Moments . . .

 

God, you have been with me all through the day, stay with me now.  As the shadows lengthen into darkness let the noisy world grow quiet, let its feverish concerns be stilled, its voices silenced.

In the final moments of this day remind me of what is real, true, and good. But let me not forget that you were as present in the stresses of the day just past as you are now in the silence of this night.

You have made me for day and for night, for work and for rest, for both heaven and earth. Here in this night, let me embrace and not regret the mysterious beauty of my humanity. Keep me in the embrace of your unconditional love through the night, and the day to come.

Surround us with your silence and give us the rest that only you can give     . . .  peace now and forever. 

(Adapted: My Day Is Ending, Evelyn Underhill . . . original source unknown)

 

Deep Listening . . .

 

In this century and any century,

Our deepest hope, our most tender prayer,

Is that we learn to listen.

May we listen to one another in openness and mercy

May we listen to plants and animals in wonder and respect

May we listen to our own hearts in love and forgiveness

May we listen to God in quietness and awe.

And in this listening,

Which is boundless in its beauty,

May we find the wisdom to cooperate

With a healing spirit, a divine spirit,

Who beckons us into peace and community and creativity.

We do not ask for a perfect world.

But we do ask for a better world.

We ask for deep listening.

Author: Jay McDaniel

Source Unknown

 

Aloned . . .with God!

 

Alone

All-one
Alone with God
All-one with God
Being alone with God
Being all-one with God
All-one
Alone.

It is a terrible grace.
An awesome gift,
but terrifying all the same.
There is no way to get there
except to lose yourself,
to lose what you know of yourself.
And then, the battle is over.
There will be nothing left but God.

Being alone, all-one, with God
is a terrible and beautiful grace.
Terrible, because
the only way there
is to lose yourself.
Beautiful, because
when you lose yourself
there is no one left but God.
You are all-one
Alone with God!

It happened to Jesus
It can happen to you
If you stay with Jesus
it will happen to you.
Alone
All-one
Alone with God
All-one with God.

Now I understand
why Jesus went out
to the desert hills so often
alone . . .

A Tree Full of Angels
Macrina Wiederkehr

https://macrinawiederkehr.com/

Not the same . . .

 

Nothing and Everything Nothing is what it seems anymore.   The world is slipperier these days.   More unstable. Less solid.   Predictions feel pointless. Plans seem silly.   Everything is different now.   We are not the same.   Taking a single step forward is an act of courage.   Showing our faces. Standing in a crowd.   Simultaneously suspect and delicious.   Now the sun is rising, I can see.   I am different. I am not the same. Marci Madary https://www.insideoutspirituality.com/

I Scream ~ You Scream ~ We all scream for ice cream!

Image from: Gilles Frozen Custard Drive-In ~ Fond du Lac, WI



 

 

Ice cream
(Author Unknown)

Last week I took my children to a restaurant.  My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.  As we bowed our heads he said, “God is good. God is great.  Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert.  And with Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, “That's what's wrong with this country.  Kids today don't even know how to pray.  Asking God for ice-cream! Why I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, “Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.  He winked at my son and said,  "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

 "Really?" my son asked.

 "Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then in a theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing) - "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream.  A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal.  My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, . . .
 "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."
 

The Serenity of Change!

 

A New Serenity Prayer
By James Martin, sj

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I’m clearly not you, God.
At least not the last time I checked.

And while you’re at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,
I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.
It’s better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying,
I can’t change anyway.

Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.

Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I’m
not you.

Amen

In times of waiting, looking, loving, keeping . . .

You keep us waiting.

You, the God of all time,

Want us to wait for the right time in             

which to discover

Who we are, where we must go,

Who will be with us, and what we must do.

So, thank you . . . for waiting time.

 

You keep us looking.

You, the God of all space,

Want us to look in the right and wrong places for signs of hope,

For people who are hopeless,

For visions of a better world that will appear among the disappointments 

of the world we know.

So, thank you . . . for the looking time.

 

You keep us loving.

You, the God whose name is love,

Want us to be like you –

To love the loveless and the unlovely and the unlovable;

To love without jealousy or design or threat,

And most difficult of all, to love ourselves.

So, thank you . . . for loving time.

 

And in all this you keep us,

Through hard questions with no easy answers;

Through falling where we hoped to succeed 

and making an impact when we felt useless;

Through the patience and the dreams and the love of others;

And through Jesus Christ and his Spirit, you keep us.

So thank you . . . for the keeping time,

and for now, and forever. Amen.

Iona Community, Scotland

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_Community