Moving from confusion to clarity . . .

 

May God enter into all that confuses you and holds you in unrest and unknowing. May you be blessed with the willingness to abide in the confusion long enough to allow God to be revealed there. May this God who, at the beginning of time, brought beauty and order out of chaos and darkness, bring you to a deep calm and a holy understanding of divine purpose. May the God of Clarity bless you always.  --Maxine Shonk, OP https://www.grdominicans.org/

 

Prayer of Quieting . . .

 

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)

 

 

Longing Prayer . . .

 

Prayer 

O God, help us to feel you;

Help us to know how precious we are to you,

that we might become at least half so precious to ourselves.

 

Move with us, according to your desire.

Ease our hearts, melt our harsh edges

so that we might sense how intimate you truly are.

Guide us, God in an ever more complete embrace of you,

that we might bear more of your endless embrace of us,

and thereby embrace ourselves.

 

Keep alive within us, O Christ, your most precious gift to us

which is our burning, longing, wordless yearning for you.

Grant to us the courage and the vulnerability and the dignity

to claim our hunger for you in every moment,

celebrating, in each instant the pain and delight of our longing.

 

Touch us beneath our will, opening us where we cannot open ourselves,

healing us where we cannot heal ourselves.

 

And, in the vibrant mystery of your Spirit within us,

accept our eternal gratitude for every act of goodness

that comes to us from another or through us for another,

for every nourishing way that souls may touch each other,

for every bit of love we share, and for the wonder,

the tender laughing touching calling beautiful wonder.

 

Gerald May

(Source Unknown)

Prayer of Trust . . .

 

 

Dear God,

Speak gently in my silence.

When the loud outer noises of my surroundings

and the loud inner noises of my fears

keep pulling me away from you,

help me to trust that you are still there

even when I am unable to hear you.

 

Give me ears to listen to your small, soft voice saying:

"Come to me, you who are overburdened,

and I will give you rest . . .

for I am gentle and humble of heart."

Let that loving voice be my guide. Amen.

 

- Henri Nouwen

(Source Unknown)

A Calming prayer . . .

 

A Quieting Prayer . . .

I weave a silence on my lips,
I weave a silence into my mind,
I weave a silence within my heart.

I close my ears to distractions,
I close my eyes to attentions,
I close my heart to temptations.

Calm me, O God, as you stilled the storm,
Still me, O God, keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease,
Enfold me, God, in your peace.
(Author Unknown ~ Celtic Tradition)

 

 

Hide 'n Seek . . .

 

A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury

  

O my God, teach my heart where and how to seek You,
where and how to find You.
You are my God and You are my all and I have never seen You.
You have made me and remade me,
You have bestowed on me all the good things I possess,
Still I do not know You.
I have not yet done that for which I was made.
Teach me to seek You.
I cannot seek You unless You teach me
or find You unless You show Yourself to me.
Let me seek You in my desire,
let me desire You in my seeking.
Let me find You by loving You,
let me love You when I find You.

Amen

---

Mary Magdalene ~ Faith-filled Friend . . .

 

 Artist: Gheorghe Tattarescu - Image Source Wikipedia

 

MARY MAGDALA’S EASTER PRAYER

(Posted by Ron Rolheiser, OMI)

I never suspected
            Resurrection
                        and to be so painful
                        to leave me weeping
With Joy
            to have met you, alive and smiling, outside an empty tomb
With Regret
            not because I’ve lost you
            but because I’ve lost you in how I had you –
                        in understandable, touchable, kissable, clingable flesh
                        not as fully Lord, but as graspably human.

I want to cling, despite your protest
            cling to your body
            cling to your, and my, clingable humanity
            cling to what we had, our past.

But I know that…if I cling
            you cannot ascend and
            I will be left clinging to your former self
            …unable to receive your present spirit.