A prayer from Frederick Buechner:
Dear Lord, bring me through darkness into light. Bring me through pain into peace. Bring me through death into life. Be with me wherever I go, and with everyone I love. In Christ’s name I ask it. Amen.
WEEKLY PRAYER
WEEKLY PRAYER
A prayer from e. e. cummings:
i thank you God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any – lifted from the no
of all nothing – human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
WEEKLY PRAYER: A PRAYER TO THE HOLY TRINITY
Sunday, May 27 was Trinity Sunday. This week, let’s say a prayer to the Holy Trinity (this prayer is from the Eastern Orthodox Church):
Arising from sleep I thank thee, O holy Trinity, because of the abundance of thy goodness and long-suffering thou wast not wroth with me, slothful and sinful as I am; neither hast thou destroyed me in my transgressions: but in thy compassion raised me up, as I lay in despair; that at dawn I might sing the glories of thy Majesty. Do thou now enlighten the eyes of my understanding, open my mouth to receive thy words, teach me thy commandments, help me to do thy will, confessing thee from my heart, singing and praising thine All-holy Name: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK OF THE MONTH: NO MAN IS AN ISLAND
Week Four: Give Love Away
This is our last week exploring some of the rich themes in Thomas Merton’s classic book, No Man Is an Island.
In this book, Merton is seeking the spiritual life, which, he reminds us in the prologue, is the only real life, the most real life we can imagine or have. The spiritual life is primarily about being or existing as opposed to doing. It’s about our identity as children of God.
We don’t exist for ourselves. We exist (we “are”) for God. We also exist for others, since we love God largely through loving others. This thought leads Merton to quote the seventeenth-century poet John Donne, whence the title of the book comes: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
Merton continues this train of thought in Chapter One, which is titled, “Love Can Be Kept Only By Being Given Away.” In this chapter, Merton explores what it means to love. A true love, he notes, wishes the good of the beloved over all other things.
Sometimes it seems easy to love because it gives us pleasure or satisfaction. However, to seek one’s good wholly in the good of another is a different matter. It requires loving the truth, and it demands total unselfishness.
Here are some quotes from this rich and moving chapter on love:
***
Infinite sharing is the law of God’s inner life. He has made the sharing of ourselves the law of our own being, so that it is in loving others that we best love ourselves.
***
The gift of love is the gift of the power and capacity to love, and, therefore, to give love with full effect is also to receive it. So, love can only be kept by being given away, and it can only be given perfectly when it is also received.
***
If I am to love my brother [or sister], I must somehow enter deeply into the mystery of God’s love for him. I must be moved not only by human sympathy but by that divine sympathy which is revealed to us in Jesus and which enriches our own lives by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
***
The truth I must love in my brother is God himself, living in him.
***
It occurred to me that today’s post probably should have been the first in our Book of the Month for May since the theme of love is the first to be discussed in Merton’s book . . but maybe it’s also a good way to end.
Let’s see God living in our brothers and sisters this week. Let’s give some love away, shall we?
***
You can read No Man Is an Island here.
Reflection:
WEEKLY PRAYER
A prayer from John Wesley (1703-1791):
O Lord, take full possession of my heart, raise there your throne,
and command there as you do in heaven.
Being created by you, let me live for you;
being created for you, let me always act for your glory;
being redeemed by you, let me give to you what is yours;
and let my spirit cling to you alone, for your name’s sake.
FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING
Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.
This week, more posts than usual focus on writing (and reading)—these are the ones that struck me this time around. I hope you’ll enjoy them and find something in them to nurture your own creativity. Be blessed!
*****
Humility Is Not Fun via Kaitlin Curtice (humility may not be fun, but it’s the road to the Mysteries of God)
Sabbath for Caregivers and Helpers via J. Dana Trent (making time for rest and sabbath, especially when you’re a caregiver or helper)
God of the Anxious via Leah Everson (finding the God who meets us in the wilderness of our anxiety)
Writing Saved Me from Drowning, and Other Tales of Creativity via Ashley Hales (on writing, creativity, and mothering–and giving our stories for others)
Elevating Women’s Voices at IVP via InterVarsity Press (an inspiring collection of women authors to read and follow) #ReadWomen
When The Art You Create Disappoints You via Shawn Smucker (what to do with the inevitable disappointment that comes with creating)
One Fiction Writer’s Manifesto via Erendira Ramirez-Ortega (a collection of statements on the craft of writing and a discussion of the question: why do we write and for whom?)
*****
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WEEKLY PRAYER
LORD GOD, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity, and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
— Book of Common Prayer
WEEKLY PRAYER
Pilot of the soul,
Guide of the righteous,
and Glory of the saints:
grant us, O Lord, eyes of knowledge ever to see thee
and ears also to hearken unto thy word alone.
When our souls have been filled with thy grace,
create in us pure hearts, O Lord,
that we may ever understand thy greatness,
who art good and a lover of men.
O our God, be gracious to our souls,
and grant unto us thy humble servants
who have received thy body and blood,
a pure and steadfast mind,
for thine is the Kingdom, O Lord,
blessed and glorious, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
— an Ethiopian liturgical prayer (source)
WEEKLY PRAYER: CATHERINE OF SIENA
A prayer from St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380):
O Holy Spirit, come into my heart;
by your power draw it to yourself, God,
and give me charity with fear.
Guard me, Christ, from every evil thought,
and so warm and enflame me again
with your most gentle love
that every suffering may seem light to me.
My holy Father and my gentle Lord,
help me in my every need.
Christ love! Christ love!
WEEKLY PRAYER: A SCOTS CELTIC PRAYER
You who guided Noah over the flood waves:
Hear us.
You who with your word recalled Jonah from the deep:
Deliver us.
You who stretched forth your hand to Peter as he sank:
Help us, O Christ.
Son of God, who did marvelous things of old:
Be favorable in our day also.
— a Scots Celtic prayer (source)
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