Lent

Give them today their daily bread

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Miracle of the Bread and Fish, Giovanni Lanfranco via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord, when we say ‘Give us today our daily bread,’
  may we remember our brothers and sisters
  who live below the poverty line
  and pray, ‘Give them today their daily bread.’
Give us the wisdom and courage to challenge the policies and structures
  which make the poor even poorer,
  while we have more than enough.
Grant us such deep compassion that we will not rest
  while surplus food rots in one part of the world,
  and families starve in another;
for your love’s sake.

Sister Margaret Magdalen CSMV,  Anglican nun in England and southern Africa
The Book of a Thousand Prayers

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James 2:15-17  

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,”
without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
 
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Question

How can you remember to pray more regularly for the poor 
    in your town, your region and the world?

Nothing, I am nothing

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​image via Pinterest
 
Lord, you wanted it, here I am on the ground.
I don’t even dare to rise, I don’t even dare look at you.
Nothing, I am nothing, I know it now.
Your light is terrible, Lord, and I’d like to escape it.
Since I have accepted you, you have bared my dwelling.
Every day, mercilessly, your light uncovers it,
And I see what I had never seen before.

I see the forest of my sins behind the tree that hid them.
I see innumerable roots, impossible to grasp,
I see that everything in me is an obstacle to you,
  as the smallest particle of matter blocks the sunlight
  and brings on the night.
I see the devil attacking the key-points of the fortress
  that I thought impregnable,
  and I find myself tottering and ready to fall.
I see my helplessness,
  I who thought that I could make myself of value to you.
I see that everything in me is mixed,
  and that not one of my actions is pure.
I see the infinite depth of each fault
  in the face of your infinite love.
I feel incapable of reaching a single soul,
  through the noise of my words and the wind on my gestures.
I see the Spirit blow where I haven’t toiled,
  and the grain take root where I haven’t sown.

Nothing, I am nothing, I accomplish nothing,
  I know it now.
Your light is hard, merciless, Lord.
No corner of my life and soul remain in the shadow.
Turn as I may, your light is everywhere,
And I stand naked and full of fear.

Formerly, I admitted that I was a sinner,
  that I was unworthy,
And I believed it, Lord, but didn’t know it.
In your presence I looked for some faults
  but produced only labored and feeble confessions.
Lord, it’s my whole being that kneels now
  It’s the sin that I am that asks forgiveness.

Lord, thank you for your light – I would never have known.
But, Lord, enough.  I assure you I’ve understood.
I am nothing
And you are all.

Michel Quoist, 1918 – 1997, French Catholic priest
Prayers of Life

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John 15:5 

I am the vine; you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him,
    he it is that bears much fruit,
    for apart from me you can do nothing

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Question

Have you ever seen yourself as being important 
    to what God wants to accomplish?

I weave a silence on my lips . . .

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Jesus Calming Storm by Jane Wilson Boyle via Pinterest
 
I weave a silence on my lips
I weave a silence into my mind
I weave a silence within my heart
I close my ears to distractions
I close my eyes to attractions
I close my heart to temptations

Calm me O Lord as you stilled the storm
Still me O Lord, keep me from harm
Let all the tumult within me cease
Enfold me Lord in your peace.
 
David Adam, 1936-2020, English priest, rector of Lindisfarne
The Book of a Thousand Prayers
 
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Psalm 62:1-2
 
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
 
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Questions
 
When have you experienced God’s peace most powerfully? 
What was the occasion or circumstance?

fasting to feast

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Hagia Sophia Feeding of the 5000, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
During Lent, let us…

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ within them.
Fast from an emphasis on difference; feast on the unity of life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from worry; feast on trust in God’s Care.
Fast from unrelenting pressure; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.

Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds.

Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragements; feast on hope.

William Arthur Ward 1921-1994 Texan Methodist minister
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Isaiah 58:6-10

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.

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Question

What is one worldly area that you can begin fasting from 
    in order to begin feasting in God’s way?

Deliver me from myself

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Mother Teresa via Picryl

Lord, when I think that my heart is overflowing with love
    and realize in a moment’s honesty
    that it is only myself that I love in the loved one.
Deliver me from myself.

Lord, when I think I have given all that I have to give
    and realize in a moment’s honesty
    that it is I who am the recipient,
Deliver me from myself.

Lord, when I have convinced myself that I am poor
    and realize in a moment’s honesty
    that I am rich in pride and envy,
Delivery me from myself.

And, Lord, when the Kingdom of Heaven
    merges deceptively
    with the kingdoms of this world,
Let nothing satisfy me but God.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997
HarperCollins Book of Prayers

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Psalm 40:11-13

Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
    may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me;
    my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
    and my heart fails within me.
Be pleased to save me, Lord;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

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Question

Have you had moments of honesty like these,
  where you realized that your best actions
  included mixed, impure motives?

responding to temptation

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The Temptation by J. Kirk Richards, 1999 via Pinterest
 
You, Lord Jesus, knew great power,
to heal, to transform,
to proclaim the reign of God.
So you met with great temptations.
The wrong way, glittering and possible, was open;
you could rule if you chose,
in majesty and wonder,
more victorious than Alexander,
more imperial than Caesar.
     But you said No,
     simply, decisively, for ever, for us.

We pray for the Church, tempted like its Head.
When the Church seeks political power,
     Jesus, stay with us.
When the Church longs to become wealthy,
     Jesus, speak to us.
When the Church strives to impress with splendor,
     Jesus, give us simplicity.
When the Church wanders from the way of sacrifice,
     Jesus, hold us.
When the Church listens to the call for cheap grace,
     Jesus, keep us always in your way.

Holy Spirit of God, enable us to respond to temptation
with the strength of your Word within us,
so that we may hold firm to our calling
and take your better way in faithfulness.

Bernard Thorogood, 1927-2020, English minister United Reformed Church
The Complete Book of Christian Prayer
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Matthew 4:8-10

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain 
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 
‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’
 
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Question:

In what ways do you see your Church being tempted to compromise? 

I need to be led by you

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
The Temptation in the Wilderness, ​Briton Rivière, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Teach me to go to this country
    beyond words and beyond names.
Teach me to pray on this side of the frontier,
    here where these woods are.
I need to be led by you.
I need my heart to be moved by you.
I need my soul to be made clean by your prayer.
I need my will to be made strong by you.
I need the world to be saved and changed by you.
I need you for all those
    who suffer, who are in prison, in danger, in sorrow.
I need you for all the crazy people.
I need your healing hand to work always in my life.
I need you to make me, as you made your Son,
    a healer, a comforter, a savior.
I need you to name the dead.
I need you to help the dying cross their particular rivers.
I need you for myself whether I live or die.
It is necessary. Amen.

Thomas Merton, 1915 – 1968, American Catholic writer and Trappist monk
A Book of Hours

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Matthew 4:1-2

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil.
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
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Question:

In which relationships do you need God to lead you?

Variation on the Jesus Prayer

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image via Pinterest​
 
Jesus.
Lord Jesus.
Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, have mercy.
Jesus, have mercy.

variation on the Jesus Prayer,
originated from the Desert Fathers, 5th century Egypt

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Luke 18:13 

But the tax collector stood at a distance.
He would not even look up to heaven,
but beat his breast and said,
‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

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The word Mercy is from the Hebrew word Hesed
which describes a sense of love and loyalty
that inspires merciful and compassionate behavior toward another.

Question:

What are some ways that you have experienced
God’s mercy or hesed in your life?

whatever you provide

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image via Wikimedia Commons
 
​Lord, give us all that the necessity of this life requires, day by day.

We do not want to store up a supply that would last for many years,
    to preclude all necessity of praying to you.
We do not want to forget you.
But minister it day by day,
    so that we may daily feel your benefits and never forget you.

Or if you give us an abundance above what we desire,
    then give us a heart to use it for the purpose you intend
    – including sharing with our neighbors.
Help us not to be overly attached to what you provide,
    but to remember it is yours,
    and that you may take it away whenever you like.

In that way help us to be content with whatever you do,
    always keeping in mind that whatever you provide
    is simply our daily bread.
Amen.

William Tyndale c.1492-1536 English Bible translator, martyred
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Proverbs 30:7-9

Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.


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Questions:

Are you content when God provides you with just the necessities?
When God provides an abundance, have you taken hold of opportunities to share?

Continue reading →

God, help me with my thoughts!

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book cover of “Scattered Thoughts of a Disorganized Mind” by Andrea Koerner

God help me with my thoughts!
They stray from me, setting off on their wildest journeys.
When I am in church, they run off like naughty children,
   quarreling, making trouble.
When I read the Bible, they fly to a distant city,
   filled with beautiful women.
My thoughts can cross an ocean with a single leap;
   they can fly from earth to heaven,
   and back again, in a single second.
They come to me for a fleeting moment,
   and then away they flee.
No chain, no locks can hold them back;
   no threats of punishment can restrain them,
   no hiss of a lash can frighten them.
They slip from my grasp like tails of eels;
   they swoop hither and thither like swallows in flight.
Dear, chaste Christ, who can see into every heart and read every mind,
   take hold of my thoughts.
Bring my thoughts back to me,
   and clasp me to yourself.
 
Celtic prayer, c.450-c.700
 
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You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
 
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.
 
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Questions:

What do you need God to do in your thought life?
Can you ask God to heal your diseased imagination?

Continue reading →