Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 22, Give Up, Take On, Pray

I

Am

A Hole

In A Flute

That the Christ's Breath

Moves Through - 

Listen to This

Music.

~ Hafiz 1320-1389*

 

O Breath of God,
        waft through my body, permeate my soul, fill my consciousness to overflowing and let me breathe You into the World. For today I will give up the oblivion of mindless breathing and take on the wonder of inhaling and exhaling with purpose beyond the obvious. I will stop and notice several times today as I breathe in with intention and breathe out with awareness. I will pray at those moments to experience the Radiance of Christ entering in and the humility of conveying the Glory of Christ as I release His music to the world around me. amen.



*Hafiz (Shams-ud-din Muhammad) was a beloved poet of 14th century Persians and his mystical verse has come down through the ages influencing the work and lives of Goethe and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom translated his work. Arthur Conan Doyle had his character Sherlock Holmes quoting Hafiz and Johannes Brahms used several lines in his own compositions. It has been said that in difficult moments, Queen Victoria also went to the work of Hafiz. The quote above was translated by Daniel Ladinsky in his book, A Year With Hafiz.

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 21, Give Up, Take On, Pray

      In the 5th Century, a 16 year-old Roman Briton was captured by Irish pirates and served as a slave for 6 years before his escape back to home.  He credits the time of captivity for his significant spiritual experiences that resulted in conversion to Christianity. 
     After being ordained, Patrick returned to Ireland later in life to preach the message of God in the Trinity, convert, and baptize. As a foreigner who refused the patronage of the Kings, he endured much opposition and was without legal protection. He wrote about beatings, being tied up with chains, periodic imprisonment, and threats of execution. 
        Through it all he Christian-ized many of the early Celtic worship practices, possibly including the sacred symbol of the shamrock that, it has been said, he used to explain the Trinity.
      The famous St. Patrick's Breastplate, also known as the Cry of the Deer, is a prayer poem attributed to him that has been set to music in a variety of ways.  Many of the hymnal versions use only a small portion of the lyrics and it often contains several separate melodies and rhythms within the one hymn. The work with or without music has a cadence of an almost Druidic incantation which the people of his time would have understood.  It isn't often that we see the entire piece and so it is included below, followed by a YouTube rendering of one musical setting. 
      Despite all the myth, fact, and legend, Patrick has had a profound impact as Ireland's Patron Saint, slightly ahead of Sts. Brigid and Columba, and is known throughout the world for far more than just green beer and raucous celebration!

Mo Dhia, (My God),
       Your Servant Patrick taught the native Irish people the One-ness of God in the Three-ness of the Trinity. For today I will give up 15 minutes of my time to take on reading and sitting with the power of the words of his prayer poem. Perhaps I can pick a different smaller portion of it to work with each day this week as "I arise..." I pray to feel the strength of the Breastplate, the armor of my Faith, in my body, mind, and soul, now and always.  amen.   

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven,

The light of the sun.

The radiance of the moon,

The splendor of fire,

The speed of lightning,

The swiftness of wind,

The depth of the sea,

The stability of the earth,

The firmness of 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 shield to protect me,

God's host to save me,

From snares of devils,

From temptation of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

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 when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Click here to hear and see this prayer/poem sung to life: The Deer's Cry/St. Patrick's Breastplate

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 20, Give Up, Take On, Pray

     One of the most significant negative habits we should be aware of is that of constantly allowing our mind to run off into the future...Carried away by our worries, we’re unable to live fully and happily in the present. Deep down, we believe we can’t really be happy just yet—that we still have a few more boxes to be checked off before we can really enjoy life.   

~  Thích Nhất Hạnh* 1926-2022

   It’s one thing to hope for and plan for the future. It’s another thing to live in it before it arrives and, in so doing, miss all the opportunities of today to smile, appreciate, enjoy. Even in the darkest of times, light will shine through the clouds. How many times have you played the game of: once the car is paid off….once the kids are through school ….once the new roof is on….once the dentist bills are paid….once the house is fixed up, paid off, sold….once we retire….THEN we'll be able to……

Take the moments you have in the NOW and the THEN will take care of itself.

Dear God of Maybe Someday ~
           This business of "live for today and tomorrow will take care of itself" is all well and fine but I have bills to pay, income to worry about, repairs that can't wait for the house and the car and even my teeth and, and, and.... [insert long, s l o w, d e e p, breath here]. Ok, all right, fine! For today I will give up looking so far ahead that today is gone before I know it. I will take on setting the cell phone timer to go off once an hour for 6 hours and each time it does, I will take [at least] one, long, slow, deep breath again and take 30 seconds to look around me and notice something wonderful or sweet or comforting that I haven't noticed before, whether in my immediate surroundings or outside of a window; or, I will look at a picture of someone I love and smile and be glad to have him or her or them in my life. I will pray to be aware of and to be thankful for all the good moments that I have in this day.  I will thank You, Dear Lord, and remember that Life is a gift, as someone once put on a tacky plaque, that's why we call it the present. amen.


*Thích Nhất Hanh [Tick Not Hahn] was a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, peace activist, teacher, prolific author, and poet who was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He wrote and lectured extensively on the connections between Buddhism and Christianity in such works as Living Buddha, Living Christ and Going Home, Jesus and Buddha as Brothers. He studied comparative religion at Princeton University and was appointed lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University. He lived in a monastery in the south of France until his death but traveled frequently around the world to lecture.

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 19, Give Up, Take On, Pray

      Few of us can claim personal experience with unconditional love either received or given. Perhaps a moment with a child, even a pet, but such a rarefied occasion is fleeting and fragile. Yet there are those times when even the strongest of us needs the all-encompassing embrace of one who requires nothing in return, has no expectations, and wants only to care for and comfort, nurture and love us.  Whisper in your heart to the One and know.

O Great Nurturer, Comforter, and Soother,     

    Some days I want too much from others while I think that they want too much from me. Although I'm often certain that, "of course" I try to meet the expectations they have, I more easily fall into an ego trap of but what about me? For today I will give up pouting about (seemingly) being ignored. I will take on a fresh breath and a deep dive into Your call to love my neighbors as myself, and I will pray to remember that You are always within me and knowing if I stop, breathe, and know You are here, You grant me continuing rebirth in faith, reassurance of Your love, and refreshment in my soul. amen.

   Julian of Norwich, 1342-ca 1416, was an English Anchoress which was, in her day, 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."

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 18, Give Up, Take On, Pray

 

   

   ~ Vida Dutton Scudder 1861-1954*

   A paradox of Creation is that it is complete but not yet finished. God in the Trinity, as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, calls us into a spiritual relationship and as earthly co-creators, acting in us to give us all we need to continue the work of salvation, mercy, social justice, and simple kindness ~ loving our neighbors as ourselves in this world, and caring for the Earth itself. So, do you feel more special now, or, more scared? A little of both?

Holy God of Mystery and Majesty,
       I feel overwhelmed at all You have entrusted to me to be and accomplish. I want to live up to all of Your expectations even while I'm not sure of the hows, the whats, and the wheres to begin. For today, I will give up the pursuit of material satisfaction as a principal goal of life. I'll take on trying to truly see Your Creation and consciously participate in it, creating relationships with the world around me and all who are in it, the street I live on, the people I know and those I don't, and by my everyday thoughts and especially my words and actions everywhere I go ~ as You have created me to do. I pray to always know that You are within me, I pray to remember to keep praying, and that I will move through this life with intention and purpose, caring and carrying Your love through all that I do. amen.


*Vida Dutton Scudder holds October 10 on the US Episcopal Liturgical Calendar as a Feast Day.  Professor of English Literature at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, she was one of the first two American women admitted to the graduate program at Oxford University. In addition to teaching, she was an author and a welfare activist in the social gospel movement. She was a founder or organizer of many groups involved with Christian socialism, trade/labor unions, and Boston's Denison House, the third settlement house in the US. In 1888 she joined the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, Episcopal women dedicated to intercessory prayer and social reconciliation. At her retirement from Wellesley she was given the title of Professor Emeritus and among other honors went on the become the first Dean of the Summer School of Christian Ethics at Wellesley and the first woman to be published in the Anglican Theological Review.

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Prayers of the People: Un-Blinded By His Light ~ 4th Sunday in Lent '23 Yr A

For Sunday, March 19, 2023 ~ Readings: Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 23, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41

  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance of on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." [1 Samuel 16:7] 

    Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. [Psalm 23:6]

    Once you were in darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light - for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. [Ephesians 5:8-14]

  "...As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When [Jesus] said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the [blind] man's eyes saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. [John 9:5-6]

    Did you ever wonder why if Jesus knew he could make the blind man see, he didn’t just snap his fingers or simply say "you can see now"? But then, symbolism ~ when recognized or at least intuited ~ is important even if not always understood completely. Spittle in ancient times was deemed to have medicinal properties. The mud he made with his saliva became a healing agent, and in turn, Jesus became a known healer. (Have you also ever wondered if any of the Pharisees tried this mud idea later?) 

     Jesus explains that this man had not sinned as the Pharisees who, by tradition and their interpretation of The Law, attributed all misfortune to sin. The man’s eyes were opened to sight after he washed clean ~ perhaps as in the waters of Baptism washing us spiritually clean? We are told in the passage that the name Siloam translates as sent, as Jesus was and is sent by God to open our eyes to see the light, to believe and follow the life to which God calls us. None of us is perfect but we are forgiven ~ as is David who, as we know from his later story, was far from perfect (and in that there is hope for us all!).

     The choosing of David by God, in the passage from 1 Samuel, is merely the beginning of the compelling story of this man. The "blind man" is unnamed and his story is brief, yet important, but David begins his reign fresh from his pastures as a young shepherd and has a long and chaotic life.

     The Psalm appointed for this week is attributed by some traditions to David himself, and surely, he or whoever authored it, thoroughly understood the nature of sheep and shepherding. The symbolism comes through the depth of each line that refers back to how to work with real-life sheep.* For example, sheep are inherently nervous creatures and are frightened to stampede by an apple simply dropping from a tree. The shepherd massages ~ anoints ~ each and every sheep with oil to keep burrowing insects from infecting their eyes and to comfort them. They are terrified by fast flowing water and can only drink from water that appears to be still. The psalmist asks the Lord to lead him beside still waters and the lectionary’s timing for this could not be any better given the turbulent times in which we live.

    Paul speaks to the Ephesians, and ultimately to us, exhorting us to awaken from the sleep of the darkness of sin to live as children of light, and to discover what is pleasing to the Lord. Things are always easier to see in the light though not necessarily more clearly. The Pharisees used a different lens to "see" what Jesus what trying to tell them ~ they didn't seem to get, or want to get the whole picture. God tells Samuel that the Lord does not see as mortals see...the Lord looks on each heart. 

    This is a good week to try to see what is in my heart, what blinders are on my eyes, and what darkness I invite into my life. I can use this Psalm as a personal prayer and plea as I speak the "my, and the I, and the me" for myself, and then I can take those personal pronouns and replace them with the name of someone else as a prayer for her or him or them any time and particularly for those currently in fear, desperately ill, or grieving: The Lord is their shepherd; they shall not be in want. He makes her lie down in green pastures and leads him beside still waters…

    I know that I have often been figuratively blinded to the true Light of Christ by the temptations and distractions in this mortal existence. I still am, at times, when it is easier to turn to the sleep of the dark than to wake and answer Christ’s call. O Jesus, massage the blindness from my eyes. It is past time for this Sleeper to awake again! I will sit at the table You set before me, be anointed by Your Presence within me, and be un-blinded by Your Radiant Light. 

*I commend to you a little book titled, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23  by W. Phillip Keller who once was a true contemporary shepherd. He unpacks all that the psalm speaks of in relation to how a shepherd cares for sheep as God cares and (tries to) lead us.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, You chose David in his youth and us from the womb, knowing our full potential. As You look into our hearts, lead us from the blindness of pride and earthly temptation, to the clarity of eyes opened to the fullness of life in You.               

                                              O God of Truth and Light

         RESPONSE:           Let us awake!                             

~  Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, arouse and kindle the inner vision of those who lead us in this World, this Country, and this Community, so they will see themselves as You see them, and begin to shepherd their own flocks with integrity, principle, and compassion. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God of Truth and Light

                                                Let us awake!

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, comfort all who suffer with physical illness, fear of sickness, or economic anxiety, and impart Your calming Spirit to those who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                O God of Truth and Light

                                                Let us awake!          

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, soothe the hearts of all who grieve, as our loved ones now live again in the delight of endless green pastures, dwelling in Your House forever. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                O God of Truth and Light

                                                Let us awake!

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                                O God of Truth and Light

                                                Let us awake!                    

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, amplify Your Spirit already within those who are anointed to guide Your Church along right pathways, as we walk together seeking the fruit of the light of Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God of Truth and Light

                                                Let us awake!

The Celebrant adds:  O Lord our God, still the turbulent waters of our times and release us from the darkness we make for ourselves. Draw us to the table that You spread before us, where the cup of Your goodness and mercy overflows in this life and anoints us for the next. We ask this through Jesus our Christ, True Light from True Light; and the Guiding Spirit of all that is Holy; who live and reign with You, one God, forever and ever. Amen. 

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 17, Give Up, Take On, Pray

Prayer is a nonlocative, nongeographic space that one enters at one's own peril,

for it houses God during those few moments of one's presence there, and what is there will most surely change everything that comes into it....Ever traveling as we travel, moving as we move, prayer grips like home, until the heart belongs nowhere else and the body can scarcely function apart from them both.

Prayer is dangerous and the entrance way to wholeness.

~ Phyllis Tickle* 1934-2015

    How do you pray?  There are many ways ~ some use formally constructed prayers written by others, some pray spontaneously in a group.  Some pray in silence and alone. What are the reasons for your prayers: intercessory (on behalf of others), thanksgiving (for blessings in life), petition (request for yourself), penitence (you're sorry for something), to give praise to God without asking or expecting a return? What about what I say in traffic (okay, I admit, sometimes using your name rudely)? How do you want to pray? Step one: Dear God...

Dear God,
       Sometimes I find it difficult to know what to say to You even though I don't seem to have a problem talking to anyone else. What words are best? What should I be saying? Do the words matter? 
       For today, I will give up trying to pray the way I think is correct and take on speaking to You from my heart.  I will pray to share sacred space with You, more often. Is it true that I can be transformed by engaging with You regularly? That does feel a little dangerous but, You are God, what better danger can there be?  amen.

*An Episcopal lay woman, Phyllis Tickle was an accomplished author and lecturer whose focus was primarily religion and spirituality. She served as a teacher, professor, an academic dean, and as an editor for St. Luke's Press, Peachtree Publishers, and Publishers Weekly. Her best known works are The Great Emergence - How Christianity is Changing and Why and her series on The Divine Hours. The opening quote is from Phyllis Tickle: Essential Spiritual Writings (Jon Sweeney, ed., Church Publishing, 2018)

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com