Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Praying Simply


1.  Prayer

 Lord, have mercy on me." ( The Jesus Prayer) - "Lord, thank you for this beautiful day." - "May peace and love fill my heart."

2.  Meditation

https://youtu.be/0xD57-A3cx4?si=rUhUkGWMGtJvD6_m





3.  Song



4.  Narrative

Praying Simply 

Friday, May 3, 2024

Going to the deepest level of communication,  

Where back and forth has never stopped.  

Where I am not the initiator but the transmission wire itself. —Richard Rohr  

Episcopal priest and activist Adam Bucko describes a simple prayer practice that sustains him:  

One of the greatest lessons in my life about prayer came from a renegade rabbi who spent decades working on the streets of New York City rescuing kids from homelessness and prostitution—a holy man who dedicated his life to seeking God in the darkest shadows of Manhattan. He helped to make prayer real by giving me these simple instructions: “When you pray, talk to God just as if you were talking to your best friend. Tell the Holy One everything. Especially, dedicate specific times each day when you tell God about all your worries, all your hurts, all of your problems. Take off your mask and just speak. If you do that, if you really let your whole essence speak to God like that, some days there will be a lot of tears. But that’s a good thing. And when you are done telling God about your hurts, … just silently rest in God, letting God hold you. And then for the rest of the day practice joy and optimism knowing that you are God’s beloved child, knowing that you are loved, and knowing that you are carrying a great gift in your heart….”  

In some of the most difficult times in my life, this way of prayer is what saved me—telling God everything, crying with God, wrestling with God, and then when all is said and done, just resting in God, feeling loved into newness, feeling loved into aliveness and joy. [1]   

Father Richard lately has been enjoying a simple form of prayer he calls interlocution:   

God is the constant Interlocutor with the soul.  
This voice so constant and insistent, you do not know how to differentiate it from  
yourself.  YOU are so in charge here, that what you choose the voice to be, is what it is!
You are always calling the shots. 
YOU know this voice so much, you take it as a given and for granted.  
It cannot be taught, because teaching is about what you don’t know.  
You know this voice as your own interior dialogue about everything, 
so it really cannot be taught. It can only be heard.  
When I can just stop and enjoy this interlocution, it is an ENJOYMENT.  
When I refuse to recognize or honor this voice, it is an ABSENCE.  
You really do not have to try hard, nothing perfect needs to be done.  
God leaves you (the soul) in charge of what it wants—all the way to heaven and hell.  
It is a rather total surrender on God’s part. And on yours!  
Why would you resist this?  
Why not let it be Love!  
For you and everything else. [2]   

References: 
[1] Adam Bucko, Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2022), 17–18.  

[2] Richard Rohr, morning meditation, February 26, 2024. Unpublished material. 

5.  meditation

https://youtu.be/AzvcCXvcsZE?si=gTo56IaCMq_8BVdK



6.  sharing

 7.  prayer and intentions

A Prayer for Gratitude

Dear God,

Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you that you are able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you that you are always with us and will never leave us. Thank you for your incredible sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don't thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you've given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy! In Jesus' Name, Amen. ~ By Debbie McDaniel



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