A Prayer for Coming of Age Sunday (Sunday, May 19, 2013)

A Prayer for Coming of Age Sunday

Each one of us,
as young or old as we may be,
wherever we are along the circling, cycling way of our journeys,
is part and parcel of this Earth, our home;
we are woven fine for all time in the lives of one another.

So, remember this always, my young friends:
This old world needs to hear from you;
this old world needs the contribution you will make
to strengthening our bruised and tattered web.

And the world needs you not at some far-off date,

some day in the future, when we’re all dead & gone;

the world needs to hear from right now,

with all your energy and joy and spirit and surprise.

So as your journeys unfolds
may your paths be blest;
and as you travel down your way,
may you turn to bless this world, as well:

bless it with the treasure

of your time and talent and gifts and spirit.

So, my young friends:
be patient—but never too patient;

have faith in God, in others, and in yourself;

wait for your season—

But never

let the living moment that is before you right now

die before its time.

Stretch those strong roots of yours down through
this holy ground of earth,

where so many generations have trod before.

And stretch those graceful wings of yours up toward
the vastness of space,
toward the heaven you will build
each day of a life well-lived.

jbs
5/19/13

A Meditation for Mother's Day (Sunday, May 12, 2013)

A Meditation for Mother’s Day

There shines forth from a mother’s face
the greatest miracle of all:
Life in all its glory,
all its story, all its history,
its mystery; divine grace
and natural evolution writ large and manifest,
perfect splendor of dust and stars.

In every mother’s face there lies an epic
of tragedy and joy, laughter and tears
flowing freely throughout all the years
the hand of life has brought.

In every mother’s face there still abide
the signs and signals, emblem and symbol,
of every betrayal, every heroic act,
every friendship, every love,
each and every day a life has seen.

In every mother’s face we know
the pain that can never let us go;
in every mother’s face we trace
the deeper evidence of God.

In every mother’s face the light
of hope shines through darkest night;
in every mother’s face the holy dark
descends, blessed mystery eternal,
with no beginning, with no end.

There shines forth from every mother’s face—
from every human face--
the greatest miracles of all:
the miracles of these lives we call our own.

jbs
1/1/02     1/16/02     5/12/02     5/12/13

"Acts of God" (Sunday, May 5, 2013)

Acts of God

The mighty works of God thunder across the universe

and shake the very foundation of the world.

Yet, in the earthly whirling of our days,

it is usually the still, small voice we need to hear. 

The voice that tells us, softly,

that all our works are not in vain.

That reminds us, gently,

when we stray from the paths of righteousness.

The voice that tells us to open our eyes to the truth

when we would rather  keep them locked shut.

That opens our mouths to speak

when we would remain silent in the face of evil.

When we are truly in God, and God in us,

then we hear that voice, whatever the surrounding clamor.

It is the gentleness that guides us

and binds us in God’s holy ways.

A soft squeezing of the shoulder at times;

a rough shaking of our souls when we need it.

God gives us what we need

when we are quiet enough to ask for it.

In a loving presence

that is often but a whisper:

A mere whisper that shakes the universe

with its power and glory.

jbs

1/11/13          5/5/13

Walking together in love (Sunday, April 28, 2013)

Walking together in love

The ways of the world
can entice and enthrall;
but just as certainly,
can be a bitter gall.

The ways of the world
can gladden our hearts,
but just as surely
keep us apart
from the will of God,
and life in God’s expanding universe.

There is a heaven deep inside our souls
which we make manifest on this earthly plane.
There is the joy of God pounding in our hearts,
transcending all our differences,
erasing all our pain.

The ways of the world never lead 
directly to Heaven’s gate; but the love of God
can transform this Earth, and make it whole and holy. 
God’s love can take the most passionate love
and make it chaste and wholesome;
but without love, the most severe abstinence
is nothing other than an arid wasteland
from which all signs of real life have fled.

So, walk in this world;
live here, and love the creatures that you meet.
But keep your eyes and heart fixed on that which is Divine. 
In the midst of every encounter, every soul you touch, 
there lie encoded the deepest secrets
of that which is eternal and forever true.

jbs
2/25/05     5/22/05     4/28/13

A Prayer for Earth Day (Sunday, April 21, 2013)

A Prayer for Earth Day

Our Mother, Holy Wisdom, draws one breath
and even we who are miles away
are warmed by the glory of Her inspiration.
Our Mother, Holy Wisdom, reaches out
and even we locked-up against ourselves
are immersed in the blessing of Her embrace. 

This Earth is Her body,
and we, children of the Earth,
are Her children.

It really is as simple as that. 

Let us honor our Holy Mother
by loving our bodies made in Her image,
by loving one another as she has loved us,
by loving this Earth, our beautiful and eternal home.

Amen.

"Borderlands" (Sunday, April 14, 2013)

Meditation for Sunday, April 14, 2013

Borderlands

Perhaps it is that which we keep hidden in fear
that is our true light; 
perhaps it is the one we fear the most
who is our truest, deepest friend.

Wake the old lion, and let him out of the cage;
uncover your light from under that bushel. 
God is trying to tell you something
in every aspect of the life you hide,
in every fear that you apprehend.

Life is not lived on the surface of things:
Swimming in familiar, stagnant waters;
the truest discoveries are made around 
the borders; on the edge; at those 
magnificent boundaries where our souls explode.

I’ll meet you at the border, then, my friends,
out on the edge of our imaginations; 
in the dark essence of these lives we lead. 
There may we yet burst forth as new light 
to one another, and light the way, perhaps,
for other struggling pilgrims who’ll come after us.  
Who knows what truly heavenly discoveries
may come to us there in that sacred borderland
we once derided as worthless?

jbs
2/3/03     2/16/03     4/14/13

Easter Prayer 2013 (Sunday, March 31, 2013)

Easter Prayer 2013

The good news of the Resurrection calls us to rejoice:

Love did not die on Calvary,

and it does not die in the face of the countless crucifixions

innocent men and women suffer daily

at the hands of a broken and fallen world.

Wherever the hungry are fed, love is alive.

Wherever the naked are clothed, love is alive.

Wherever the sorrowing are comforted, love is alive.

Wherever children are taught, love is alive.

Wherever the broken are healed, love is alive.

Love lives in me.

Love lives in you.

Love lives in our neighbors, and in men and women of goodwill and good hearts the world over.

By the grace of love and the miracle of new life,

we are set free.

Blessed be God forever.

Blessed be the Spirit of Life, who holds us in everlasting arms.

Blessed be the Spirit of Life, who lives within our hearts,

and transcends all distinctions among us, and all barriers between us,

and transforms our little lives

into reflections of Divine Glory.

Amen.

Based on Mary Ann Niedzielski, alt.