On Holy Eve

On Holy Eve

Let angels sing

On Holy Eve

Let Shepherds pray

On Holy Eve

Let miracles abound

On Holy Eve

Let blessings weave amongst us

On Holy Eve

Thy Will be done.

Amen

For those who are struggling

I feel desolate today - Lord lift me up and bring me comfort

I feel broken by the suffering - Lord reach out to touch and mend me 

I have no hope left - Lord restore me with Your  Spirit

I cannot bear the endless pain - Lord give me Your strength to carry me

I am tortured by everything - Lord heal me now, save me now, I beseech You

I am invisible and hurting - Lord help me feel seen and known

I am beaten today - Lord help me keep going

I feel unloved and unloveable - Lord fill me with Your Love. Amen

Not everyone can feel the Joy of Christmas or engage in celebration or interaction. If you are someone struggling at Christmas, may this prayer give strength and bless you. Amen

A prayer for healing

A new prayer for today:

Lord touch me now

With your healing power

Touch my head that is hurting in intangible pain

Lord touch me now

With your healing hand

Touch all that is unhealed and broken in me

Lord touch me now

With your perfect love

Touch my mind and restore all thought and memory  

Lord touch me now

With your abundant mercy

Touch my limbs and restore my strength and movement

Lord touch me now

With your deepest compassion

Touch my heart and help me feel renewed

Lord touch me now

With your caring gaze

Touch my soul and renew my life 

Lord touch me now

With all your heart

In you do I trust to heal and save me

Amen

A prayer for comfort

Oh Spirit of comfort 

Grow in me

Touch the hurting places not yet reached

Oh Spirit of comfort 

Strengthen me

Console me in my deepest griefs

Oh Spirit of comfort

Entwine with me

And lift me above the tumult of enduring pain

Oh Spirit of comfort

Ease my hurt

Heal all that is suffering within me

Oh Spirit of comfort

Bless me anew each day

And help me reach out to others

That they too may feel your comfort

And be saved

Amen

On praying and the Our Father

On praying  and the Our Father

And I saw in the praying of the prayer that it was not just my prayer, in that moment, but that prayer, prayed in all moments, adding together and cascading over to reach God’s ear; the sum total of all the times the prayer has ever been prayed, the words spoken, uttered in reverance, proclaimed, beseechingly, genuinely, hopefully, desperately, totally, as if following some sacred holy path that leads ever up the mountain to the summit. 

And each time you pray that prayer you arrive at that summit of the prayer, which connects you to God, yet each further time you pray that prayer, the pinnacle is higher, closer, larger, somehow even more pure, swathed in beauty, in power, in spiritual richness. Each word a glistening jewel that reaches out from you and sparkles in God’s mind. 

The power of that prayer is awesome, immense, vast and incomprehensible, because it holds the power of every word ever spoken, by every single person who has spoken it, till it becomes a prayer of massive propensity, for it encompasses the whole world and reaches out to eternity, where it is received and its answer echoes back to you. And that answer is Love. That answer is Peace. That answer is Mercy. That answer is Blessing. And that prayer is whole and complete, for it is the Word of God, manifest in you. 

Thus you are safe and saved. You are heard and answered, you are blessing and you are blessed. In this way your prayer is like a waterfall, flowing constantly, falling ever into the heart of God Himself, so that it is surely felt, surely, known, surely heard, surely experienced. 

Your prayer is ever-flowing, each word expanding, increasing, unstoppable, till it has been received. Therefore never doubt your prayer. And never feel alone, for as you pray so the whole host of heaven and Earth ultimately prays with you. Who could ever refuse to answer such a request, flowing in goodness, flowing in wonder, flowing in the mystery of God Himself?  For this is the mystical reality of prayer, prayer that flows from your heart to the Heart of Love. How could it never not be answered? 

And let us remember when we pray the Our Father particularly, who it was who first uttered this prayer. For it was Jesus himself. Thus as we pray this incredibly intimate prayer, between Father and Son, so we adjoin our words, we adjoin our hearts, we adjoin our spirits to Jesus himself, in his speaking, directly, to his Father and so, we too, are included in that conversation and in the Father’s response. Therefore there can be  nothing between us and God as we pray His prayer, simply because of this gift of pure Love. We too then are wrapped up in the mystery, held in the centre of the Trinity, known and Loved, protected and saved, by this prayer alone. Amen

Let us pray

Let us pray a prayer of healing for ourselves or anyone else that may be in need:

Lord in your mercy
Tenderly heal me.
Lord fill me with your holy Peace
Not of this world.
Lord bless me
With your healing presence.
Restore me now to full health.
Lord strengthen me
With the Power of Your Spirit.
Ease the burdens that I carry.
Lord comfort me
With Your Tender heart.
Release me from all pain.
Lord console me
With the truth of Your love.
May all Mercy be received.
Amen

You are Valuable

IN HONOUR OF ARCHBISHOP OSCAR ROMERO WHO IS TO BE MADE A SAINT TODAY.

Shot in the heart, by the USA backed military, during El Salvador's civil war, Oscar Romero's martyrdom in 1980 has had an enormous influence upon my life.

Here he is, very much echoing what we say on Stonebird about how precious you are and how your presence matters, even if you cannot do anything, move, communicate or think :

"The transcendence that the church preaches is not alienation; it is not going to heaven to think about eternal life and forget about the problems on earth. It’s a transcendence from the human heart. It is entering into the reality of a child, of the poor,of those wearing rags, of the sick, of a hovel,of a shack. It is going to share with them. And from the very heart of misery, of this situation, to transcend it, to elevate it, to promote it, and to say to them, “You aren’t trash. You aren’t marginalized.” It is to say exactly the opposite, “You are valuable.”

Oscar Romero 

For more information on Oscar Romero, please see this powerful video :

https://cac.org/persecuted-for-my-sake-2018-10-14/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-10-14+DM&utm_content=2018-10-14+DM+CID_cb381d3d9f79936