6:00 p.m. Prayer

O Eternal One, it would be easier for me to pray
if I were clear
and of a single mind and a pure heart;
if I could be done hiding from myself
and from you, even in my prayers.
But, I am who I am,
mixture of motives and excuses,
blur of memories,
quiver of hope,
knot of fear,
tangle of confusion,
and restless with love, for love.
I wander somewhere between
gratitude and grievance,
wonder and routine,
high resolve and undone dreams,
generous impulses and unpaid bills.
Come, find me, Lord.
Be with me exactly as I am.
Help me find me, Lord.
Help me accept what I am,
so I can begin to be yours.
Make of me something small enough to snuggle,
young enough to question,
simple enough to giggle,
old enough to forget,
foolish enough to act for peace;
skeptical enough to doubt
the sufficiency of anything but you,
and attentive enough to listen
as you call me out of the tomb of my timidity
into the chancy glory of my possibilities
and the power of your presence.

The Reading Lesson: Psalm 25

Reflection on the scripture

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I come to you after a long day of once again trying to be closer to you and yet still feeling so distant.  Lord, let me feel your presence as I intently seek you.  Restore my brokenness and frazzled mind to one of peace and contentment in simply being; help me breathe.

Silence

You are the God of Wonder, the Lord of Heaven and earth; please hear my humble prayers.

My cup overflows with the bountiful blessings you have showered upon me; Giver of all that is good, I say thank you…

My loved ones are sick; please bring healing to their body and souls…

It is so difficult to see the ones I care for struggle with personal issues; please grant them a sense of peace…

Our world is in turmoil and sometimes it scares me; I lift up these fears to you…

I am often frustrated because things aren’t going as I feel they should be, will I have enough; help me to trust in you…

I don’t always make the best choices and find myself heavy laden with guilt; show me thy way Lord, please show me thy way…

Is this where you’ve called me to be in my life; I ask you, Oh Holy One for guidance and clarity as I discern your call for me…

Silence

My precious Savior, I give this all to you. Amen.

The Blessing

May a gentle breeze guide you home, may you relax in the stillness of the peace of Christ, and may you find clarity tomorrow in the new day. Amen.

3:00 p.m. Prayer

O God, gather me now to be with you as you are with me.
Soothe my tiredness; quiet my fretfulness;
curb my aimlessness; relieve my compulsiveness;
let me be easy for a moment.

O Lord, release me from the fears and guilts
which grip me so tightly;
from the expectations and opinions
which I so tightly grip,
that I may be open to receiving what you give,
to risking something genuinely new,
to learning something refreshingly different.

O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me.
Keep me in touch with myself, with my needs,
my anxieties, my angers. my pains, my corruptions,
that I may claim them as my own rather than blame them on someone else.

O Lord, deepen my wounds into wisdom;
shape my weaknesses into compassion;
gentle my envy into enjoyment,
my fear into trust, my guilt into honesty,
my accusing fingers into tickling ones.

O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me.

The Reading Lesson: Galatians 5:16-23

O God, our Father, give us the fruit of your Spirit in our lives.

Love, that we may love you as you have loved us, and that we may love others as you love them;

Joy, that we may be happy ourselves, and that we may help others to be happy;

Peace, that we may never again be restless, and worried, and nervous:

Grant us these things, O God.

Patience, that we may no longer be irritable and in too big a hurry;

Kindness, that we may desire to give rather than to ge,. to share rather than to keep, to praise rather than to criticize, to forgive rather than to condemn;

Goodness, that we may be an example and a help to all:

Grant us these things, O God.

Faithfulness, that through all the chances and the changes of life we may be true to ourselves, true to our loved ones, and true to you;

Gentleness, that we may be humble and not proud, and that we may never deliberately or carelessly hurt others;

Self-control, that no moment of impulse or of passion may make us to injure another or to bring shame on ourselves.

Grant us these things, O God.

Help us so to live that on our lives there may be the reflection of the goodness of the Master, whose we are and whom we seek to serve.

Noon Prayers

Reading – 1 Peter 3:8-12

THE BENEDICTION – Anthony de Mello, Wellsprings, 171-173

Today I choose to pray for others.
But how shall I impart to them
the gift of peace and love
if my own heart is still unloving
and I have no peace of mind myself?

So I start with my heart:
I hold before the Lord
each feeling of resentment, anger, bitterness
that may still be lurking there,
asking that his grace
will make it yield to love someday
if not right now.

Then I seek peace:
I list the worries that disturb my peace of mind
and imagine that I place them in God’s hands
in the hope that this will bring me respite from anxiety
at least during this time of prayer.

Then I seek the depth that silence brings,
for prayer that springs from silence
is powerful and effective.
So I listen to the sounds around me
or become aware of the feelings
and sensations in my body
or my breathing in and out.

First I pray for people whom I love.
Over each of them I say a blessing:
“May you be safe from harm and evil,’’
imagining that my words create
a protective shield of grace around them.

Then I move on to people I dislike
and people who dislike me.
Over each of them I say this prayer:
“May you and I be friends some day,”
imagining some future scene
where this comes to pass.

I think of anxious people whom I know,
people who are depressed.
To each of them I say:
“May you find peace and joy,”
imagining that my wish for them becomes reality.

I think of people who are handicapped,
people who are in pain, and say:
“May you find strength and courage,”
imagining that my words unleash resources
within each of them.

I think of lonely people:
people lacking love
or separated from their loved ones.
and to each of them I say:
“May God’s abiding company be yours.”

I think of older people who,
with the passing of each day,
must face the reality of approaching death,
and to each of them I say:
“May you find the grace to joyfully let go of life.”

I think of the young and recite this prayer:
“May the promise of your youth be met
and your life be fruitful.”

Finally I say to each of the people I live with:
“May my contact with you be a grace for both of us.”

I come back to my heart now to rest awhile
in the silence that I find there
and in the loving feeling
that has come alive in me
as a consequence of my prayer for others.

-Anthony de Mello, Wellsprings, 171-173

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be amongst us and remain with us always. Amen.

9:00 a.m. Prayers

Bless all who worship thee from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same. Of thy goodness, give us; with thy love, inspire us; by thy Spirit, guide us; by thy power, protect us; in thy mercy, receive us, now and always. Amen.

Reading: 1 Peter 4:7-11

Jesus, thank you for this work day.
There are many people without work,
and I count it as your favor that you’ve blessed me with this job.
Today I want to honor you at my workplace.
Give me a clear mind and solid understanding to make wise decisions.
Thank you for the people I’ll interact with today.
Help me to love them as you love them and see them through your eyes.

I want to be a good steward of my time.
Help me to be productive and remember that if no one else is watching me, you still are.
Thank you for the measure of responsibility and influence you’ve given me at work.
Help me to use it for your purposes.
Thank you for my authorities, who are trusting me with this job.
Bless them, grant them guidance, and keep them safe.

I want to be a peacemaker today,
not causing division, strife, or gossip.
Help me to walk in peace with others, myself, and you.
Instead of becoming anxious about challenges,
help me to see them as opportunities to go to you and grow in you.
As I work today, may I continue to abide in you.
Don’t let my abilities or resources keep me from you
because truly apart from you I can do nothing.

Jesus, now to you be all glory and power today and forever, in your name I pray. Amen.