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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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Create in me a clean heart

May 6, 2022May 5, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

I thank you, my dear God,

that I have learned not to begin faith by my own efforts,

nor attempt to destroy my sin with my own repentance.

I might do this before other people

and be acceptable to the world and its judges.

But with you, O God, there is an eternal wrath

which I cannot satisfy,

and before it I would despair.

Therefore I thank you that Another

has seized and carried my sins

and has made atonement for them.

With joy I wish to believe this.

It seems so very right and comforting to me.

But I cannot believe it by myself,

and I find no power in me to convince myself.

I cannot comprehend it as I ought.

Lord, lead me, help me.

Give me the power and the gift to believe.

I plead, as did David:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and put a new and right spirit within me.”

I am unable to create a new and clean heart: it is your work and creation.

I cannot create the sun and moon

and make them rise and shine brightly in the heavens

any more than I can make the heart clean and give myself a right spirit,

a strong and firm frame of mind that is unbending and unwavering

and that will not doubt or mistrust your Word.

Help us daily to increase in faith.

Though the world should topple and all conspire against us,

and though the devil were to destroy every creature,

grant that I may not fall.

By your divine help let me remain in the Gospel.

Amen.

Martin Luther, 1483 – 1546, German Reformer

Luther‘s Prayers

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Psalm 51:10-12

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

the royal way of humility

October 9, 2021October 8, 2021 / Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

My dear Lord and Savior, I come to you burdened and oppressed by many worries and slavish work, by an unbearable yoke, which I have imposed on myself because of my lack of humility.

It is a burden which I have deserved, but it is also the heavy yoke of a sinful world, of collective pride and arrogance. We are tied together in this lamentable condition. I groan and sigh, realizing my plight in this double slavery of mine and the world. What a relief if I listen to your invitation, “Come to me all whose load is heavy”! Yes, now I dare to come.

The more I meditate on the crushing burdens you have carried in your humility, accepting even the most atrocious humiliation from proud and arrogant human beings, the more I am filled with grateful wonder. In your divine glory and your human humility you are totally Other, so different from the close-minded and high-handedness of man. You are the wholly Other, the only true God, so unlike man-made gods. You have come into the valley of tears where misery is constantly multiplied by humankind’s ridiculous pride. You come with the astonishing remedy, the humility of the Son of God, of the Redeemer, who has freely made himself “one-of-us” in all things except sin: the totally holy and humble One.

You come to us whose vanity and pride are odious. You come on the royal road of humility, showing us that this is the way to you and to the heart of the Father, the way to the hearts of our fellow men and the way of salvation.

Humble heart of our Divine Master, I entrust myself to your school. I want to learn from you, day by day, the royal way of humility. It is your own love that teaches us.

Lord, transform our hearts, make them mirror images of your own heart. Make them fountains of healing for many. Lord, make us humble.

Bernard Häring 1912 – 1998, German Catholic moral theologian

The HarperCollins Book of Prayers

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Philippians 2:5-8

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

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You, Who Are

October 6, 2021October 5, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{Transfiguration / Giovanni Bellini / Wikimedia Commons}

You, who are over us,

You, who are one of us,

You, who are –

Also within us,

May all see You – in me also,

May I prepare the way for You,

May I thank You for all that shall fall to my lot,

May I also not forget the needs of others,

Keep me in Your love

As You desire that all should be kept in mine.

May everything in this, my being, be directed to Your glory

And may I never despair.

For I am under Your hand,

And in You is all power and goodness.

Give me a pure heart – that I may see You,

A humble heart – that I may hear You,

A heart of love – that I may serve You,

A heart of faith – that I may abide in You.

Dag Hammarskjöld, 1905 – 1961, Swedish diplomat, UN Secretary General

Markings freely modified

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Psalm 24:1-6

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
established it on the waters.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.

They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob

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