Daily Prayers Tuesday, 25 January 2022
The Wild Asters
by Sara Teasdale
In the spring I asked the daisies
If his words were true,
And the clever, clear-eyed daisies
Always knew.
Now the fields are brown and barren,
Bitter autumn blows,
And of all the stupid asters
Not one knows.
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…
I arise today,
embraced in the arms
of God the Father,
empowered by the strength
of God the Spirit,
immersed in the love
of God the Son.
I arise today
in the company
of the Trinity,
Father, Spirit and Son.
I arise today
Amen
Presence
Dear Lord, help me to be open to you
for this time as I put aside the cares of this world.
Fill my mind with your peace, Your Love.
Freedom
Guide me always to do your holy will
knowing that your strength will
carry me through.
Consciousness
We all need to take time out from our daily chores.
We know that our bodies need a rest.
When we come into your presence, Lord,
our hearts and minds are refreshed, our spirits lifted.
THE WORD OF GOD
Mark 16:15-18
And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’
WORDS OF WISDOM
Try to think of the Reign of God as Jesus’ way of saying “the Big Picture” or “in the Largest Frame.” It is not a place as much as the ultimate perspective, the perspective of God. Whenever we open ourselves to the Big Frame, our little frame of reference shrinks into proper perspective or even falls away entirely.
Life can’t be based on what is passing; it can’t be based on transitory images. Instead, we have to base it on the lasting truth, on the truth of who we are, on the truth of this creation, which God says is “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
Our problem seems to consist in the fact that we’re convinced of not being good. And we need a great deal of trust to believe God’s pronouncement that everything God created is very good—even in its imperfect state. We seem to believe that only perfect things are lovable. Yet the Gospels say very clearly that God loves imperfect things, which is really everything! Perfection is invariably our own self-created notion, manufactured largely in our own thinking mind or by our culture; thus, it is both delusional and, finally, self-defeating—as well as a major enemy and obstacle to loving what is right in front of us.
Only God can lay claim to perfection. Yet we keep plowing ahead, demanding a desired and expected response from ourselves and from the world, even when we seldom get it. We then use this disappointing information to notice everyone else’s imperfection! Such a false crusade only gets more compulsive and demanding the older we get.
Those who don’t have anything to prove or protect believe they are loved as they are. But we who have spent our lives ascending the spiritual ladder have a harder time hearing this truth. For the truth isn’t found up at the top of our striving, but down at the bottom in our deepest nature. By trying to climb the ladder upward we miss Christ, who comes down through the Incarnation.
The proclamation of the Reign of God is a radical political and theological statement. It has nothing to do with being perfect. It has to do with living inside the Big Frame, the final and full state of affairs, the lasting perspective. The gospel is before all else a call to live differently, so that life can be shared with others. In other words, the gospel is ultimately calling us to a stance of simplicity, vulnerability, dialogue, powerlessness, and humility. These are the only virtues that make communion and community and intimacy possible.
Fr Richard Rohr
https://cac.org/god-loves-imperfect-things-2022-01-23/
Copyright © 2021 by CAC. Used by permission of CAC. All rights reserved worldwide.
PRAYERS & 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.
May God the Father
prepare your journey,
Jesus the Son
guide your footsteps,
The Spirit of Life
strengthen your body,
The Three in One
watch over you,
on every road
that you may follow.
Amen
THE BLESSING
May your day be blessed
by moments of quietness,
light in your darkness,
strength in your weakness,
grace in your meekness,
joy in your gladness,
peace in your stillness.
May your day be blessed
AMEN
Thank you for join us…have a wonderful day!
Revd. Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
