Let us pray that Jesus may reign over us and that our land may be at peace — i.e., that our bodies may be free from the assaults of fleshly desires. When these have ceased, we shall be able to rest, beneath our vines, our fig-trees and our olives.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit will shelter us as we rest, our peace of mind and body once recovered.
Glory to God the eternal, age after age.
Amen.
Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you.
I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom.
Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend.
Amen.
Heavenly Father, thank you for creating me.
Jesus Christ, thank You for saving me.
Holy Spirit, thank You for making me clean.
Holy Trinity—whole and undivided—remember my days
of trusting in You,
and send me a merciful death
that frees me from all worry.
Into Your capable hands I commend my spirit.
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.
Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.
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How I Met My Inner Ezer: 7 Suggestions for Ditching the Past and Embracing Your Truest Self via Amy R. Buckley (finding the fullest expression of God’s purposes for us)
Blogging Benedict: Sleep with your clothes on via MJ Hos (what we can learn from one commandment in the Rule of St. Benedict)
The Totality Effect: Thoughts for a New Year via Melanie Bishop (on learning to see the phenomenal in everyday life)
Best Spiritual Books of 2017 via Spirituality & Practice (check out this great reading list)
Capturing the Numinous: Mary Karr’s Sacred Carnality via Annelise Jolley (lessons from Karr’s writing on putting the spiritual into words)
I Copied the Routines of Famous Writers and It Sucked via Nick Greene (a long read but very funny on the desperate bid of writers to find a writing routine that works)
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Keep the Contemplative Writer Sustainable
The Contemplative Writer is ad-free and never shares sponsored content, but it is a lot of work to maintain. We rely on affiliate links from the books we share and the generous donations of our readers. Even a gift of $5 goes a long way to sustaining our mission to provide contemplative prayer resources for our readers.
Learn how your support can keep this website running: Support Us Today
Lord, catch me off guard today.
Surprise me with some moment of
beauty or pain.
So that at least for the moment
I may be startled into seeing that you
are here in all your splendor,
Always and everywhere,
Barely hidden,
Beneath,
Beyond,
Within this life I breathe.
Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which you have given us; and for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.
Happy New Year! And welcome back to The Contemplative Writer. I want to thank you for being part of this community. May God bless each of you in 2018. May he lead you into deeper waters of prayer and writing. May he bring you joy in your life and vocation. I’m glad we’re on the journey together.
Friday Favorites are back, and we begin our first installment of 2018 with a prayer for the new year, a prayer for the world, and some fun articles on the book and (coming) movie versions of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. Plus some other other wonderful posts! Enjoy, and, as always, let me know if you have something to recommend for next week’s Favorites. I’d love to hear from you.
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May Our Illusions Wilt Under God’s Love for Us via Ed Cyzewski (a prayer for God’s grace in the coming year)
Encountering Silence in Relationships via Encountering Silence Podcast (some paradoxical approaches to silence, for example, in the midst of our noisiest relationships)
The Epiphany: The Journey of the Magi via Exile Liturgy (in this Lessons From Dead Guys podcast, learn about the significance of Epiphany in the life of the Church and in our lives)
Praying for the World with Aelred of Rievaulx via The Contemplative Writer (given the events of yesterday, we may want to revisit this medieval abbot’s thoughts on holding the whole world–not just some countries–in one embrace of love)
Hollywood’s Once and Future Classic: Why it took 54 years to turn A Wrinkle in Time into a movie via Eliza Berman (in case you’re getting ready, like me, for the film release of Wrinkle in March)
My First Love, Revisited: A Wrinkle in Time (a reader and writer reflects on her favorite book and gives a piece of advice: read the book [if you haven’t already] before you see the movie)
The Secret of Great Memoir: The Mature Self via C. S. Lakin (memoir is a popular genre for writers; here’s what you need to know before you tackle it)
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Keep the Contemplative Writer Sustainable
The Contemplative Writer is ad-free and never shares sponsored content, but it is a lot of work to maintain. We rely on affiliate links from the books we share and the generous donations of our readers. Even a gift of $5 goes a long way to sustaining our mission to provide contemplative prayer resources for our readers.
Learn how your support can keep this website running: Support Us Today
Aelred of Rievaulx (c. 1110 – 1167) was an English Cisterician monk and the abbot of Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire. In honor of his feast day tomorrow (January 12), I wanted to share with you a beautiful passage in one of Aelred’s works, The Rule for a Recluse. In this passage, Aelred explains to his readers how to pray for a world in need. I think you’ll agree that his thoughts seem especially appropriate in our day and age.
What is more useful than prayer? Give it. What is more gracious than pity? Spend it. Hold the whole world in one embrace of love; consider the good to congratulate them, the wicked to grieve over them; behold the afflicted and compassionate the oppressed; call to mind the miseries of the poor, the groans of orphans, the desolation of widows, the sorrows of those who weep, the needs of pilgrims, the vows of virgins, the perils of men on the sea, the temptation of monks, the cares of the clergy, the hardships that soldiers endure. Open your heart to all, spend your tears on them, pour forth your prayers for them.
Source: De Institutione Inclusarum of Ailred of Rievaulx. Ed. C. H. Talbot. Editiones Cistercienses, 1951.
Lord, I give myself to You as a present.
I don’t otherwise know what to do with
who I am.
So please let me exchange this weak and fragile self
for Your goodness.
I place it in Your hands.
You’re the only one who can hide it in Your love and so rule
over me.
Busy me so much with Your kind Self
I’ll have no time or place or inclination for anything or
anyone else.
Welcome to Friday Favorites! I hope you enjoy this week’s round-up of Advent posts and resources. This will be our last post of the holiday season. After today, we’ll be taking a short break and will see you again in a few weeks.
May you have a blessed Advent weekend and a joyful Christmastide!
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Holiday Prayer Guide 2017 via The Ezer Group (a beautiful prayer resource to center your soul, including a painting for visual meditation and a prayer from Catherine of Siena; you can hear me reading the prayer in this resource)
The Both-And of Our Faith via Mary van Balen (God is already here . . . and God is coming soon)
Into Safe Hands: A Meditation On Dying for Advent and Christmas via Ronald Rolheiser (a hopeful reflection if you or someone you know is experiencing grief and loss this season)
Who Would Have Thought the King of Heaven Would Be So Earthy?|Alexander’s Story via Tanya Marlow (a delightful historical fiction account of the kings’ search for the Christ child)
A Medium Aevum Advent via Lisa Deam (a link to my recent post — a personal reflection on the four advents of Christ as taught by medieval theologians)
All About Elizabeth (Luke 1) via Marg Mowczko (exploring Elizabeth’s advent story)
Our Favorite Christmas Books! via The Englewood Review of Books (check out this great holiday reading guide)
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Keep the Contemplative Writer Sustainable
The Contemplative writer is ad-free and never shares sponsored content, but it is a lot of work to maintain. We rely on affiliate links from the books we share and the generous donations of our readers. Even a gift of $5 goes a long way to sustaining our mission to provide contemplative prayer resources for our readers.
Learn how your support can keep this website running: Support Us Today
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