Prayers/Reflection

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reflection;

For a truly religious man nothing is tragic.
- Ludwig Wittgenstein

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"Prayer does not consist in thinking much, but in loving much. Do, therefore, whatever may excite you most to love."
~Interior Castle, IV by St. Teresa of Avila

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God’s Whisper

Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn’t know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher.

Pacing about the preacher’s study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, “I’ve begged God to say something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn’t God answer?”

The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply–something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. “What did you say?” he asked.

The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. “Sorry,” he said. “I still didn’t hear you.” With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. “God sometimes whispers,” he said, “so we will move closer to hear Him.”

This time the young man heard and he understood. We all want God’s voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God’s is the still, small voice. . .the gentle whisper.

Perhaps there’s a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God’s whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God.

Author Unknown

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PSALM 23

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (4)

The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

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Life Promise Prayer

In the name of the One God, ever living and life giving,
faithful and true, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

I accept God's gift of life to me
in the circumstances
of my conception and birth,
of my parents, of my family,
of all whosoever care for me or did me
harm in all the years that began the journey
of my life.
God who calls by name works all together for my good.
I choose life.

I accept God's gift of life around me,
the sacred treasure of each human life
whether sister, brother, friend or stranger;
however whole or broken, small or great,
saint or sinner,
rich or poor, ill or well, ally or enemy, or
indifferent.

Each is crafted in God's image, to each is offered
Christ's redemption, in each moves the spirits blessing.
I choose life.

I accept God's gift of life in my times,
in infant's cry, in childhood's wonder
in trails of teen years and embrace of youth,
in maturity's accomplishments and failures,
in waning day's and night's negotiations.
Among the creatures with the breath of life within them,
God has placed the timeless in the human heart,
but not the reach to grasp or measure it.
I choose life.

I accept God's gift of life in my dying,
in God's hands the shaping of the manner
by God's clock the counting of the hour.

May God who lays me down uphold me.
May Christ along the way companion me.
May spirit lift, and light billow me into the Resurrection.

God is life, and this I choose.

In the name of the One God, ever living and life giving,
faithful and true, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

[farmboy]

Oh Lord, here I am, I am Yours
I believe that nothing is impossible with You
Only You can see my heart
My soul desires to walk in the path
You have willed rather than
in that I might choose

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O Holy Night

(HD) Mariah Carey - O Holy Night (Live ABC Christmas Special 2010) - YouTube

Oh, holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error, pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt it's worth

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn'
Fall on your knees, oh, hear the Angels' voices
Oh, night divine, oh, night when Christ was born
Oh, night divine, oh, night, oh night divine

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn'
Fall on your knees, oh, hear, hear the Angels' voices


Luke 2:9-11
(NIV)
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Oh, night divine, yeah, oh, night when Christ was born
Oh, night divine, oh, night, oh night divine

Oh, night divine


"O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noël") is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877), a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem.[1] Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight,[2] editor of Dwight's Journal of Music, created a singing edition based on Cappeau's French text in 1855. In both the French original and in the two familiar English versions of the carol, the text reflects on the birth of Jesus and of mankind's redemption.

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When we approach any problem in the right way we become better-versions-of-ourselves. This is true for individuals, but it is also true for marriages, families, business, nations, and the Church.

— from Rediscover Advent

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For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.


— Alfred D. Souza

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GRACE MUST BE HIDDEN UNDER THE MANTLE OF HUMILITY

THE VOICE OF CHRIST

IT IS better and safer for you to conceal the grace of devotion, not to be elated by it, not to speak or think much of it, and instead to humble yourself and fear lest it is being given to one unworthy of it. Do not cling too closely to this affection, for it may quickly be changed to its opposite. When you are in grace, think how miserable and needy you are without it. Your progress in spiritual life does not consist in having the grace of consolation, but in enduring its withdrawal with humility, resignation, and patience, so that you neither become listless in prayer nor neglect your other duties in the least; but on the contrary do what you can do as well as you know how, and do not neglect yourself completely because of your dryness or anxiety of mind.

....
Thomas A Kempis
Imitation of Christ

Book 3, Chapters 1-10 of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis - Cyber Library