PRAYER TO THE GOD OF THE SEEKING

SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART AT FARHNWALD JESUIT RETREAT CENTER
OSHKOSH, WI

Teach me to seek you,

and when I see you , show yourself to me;

for I cannot seek you unless you teach me,

or find you unless you show yourself to me.

Let me seek you by desiring you.

Let me find you by loving you

and love you when I find you.

I do not seek to understand so that I can believe

but believe so that I may understand

For this too, I believe:

Unless I believe, I shall not understand.

St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

 As the Christmas Season approaches,

let us remember those whose lives have been interrupted by sudden, unwanted and uninvited losses.
May our celebration of God's coming into our midst 

bring us deeper consolation and hope.

PRAYER IN TIMES OF TROUBLES

God is our REFUGE and our STRENGTH,

Who from of OLD has HELPED us in our DISTRESS.

Therefore we FEAR NOTHING -

Even if the EARTH should OPEN UP in front of us

and MOUNTAINS PLUNGE into the DEPTHS OF THE SEA;

even if the EARTH'S WATERS RAGE and FOAM

and the MOUNTAINS TUMBLE with its HEAVING...

(Ps 46:1-3)

GOD'S GRACE DURING OUR DEEPEST NEEDS

GOD'S GRACE IN TIME OF OUR DEEPEST NEED

"There are so many ways that we feel God's tender touch in our lives,

but it is in time of loss that we discover the deepest meaning

of His tenderness" - Roy Lessin

In whatever difficult circumstances we may have found ourselves on our life's journey, it is my prayer that we may always find our own meaningful consolations and that we may come out in deeper hope and trust in God!

Draw Me Close to You

Creator of the Dawning Sun,

draw me with your eternal energy.

Filter your transforming glow

through every fiber of mine

until I am transparent

with the power 

of your 
enlightening beauty!

-Joyce Rupp-

What keeps us alive, what allows us to endure?

I think it is the hope of loving and being loved.

I heard a fable once about the sun going on a journey

to find its source, and how the moon wept without her lover's warm grace.

We weep when light does not reach our hearts.

We wither like fields if someone close does not rain their kindness upon us."

Meister Eckhart, from LOVE POEMS FROM GOD, 
translated by Daniel  Ladinsky. 109

"And so we pray:

May God bless you with discomfort at easy 
answers, half truths, and superficial
relationships so that you will live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice,
oppression, and using people on earth
so that you will work for justice, equity and peace.

May God bless you with weeping and desolation, 
so that you may grow compassion 
for those who suffer because of others,
and may you reach out to them.

And May God bless you with foolishness
to think that you can make a difference
where you are, in this world, in this ministry,
in your surroundings, 
and that you can do the things
which others say cannot be done.

We pray this, God, in your Name. Amen."

-Original author of prayer unknown, adapted by Alexis Navarro