Daily Prayers Monday, 15 November 2021
I AM TOO ALONE IN THE WORLD
AND NOT ALONE ENOUGH
by Rainer Maria Rilke
I am too alone in the world, and not alone enough
to make every minute holy.
I am too tiny in this world, and not tiny enough
just to lie before you like a thing,
shrewd and secretive.
I want my own will, and I want simply to be with my will,
as it goes toward action,
and in the silent, sometimes hardly moving times
when something is coming near,
I want to be with those who know secret things
or else alone.
I want to be a mirror for your whole body,
and I never want to be blind, or to be too old
to hold up your heavy and swaying picture.
I want to unfold.
I don’t want to stay folded anywhere,
because where I am folded, there I am a lie.
And I want my grasp of things
true before you. I want to describe myself
like a painting that I looked at
closely for a long time,
like a saying that I finally understood,
like the pitcher I use every day,
like the face of my mother,
like a ship
that took me safely
through the wildest storm of all.
Welcome to Prayers for the Day.
We light a candle…
Lord, may this candle be a light for you to enlighten me in my decisions,
And may it be a fire for you to purify me from all pride and selfishness.
May it be a flame for you to build warmth into my heart towards my family,
my neighbours and all those who meet me.
In leaving this candle, I wish to give you something of myself.
Help me to continue this prayer into everything I do this day.
Amen.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence,
O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
Amen.
Breathe in
Breathe out
Be still…
Spirit of Truth
who reveals to us
the things of God we praise your name.
Spirit of Wisdom
who inspires the words
we ought to speak we praise your name.
Spirit of Power
who grants the courage
we need to act we praise your name.
Spirit of Love
who knows our nature and
loves us still we praise your name.
Amen
Presence
“Be still and know that I am God”
Lord, may your spirit guide me
to seek Your Loving presence
more and more. For it is there
I find rest and refreshment from
this busy world.
Freedom
I ask for the grace
to let go of my own concerns
and be open to what God is asking of me,
to let myself be guided and formed by my loving Creator.
Consciousness
How am I really feeling? Lighthearted? Heavy-hearted?
I may be very much at peace, happy to be here.
Equally, I may be frustrated, worried or angry.
I acknowledge how I really am. It is the real me that the Lord loves.
THE WORD OF GOD
Luke 18:35-43
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.
WORDS OF WISDOM
For decades a prayer has circulated in the background of my daily life: May I trust my own goodness. May I see the goodness in others. This longing emerged from a deep place of suffering I went through as a young adult. During that dark time, I felt anxious and depressed, separate from the world around me. I was continually judging myself as falling short, not good enough, doubting my basic worth. That of course kept me from feeling close and connected to others and to the world. It blocked me from feeling creative, stopped me from being fully alive.
It feels like grace that this “trance of unworthiness” led me onto a spiritual path [Buddhism] that showed me how to hold myself with compassion. This allowed me to see through the layers of judgment and doubt and to discover beneath them clarity, openness, presence, and love. Increasingly over the years, my trust in this loving awareness as the essence of who we all are has become a guiding light. No matter how wrong or lacking we may feel, how caught in separation, or how trapped by the messages, violations, and inequities of the society we live in, this basic goodness remains the essence of our Being.
Theologian Paul Knitter has explored both Buddhism and Christianity extensively. He writes:
The underlying reason why people keep causing themselves and others so much suffering . . . is because we are ignorant about who and what we really are. Our problem is not an inherent sinfulness but an inherited ignorance. . . . But—and here is the really good news—if ignorance is our fundamental problem, we are dealing with a fixable problem. This problem is not within us as part of our human nature. Rather, it’s around us. . . . The antidote for the ignorance that causes suffering is to wake up to what we really are.
So, what are we really? . . . Following especially Tibetan and Zen teachings, we can say that our true nature, our real nature, is Buddha-nature. [Richard: what Thomas Merton called the “true self” or Christ-self.] Our real self is not our individual self. Our individual small minds are really part of a big Mind. . . .
Once we wake up to our Buddha-nature, once we realize the Space in which and out of which we live and move and have our being, then nothing, no matter how much it hurts or disappoints or frustrates, can destroy the strength of our inner Peace, of our ability both to endure and to respond to whatever happens.
Fr Richard Rohr
https://cac.org/our-true-nature-2021-11-08/
Copyright © 2021 by CAC. Used by permission of CAC. All rights reserved worldwide.
PRAYERS AND INTERCESSIONS
We pray for the world…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for the universal church of Christ…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for one another and all those known to us…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours now and for ever.
Amen.
Silence…
May God the provider of green pastures and
quiet waters be the peace in our hearts today
May Jesus our guide on mountain top and valley
deep be the hope in our hearts today
May the Spirit of truth and knowledge
comforter and friend be the strength in our hearts today
Amen
THE BLESSING
May the beauty of God be reflected in your eyes,
the love of God be reflected in your hands,
the wisdom of God be reflected in your words,
and the knowledge of God flow from your heart,
that all might see, and seeing, believe
Amen
Thank you for join us. Have a wonderful day!
Revd. Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
