EASTER PRAYER

PRAYER TO THE RESTORER OF ENTOMBED VITALITY

Awakened One, Source of Inner Power,

Restorer of Tombed Vitality, Giver of Graced Gusto.

You, who have raised from the cold stone of death,

come and resurrect me from my own entombment.

Repair what has weakened in my spiritual endeavors,

revive my mildewed , cobwebbed relationships;

Lift up my waning hope when I wail with the world's pain,

restore my sense of oneness with all of your creation;

Refresh my daily call to embrace the sacred

to find you in every gesture that dances with your heart;

Push  back the stone of self-centeredness

untomb my genrousity, renew my dedication;

Raise up my dilapidated dreams, restore my ancient union,

resuscitate my burning desire, 

re-establish my priorities

So you become the Center 
of all I am and all I do.

-Joyce Rupp-

Easter  Blessings on us all!


The Resurrection is not a single event, 
but a loosening of God's power and light into the earth and into history
that continues to alter things,
infusing them with grace and power of God's own holiness.

It is as if a door was opened,
and what poured out will never be stopped
and the door cannot be closed.

Megan McKenna

One of the greatest marvels in life is the 

RESILIENCY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT.

There must be a vital and inextinguishable spark 

of HAPPINESS 

deep in every human heart.

-Agnes Sligh Turnbull- 

CARRYING OUR CROSS
by Joyce Rupp

RESPONSE:  JESUS, GRANT US STRENGTH TO CARRY  YOUR CROSS

• On those days when life seems too demanding with all its cares, burdens and concerns...
•   When we experience great loneliness deep inside and the pain of separation fills our spirits...
• When we feel the pain of our world and unite in compassion with the Earth's suffering people...
• When we struggle with decision-making and the time comes to make good choices about our lives...
• When we are with others in their physical pain or when we vigil with one who has terminal illness...
• When we are asked to go the extra mile, to be generous with our time and our presence...
• When we feel weary and worn out, when it seems like all of our energy has been drained away...
• When we are challenged to risk our security and to accept new growth in our relationship with you...
• When we experience the effects of aging or extended illness on our bodies or our minds...
• When we feel discouraged, desolate, depressed and want to withdraw from others...
• When worries and concerns choke our peacefulness and leave us with anxieties and fear...
• When we harbor old wounds and are called to offer or to receive forgiveness...

TOGETHER: 

Crucified Jesus, help us to take up our cross day by day.  Through these crosses we can grow closer to you. Help us to lean on you and to learn from you. May we not give in to self-pity or self-doubt. Rather, let us trust in your presence which strengthens us. Encourage us on our tomb-like days. Remind us of your Resurrection. Help us to keep our vision focused on life and growth. Amen.

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/exequiel_mapa/6626020293/in/photostream

MAY GOD'S GREAT LOVE

TOUCH OUR HEARTS 

IN THE MOST PROFOUND WAY

THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON

AND

MAY OUR NEW YEAR BE FILLED

WITH GOD'S PEACE AND JOY!

"I am Silent...and Expectant"
Guerillas of Grace, Ted Loder, 152

How silently,
How silently,
The wondrous gift is given.

I would be silent now,
Lord, and expectant...

that  I may receive
the gift I need

so I may become
the gift others need.

BLESSED ADVENT

A GIFT OF HOPE
An Advent Prayer by Joyce Rupp

God of all those who yearn for a glimmer 
of assurance on the long journey to you, come!
Come with the vast storehouse of renewed dreams, 
hopes and peacefulness!

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into my memory and remind me often 
of the yearning of the people of history. 
Stir up stories of how the ancestors 
hung on your promises, 
how they stole hope from tiny glimmers
about you, passed on from age to age. 
Help me to hear the loud, crying voices of the prophets who proclaimed that a new age would dawn.

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into this heart of mine 
which often loses itself in self, 
missing the message of your encouragement 
because I am so entangled in the web of my own whirl of life.
 Enable me to not lose sight of the power of your presence or the truth of your consolation.

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into the lives of all those I hold dear, 
the ones whose lives are marked with pain,
 struggle, and deep anxiety, 
those whose lives bear ongoing heartaches, 
those whose difficulties threaten to overwhelm 
them with helplessness and despair. 
Come and gift them with a deep belief about you 
and your never-ending faithfulness and companionship.

GOD OF HOPE,
Come into every human heart 
that cries out for a glimpse of your love, 
for a sign of your welcoming presence, 
for a taste of happiness. 
Be the one who calms the restless 
and gentles the ache of the human journey.

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into this Advent Season 
with the grace of joy and laughter. 
Fill faces with smiles of delight and voices 
with sounds of pleasure.  
Let this gift come from deep within. 
Replenish all with the joyful blessings that only your peace can bring.

GOD OF HOPE,
Be the Morning Star in our Midst, 
the Light that can never go out, 
the Beacon of Hope guiding our way to you. 
Come into our midst and make of our lives a home,
 where your everlasting goodness resonates with assuring love and vigorous hope.

May the Light of Christ 

that has come into our world

fill all of our hearts with Joy and Peace!

Join me in fathoming the depths of this liturgical season of the year by immersing ourselves in a profound spiritual prayer that I have found so powerful to enter into 

during this Advent Season. 

A BLESSED ADVENT TO EVERYONE!

"CALLED TO LOVE"

A MEDITATION/REFLECTION BY JOYCE RUPP

For one being to love another,

that is perhaps the most difficult of all tasks,

the ultimate, the last test and proof.

The work for which all other work is but preparation.

-Rainer Maria Rilke - 

Jesus, you are "filled with love" for me 

just as you were for the rich young person who came to you. 

I, too, have riches, a wealth of love within me, 

that is meant to be shared. 

I yearn to have a deep desire for goodness 

so that I can leave some of the things I'm greedy for 

and focus my heart on the deeper values of your love.

  I yearn to love as you have loved. (Mk 10:17-22).

Jesus, there are places within my heart 

that are still unfree and fearful. 

You made yourself available to the Samaritan woman 

and you pursued her with your strong belief in her inner treasures.  

I, too, am meant to be a person of love 

who announces hope to others (Jn 4: 1-42)

Jesus, you told a powerful story of a person 

who stopped on a risky road to care for someone's wounds. 

Help me to stop at the unpleasant places in my life, 

to be present to those who need a touch of love,

 especially on those days 

when my life is moving hurriedly and intensely.  

Grant me the courage to be less fearful of reaching out 

and walking with others 

who need a gesture of kindness and care. (Lk. 10:29-37)

Jesus, you welcomed a penitent woman 

who came to bathe your feet with her tears. 

Your recognized the beauty of her love and the depth of her sorrow. 

There are tears within me which need to be shed 

for the pain I've cause and the hurt I've generated.

 You are a loving welcome for me 

as I come with repentance. 

Thank you for all the times 

you've welcomed me home. (Lk 7:36-50)

Jesus, you loved your own, loved them to the end."

 You bent low before them, smelled their dirty feet,

 and washed them tenderly. 

You then asked them to share that same great love with others. 

I, your, servant, am called to share my gifts 

and talents with those who are part of my life. 

I am not meant to be a doormat for them 

but I am called to be generous and humble 

with the deeds that I do.  

May it be so. (Jn13:1-15)

Jesus, you called your disciples friends. 

You recognized the great blessing 

they were for you on  your journey. 

Thank you for the gift of my significant persons, 

for the privilege of walking through life with them.

 Remind me often of the strength and courage

 these loved ones give to me.  

May the joy I experience through them 

radiate love in my life to all who know me. (Jn 15: 1-7)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving Season is one of the special times 
 that invite us to pause,to reminisce and to remember 
everything that we need to be grateful for - 
all the people, events, and things -
that have come into our lives
and that have shaped our being into who we are.

Here are some powerful one-liners and inspiratons that might help us
to enter, to fathom and to reflect on 
the many ways by which
we have been invited to live out this spirit of Thanksgiving
in our personal lives!

May we always have a grateful heart!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, 

and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich."

 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Gratitude ... goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" 

and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. 

In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response 

to the awareness of gifts received, 

but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. 

The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge 
that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy."

-- Henri J. M. Nouwen

"Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed 
or those we enjoy now." 


-- A. W. Tozer 

"Thanksgiving like contentment is a learned attitude. The person who has not learned to be content will not be thankful for he lives with the delusion that he deserves more or something better."

--Robert Flatt

"To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, 

to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. 

Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. 

Everything originates in a will for good, which is directed at you. 

Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude."

--Albert Schweitzer

"To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us--and He has given us everything.  Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him."

~ Thomas Merton

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

 – Thornton Wilder

A Thanksgiving  Blessing

May an abundance of gratitude burst forth

as you reflect upon what you received.

May thanksgiving overflow in your heart

and often be proclaimed in your prayer.

May you gather around the table of your heart

an ardent faithfulness, kindness and goodness

of each person who is true to you.

May the harvest of your good actions

bring forth plentiful fruit each day.

May you discover a cache of hidden wisdom

among the people and events that have brought you 

distress and sorrow.

May your basket of blessings surprise you 

with its diversity of gifts

and of its opportunities for growth.

May all that nourishes and resources your life

bring you daily satisfaction and renewed hope.

May you slow your hurried pace of life

so you can be aware of, and enjoy,

what you too easily took for granted.

May you always be open, willing,

and ready to share your blessings with others.

May you never forget the Generous One

who loves you lavishly and unconditionally.

-Sister Joyce Rupp -