Posted on 01/27/2005 7:16:48 AM PST by Knitting A Conundrum
Thank you for my weakness, Lord,
in letting me
have to let go and let you,
in letting me be the tool
you use to reach others,
to let others
practice being Christ
to those in need,
to joining you
on your long hard walk
to Golgotha
to strip away
the layers of defense
between me
and thee
until
here,
at the foot of your cross
I can press my face
against the rough wood,
touch your feet,
look up into your eyes
and know
what truly matters.
Be thou my life, Lord,
now and forever.
Amen.
Prayer ping
There won't be too much this morning on this meditation, because, as some of you may know, I am having medical tests. If you know scripture or prayer or stories that would be good for this meditation, please feel free to post them!
Also, as usual, please let me know if you want on or off this ping list.
On the Way of the Cross, you see, my children, only the first step is painful. Our greatest cross is the frear of crosses...We have not the courage to carry our cross, and we are very much mistaken; for, whatever we do, the cross holds us tight - we cannot escape from it. What, then, have we to lose? Why not love our crosses and make use of them to take us to Heaven?
St. Jean Vianney, the Cure of Ars
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to beloved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Attributed to St. Francis of Assissi
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money." Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that."
James 4: 13-15
A voice says, "Cry out!"
And I say, "What shall I cry?"
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God
will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:6-8
Forgive me Lord,
for sitting here in the midst of plenty
and feeling poor and miserable.
Forgive me Lord
for all those times I found reasons
not to reach out and help.
Forgive me Lord
all those times I chose to be angry
instead of seeing the hurt in another.
Forgive me Lord,
for all those times I chose my way,
knowing it was my way,
and then running back to you
when I got burned.
Teach me Lord,
to know when you put others needs in my sight
so I can help,
even if all I can give is a smile,
a cup of water,
a prayer.
Teach me to be a giver,
the way you were a giver
today and always,
Amen.
Amen
Seek the LORD and live,
O you who turn justice to wormwood,
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
He who made the Plei'ades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning,
and darkens the day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea,
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth,
the LORD is his name,
who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
Amos 5:6a,7-9
Litany of humility
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
—Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
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