separation and division be healed
 by opening our hearts to listen to the truth on all sides,
 allowing us to find a higher truth that includes all;
 
May we learn to honor and enjoy our diversity
 and differences as a people, even as we
 more deeply touch our fundamental unity;
 
May we, as a people, undergo a transformation
 that will draw forth individuals to lead our nation
 who embody courage, compassion, and a higher vision;
 
May our leaders inspire us, and we so inspire
 each other with our potential as individuals
 and as a nation, that a new spirit of forgiveness,
 caring, and honesty be born in our nation;

May we, as a united people, move with clear,
 directed purpose to take our place within
 the community of nations to help build
 a better future for all humankind;

May we as a nation rededicate ourselves
 to truly living as one nation, under God,
 indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And may God's Will be done for the United States,
 as we, the people, align with that Will.

— Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson in Prayers for Healing                              edited by Maggie Oman

Amen ~ Amen!

November 11 ~ Veterans Day (USA), Remembrance Day (Canada)

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month of the year 1918, an armistice was signed, ending the "war to end all wars." November 11 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during the war in order to ensure a lasting peace. In 1938 Congress voted Armistice Day as a legal holiday, but World War II began the following year. Armistice Day was still observed after the end of the Second World War. In 1953 townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. Soon after, Congress passed a bill renaming the national holiday to Veterans Day. Today, we remember those who have served for our country in the armed forces in our prayers. (catholicculutre.org)

 

 

+ + +

Great God, who has told us
"Vengeance is mine,"
save us from ourselves,
save us from the vengeance in our hearts
and the acid in our souls.

Save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt,
to punish as we have been punished,
to terrorize as we have been terrorized.

Give us the strength it takes
to listen rather than to judge,
to trust rather than to fear,
to try again and again
to make peace even when peace eludes us.

 

We ask, O God, for the grace
to be our best selves.
We ask for the vision
to be builders of the human community
rather than its destroyers.
We ask for the humility as a people
to understand the fears and hopes of other peoples.

We ask for the love it takes
to bequeath to the children of the world to come
more than the failures of our own making.

We ask for the heart it takes
to care for all the peoples
of Afghanistan and Iraq, of Palestine and Israel
as well as for ourselves.

Give us the depth of soul, O God,
to constrain our might,
to resist the temptations of power
to refuse to attack the attackable,
to understand
that vengeance begets violence,
and to bring peace--not war--wherever we go.

 

For You, O God, have been merciful to us.
For You, O God, have been patient with us.
For You, O God, have been gracious to us.

And so may we be merciful
and patient
and gracious
and trusting
with these others whom you also love.

This we ask through Jesus,
the one without vengeance in his heart.
This we ask forever and ever. Amen
prayer for world peace - sister joan chittister - benedictine sisters of erie

 

+ + +

 

We interrupt this war for doctors to heal,
teachers to teach, and students to learn.

We interrupt this war to marvel at sunsets,
listen to music, and to laugh.

 

We interrupt this war for poets to rhyme, sculptors to
chisel, and writers to paint pictures with words.

We interrupt this war to plant tomatoes, mow
the grass, and to smell the roses.

We interrupt this war to feed the hungry, build
new schools, and to stamp out ignorance.

 

We interrupt this war to clean up the air, save
the whales and to find a cure for cancer.

We interrupt this war to rebuild New Orleans,
tickle babies and for world peace.

We interrupt this war for PTA meetings, band
concerts, and high school graduations.

We interrupt this war for Girl Scout Cookies,
church bake sales, and the Special Olympics.

 

We interrupt this war for Disneyland, the
World Series, and the Super Bowl.

We interrupt this war for Halloween candy,
Thanksgiving Turkey, and 4th of July fireworks.

We interrupt this war for Hanukkah,
Christmas and Kwanza.

We interrupt this war to bring sons,
daughters, sisters and brothers home.

We interrupt this war to hear a message from
Our Sponsor: THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
we interrupt this war - cappy hall rearick - 2001

 

+ + +

Let the rain come and wash away
the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds
held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory
of the hurt, the neglect.

Then let the sun come out and
fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us
wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that
we can see each other clearly.

So that we can see beyond labels,
beyond accents, gender or skin color.
Let the warmth and brightness
of the sun melt our selfishness.

So that we can share the joys and
feel the sorrows of our neighbors.
And let the light of the sun
be so strong that we will see all
people as our neighbors.
Let the earth, nourished by rain,
bring forth flowers
to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts
to reach upward to heaven.

Amen. (a prayer for the world - rabbi harold kushner – 2003)

 

 

 

A Presence . . .

 

When there is
nothing left
but God –
you become aware
that God is
enough!

 

 

A Blessed Attitude!

Sisters Pat and Marie with associate Barb

COMMON SENSE BE-ATTITUDES

Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves; they will always have entertainment.

Blessed are those who can distinguish between a mountain and a molehill; they will save themselves a lot of trouble.

Blessed are those who can rest and sleep without looking for excuses; they will become wise.

Blessed are those who are intelligent enough not to take themselves too seriously; they will be appreciated.

Blessed are you if you can look seriously at small things and peacefully at serious things; you will go far in life.

Blessed are you if you can admire a smile and forget a scowl; your path will be sunlit.

Blessed are you if you can always interpret the attitudes of others with good will, even when appearances are to the contrary; you may seem naive, but that is the price of charity.

Blessed are those who think before acting and who laugh before thinking; they will avoid foolish mistakes.

Blessed are you if you know how to be silent and smile, even when you are interrupted, contradicted or walked on; the gospel is beginning to take root in your heart.

Blessed are you especially if you know how to recognize God in all those you meet; you have found the true light, true wisdom.
- Fr Joseph Folliet  

A November Prayer . . .

November Meditation

I do not know if the seasons remember their history or if the days and nights by which we count time remember their own passing.

I do not know if the oak tree remembers its planting or if the pine remembers its slow climb toward sun and stars. . . .

I do not know if the air remembers November or if the night remembers the moon.  I do not know if the earth remembers the flowers from last spring or if the evergreen remembers that it shall stay so.

Perhaps that is the reason for our births -- to be the memory for creation. Perhaps salvation is something very different than anyone ever expected. 

Perhaps this will be the only question we will have to answer:  "What can you tell me about November?"

~ Burton D. Carley ~