Homecoming

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bless the Lord, friend, God, guide, James Quinn SJ, Lectionary, might, Morning Has Broken, psalm 34, ritual, strength, sustain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

Having arrived home last night, I could not wait another day to take up this morning ritual. Rising from sleep in my very own room, I recall my sister-in-law asking my brother – in a ritual of their own –  what song has awakened him. Today I have a lovely answer for this lovely day. It is the words of Jesuit James Quinn set to the tune of Morning Has Broken. As I throw open my window to welcome the sun and a sweet breeze, I hear within these lyrics:

This day God gives me strength of high heaven, sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth, flashing of lightning, wind in it’s swiftness, deeps of the ocean, firmness of earth. This day God sends me strength to sustain me, might to uphold me, wisdom as guide. Your eyes are watchful, Your ears are listening, Your lips are speaking, Friend at my side.

Then I turn to the lectionary and find Psalm 34 that calls me to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” How can I not respond as did the psalmist? “I will bless the Lord at all times! God’s praise shall be ever in my mouth!”

Happy Sunday, indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praying for Strength

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A Prayer for Strength, belief, change, courage, fortify, insurmountable, Joyce Rupp, love, Prayer Seeds, provider, purpose, serenity, strength, suffer, support, sustain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, worries

I went to sleep last night in my safe and warm bedroom with images from the internet news of cars and trucks smashing into utility poles and one another on icy roads in South Carolina and Georgia. Weather gone wild has stranded thousands in airports and shelters and the only happy people are the children who are playing in the snow that has closed their schools. It is a trying time in our country – for this and many other reasons.

Having no words of my own today, I turn to Joyce Rupp, a wonderful spiritual guide who always seems to have something helpful to say. I am never disappointed by whatever book of hers that comes into my hands. She has a way of comforting and challenging me at the same time. Here is part of “A Prayer for Strength” from her book Prayer Seeds.

Provider of Purpose, Firm Foundation, Enduring Love, support my determination to give the best of myself to others. Fortify the forgiveness you have placed and nurtured in my heart. Sustain a solid belief that I can get through what appears insurmountable. Bolster my efforts to be a person who reaches out to those who suffer. Foster greater trust in you when worries and anxieties attempt to prevail. Impart the courage I need to change what appears to be unchangeable. In you I find sufficient strength, abounding love, and secure serenity. (p.56)

 

 

 

 

 

Heartfelt Prayer

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care, compassion, courage, disaster, enemy, humanity, military personnel, Peace, protect, service, strength, sustain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day I think of my father, proud of his service in World War II while abhorring the thought and the reality of war. I think of those who protect us today from different kinds of enemies and those who keep the peace. I think of those whose work is in disaster areas near and far and all who have given their lives in service to our country. And I think of their loved ones. It is for all those and for the rest of us who are the beneficiaries of their service that I pray this anonymously posted prayer.

God of compassion, we pray for military personnel, offered for the sake of others and separated from family and loved ones. Care for them, meet their needs. Grant them courage, compassion, strength, and all they need for the living of these days. Sustain them through their every trial. Remind them of the humanity they share, even of those who are called “the enemy.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

The Whole World

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believe, centering prayer, conscious work, Cynthia Bourgeault, family, Hymn of the Universe, light, meditation, monastic liturgy, omega point, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, silence, sustain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

This is a week in which I am blessed once again to be in the presence of Cynthia Bourgeault, revered spiritual teacher, and 35 of her students – new as well as seasoned, at a Wisdom event at Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham Massachusetts. We will study Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s work in addition to participating in centering prayer meditation, conscious work and monastic liturgy. The silence here is pervasive and calming on this, our first full day together.

Teilhard, a brilliant paleontologist and theologian, who was unacceptable to religious hierarchy in the early 20th century, speaks eloquently today to a world concerned with the workings of the entire cosmos and our movement toward the “omega point” when all will be one. I thought the following quote was a good one for this beginning day, as it starts with a consideration of those closest to us and moves to the whole human race (where his concern does not stop…but more of that later).

One by one, Lord, I see and I love all those whom you have given me to sustain and charm my life. One by one also I number all those who make up that other beloved family which has gradually surrounded me, its unity fashioned out of the most disparate elements, with affinities of the heart, of scientific research and of thought. And again one by one – more vaguely it is true, yet all inclusively – I call before me the whole vast anonymous army of living humanity; those who surround me and support me though I do not know them; those who come, and those who go; above all, those who in office, laboratory and factory, through their vision of truth or despite their error, truly believe in the progress of earthly reality and who today will take up again their impassioned pursuit of the light.  (Hymn of the Universe)