People's Prayers

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Prayers in Easter: Praying Inside Out

Prayer of the heart is prayer of the total person, body, soul, and spirit. But since the heart is the place of the Divine indwelling, prayer of the heart is praying in which it is not only I that speak, but it is the prayers which Christ and the Holy Spirit are saying within me. Those who attain prayer of the heart have the experience of being prayed in.
                              [emphasis added]                      ~ Kallistos Ware* [1934- ]

Lord and Spirit of my Heart ~
      It's true, then. I have felt You here, within me, but I was afraid to recognize You, to acknowledge You, and I have also denied to myself that I have felt You. It hasn't happened often but I would like it to happen again, and, more often.
      The times of my life when I have needed the most comfort have sometimes been the most difficult to enter into prayer. And sometimes the happiest times distract me from praying my thanksgivings. I'm working on all of that and I ask You ~ I invite You ~ to come into my heart, my soul, and all of me and help me to discover again all that deep prayer can do with and for me. Pray in me, please, and let my heart feel full of You. amen.


*Timothy Ware of Bath, England was raised in the Anglican Church and read classics and theology at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1958 at age 24 he affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church. After much travel in Greece and a significant amount of time at the Monastery of St. John of Patmos and other travels, he was ordained to the priesthood and tonsured as a monk in 1966. At that time he received the name "Kallistos."  He was later consecrated bishop and his career path led him to be a Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford University, a position he held for 35 years before retirement. He is the author of many books and articles on the Orthodox Christian faith.

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Prayers in Easter: From SON Up to Sundown

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson* [1803-1882]

Holy Creator of Dawn, Noonday, Sunset, and Night,
I often go through each day with a particular agenda of things to do, places to go, and people to see without taking a moment to recognize the blessings of my life. I'm always quick to complain, whine, or moan to You and yet while I might remember an exclamation of "Thank God!" when something dramatic occurs (such as the birth of a child, an improvement in health, or a disaster averted), I'm less likely to remember to breathe a small prayer of thankfulness for waking, for the light of the day, and for the stars of the night.
Whatever the circumstances of my daily life, I always have small moments for which I can be thankful. All I have to do is remember. It's easy enough on Sundays to remember to be thankful for the Resurrection or the Nativity of Your Son, but please help me, Lord, to add thankfulness into my daily life even if only in small ways. While I'm not suggesting that You are the Do-er of everything, I do want to acknowledge the parts of Creation that impact me in positive ways as a thanksgiving for the miracle of life itself. Lord of Heaven, Lord of Life, Lord of All, thank You for this moment, right now. amen.

*Ralph Waldo Emerson was a noted lecturer and leader of the Transcendentalist Movement of the mid-19th century. With a Unitarian background and Harvard Divinity School education, he came to champion the belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature, and, particularly, that only from truly self-reliant and independent people can genuine community be formed. A well-traveled and well-written life, Emerson forms the backdrop of American intellectual pursuits and long collegial relationships with contemporaries such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Henry James and other literary luminaries such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Thomas Carlyle. His work resonates to this day and speaks to much of our current experience and dilemmas.

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions and personal photos remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Prayers in Easter: Rise and Shine

the mythical Phoenix
rises from the ashes of its previous life

If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love. ~ Julian of Norwich* [1342-ca 1416]

Dear God of Skinned Knees, Bruised Egos, Grieving Hearts, Pain-Filled Bodies, and Damaged Souls,
I've been hit hard here and there ~ more than some, much less than others ~ and then life goes on in its way until the next bump, or fall, or smack-down and I pick myself up, dust myself off, and life goes on again. Some days, though, I do have to fight back the fear of what's next while the world turns on its axis, the sun rises and sets, and the seasons change. I know You are here with me, I don't know how I would have gotten this far without You. And as long as I have breath within me, I will try to remember to turn to You in those inevitable times. But, could you give me a nudge now and then? Sometimes I need it to get myself out of the dark. Better yet, send me off to help someone else ~ then I'll get out of my own stuff and let Your light shine. amen.

I get knocked down

But I get up again

You're never going to keep me down

~ Chumbawamba

*Julian of Norwich, was an English Anchoress (a hermit who lived in, and was sometimes permanently enclosed in, a small cell attached to a wall of the church, whose life consisted of daily devotions, prayer, devotional reading, and writing). She is considered to be one of the most important mystics in all of Christianity. Her manuscript of Revelations of Divine Love - also known as the Short Text - is thought to be the oldest surviving book written in English by a woman. She is probably best known for her words that with God, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Prayers in Easter: Which One of Me?

Everyone of us is a variety of persons at the same time, it may be a very rich blending, but also it may be an unfortunate meeting of discordant personalities. We are different according to circumstances and surroundings; the various people that meet us know us as different persons.
There is a Russian proverb that says, 'He is a lion when meeting sheep, but he is a sheep when he meets lions.' When it comes to praying, our first difficulty is to find which one of our personalities should be put forward to meet God...because we are so unaccustomed to be our real self that in all truth we do not know which one that is... ~ Metropolitan Anthony Bloom* [1914-2003]

Well, God,
today I come to You as close to me as I can. It's late in the day and I'm tired. There's no one here just now but me. No one to impress, to one-up, to anger, to suck up to, to order around, to help. No make-up or jewelry, no special clothes, I don't look my best or my worst. I'm just me. You know more about me than I ever will and You still love me. Thank you. I'm just here today to spend a few minutes with You. It's nice to love and be loved. That's all for now. I'll be back tomorrow and probably ask for something. amen.

*Metropolitan Anthony Bloom was born in Lausane, Switzerland. He spent his early childhood in Russia and Iran and the family settled in Paris after the Russian revolution. He went into WWII as a surgeon for France, a participant in the French Resistance, and a secretly professed monk in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was ordained in 1948 and sent to Britain where he was later appointed vicar for the Russian Patriarchal parish in London. In 1957 he was consecrated Bishop and in 1962 as Archbishop for the Russian Orthodox Church in Britain and Ireland. He was Exarch and then assigned as Metropolitan - Russian Orthodox ranks - for the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe. In 1966 he was released from the larger responsibilities upon mutual agreement so he could devote himself to the pastoral needs of his diocese. Between 1966 and 1986 he wrote and published six books on prayer including Living Prayer from which the above quote is taken.

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Prayers in Easter: Look who's (not) talkin' (as much)

To ‘listen’ another’s soul
into a condition of disclosure and discovery may be almost the greatest service that any human being ever performs for another
~ Douglas Steere* [1901-1995]

Well, Dear God, here's a big shocker for you ~
I do acknowledge that sometimes I am so busy thinking about what I want to say that I forget to listen to what someone else is saying! I'm learning, slowly, to give others their air time even though I'm sure my response is the better comment and the most necessary. (Yeah, ok, I'll work on that thought, too.) I have experienced the rare moment when I feel listened to, as if what I think and say and feel are important to someone. Other times I guess I go on and on about my stuff trying to re-experience the feeling of importance. But I've even had the rarer moment when I've just been present and listened to someone in need and let whatever I wanted to say go away unspoken. That is a truly amazing and humbling feeling.
True listening is a gift, in either direction, and I need to be more attentive to others and less attentive to what I want to say about it. And the best example I have as a pay-off is You, always here, always listening even when I ramble (like now). Thank You for that and, in the meantime, a little help along the way, please?! amen.

Best advice for good listening:

Listen deeply to understand and

don't listen only with the intent to reply.

*Douglas Steere was a Quaker ecumenist who was professor of philosophy from 1928 to 1964 at Haverford College near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and spent a year as a visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Dr. Steere was significantly involved in Quaker post-war relief efforts in Poland, Norway, and Finland after World War II and was given national recognition by Finland in 1987. He held a PhD from Harvard and was a Rhodes Scholar with two additional degrees from Oxford University. A prolific author, editor and translator of books and articles on Quakerism and other religions, he was invited as an Ecumenical Observer at the Second Vatican Council.

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers of the People: Follow the Crook-ed Path, 4th Sunday in Easter

for the 4th Sunday in Easter May 11, 2014 Readings: Acts 2:42-47, Ps 23, 1 Peter 2:19-25, Jn 10:1-10

For Episcopalians, the reading from Acts this week is infused with one of our Baptismal vows as "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers..." And from 1Peter we are admonished again with the difficult reminder to suffer what we must but not return abuse in kind. We are to realize that by the wounds of Jesus we are healed because we were going astray like sheep, but you have now returned... Psalm 23 is no doubt the best known piece of Scripture in the world and gives us the most pastoral image of Christ. The Gospel also carries the Shepherd theme and comforts us with another serene image, that of Christ as the divine Gatekeeper for all the sheep to have safe and abundant pasture. We are each called to follow the Good Shepherd's Crook along the path to eternal life.

Let Us, God’s People, Pray

Leader: ~ Shepherd of our Souls, within Your gates we find a calm pasture to shelter us and nourish our spirits. You know our voices when we call; remind us to always listen for Yours and to remember that Your earthly death brings us abundant and eternal life.