Defend the cradle of my mind

December 30, 2025December 26, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

The Three Wise Men, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, via Wikimedia Commons

Come closer to me, closer still, O Power of the Holy Trinity.
Enter into my consciousness more deeply

than thoughts and emblems of the world can.
In the same way as a wise mother, when she conceives,
prepares and embellishes a cradle for her child,
so prepare and embellish my mind for that which will be begotten from You,
O Beauty and Purity.

Many evil thoughts lurk like serpents around the cradle of Your Son.
And many wicked desires emerge from my heart and seek the cradle of Your Prince,
to poison Him with their arrows.

Defend the cradle of my mind,
and teach my soul how to give birth and care for an infant.

Shroud in deep darkness

the journey of all malevolent visitors coming to see my newborn son.
And raise aloft a most radiant star

over the way of the Wise Men from the East,
men who are truly wise,

because they are coming to visit my most precious child with three gifts—
faith, hope, and love.

Come closer to me, still closer, my majestic Lord.

Nikolai Velimirovich 1881-1956 Serbian Orthodox monastic
Prayers by the Lake, source, edited
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Matthew 2:9-12

After they had heard the king, they went on their way,

and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them

until it stopped over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,

and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Then they opened their treasures

and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,

they returned to their country by another route.

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How is your mind vulnerable to harmful thought patterns?
How can reflecting on the personhood of Jesus help protect your thought life?

Continue reading →

We welcome Your Arrival

December 24, 2025December 22, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

The Birth of Christ, Albrecht Altdorfer c.1513, wikimedia commons

Night has fallen; the clear, bright stars are sparkling in the cold air;

noisy, strident voices rise to my ear from the city,

voices of the revelers of this world who celebrate with merrymaking

the poverty of their Savior.

Around me in their rooms my companions are asleep,

and I am still wakeful, thinking of the mystery of Bethlehem.

Come, come, Jesus, I await you. . . .

I am a poor shepherd;

I have only a wretched stable, a small manger, some wisps of straw.

I offer all these to you, be pleased to come into my poor hovel.

I offer you my heart;

my soul is poor and bare of virtues,

the straws of so many imperfections will prick you and make you weep

–but oh, my Lord, what can you expect?

This little is all I have. . . .

I have nothing better to offer you, Jesus,

honor my soul with your presence, adorn it with your graces.

Burn this straw and change it into a soft couch for your most holy body.

Jesus, I am here waiting for your coming.

Wicked men have driven you out, and the wind is like ice.

I am a poor man, but I will warm you as well as I can.

At least be pleased that I wish to welcome you warmly,

to love you and sacrifice myself for you.

Amen.

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli 1881–1963 also Pope John XXIII

source

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Luke 2:4-7

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth,

to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,

because he was of the house and lineage of David,

to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son

and wrapped him in swaddling cloths

and laid him in a manger,

because there was no place for them in the inn.
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What is one sacrifice you can make to welcome Jesus anew this Christmas?

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It is your home

December 16, 2025December 15, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Utah Arches National Park, via pickpak

Bright moon, scattered stars; so solitary is creation.
The universe which God has created is especially
silent on this night.
It waits with bated breath
for the Lord of Creation to return.
The universe belongs to God,
it is his home.

Silence reigns supreme.
The flowers of the field sway gently
in the moonlight.
This night, the vast earth awaits
the homecoming of our Creator God.
The vast earth and open fields belong to God,
they are his home.

Bethlehem lies dreaming.
In his gentle mother’s arms,
the babe sleeps peacefully this night.
The City of David awaits
the homecoming of David’s descendant.
The town of Bethlehem belongs to him,
it is his home.

My bones, my flesh, my blood, my lungs and my heart,
were all made by his hand.
This night, my heart is at peace,
awaiting my Creator’s return.
My heart belongs to him,
it is his home.

Advent prayer from China

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Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.

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How do you recognize God’s presence in creation?
How do you see God’s presence in Jesus? Within yourself?

Continue reading →

protect my heart

October 23, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

image by Annija U via Pexels

I give you my heart,

and I humbly pray that you would always keep it in your hands,

since it is so unfaithful in loving what is good.

When it is in my control,

it is prone to follow all sorts of evils.

Oh Father,

keep my heart steadfast and unalterable in your ways.

Let it not be inclined to any evil thing

nor lean toward any of my former vanities.

Keep my eyes from looking upon and my ears from listening

to any sort of wickedness.

Do not let my lips utter anything that is ungodly

or my feet move even a step in any of the paths of death,

but hold my whole spirit, soul, and body in a righteous fear of you.

Keep me comfortable in the hope of your favor,

through Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and only Savior.

Amen.

John Kettlewell, 1653-1695, English clergyman and devotional writer

Cloud of Witnesses

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1 Thessolonians 5:23-24

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

May your whole spirit, soul and body

be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Continue reading →

prayer before the prayer

February 28, 2025February 27, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Desmond M. Tutu CC BY 2.0

I want to be willing to let go, to forgive.
but dare not ask for the will to forgive,
in case you give it to me
and I am not yet ready.
I am not yet ready for my heart to soften.
I am not yet ready to be vulnerable again.
Not yet ready to see that there is humanity in my tormentor’s eyes
or that the one who hurt me may also have cried.
I am not yet ready for the journey.
I am not yet interested in the path.
I am at the prayer before the prayer of forgiveness.

Grant me the will to want to forgive.
Grant it to me not yet but soon
Can I even form the words?
Forgive me? Dare I even look?
Do I dare to see the hurt I have caused:
I can glimpse all the shattered pieces of that fragile thing
that soul trying to rise on the broken wings of hope.
But only out of the corner of my eye.
I am afraid of it.
And if I am afraid to see
How can I not be afraid to say: Forgive me?

Is there a place where we can meet?
You and me
The place in the middle where we straddle the lines
Where you are right and I am right too.
And both of us are wrong and wronged.
Can we meet there?
And look for the place where the path begins
The path that ends when we forgive.

Desmond Tutu, 1931 – 2021 & Mpho Tutu, 1963- South African Anglican priests,

The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World

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Colossians 3:12-13

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,

you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy,

kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Make allowance for each other’s faults,

and forgive anyone who offends you.

Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Continue reading →

you call me back, to atone, to return

October 15, 2024October 14, 2024 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Photo by Bro. Jeffrey Pioquinto, SJ, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

You call me back to atone,
to return,
when you see how I’ve drifted
and gone away…

I stray from knowing your holy presence,
but you never take your eyes off me;
you take not even one step away:
you’re beside me, behind me,
above and below me,
you’re with me, Lord, on all sides…

But it only takes a turn of my heart,
a twist of my thoughts
in the blink of an eye
for me to forget (or do I fear?)
how close you are in every hour
of every night and day…

I stray from your love
though you’re so close at hand
and believe, in self-pity
you no longer care…

I choose my own way
as you walk by my side;
you follow my steps
as I turn from your path…

I want my own way
and insist that I’m right;
I assign you the blame
as I count my troubles…

But you stay by my side
and give me the freedom
to take your hand or walk away
in my foolishness and my fear…
And still you remain,
right by my side,
though I close my eyes
to yours seeking mine…

But you call me back, to atone, to return,
and with all my heart, I know you’re right:
I’ve drifted, I’ve strayed, I’ve gone away,
I’m lost and need to be found…

Give the grace, Lord, to turn my heart,
to turn my mind and thoughts to you;
to remember and trust how close you are,
how near’s the mercy you offer…

Call me back to atone and return
to the outstretched arms of your love
and ready my heart to be shaped again
in the image of your heart for me…
Amen.

Fr. Austin Fleming, Roman Catholic Priest in Massachusetts

Concord Pastor Comments

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Luke 15:20

So he returned home to his father.

And while he was still a long way off,

his father saw him coming.

Filled with love and compassion,

he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

Continue reading →

the last step of love

March 29, 2024March 28, 2024 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Cristo crucificado, Titian via Wikimedia Commons

A few hours more,

A few minutes more,

A few instants more,

For thirty-three years it has been going on.

For thirty-three years you have lived fully minute after minute.

You can no longer escape, now; you are there,

at the end of your life, at the end of your road.

You are at the last extremity, at the edge of a precipice.

You must take the last step,

The last step of love,

The last step of life that ends in death.

You hesitate.

Three hours are long, three hours of agony;

Longer than three years of life,

Longer than thirty years of life.

You must decide, Lord, all is ready around you.

You are there, motionless, on your Cross.

You have renounced all activity other than embracing these

crossed planks for which you were made.

And yet, there is still life in your nailed body.

Let mortal flesh die, and make way for eternity.

Now, life slips from each limb, one by one, finding refuge in his

still beating heart.

Immeasurable heart,

Overflowing heart.

Heart heavy as the world, the world of sins and miseries that it bears.

Lord, one more effort.

Mankind is there, waiting unknowingly for the cry of its Saviour.

You brothers are there; they need you.

Your Father bends over you, already holding out his arms.

Lord, save us,

Save us.

See.

He has taken his heavy heart,

And,

Slowly,

Laboriously,

Alone between heaven and earth,

In the awesome night,

With passionate love,

He has gathered his life,

He has gathered the sin of the world,

And in a cry,

He has given all.

‘Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.’

Christ has just died for us.

Michel Quoist, 1918 – 1997, French Catholic priest and writer

Prayers of Life

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Luke 23:44-46

It was now about the sixth hour,

and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,

while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”

And having said this he breathed his last.

Continue reading →

Give me a steadfast heart

August 31, 2023August 30, 2023 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Antelope Canyon by Omer Salom on Unsplash

Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart,

which no unworthy affection may drag downwards;

give me an unconquered heart,

which no tribulation can wear out;

give me an upright heart,

which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside.

Bestow on me also, O Lord my God,

understanding to know Thee,

diligence to seek Thee,
wisdom to find Thee,

and a faithfulness that may finally embrace Thee.

Amen.

Thomas Aquinas, 1225 – 1274, Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian

source

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James 1:12

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,

for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life,

which God has promised to those who love him.

Continue reading →

How we need your compassion!

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{Jesus and the woman taken in adultery}_{/ public domain}

God, why do I call impossible what You call possible?

Why do I call unforgivable what You call forgiven?

Why do I compromise with what You call sin?

How I need to know Your heart,

and reach out in Your love and wisdom to others.

It’s easy to love the people who are standing hard and fast,

pressing on to meet that higher calling.

But the ones who might be struggling,

we tend to judge too harshly

and refuse to try to catch them when they’re falling.

We put people into boxes and we draw our hard conclusions

when they do things we know they should not do.

We sometimes write them off as hopeless

and we throw them to the dogs.

Our compassion and forgiveness sometimes seem in short supply.

We can love them and forgive them when their sin does not exceed our own,

for we too have been down bumpy roads before.

But when they commit offences outside the boundaries we have set,

we judge them in a word and we turn them out,

and we close the door.

Chuck Girard, Celtic author

Prayers for Today

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Romans 2:1-4

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else,

for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself,

because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things,

do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience,

not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Continue reading →