Meditation Moments: Know Myself

Nothing is more helpful to reduce pride than the actual experience of self-knowledge. If we are discouraged by it, we have misunderstood its meaning.
- Thomas Keating, American Trappist monk, Founder of the Centering Prayer movement [1923- ]

The essence of knowledge is self-knowledge.
- Plato, Greek philosopher, student of Socrates 
[ca. 424 BCE - 347 BCE]

Enquiry into the truth of the Self is knowledge.
- Ramayana, Hindu Epic, Indian classic literature [ca. 5th - 4th century BCE] 

When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.
- Confucius, Chinese Philosopher [551 BCE - 479 BCE]

There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond, and to know one’s self.
- Benjamin Franklin, American statesman, politician, printer, scientist, author, etc.  
[1706-1790]

Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek most to know themselves.
- Shakespeare, English playwright, poet [1564-1616]

Note to my Higher Power:  
              It seems that across the centuries and cultures, there is agreement about the importance of knowing myself. How do I really do that? Even Benjamin Franklin said that it's really hard. I already know that I can be my own best friend and my own worst enemy, well at least my harshest critic. And I do wonder, from time to time, what makes me think about things the way I do, and who and what influences me.         
             I could start thinking about basic questions such as: What gives me more energy - staying in alone, or being with a crowd? How do I get information that helps with decision making - just by my intuition or by gathering concrete information? And when I am making a decision, do I rely on what "my gut" tells me subjectively, or do I analyze the facts objectively? How much serious organization do I require in my life or am I more likely to "go with the flow"?
             Please inspire my willingness to find ways to know more about who I am and to seek helpful advice and companionship in the process. And, please remind me to take a few moments regularly to center myself in You, to breathe slowly in and out, and let myself be known better by me and by You.  amen.  



Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, 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: Beauti-ful is less

Royal Albatross in Flight over the South Island of New Zealand

Beauty saves. Beauty heals. Beauty motivates. Beauty unites. Beauty returns us to our origins, and here lies the ultimate act of saving, of healing...Do not confuse beauty with beautiful. 

Beautiful is a human judgment. 

Beauty is All. 

The difference is everything. 

~ Matthew Fox* [1940- ]

Holy Creator of Beauty ~
       When I am in the presence of true beauty, it lights up my soul and brightens my whole sense of what Creation is through nature, art, music, the laughter of a child, or the map of life on an aged face. And while I believe I am often surrounded by it, I realize that more often I fail to see and experience it. Instead, I'm critical and judgmental, rejecting in others the very failings I suspect are my own, damaging the essence of Creation and its creatures. I'm guilty of absorbing the artificially contrived, often unattainable, and even unhealthy standards of human beauty whether physical, intellectual, or spiritual imposed by a purely commercial culture intent on control and profit. 
        Help me, Lord, to get beyond my flawed judgement that, I must confess, can be at the very least, unkind. Please turn my heart, refresh my soul, and heal my inner vision so that I might see the world and especially Your people, through the eyes of love. Grant me a lightness of spirit and an effortless appreciation of all that exists in Your Creation. Rid me of lingering -isms, - phobias, and negativity that I may lift the spirit of another, expand my appreciation of the flora, fauna, and terra firma, and become a co-creator of true beauty until my earthly existence is completed. amen.




*Matthew Fox, is an American Episcopal priest, theologian, and author. Formerly a Roman Catholic priest of the Dominican order, Fox became an early advocate and exponent of Creation Spirituality that has drawn inspiration from Thomas Aquinas, Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi and others.  The movement is aligned with ecological and environmental movements and in the spirit of deep ecumenism, embraces many spiritual traditions of the world such as Buddhism, Sufism, Judaism, and Native American.  Fox has authored more than 30 books and a great deal of controversy among "traditional" religious leaders.




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: Finders Keepers

For whatsoever 

from one place doth fall, 

is with a tide 

unto another brought. 

For there is nothing lost, 

that may be found, if sought.

                                            ― Dante Alighieri* [1265-1321]

O Master of the Universe,

        I seem to lose You every now and then. You've given me the choice to be with You or not and sometimes I'm not paying attention and I wander away.  I may not have made the conscious choice to give You up, but it's clear that I can make that choice to look for You, to be with You, to live my life as You have instructed. I can't really lose You after all, I can only turn away by choice or by carelessness. But You have said that if I ask, if I knock, if I seek, all will be given, opened, and found. All I have to do is look...easy enough when all is well but when things aren't going so well I can't get out of my own way. Sometimes, I need Your help to remember where to look. I know now  where You are - will You please help me then? amen. 

*Dante Aligheri, was born in Florence, otherwise known simply as Dante, is the major Italian poet whose Divine Comedy, which includes the Inferno, has been called the greatest piece of literature in the Italian language and it remains a masterpiece of world literature.



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 after Pentecost: Seeding the Future

God created seeds, too, in all colors, shapes, and sizes

       We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.  Nothing we do is complete...No prayer fully expresses our faith...No confession brings perfection.  We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are the workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.  ~Oscar Romero* [1917-1980]      [emphasis added]

Lord of All, our Master Builder, 

       We westerners pride ourselves on accomplishment, our completion of tasks - even in our ministries. We proclaim ourselves "doers" and point to all the external activities in which we count ourselves competent, even expert. The checklists, the programs, the agendas, the plans....and then real life interrupts and some "important" projects never get finished. 

       Help us all, especially me, to remember that we can plant the seeds of Your love by a simple handshake, a smile, a kind word; and, that is often more ministry than building a church, fussing over liturgical details, or writing a check. While we can continuously renew our commitment to You within a community of like-minded people, when we live our love for You on the inside, we will wear it on the outside. In that way, You will be known to all through our love first and then through the simplicity of our actions, whether or not we are around to harvest the fruit.  amen.   
       
   

*Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, ordained in Rome and worked towards a doctorate in theology with a specialty in ascetical theology. When he returned home, he moved over time from a conservative stance to a radical supporter of Liberation Theology and supported the poor and the "disappeared".  More than 70,000 El Salvadorans were disappeared by the military leaders in 10 years and Dr Romero spoke out vociferously, even preaching to the United States to stop supporting the government because it was "killing my people."  He was murdered, shot to death while behind the altar presiding at Mass in 1980.  He has been given the title, "Servant of God" by the Vatican as a prelude to the process of canonization to sainthood.  


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 after Pentecost: Passing the Test

Here's a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished:  

if you're alive, it isn't.   

~ Richard Bach* [1937- ]

Lord of Now, Lord of Forever,
       I'm alive. Now what? 
       Some days it's hard work just to be alive. Other days go by so fast I hardly realize it. And then, someone you care about is suddenly gone and life takes on new meaning, again. And just as suddenly it hits me that his mission is finished whether he was ready for it to be or we who cared about him were, it just is. It's a recent theme of mine, asking You for help with the meaning of living, and now, for help in finding my mission. I thought I knew what it was - doing good deeds, taking care of others, giving money, donating time.
      But here is yet another moment to re-evaluate and re-discover how I can live as if You were with me every moment. Maybe if I worry less about doing stuff and learning more about just being, especially with You, my mission will become clearer. Of course I'll keep doing but I'm seeing again that if I spend more of life working to love You with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength, and my neighbors as myself ~ as You instructed ~ that mission thing will take care of itself. Thanks for listening, again.  amen.


*Richard Bach is an author best known for classic 1970s bestsellers Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions, and The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. His books carry a philosophical theme that our physical limits and mortality are merely appearance.  A love of flying nearly cut his mission short in 2012 as his small plane landed upside down in a field and he was badly injured.



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: Fear is for the Birds, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost '14 Yr A

for Sunday, June 22, 2014, Readings: Gen 21:8-21; Ps 86:1-10, 16-17; Romans 6:1-11, Mt 10:24-39

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father...So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. [Mt 10:29,31]

      In an age where obedience is an alien and archaic concept, we are yet called three times in these readings to be obedient without ever seeing the word itself. Abraham is the icon of radical obedience, following and doing on complete trust and faith in God. 

      Paul lets us know that we must die to sin to live in Christ which requires an obedience to the promises of our Baptism. Jesus tells us that we will be held greater than the beloved sparrows when we acknowledge (and obey) him above all others. To obey or not? There are significant consequences either way. But, we still have our free will. Our choice to follow Christ in all things must be voluntary.
       All we have to do is choose - intentionally, deliberately, mindfully.  So, what is there to be afraid of?

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:   ~ God of Mercy, God of Favor, You have called each of us out of a life in sin to the newness of life in Christ. Help us to attain the pure faith of Your servant Abraham and trust that You will always hear our voices, even from the wilderness we make for ourselves.

                       

                       O Lord, in Your great compassion

Response:    Hear our prayer

~ God of Mercy, God of Favor, strengthen our resolve to frequently remind the political leaders in our state, in our country, and in the world, of the imperative for the fulfillment of justice, mercy, and basic human needs. No one in Your Creation is beneath another in importance. We pray especially for:  add your own petitions  

                       O Lord, in Your great compassion

                       Hear our prayer

~ God of Mercy, God of Favor, send healing comfort to those who are wearied of illness in body, mind, or spirit, and soothe the hearts of those who attend to their needs.  We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                       O Lord, in Your great compassion

                       Hear our prayer

~ God of Mercy, God of Favor, we commend to Your loving care those we have loved who have left this mortal life, and we ask Your shelter for all who grieve. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                       O Lord, in Your great compassion

                       Hear our prayer

~ God of Mercy, God of Favor, lay Your hands again upon those who have been called by You to accompany us on our life-long journey to You. Impart Your wisdom and grant them strength of soul and character.  We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                       O Lord, in Your great compassion

                       Hear our prayer

The Celebrant adds: Wondrous God of Heaven and Earth, help us to clearly know that Your promise to care for us, is as constantly fulfilled and renewed as it was for Sarah’s Isaac, Hagar’s Ishmael, and all who are the offspring of Abraham. Mold us again in Your image that we may be Your compassion in the world. We ask this through Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer and the Holy Spirit, our Guide and Comforter who live and reign with You as our One God in Three Persons.  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 after Pentecost: Life from now til then

          To love life is to love God...Every bit of our life is final for us, and we should treat all life as a sacred gift and responsibility. We should see our relation to life as being like an immediate relation to God. We are moved and touched by the way all living things, and not just we ourselves, spontaneously love life, affirm it and cling to it.       ~ Don Cupitt* [1934]

Dear Mystical Entity ~
        Life confronted me today in two opposing ways. One was a bouncy, vivacious toddler full of sparkle, full of life. Another was a dear friend calmly, if wistfully, dying. The first demanded my attention, with a voice to be heard through the ether, filled with energy, delight, and love. The second accepted my attention, in quiet tones, holding my hand as we reminisced and we never pretended that there will be a next time or that all will be well ~ not this time ~ but still, there was love. So, here I am, again, with a frequent and selfish prayer. I ask not to change the course of what is, but instead to have the consciousness to recognize in myself the spectrum of life from the child's joy to the accepting calm and all that is in between, all that brings me to You. Please help me remember to live in my life so that I know and love that I am living. Help me not to be oblivious to all that life is ~ the happy, the sad, the ordinary, You are in it all. Let my unconscious moments be fewer as I walk toward the inevitable when. And most of all, let me remember the precious moments of love I've received and given and know the best of Life is always in You, with love. amen. 

P.S. Many of us will grieve the loss of our friend's presence in this life.  I and others pray for a peaceful transition for this lovely person and his family.

     

An update, our dear friend left his earthly existence in radiant peace and comfort surrounded by his wife, daughter and son only an hour or so after the above was posted.  We mourn his passing, we celebrate his life, we give great thanksgivings to have known and been known by this amazing person of God.

*Don Cupitt has been an Anglican priest, philosopher of religion and scholar of Christian theology, broadcaster, author, and a professor at Cambridge University in England. Described as a radical theologian, he became well known in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand in 1984 for a BBC-TV series called the "Sea of Faith" and he still continues involvement in the network of that name.  In that series, and through the Sea of Faith Network with like-minded people, and in his writings, orthodox Christian beliefs are explored and challenged. Cupitt has self-described as a Christian non-realist meaning that he follows spiritual practice and ethical standards associated with Christianity without a belief in the actual existence of the mystical entities God and Christ.

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.