May you recognize in your life the presence,
power, and light of your soul.
May you realize that you are never alone,
that your soul in its brightness and belonging
connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe.
May you have respect for your individuality and difference.
May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique,
that you have a special destiny here,
that behind the facade of your life
there is something beautiful and eternal happening.
May you learn to see your self
with the same delight,
pride, and expectation
with which God sees you in every moment.
- John O’Donohue
Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working – Pablo Picasso
It’s finals week for me (and many of you) so I wanted to send out a prayer for peace and inspiration as we take the last steps of our accademic year.
May we be graced by the wisdom of God and led by the eternal creative spirit as we search for understanding in our school work and in our lives. May desire lead our thoughts and my our frustration and anxiety find a home in the comforting hands of our maker. Amen
Tonight we celebrate the Last Supper as we continue the march toward the cross. It’s a somber service because we remember the final moments Jesus had with his disciples before he was betrayed by Judas. The author Brendan Kennelly has writen an epic poem called “The Book of Judas” and this is an excerpt that I thought was appropriate as we remember who Christ is this night.
I have never seen him and I have never seen
Anyone but him. He is older than the world and he
Is always young. What he says is in every ear
And has never been heard before.
I have tried to kill him in me,
He is in me more than ever.
I saw his hands smashed by dum-dum bullets,
His hands holding the earth are whole and tender.
If I knew what love is I would call him a lover.
Break him like glass, every splinter is wonder.
I had not understood that annihilation
Makes him live with an intensity I cannot understand.
That I cannot understand is the bit of wisdom I have found.
He splits my mind like an axe a tree.
He makes my heart deeper and fuller than my heart will dare to be.
He would make me at home beyond the sky and the black ground,
He would craze me with the light on the brilliant sand,
He is the joy of the first word, the music of undiscovered human.
Undiscovered! Yet I live as if my music were known.
He is what I cannot lose and cannot find
He is nothing, nothing but body and soul and heart and mind.
So gentle is he the gentlest air
Is rough by comparison
So kind is he I cannot dream
A kinder man
So distant is he the farthest star
Sleeps at my breast
So near is he the thought of him
Puts me outside myself
So one with love is he
I know love is
Time and eternity
And all their images.
No image fits, no rod, no crown.
Ask for grace, not for instruction
ask for desire, not for understanding
ask for the groaning of prayer and not diligent reading
ask for the spouse (God as lover), not the teacher
ask for God, not man or woman
ask for darkness, not for clarity
and do not ask for light
but ask for the fire that carries us to God
- St. Bonaventure
So many times we are fixated on answers and knowledge that we don’t embrace the mystery and wonder that is God.
The national day of prayer happens every year, this year it is May 7, and invites people of all faiths to pray for our nation. Their website says that the day “exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families.” I remember a couple of years ago when Bono from U2 was invited to be the guest speaker and he took everyone to task for not practicing what they preach. I absolutely believe in the power of prayer and think that we need to be more conscious of who and what we are praying for.
Last night my wife and I were watching the Colbert Report and there was this bit about the Master Media International prayer calendar. Apparently they have a day by day list of celebrities and media moguls that we need to be praying for and yesterdays celebrity was Stephen Colbert. The following clip is his response to his national day of prayer:
(Note: Hulu has a brief commercial before the clip from the Colbert Report begins. WPC does not support or endorse any product featured.)
In the midst of making fun of the situation, Colbert points out one of the biggest pit-falls of prayer: selfish demands. Yes we are supposed to ask God for help and provision in our lives but at what point does it become silly? Prayer is a two way street in which we must be open and listening for what God wants from us. What is the point of asking a question if you are not ready to receive an answer or guidance? We should not just pray for what we want but that we may be involved in what God wants.
