Palms, Ashes, and Compost

On Ash Wednesday, I decided to burn the palm branches that we were given at church last year on Palm Sunday. These palms were to remind us of our Lord’s last week on Earth – his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, his last supper with the disciples, his passion and his death on a cross – all done to bring us back into complete union with him. I prayed while watching the flames and stirring the broken branches, that God would light a new fire in me and give me a new heart.

After burning the palms, I wondered what I should do with the ashes. It came to me that a perfect place for them would be on my compost pile. I spread the ashes on top of the last deposit of carrot shavings and apple pieces, and then took the near-by shovel and mixed them into the dirt below. I dug down, lifted up dirt, and then turned the shovel over to let the dirt drop back down in a new spot. As I was doing this over and over again, I realized that God, in his great wisdom, led me to this compost pile. He was telling me that what happens in a compost pile can also take place in me. He can take all the pain, the wrongdoings, and all of the “garbage” in my heart and transform it into a new heart, a heart that is rich and fertile so that it can help bring new life to others. He is ready to that for each on of us, if only we ask.

My Lord and Savior,

Your mercy is new every morning.

Renew me O Lord.

I bring to you this day

My aches, my pains, my sadness, my failings.

Transform my heart into

A heart of love, a heart of hope,

A heart of thanksgiving:

A heart that helps others see You.

Make my heart like yours.

Amen.

Letting Go of Worries

I have been so frustrated with not being able to leave my worries and fears (all health related) in God’s hands.  I would pray and give them to Him, but within a short amount of time I would find myself dwelling on them and fretting about them once again.  Even during Mass this morning I could not keep my mind focused on what was taking place at Mass.

Until after Mass when we prayed the Rosary for all the sick in our parish.  We  prayed the Joyful Mysteries since it was so close to Christmas.  As I prayed I started thinking about how Mary’s yes was one of total abandonment of self and total trust in God.  And then the miracle – I was able to continue to focus on each mystery – maybe more than I usually do when I pray the Rosary.  No interruption from fear or worries.  I was blown away and so, so thankful!

After Mass, I went to confession and shared this hanging on to fears and worries with our priest (along with my many other sins).  He spoke some good words of wisdom and had me pray the Prayer of Abandonment as my penance.  I did and had the most amazing day.  No fears, nor worries distracting me from my tasks, my joys, my hopes, my happiness.  It is a powerful prayer and I used to feel it was a little scary to say, but today – I was happy to pray it and God rewarded my sincere prayer with his amazing peace.  Thank you my Father!!!

Prayer of Abandonment

Father,

I abandon myself into your hands.   Do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do, I thank you.  I am ready for all; I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures.

I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I comment my soul.

I offer it to you with all the love of my heart.

For I love you Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself

Into your hands, without reserve and with boundless confidence,

For you are my Father.

Amen.

Brother Charles de Foucauld

 

Gratitude Always

Dear Father, I am in awe of our beautiful fall sunsets, day after day after day!

I feel like you are bending down each day  and giving us a good-night kiss.

 I feel overwhelmed, Lord, with gratefulness, for this gift

and for the gift of seeing You in each sunset.

May I only grow in gratitude for all your gifts that you send daily.

Amen

From Thomas Merton:  “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything.  Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.  Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God.  For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience.  And that is what makes all the difference.”

From David Steindl-Rst in his book Gratefulness:  “Even the predictable turns into surprise the moment we stop taking it for granted…Surprise is no more than a beginning of that fullness we call gratefulness.”

 

From poet John Milton:  “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”

Three Great Gifts

For the wonders that astound us,

For the truths that still confound us, 

Most of all, that love has found us,

Thanks be to God!

From the hymn: For the Fruits of His Creation

by Fred Pratt Green

On the Seas of Life

 

 

Steer the ship of my life, good Lord,

to your quiet harbor,

where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict.

Show me the course I should take.

Renew in me the gift of discernment,

so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go.

And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course,

even when the sea is rough and the waves are high,

knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name

we shall find comfort and peace.”

St. Basil of Caesarea.

Keep Me Rooted

I took a walk through the cornfield the other day and was just in awe of the abundance of healthy stalks of corn – dark green, over 7 feet tall, stalk and stalk after stalk – just absolutely beautiful.   Then as I looked down, I noticed the bottom of the stalks and saw how it spread into numerous smaller pieces that reached out and down into the ground.  I realized that those pieces were the source of the water and nutrients for this glorious stalk of corn.  I felt like God was reminding me to stay firmly rooted in His Word, His love.  For me to stay strong, I must reach out and down into the very source of my being – the love of my Father in Heaven.

 

 

I kneel before You Father,

I pray that our of Your glorious riches,

You will strengthen us with power through Your Spirit in our inner beings,

So that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.

And I pray that, being rooted and established in love,

We may have power, together with all the saints,

To grasp how wide and long and high and deep

Is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge –

That we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

According to His power that is at work within us,

To Him be glory

In the church,

And in Christ Jesus

Throughout all generations,

For ever and ever!

Amen!

 

 

 

 

Experiencing Salvation Each Day

 

Ephesians 2:8-10

 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Gracious God,

Thank you for saving me.

Thank you for delivering me from death, spiritual slavery, bondage to the flesh, and eternal judgment.

Thank you for allowing me to begin to experience salvation in this life,

even as I await the complete salvation that is yet to come.

Thank you for healing my wounds, softening my heart, and reorienting my passions.

Lord, continue your gracious work in me, making me more and more like Christ.

Continue to transform my thinking and feeling, my speaking and acting.

May my life reflect the reality of your salvation each day.

To you be all the glory! 

Amen.

Taken from the Daily Relection by Mark D. Roberts – from “The High Calling”

One God – One Humanity

Today is the 45th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  I see him as one who was not afraid to do what was right, not afraid to proclaim what is right, not afraid to strive to reach his dreams.  The following words which he spoke say so much: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”  Powerful, powerful words.  So much could change if we all could share that light and love each day.

This prayer was prayed by Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein, five years ago on the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s death.

“Ever-living God,

Forty-(five) years is a blink in Your eye…

on this day of a great tragedy,

your eternal message remains

that One God means One humanity.  

Through Martin Luther King’s life,

you taught us that though we may differ in color or creed,

we carry common convictions

and our destinies do intertwine.  

Make our hands your helping hands,

make our feet ones that move us forward and not backwards,

and stir our souls” (to continue to strive to reach Your original plan for us.)

Amen.

Let the Praises Start; Let Your Mercies Flow

 

 

 

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good
will.

We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the
Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of
the Father, have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

(from the New Roman Missal; prayed daily at Catholic masses)

May My Soul Magnify the Lord

Today, January 1, our church celebrates God’s gift to us of his mother, Mary.   So I am spending some time thinking about how Mary can tie in to my goals/plans/resolutions for this new year.  In the Gospel reading of today, we heard how Mary kept these things in her heart and pondered them.  I can certainly do more pondering and letting my mind dwell on how God is at work in my life and how it fits in to his plans for me.

I also think about the words Mary said in response to her cousin Elizabeth:  “My soul magnifies the Lord”.  This Christmas I bought a standing, lighted magnifying glass for my 96 year old mother.  Her macular degeneration and glaucoma have made it harder and harder for her to read and to put in her hearing aid batteries.  She was thrilled by how much better she could see while looking through the magnifying glass.  What she was seeing was already there, but it was just easier and clearer to see.  Can I do that sort of magnifying for others when it comes to seeing our Lord?

Dear Father,

As I begin another year – your gift to me,

I pray that I too, like Mary, can say,

“My soul magnifies the Lord.”

May my thoughts, ponderings, and studies of Your Word

help me to see and know You.

May my words and actions

help others to see You, to know You and to love You.

May my thoughts, ponderings, and study of Your Word

make clear to me  Your will for my life.

My my words and actions each day

make Your tremendous love for each one of us

more clear to see for everyone I meet.

Use me Lord, to be a magnifier of You,

every day of this new year.

Amen