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Posts from the ‘prayer’ Category

Jan 21

Within Time

“Meditation is not about what’s happening, it is about how we’re relating to what’s happening.”
― Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace

“Order us, that we may stand within time holding your hand. That we may know we are enough, not because what we make of these hours, but because within these hours – with you – we are being made.”― Micha Boyett

More is here, unnoticed.
Enough, more than enough overflowing.
Ease, woven in slowing.
Delight, in the rising of the sun.
Brilliance, in the color and curve of a flower.
Joy, in a smile that breaks into laughter.
All of it, prayer.
When we recognize what already is present for our savoring.
An invitation and welcoming, the messy and beauty.
A returning to wonder, a response of praise and awe.
We are being made, written, painted, created each day.
Witness the work of the Author, Artist, Creator.

“Prayer is not an act I perform, words I recite, a behavior I strive to maintain. It is a returning. It is a broken life finding healing, a misplaced soul recognizing home.”― Micha Boyett, Found: A Story of Questions, Grace & Everyday Prayer

Jun 2

Wide, Sweet Spaces

“Where do we begin? Begin with the heart.” – Julian of Norwich

“Where do we begin? Begin with the heart.” – Julian of Norwich

“Lord, let not our souls be busy inns that have no room for thee or thine,
But quiet homes of prayer and praise, where thou mayest find fit company,
Where the needful cares of life are wisely ordered and put away,
And wide, sweet spaces kept for thee; where holy thoughts pass up and down
And fervent longings watch and wait thy coming.”― Julian of Norwich

Beyond the noise
Beneath the surface
Around the corner
Under your feet
Above your head
Surrounding you
Holding you
Carrying you
Go there
Right next to, around and in you
Start with the heart
Journey with and to the soul
Returning, undeterred, home
Fullness, light, hope, joy, peace, love
Spend time each day here
Choose to stay longer
Make room at the inn
Then move into the world from this place
Newness of spirit
Sight to vision
Wide, sweet spaces

“The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.
God is the ground, the substance,
the teaching, the teacher,
the purpose, and the reward for which every soul labors.” – Julian of Norwich

Apr 30

Greet It All

“Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“Neither I nor the poets I love have found the keys to the kingdom of prayer and we cannot force God to stumble over us where we sit. But I know that it’s a good idea to sit anyway. So every morning, I sit — I kneel, waiting, making friends with the habit of listening, hoping that I’m being listened to. There, I greet God in my own disorder. I say hello to my chaos, my unmade decisions, my unmade bed, my desire and my trouble. I say hello to distraction and privilege, I greet the day and I greet my beloved and bewildering Jesus. I recognize and greet my burdens, my luck, my controlled and uncontrollable story. I greet my untold stories, my unfolding story, my unloved body, my own body. I greet the things I think will happen and I say hello to everything I do not know about the day. I greet my own small world and I hope that I can meet the bigger world that day. I greet my story and hope that I can forget my story during the day, and hope that I can hear some stories, and greet some surprising stories during the long day ahead. I greet God, and I greet the God who is more God than the God I greet.

Hello to you all, I say, as the sun rises above
the chimneys of North Belfast. Hello.”
– Pádraig Ó Tuama, In the Shelter

Life, in all of its messiness, beauty, contradictions, joy, struggle;
In ordinary days, in rain, in sun;
In celebration, in milestones, in transitions;
May we see our blessings amidst our burdens;
May our thoughts, words and actions lift and shine light more often than not;
May we greet it all and be held in prayer as it all unfolds;
Greet it all.
Hello.

Apr 5

A Doorway

“Prayer is how we press our hands into the invisible and find the hand of Christ reaching back.” — James K. A. Smith

Attention
Awe
Thanks
Awareness
Meditation
Reflection
Noticing
Acknowledging
Gratitude
Joy
Laughter
Flowers
Sky
Light
Conversation
Connection
All prayer, praise and reverence.
Pause, patch a few words together.
Followed by silence so another voice may speak.

Praying by Mary Oliver

“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.”

Feb 16

In the Pause

“A Prayer at the Start of the Day

Dear God, Help me stop, for I am likely to keep doing all the things I usually do. And in that stopping, meet me here, in the beauty of all Your incredible mercy and goodness. And in doing so, remind me again that of course You’re here, You’re listening, because that is who You are. You are the kindness that runs to find me wherever I have wandered off to. You are the faithfulness I don’t have enough of. You are my safe harbor in the midst of the storm. And in that quiet place, speak gently to me of what needs to change in order for Your freedom to free me, Your love to care through me, and Your faithfulness to strengthen me. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”— Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection 

In pauses scattered throughout the day, gaze deeply.
At attention, in the pocket of pause.
Stop checking the list, a break from doing to enter the gravity of mere being, of beauty, of blessings.
In quiet spaces and places, be held in awe and wonder.
A prayer for the start, middle and end of the day.
A blessing, a wish for ease, joy and light today amidst the “duties” of daily living.
In the pause, peace.

“For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.” – Saint Teresa of Avila

Oct 1

Equilibrium

“May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.” — John O’Donohue

“For Equilibrium, a Blessing:
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.

As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity by lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of God.”

― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

May wisdom enter so we can see and open the gifts woven in each day.
Centered and awake in this sacred place of ordinary.
On holy ground of joy detached from circumstances.
A return to self and rapt awareness of how we are connected to all living beings.
Grace, reverence, respect, freedom, perspective, clarity, the laughter of God.
Seek equilibrium and reside in the balance and ease.

Jun 19

Sacred Space

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Make me count the days not in number but in joy;
Take me beneath transaction and doing to connection and being;
Show me the patterns, signs and signals woven through the day;
Soften my heart, lighten my words;
Pull me out of my thoughts into spirit and soul;
Prompt me to plant seeds and harvest the bounty;
Lead me to grace, generosity and gratitude;
To find the divine and sacred in the ordinary and simple.

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” – Joseph Campbell

Create a prayer of each day, an offering, an effort, an ease, a knowing in the mystery. Return to your sacred space again and again.

“Faith is not, first of all, for overcoming obstacles; it is for experiencing them – all the way through! – Richard Rohr

Mar 17

Pots of Gold

“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.” – Lord Byron

“We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy’s fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure–your perfection–is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the buy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

May you see your blessings today.
They surround are within you and all around – ahead, behind, right, left.
Pay attention to the ordinary, the small, the details of moments.
See the rainbows.
Pots of gold are scattered through each day, longing to be found.

St. Patrick’s Prayer

“I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.”

May you find the four leaf clovers, rainbows and pots of gold rooted in gratitude and grace.

May 30

Calm

“Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God.” – John Muir

“We must go beyond the constant clamor of ego, beyond the tools of logic and reason, to the still, calm place within us: the realm of the soul.” – Deepak Chopra

It was a beautiful warm day with sunny skies offering some moments of reprieve from the heaviness of this week as we try to prepare for tonight with thousands of anarchists coming into Minnesota to not honor George Floyd but to continue to burn and loot the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. This afternoon, Minnesotans gathered in peaceful protest to truly honor George Floyd and demand justice.

On a walk tonight before curfew, there was a calm. Flowers reminded me of joy and beauty which is not in the forefront right now but remains and offers hope. When we enter calm and honest conversation, we can learn the timeless lessons of love and understanding. Praying for calm tonight.

“You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life of peace, you inspire hope for a future of peace.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Apr 12

Over

Hope over fear.
Love over hate.
Joy over despair.
Light over darkness.
Peace over turmoil.
Kindness over spite.
Empathy over self.
Generosity over hoarding.
Ease over struggle.
Silence over noise.
Confidence over questioning.
Awe over indifference.
Deep over shallow.
Us over me.
Mystery over understanding.
Gratitude over complaint.
Rest over tumult.
Acceptance over shame.
Sweet over bitter.
Wonder over knowing.
Awake over sleep.
Slow over rushed.
Heaven over hell.

Present over past.
Present over future.
Just Present.

All is overcome today.
Resurrection over the Cross.
The playbook for living today already written.
The last word.
Knees to ground.

Happy Easter.

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