Month: September 2020

Open the door, open the window

 

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

 
~ Jesus,  from Revelation 3:20
 

A prayer

O God, You who are always doing a new thing, we confess that we sometimes close windows against the fresh air of new ideas, against the noise of other people’s worries, against the winds of change. God of every place and time, we confess that we often draw the curtains against people who are different, against world news or community concerns. Forgive us our insulation in our locked homes, our shuttered churches, the security systems on our hearts. Open up our lives, and let your Spirit blow through. Amen.

 
~ written by Rev Teri, posted on revgalprayerpals.blogspot.com
 

 
From the blog
Treasure for our times
How good, how pleasant
Embrace the cities and towns
 

Crossing the threshold


Stolpersteine – in memory of a Jewish family who used to live here
 

Meditation

Many times today I will cross over a threshold.
I hope I will catch a few of those times.
I need to remember that my life is, in fact,
a continuous series of thresholds:
from one moment to the next,
from one thought to the next,
from one action to the next.

Help me appreciate how awesome this is.
How many are the chances to be really alive …
to be aware of the enormous dimension
we live within.

On the threshold the entire past
and the entire future
rush to meet one another.

They take hold of each other and laugh.
They are so happy to discover themselves
in the awareness of a human creature.
On the threshold the present breaks all boundaries.
It is a convergence,
a fellowship with all time and space.
We find You there.
And we are found by You there.

Help me cross into the present moment –
into wonder, into Your face:
that “now-place,” where we all are,
unfolding as Your life moment by moment.

Let me live on the threshold as threshold.

 
~ from Begin home by Gunilla Norris, p.14-15

More meditations by Gunilla Norris
Table grace
Full of air
 

On the threshold of tomorrow


Spotted on a wall near my local supermarket. What can this mean?  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 

I first posted this blessing by Joyce Rupp in a post entitled Looking forward looking back in the last days of 2018, on the threshold of a new year. Rereading the words today, I think they are well worth adopting as a blessing for all our days / all our tomorrows.

Check out the Index for posts you might like to revisit, or search on a topic, category or theme.
 

Blessing … for today … tomorrow … whenever

 
I hope for you …

… that the single, most significant dimension of life
is your relationship with the Source of Goodness
who never ceases to sing love songs to your soul

… that you find meaning, purpose, and vitality
in what you do daily

… that you treasure your loved ones
and let them know how dear they are to you

… that you make choices and decisions
that reflect your truest self

… that you look in the mirror at least once a day
and smile in happy amazement

… that you remember relationships are what count above all else –
more than work or money,
or all the material things we spend so much time tending

… that you live in an uncluttered manner,
enjoying the freedom to be content

… that you keep your sense of humor
when things don’t go the way you want

… that you find adventure in each new day
and marvel at the wonders of creation
which constantly present themselves to you

… that you never give up on yourself
when others turn away or do not understand

… that you are attentive to the health
of your body, mind and spirit

… that you take risks and accept
the growth-full challenges that come to you

… that you draw on your inner strength and resiliency
when you are in need

… that you carry peace within yourself,
allowing it to slip into the hearts of others
so our planet becomes a place
where violence, division, and war are no more

 
~ written by Joyce Rupp. Posted on Joyce Rupp’s website.
 

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Ignatius of Loyola
Food for thought
Show me the way
 

3 Prayers for courage


Space separates our bodies, but not our minds | Rotterdam Centraal  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 

Another post in the 3 Prayer series, to introduce our theme for September: THRESHOLD.

 

#1

O God, you know we are often filled with fear and foreboding.
Give us courage and deepen our trust.
You are a rock which nothing can shatter.
On you we can place the whole weight of our lives.

~ written by Richard Harries,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #279
 

#2

O Lord, everything fills me with fear and apprehension. Even the smallest commitment has become a huge ordeal in my eyes. I cannot see any hope or purpose in my life. Teach me to go on praying, though my faith seems lost and there is no apparent response. Give me the strength to face one day at a time, and to know that, somehow, you will carry me through. Do not let me become so obsessed with myself that I fail to respond to the needs of others. As I echo the words of Jesus, ‘Let this cup pass from me,’ let me, like him, accept your will – and give me a little of his courage.

~ written by Mary Rose de Lisle,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #289
 

#3

When I feel threatened
or believe myself to be a failure,
give me courage to enter my still centre,
the place of buried treasure
and sunshine
and solitude
where you are, Lord,
and where it no longer matters
who approves of me
or how successful I am
because you are there,
and, in your presence,
I rediscover the confidence
to be me.

~ written by Angela Ashwin,
from A Little Book of Healing Prayer by Angela Ashwin, #50
 

From the blog
Theme: Do not lose heart   [prayer sheet]
Not deserted
Leaving the desert behind