CELTIC MEDITATIONS 5: Evening Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

This post is the 5th in a series of 6 based on J. Phillip Newell's book, Celtic Benediction.  All words highlighted in red are a direct excerpt from Newell's book.

8.1.15  Sufferings
Psalm 119:10-11
With my whole heart I seek you, O God,
I treasure your Word in my heart.

SATURDAY EVENING PRAYER:
For the darkness of the night enveloping the earth and enclosing the day's labour
Thanks be to you, O God. 
For the quiet that surround me and your promise of peace deep within me
For the stillness of sleep for my body and the hope of healing for my soul
Thanks be to you. 
I bring not only my own weariness
But the tiredness of people who struggle this night. 
I bring not only my own pain but the sufferings of those who cry out. 
Hear my soul's prayers for rest, O God, 
Hear my heart's plea for healing.  JPN

I combined my Blue Moon ABC drawing with today's
prayers....a little touch of both in one!  
The theme was Unity through Understanding. 

          I bring the sufferings of those who cry out along with my own pain.  So many suffer in the world today.  The obvious of war, intolerance, violence, and displacement.  Hunger and homelessness.  All are very physical sufferings.  But many more suffer from hidden emotional pains: abuse, addiction, alienation, and estrangement to name a few.  I can't solve them all.  I can only work on the suffering I encounter to help in that healing.  So what can and should I DO today?  What action can I take that will make a small difference to someone?  






8.2.15 Look for the Light
Psalm 27:1  MSG
Light, space, zest—
    that’s God!
So, with him on my side I’m fearless,
    afraid of no one and nothing.

SUNDAY EVENING PRAYER:
Thanks be to you, O God, 
for the night and its light,
for stars that emerge out of evening skies
and the white moon's radiance. 
Thanks be to you
for the earth's unfolding of colour
and the bright sheen of creatures from ocean depths. 
In the darknesses of the world 
and in the night of my own soul
Let me be looking with longing for light
Let me be looking in hope. JPN

Look for the light. 
Look for tiny rays of hope 
Peeking out of shadowy places.
Seek out God-light.
Look at the moon.
Narrow sliver of radiant God
Bright ball of luster
Turning the dark into assurance. 
Look at the stars
A vast universe of unending space
God everywhere and always
So incredibly expansive
so intimately personal.
Look for the light
That prisms through life 
Radiating a world of glory and color.
Look for the light
Seek out God-light.
For hope glimmers within.  


8.3.15 Treasure Within
Psalm 84:5 VOICE
Blessed are those who make You their strength,
    for they treasure every step of the journey.

MONDAY EVENING PRAYER:
For your Spirit woven into the fabric of creation
For the eternal overlapping with time
and the life of earth interlaced with heaven's vitality
I give you thanks, O God. 
For your untamed creativity
your boundless mystery
and your passionate yearnings
planted deep in the soul of every human being
I give you thanks. 
Grant me the grace to reclaim these depths
To uncover this treasure
To liberate these longings
and in being set free in my own spirit
to act for the well-being of the world.  JPN

          How often do we think there is a treasure buried deep within us?  We seek 'treasure' in so many things, satisfaction with possessions and activities, without realizing that the wealth of God is planted deep inside us.  I love the thought that God's 'untamed creativity' is a part of who I am!  The task now is to release that gift, set it free, and use it to build God's kingdom on earth.  Last night I finished 'creating' my Habitat sculptures from the scraps I have picked up from various jobs over the past few years.  (I call them my treasures, Rick calls them junk!) I took pictures and hope to make them into note cards that can be used by affiliates and team leaders on CAV builds.  A small contribution, perhaps, but a start!  I shall keep the thought of 'setting free my spirit' each time I enter the treasure chest of my work room! 

This is an unedited picture, but you get the idea! 

8.4.15 Letting Go
Psalm 33:5 
The earth is full of your goodness, O God. 
From The Message:
Earth is drenched
    in God’s affectionate satisfaction.

TUESDAY EVENING PRAYER:
For earth's cycles and season
for the rising of spring and the growing summer
for autumn's fullness and hidden depths of winter
Thanks be to you, O Christ., 
For the life force in seeds buried in the ground
that shoot green and bear fruit and fall to the earth
Thanks be to you. 
Let me learn from earth's cycles of birthing
the times and season of dying. 
Let me learn of you in the soil of my soul, O Christ, 
and your journey through death to birth. 
Let me learn of you in my soul this night 
and the journey of letting go.  JPN 
         Two lines struck me this morning.  I read Psalm 33:5 in several translations, but I loved The Message  and the words, 'the earth is drenched in God's affectionate satisfaction'.  There are places currently in drought that would love to be drenched right now; others that are flooding and perhaps would welcome a little less 'love'.  But drenched means fully covered, enveloped, or wrapped up in God and I like that thought.  I see a shower of love coming down upon us.  

          And secondly, in the prayer I found my mind already drawing a mandala with seasons, growth and rebirth.  But then I came to the last line, 'the journey of letting go'.  Isn't that a perfect description of faith?  It is a journey, a slow process of learning to trust, of learning to let go of our own wants and desires and placing our lives in God's hands.  A journey begins with a single step...so what small piece of selfishness or pride can I release today, what small grief or worry can I give over, how can I begin to travel on the path of letting go? 

8.5.15  HARMONY
2 Corinthians 13:11-12 MSG
 Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.

WEDNESDAY EVENING PRAYER:
That you have placed a harmony of lights in the heavens 
that night is followed by day
and the glowing of the moon by the glistening of the sun
Thanks be to you, O God. 
That you have placed a harmony of lights in my soul 
that there is gentleness and firmness of strength
intuitive knowing and enlightened reasoning
Thanks be to you. 
Let me be so sure of your law of harmony in all things
that I seek it in my own depths
and in knowing it in my inner life
yearn for it in the torn relationships of my world
man and woman
black and white
sun and moon in a harmony of movement. JPN 
   

      Harmony.  I think of choirs and the blend of different voices into one beautiful sound.  I think of people of different cultures and background blending together in one nation, seeking the common good of all.  I think of healing and peace.  I think of the natural world and the harmony of creation, the magical way that animals and plants all adapt to one another in the ebb and flow of life.  Harmony within brings a stillness and calm to one's soul, a state of oneness with God and the world.  The harmony of lights, the harmony of love.   



8.6.15 SENSING GOD
Psalm 107:35 MSG
Then he changed wasteland into fresh pools of water,
    arid earth into springs of water.

THURSDAY EVENING PRAYER

When it seemed there was no hope

I have seen your light in the eyes of a child.

When it seemed there was no joy

I have heard your delight in the voice of a friend.

When it seemed that life was stale

I have smelled the freshness of sunlight on my skin.

When all seemed emptiness

I have touched your presence in the hand of a stranger.

When the future seemed barren

I have tasted life’s moisture on the lips of another.

Thanks be to you, O God,

For your embodied love.

Open my senses to your presence

That I may love you and care for you in all things.

          What a day of emotional upheaval. I went to bed Wednesday with backpack ready and packed, excited to don my 40 year-old orange pack and hike the 25 mile Elkhorn Crest Trail. Yet I was apprehensive following Jed's late evening phone call that things weren't progressing health wise in Bandon for my mom.  I did not sleep well, my mind on a see-saw of what I desired and what I felt my heart called me to do.  Hike or go to Bandon now?  So, if I may paraphrase Newell's prayer....  

When it seemed there was no easy decision, 
I felt Rick quietly sit beside me.
When it seemed I fought against my heart, 
I saw your confirmation in an early morning text.
When it seemed my thoughts were out of control, 
I felt the warm embrace of Luke's hug. 
When my emotions were a jumble of confusion
I heard Katy's reassuring voice in prayer.
When it seemed the drive was endless with delays
I smelled the scent of pine, then the coolness of sea air.
Thanks be to you, O God,
For your embodied love.  
Open my senses to your presence in those around me
That I may love all and care for the ill in my midst.  

(No picture today - time was spent in repacking, driving 11 hours, and then disinfecting the house in Bandon for sickies mom and Jed. But prayers were uttered for all Wednesday night as I prayed my 'ABC' prayers, in hopes of going to sleep!)

8.7.15 Rekindle the Passion
Psalm 40:8 GNT
How I love to do your will, my God!
    I keep your teaching in my heart.”

FRIDAY EVENING PRAYER

That life is conceived out of passion

And that your passion for life

Has been sown within every human being

Thanks be to you, O God.

For the desires in women and men for children

And the life-long yearnings of mothers and fathers

For the well-being of their sons and daughters

Thanks be to you.

For the hopes of friends for one another

And the cries of whole societies and nations

For justice and freedom for their people

Thanks be to you.

Rekindle in me your passion for life, O God,

Rekindle in me your passion for life.

          Rekindle.  It implies that the fire has previously been lit, but died out.  I like to think that with our baptism and confirmation, a fire for Christ was lit, that the passion to live with 'God's teachings in our hearts' was started.  But in the day-to-day demands of life often the fire is not tended, the coals grow cold, and the flames die out.  May we ignite again our passion for justice, our desire for freedom from oppression and inequality.  May changes in situations and new demands rekindle our ardor to LIVE love and not just express it.  Rekindle in me your passion for life, O God.  Not my weak flicker of flame, but your Spirit within me burning bright.