Dear Friends,
We pray you are safe and well.
In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that in God’s economy of abundance, when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.
Today's Meditation is yesterday's morning prayer and evening prayer by Louise Colletti and Rev. Austin Fleming.
We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in healthcare, in the workplace, in the Church--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.
We hope and pray that you and your loved ones experience genuine peace of mind and heart, and remain in good health during this challenging time.
In this "Season of Ordinary Time" in the Church Year, may this be a time of peace, of healing and hope, of the infusion of joy in your life!
With our love and care,
Ron & Jean
MEDITATION 181: Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer by Louise Colletti and Rev. Austin Fleming, A Concord Pastor
Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 10/21
Posted: 21 Oct 2020 08:15 PM PDT
Image source
I don't often invite guest writers to post here but a friend recently shared with me a prayer she wrote for a course she's taking in Celtic spirituality and I asked her permission to share it with you - which she graciously granted. Thank you, Louise, for these beautiful, prayerful words!
O Holy One,
I come in humility to thank you for your gifts
and to ask for continued blessings in my life...
I thank you for the gift of seeing:
- · the lusciousness of autumn colors
- · the light in my loved ones’ eyes
- · the sun to warm me and the moon to calm me
- · the stars to be my companions
and I ask for the gift of seeing your reality
underneath, within and beyond
what my eyes can behold.
I thank you for the gift of hearing:
- the melodious sounds of the ocean waves
- the thunder that reminds me of your presence
- the chirping of birds that sing our alleluia
- the “je t’aime, memere” of my grandson
and I ask for the ability to hear, deeply,
the love songs you sing to me...
I thank you for the gift of touch:
- · The hugs and foot rubs of my beloved
- · The wind that caresses my face
- · The invitation of a friend for a tête-à-tête
- the softness and warmth of an infant’s hands
and I ask for your loving touch of compassion
to inspire me to touch all that you've created
with love and tenderness
For the gift of tasting:
- · the sweet juiciness of a rich ripe peach
- · the freshly baked apple crisp
- · the baby’s ability to taste his/her toes
- · the lemon taste in a hard candy
and I ask that you give me the awareness
to be grateful for this precious gift
and not use it to excess...
For the gift of smell:
- · the scent that is unique to my daughter
- · the scent of a warm fire on a cold evening
- · the scent of the pine trees that surround me
- · the scent of decaying plants
and I ask that wherever I go
that I will leave the scent of your presence...
Last but not least, Holy One, thank you for my mind:
shower and penetrate me with Wisdom
that I might journey with my fellow travelers
in truth, compassion and justice...
Amen.
- Louise Colletti
NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 10/21
Posted: 21 Oct 2020 04:46 PM PDT
Lord, I love the perspective of my friend's photo here:
the perspective of fallen leaves...
Photo by John McGinty
These leaves have done their duty, Lord!
Last spring they budded barren branches,
waiting to unfold in leafy beauty
and fulfill their given task,
to shade us from the summer's sun,
providing refuge and a cooler place to sit,
read, picnic, hold a friend's hand
and carry on conversations meant to solve most
if not all of this world's problems...
Then, before retiring at summer's end,
they made a costume change for fall's finale,
delighting us with glories
only you, Lord, might have dreamed...
And now,
our applause fades, hushed by autumn
as the leaves gently fall, one by one,
landing on and weaving a tender carpet
where we tread softly,
listening for that rustling sound,
October's parting song...
At the end of the season, Lord,
these fallen leaves look up to heaven,
searching for you, their Maker,
praying for the rest they've surely earned,
the rest they so deserve...
And so, at the end of this day,
I look up to the heavens, Lord,
searching for you, my Maker
as one day I'll look up at the end of my life
when, like the leaves, my work all done
I'll pray I've earned the rest you promise,
that I'll deserve the peace for which I long...
Teach me the lesson of falling leaves, Lord,
and make the end of my day and the autumn of my days
a time to fall gently into your arms,
into your mercy, into your heart...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me when I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Tonight's music is instrumental, a guitar solo by Martin Tallstrom, entitled Falling Leaves - Song for Autumn. Tallstrom has captured on his fret board the beauty and mystery of falling leaves. As I listen to it, I imagine myself falling into bed, into sleep, at day's end -and- all who have fallen into God's hands, all who fell into God's peace today and those who will fall into eternal rest in the course of the night ahead... The sound of the guitar, and the sound of our falling into God's embrace... may that sound be gentle, beautiful and peaceful beyond our imagining...
This prayer comes to us from Fr. Bryan Massingale's group: Honing a Black Catholic Voice.