Lent
Prayer Fasting Alms
This week let's focus on
a marvelous way to pray.
So, way back when,
how did you get a start at prayer?
For most of us it was as children,
sharing in our mother's prayer.
As a little boy my Mom
taught me
The Sign Of The Cross
"In the name
of the Father, and
of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost.
Amen
moving the right hand
to my forehead, then
to my chest, then
to my left shoulder, then
to my right shoulder.
At first Mom said the words.
Soon I joined in with her.
Eventually I was able to go solo.
I learned to pray
by at first praying
IN ANOTHER'S WORDS.
To this day, and a lot of
different prayer experiences later,
I sometimes still pray
IN ANOTHER'S WORDS.
Their prayer, their
Soul Say,
guides me down
wondrous, refreshing,
new paths to the divine.
It expands my
spiritual spectrum,
enables new
soul sensitivities
and articulations.
Please
see, sense, savor, this
Soul Say
IN ANOTHER'S WORDS,
those of the mystic
and theologian
Karl Rahner:
"Only in love can I find you,
my God.
In love the gates of my soul
spring open,
allowing me to breath
a new air of freedom
and forget my petty self.
In love my whole being
streams forth
out of the rigid confines
of narrowness
and anxious self-assertion,
which makes me a prisoner
of my own poverty
and emptiness.
In love all the powers
of my soul
flow out toward you,
wanting never more to return,
but to lose themselves completely
in you,
since by your love
you are the inmost center
of my heart,
closer to me
than I am to myself.
But when I love you,
when I manage to break out
of the narrow circle of self
and leave behind
the restless agony
of unanswered question,
when my blinded eyes
no longer look merely from afar
and from the outside
upon your unapproachable brightness,
and much more when you yourself,
O Incomprehensible One,
have become through love
the inmost center of my life,
then I can bury myself
entirely in you,
O mysterious God,
and with myself
all my questions."
WOW!!
What Soul Say!!
Wish I'd said that,
prayed that.
Well, actually, I just did,
IN ANOTHER'S WORDS
and we all can as well.
Thanks, Mom!!
"In the name
of the Father, and
of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost."
Amen
In the Soul Say,
in the prayers,
IN ANOTHER'S WORDS
that follow below, please do just that.
Take time and quiet to
Soul Sense
Soul Say
them over the next weeks and more.
them over the next weeks and more.
Let's all allow for
Holy Leisure.
The speed bumps of fast
will bottom out the peace and joy of
Slow Soulful Savor.
Like an extraordinary wine,
these prayings are for slow sipping.
Thank You!!
Holding you and all of us in
God's Dear Love,
John Frank
*****
For those new here,
please see the information about
"frankly speaking"
at the bottom of this posting.
************
PRAYER
IN ANOTHER'S WORDS
Native American Prayer
O Great Spirit,
whose breath gives life
to the world,
and whose voice is heard
in the soft breeze;
We need
your strength and wisdom.
Cause us to walk in beauty.
Give us eyes ever to behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make us wise
so that we may understand
what you have taught us.
Help us learn the lessons
you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
Make us always ready
to come to you
with clean hands
and steady eyes,
so when life fades,
like the fading sunset,
our spirits may come to you
without shame.
*****
Mechthild of Magdeberg
O burning Mountain, O chosen Sun,
O perfect Moon, O fathomless Well,
O unattainable Height,
O Clearness beyond measure,
O Wisdom without end,
O Mercy without limit,
O Strength beyond resistance,
O Crown beyond all majesty:
The humblest thing you created
sings your praise. Amen
*****
You might enjoy the book
Prayers
by
Michael Quoist
Dag Hammarskjold
Thou who art over us,
Thou who are one of us,
Thou who art:
Give me a pure heart,
that I may see thee;
a humble heart,
that I may hear thee;
a heart of love,
that I may serve thee;
a heart of faith,
that I may abide in thee.
Amen
*****
Alan Paton
O Lord,
open my eyes
that I may see
the needs of others;
open my ears
that I may hear their cries;
open my heart
so that they need not
be without succor;
let me not be afraid
to defend the weak
because of the anger
of the strong,
nor afraid to defend the poor
because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope
and faith are needed,
use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears
that I may this coming day be able
to do some work of peace for thee.
Amen
*****
Many find much good in praying
THE PSALM'S
*****
An Affirmation Based on Romans 8: 31-39
We shall not be separated from God's love
that comes to us in Christ Jesus -
Not by life or death,
Not by depression's darkness
nor any addiction's snare,
Not by an abusive past
or any co-dependent habits.
We are more than conquerors
because of the power
of God's love for us.
We shall not be separated
from the the love of God
by a fall from sobriety
or a failed marriage,
by painful memories
or financial disasters,
by cancer's attack
or AID's havoc.
God's love is as constant
as the rising sun,
and there is nothing
that can come between us
and God's Love through
Christ Jesus.
*****
A Reflection On Prayer
In my soul there is a temple, a shrine,
a mosque, a church where I kneel.
Prayer should bring us to an altar
where no walls or names exist.
Is there not a region of love where
the sovereignty is illumined nothing,
where ecstasy gets poured into itself
and becomes lost, and where
the wing is fully alive
but has no mind or body?
In my soul there is a temple, a shrine,
a mosque, a church that dissolve,
that dissolve in God.
Rabia (c. 717-801)
*****
A Poetic Prayer Pause
This beautiful prayer that follows
is about aging.
That's one of the things
I'm about these days.
I am graced by both!!
Please permit me to share a sharing.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
When the signs of age
begin to mark my body
(and still more when
they touch my mind);
when the ill that
is to diminish me
or carry me off
strikes from without
or is born within me;
When the painful moment comes
in which I suddenly awaken
to the fact that I am ill
or growing old;
and above all
at that last moment
when I feel I am
losing hold of myself
and am absolutely passive
within the hands
that have formed me;
in all these dark moments,
O God,
grant that I may understand
that it is You
(provided my faith
is strong enough)
who are painfully parting
the fibers of my being
in order to penetrate
to the very marrow
of my substance
and bear me away
within Yourself.
PRAYER
IN ANOTHER'S WORDS
Native American Prayer
O Great Spirit,
whose breath gives life
to the world,
and whose voice is heard
in the soft breeze;
We need
your strength and wisdom.
Cause us to walk in beauty.
Give us eyes ever to behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make us wise
so that we may understand
what you have taught us.
Help us learn the lessons
you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
Make us always ready
to come to you
with clean hands
and steady eyes,
so when life fades,
like the fading sunset,
our spirits may come to you
without shame.
*****
Mechthild of Magdeberg
O burning Mountain, O chosen Sun,
O perfect Moon, O fathomless Well,
O unattainable Height,
O Clearness beyond measure,
O Wisdom without end,
O Mercy without limit,
O Strength beyond resistance,
O Crown beyond all majesty:
The humblest thing you created
sings your praise. Amen
*****
You might enjoy the book
Prayers
by
Michael Quoist
******
Dag Hammarskjold
Thou who art over us,
Thou who are one of us,
Thou who art:
Give me a pure heart,
that I may see thee;
a humble heart,
that I may hear thee;
a heart of love,
that I may serve thee;
a heart of faith,
that I may abide in thee.
Amen
*****
Alan Paton
O Lord,
open my eyes
that I may see
the needs of others;
open my ears
that I may hear their cries;
open my heart
so that they need not
be without succor;
let me not be afraid
to defend the weak
because of the anger
of the strong,
nor afraid to defend the poor
because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope
and faith are needed,
use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears
that I may this coming day be able
to do some work of peace for thee.
Amen
*****
Many find much good in praying
THE PSALM'S
*****
An Affirmation Based on Romans 8: 31-39
We shall not be separated from God's love
that comes to us in Christ Jesus -
Not by life or death,
Not by depression's darkness
nor any addiction's snare,
Not by an abusive past
or any co-dependent habits.
We are more than conquerors
because of the power
of God's love for us.
We shall not be separated
from the the love of God
by a fall from sobriety
or a failed marriage,
by painful memories
or financial disasters,
by cancer's attack
or AID's havoc.
God's love is as constant
as the rising sun,
and there is nothing
that can come between us
and God's Love through
Christ Jesus.
*****
A Reflection On Prayer
In my soul there is a temple, a shrine,
a mosque, a church where I kneel.
Prayer should bring us to an altar
where no walls or names exist.
Is there not a region of love where
the sovereignty is illumined nothing,
where ecstasy gets poured into itself
and becomes lost, and where
the wing is fully alive
but has no mind or body?
In my soul there is a temple, a shrine,
a mosque, a church that dissolve,
that dissolve in God.
Rabia (c. 717-801)
*****
A Poetic Prayer Pause
This beautiful prayer that follows
is about aging.
That's one of the things
I'm about these days.
I am graced by both!!
Please permit me to share a sharing.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
When the signs of age
begin to mark my body
(and still more when
they touch my mind);
when the ill that
is to diminish me
or carry me off
strikes from without
or is born within me;
When the painful moment comes
in which I suddenly awaken
to the fact that I am ill
or growing old;
and above all
at that last moment
when I feel I am
losing hold of myself
and am absolutely passive
within the hands
that have formed me;
in all these dark moments,
O God,
grant that I may understand
that it is You
(provided my faith
is strong enough)
who are painfully parting
the fibers of my being
in order to penetrate
to the very marrow
of my substance
and bear me away
within Yourself.
*************
For all those new to
"frankly speaking"
a warm welcome!
- It is posted by mid-day Thursday
east coast USA time at
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
and can be bookmarked
for ready access
- It is available each Friday
by automatic email delivery -
see Sign Up above right,
- Its past postings are available
at Blog Archive, right column.
Please take a few minutes to read
KNOW YOUR SOURCE
and
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
for a bit of orientation -
top right above
Thanks
See you next week!!
***************************
For all those new to
"frankly speaking"
a warm welcome!
- It is posted by mid-day Thursday
east coast USA time at
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
and can be bookmarked
for ready access
- It is available each Friday
by automatic email delivery -
see Sign Up above right,
- Its past postings are available
at Blog Archive, right column.
Please take a few minutes to read
KNOW YOUR SOURCE
and
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
for a bit of orientation -
top right above
Thanks
See you next week!!
***************************
