Prayers in Pentecost: From Within to Without

Peace is not something you can force on anything or anyone... much less upon one's own mind. It is like trying to quiet the ocean by pressing upon the waves. Sanity lies in somehow opening to the chaos, allowing anxiety, moving deeply into the tumult, diving into the waves, where underneath, within, peace simply is.   ― Gerald G. May*   [1940-2005]

Lord of the Deepest Peace,
      There are so many days that I see the world around me is in such chaos - whirling in violence, poverty, and pain. I am at such a loss trying to know in which direction to turn, which good cause needs me the most. What can I possibly do to make any kind of useful difference? I am merely the tiniest pebble in the hole of a huge dyke that strains against impending disaster. And then, taking a breath, I remember  - You - and my prayer begins again. Grant me the stillness within that I can turn into focus without. My footing is more certain when the peace of heaven is in my heart and my soul takes its ease in Your comfort. From then I can move forward and the direction of my path becomes clear. Grant me the stillness within that I can turn into service without. amen.  



*Gerald Gordon May, was an American psychiatrist and theologian, and as a conscientious objector, worked as an Air Force psychiatrist in Vietnam. Later he was a staff psychiatrist in a prison mental hospital in Maryland. He later became a senior fellow at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Bethesda, Maryland conducting workshops in contemplative theology and psychology. He wrote several books on the subject of combining spiritual direction with psychological therapy. 


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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers in Pentecost: The only thing I'm always sure of is that I'm not always sure...

The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth. - Peter Abelard* [1079-1142]

Well, God, 
     Doubt and Questioning has always been part of my journey to You although for my early life I kept it hidden and secret. I was told what to believe by the religious education I had as a child and there was no room for questions. I drifted away, You know, but when I came back, I was still in the really, is that what happened, okay maybe but....mode. I discovered a lot more "religious" types who only wanted to tell me how things are, what the Bible means, and any disagreement isn't tolerated.  Didn't stay with them, either.  After some more serious study I am surprised at how many questions I still have but I'm grateful to have found a community in which to ask, discuss, disagree, and decide at least about a few things. I've learned to listen, to think, to process but mostly, to pray.  I know I don't have many answers, sometimes I don't even know the questions, but one thing I know I'm sure of - Your Presence. Thank You for being here. You don't mind about the questions, right? amen.


*Peter Abelard was a French philosopher and theologian who was no stranger to controversy.  The son of a knight he gave up inheritance and a military career to pursue philosophy and traveled around France studying with the foremost philosophers of his day.  He ultimately moved to Paris and became a well-known teacher of philosophy and theology and was hired as a private tutor for the daughter of the Canon of the Cathedral of Paris. Abelard and the Canon's daughter, Heloise, fell in love, conceived a child and secretly married. The Canon had Abelard castrated and sent to a monastery; Heloise to a convent. Abelard continued to write controversial books and articles and was at various times declared heretical and also had large followings. He and Heloise famously wrote many letters to one another and at his death, she had his body buried near her convent.  She was buried with him when she died.  





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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers of the People: 1 + 2 = ONE, Trinity Sunday, Yr A

for Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2014, Readings: Gen 1:1-2:4a; Ps 8, 2 Cor 13:11-13, Mt 28:16-20

      A central mystery of most Christian denominations, the Trinity may be the most confounding. The Trinity is/are one God in three persons, distinct from one another yet consubstantial with each other, co-equal, and co-eternal. The Fourth Lateran Council [in years 1213-1215] declared that "it is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds." The Roman Catholic catechism says, "Accordingly, the whole work of creation and grace is seen as a single operation common to all three divine persons, in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, so that all things are 'from the Father', 'through the Son' and 'in the Holy Spirit.'" How do you explain it? If all things are possible with God....

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:        ~ Eternal Trinity, In the beginning, You created the heavens and the earth, separated the dry land from the waters, the day from the night, provided seeds and vegetation, living creatures of every kind, and ourselves – male and female, human, in Your Image. 

                     Glory to God: Holy Creator, Redeemer, Comforter,

Response:  We praise You and highly exalt You forever.

~ Eternal Trinity, our God-given intellect, the love of Christ, and the holy courage of the Spirit, give us the ability and the call to serve all the people of God with justice, mercy, and in peace. Help us to strongly encourage the leaders of our nation and in the world, of the necessity to do likewise. We pray especially for:  add your own petitions

                        Glory to God: Holy Creator, Redeemer, Comforter,

                        We praise You and highly exalt You forever.

~ Eternal Trinity, bestow the grace of hope and healing upon those who are ill in mind, body, or spirit and grant those who give them care continuing strength and perseverance. We pray especially for: add your own petitions 

                        Glory to God: Holy Creator, Redeemer, Comforter,

                        We praise You and highly exalt You forever.

~ Eternal Trinity, we implore You to set the Fire of Pentecost as the essential beacon before those who are lost in the icy winter of grief. Carry those who have left our earthly experience into the warmth of Holy comfort and peace in Your life everlasting.  We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                        Glory to God: Holy Creator, Redeemer, Comforter,

                        We praise You and highly exalt You forever.

~ Eternal Trinity, for all those You have called and blessed as guides for our souls in this life, we ask You for their peace of heart, strength of mind, and courage of conviction.  Let us hold fast together and walk through all blessings and trials as we journey toward everlasting life in Your Holy of Holies.  We pray especially for:  add your own petitions

                        Glory to God: Holy Creator, Redeemer, Comforter,

                        We praise You and highly exalt You forever.

The Celebrant adds: Eternal Whole, One and All, anoint us with the essence of Your Presence in all that we do, and think, and pray. We beseech You through Your Son Jesus, and the comfort of Your Holy Spirit, who live and reign with You, One God, now and forever.  Amen.

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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers in Pentecost: Jesus, my Druid

for June 9, Feast of St. Columba of Ireland and Scotland

I do not hold to the voice of birds, or any luck on the earthly world, or chance or a son or a woman.  Christ the Son of God is my Druid; Christ the Son of Mary, the great Abbot; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  My estates are with the King of Kings.  -St. Columba* [591-597]

In ainm an Athar agus an Mhic agus an Spioraid Naoimh,**
        Your servant, Columba, has touched the ancient pagan fragments carried deep within my Celtic bones and has fanned the flames of Pentecost in my soul.  Embolden my fervor that I might live deeply into the love of Christ and give deeply of that love to all around me. Whether in my moments of solitude or in the midst of all of life's delights and disasters, keep me unflagging in my devotion to and actions on behalf of Christ, Druid and Abbot for all whom God has created.  amen. 



*Born in County Donegal of royal blood, Coumba (also called Columcille) became a monk and rose to the rank of priest.  About 561 he became embroiled in a dispute over copyright with St. Finnian which resulted in numerous deaths in a battle. As penance, Columba was ordered out of Ireland for the remainder of his life and told to make as many converts as men killed in the battle.  He went to Scotland where his conversion of the Picts is legendary as is his bringing back to life a man killed by the Loch Ness monster and driving the monster off with the sign of the cross.  He established a monastery on the island of Iona on the west coast of Scotland which still today is a site of pilgrimage and retreat. As one of the three patron saints in Ireland, this Holy Three of Erin are buried together - St. Patrick, St. Columba, and St. Brigid - in County Down.

**Irish Gaelic for "In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit"

Druid:  priest in ancient Celtic religion: a priest of an ancient religion practiced in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul until the people of those areas were converted to Christianity


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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Ascending Prayers: Sea-ing with New Sight

The sea is not less beautiful in our eyes because we know that sometimes ships are wrecked by it.

 ― Simone Weil*  [1909-1943]

God of Living Water and Breathing Earth ~

         When the devastating and tragic hit in a nanosecond, stealing my breath and holding it hostage, and the noise in my head feels as if giant fingernails are scratching an unimaginably huge blackboard, and I can't walk straight for feeling swamped - You are the only One who understands me then.

       And through You, my breath slowly returns, my head clears and quiets, the essence of beauty is re-discovered. With the marks of despair healing, then growth, balance and a measure of contentment again seep into consciousness.  Through You, I find my life, my heart, and my strength. I never outgrow my need for You. Life goes on and I with it because You are with me. Help me to remember You in the days of wonder, deep breathing, and, when sailing through life in rough seas and calm. amen.


*Simone Weil, a French philosopher, political activist, and Christian mystic, was known for her extraordinary compassion for those suffering from the ravages of WWI. She often sacrificed her own food for the sake of others perhaps hastening disease and an early death. She was loved by many and others found her irritating and her extensive writing found little attention until the 1950s and 60s. Over time that too waned yet her influence on scholars continues with well over 2,500 academic works were published about her philosophy from 1995-2012.


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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email.  Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Ascending Prayers: Discovering Half-Full Glasses

I am fundamentally an optimist...Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.  

~ Nelson Mandela* [1918-1913]  

To:     God, Heaven
Attn:  Attitude Adjustment Department
Re:     Grant Request


Dear Ma'am, Sir, Spirit, or Entity:
        I believe that I am unlikely to ever be optimistic on a full-time basis, and as that is likely to be considered a pessimistic viewpoint, I am applying to Your department for a grant to help me to adjust my attitude accordingly.
       Over the course of my life I have had times of extreme pessimism brought on by life circumstances, general malaise with a touch of decrepitude, occasional bouts of junk food, and prolonged periods of monkey mind. There are breaks in these cycles in which I discover sunshine, half-full glasses, delight in a child's laughter, and the hopefulness of contemplating eternal life with Jesus. It is to further such moments of the lightness of being a Child of God, that I ask for you to bestow a grant of significant improvement in my levels of optimism.
      As the recipient of such a grant, I would be able to develop a greater sense of life as a gift in all of its moods and activities, be more likely to give thanksgiving to God regularly, to experience hope and joy with greater frequency, and to send up my prayers almost daily with new and less-fettered energy and enthusiasm.  As to the terms, I respectfully request regular, on-going renewal with no expiration and a lifetime supply of gratitude. For my part, I will endeavor to keep my head pointed toward the sun and my feet moving forward.  amen, er, um, I mean, Sincerely....
      

Even if the pessimist is correct in the long run, the optimist will have a better trip.

*Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, served 27 years of imprisonment for treason fighting for equality, justice, and the end of apartheid segregation in his country. After his release, he was elected President and served faithfully for 4 years.  An exemplar of inspiration, creator of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate human rights abuses, established the Mandela Foundation to fight HIV/AIDS, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the American Presidential Medal of Freedom and many more honors, President Mandela has been called the "Father of his country", and widely admired for his concern for truth and racial reconciliation and harmony.

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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Ascending Prayers: Is there ever enough?

But of God you can never have a sufficiency. The more you have of God, the more you desire. 

If you could ever have enough of God, 

so that you were content with him, 

then God would not be God.    

― Meister Eckhart* [c. 1260 – c. 1327]

Dear God,

      I'm feeling some resistance within myself at the thought that the more of You I have - that is, the more I recognize that I have - the more of You I will want. I know You are already here but the difficulty I'm having is that I think I might be wary of wanting more. How will that change my life?  I already go to church, pledge, do my work, talk to You on a fairly regular basis, contribute to charities, take care of a few people in the family now and then. Does wanting more of You in my everyday life require me to pay more attention to You than I do my lawn, my car, the new Smart TV? What will the neighbors think if I get all "Godly" on them? Heck, what will my family think - ok, so I know what they'll think. 

      Well, it also seems to me that I do want more of You but can we work up slowly?  I'm not sure how I'll handle the rest of my life with You at the Center given that I had expected it to be a bit different. Can I still go on the vacation if I promise to take You with me? Let's just say, for the moment, HELP! I'm reaching out hesitantly but I'm also certain You'll always hold me close. amen.

*Meister Eckart von Hockheim was a Dominican priest, German philosopher, theologian, and mystic who had more than a brush with controversy. Some of his teachings were labeled as heresy and he was brought before the Inquisition. Since the 19th century, interest in Eckart's teachings have been quite popular and he is now considered a "great mystic". 

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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.