Let nothing discourage you,
nothing depress you.
Let nothing alter your heart or countenance.
Also do not fear any illness and vexation,
anxiety or pain.
Am I not here who am your mother?
Are you not under my shadow and protection?
Am I not your fountain of life?
Are you not in the folds of my mantle,
in the crossing of my arms?
Is there anything else that you need?
Martin Luther King tells how he had his own labor. In the height of the struggle for civil rights for the black people, one night he suddenly reached a rock bottom. He felt he could not go on. He was tired of the insults and injuries. In the state of exhaustion and despair, he threw himself on his knees before God and prayed like this:
Lord, I have taken a stand for what I believe is right.
But now I'm afraid.
The people are looking to me for leadership.
If I stand before them without courage or strength,
they too will falter.
But I am at the end of my powers.
I have nothing left.
I've come to the point where I can't face it alone.
He said at that moment he experienced the presence of God in a way he had never experienced before. On the strength of that experience, he was able to continue the strength.
Saint Therese of Lisieux is known as the Saint of the Little Ways. Meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. She is also the patron Saint of flower growers and florists. She is represented by roses. May everyone be blessed who receives this message.
Prayer of St. Therese of Lisieux
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God
Let this presence settle into our bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of you.
Pathways to peace:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
- Matthew 5:9
Integrity:
"Integrity is one of several paths. It distinguishes itself from the others because it is the right path and the only one upon which you will never get lost."
- M.H. McKee
Joy:
"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."
- Eleonora Duse
Kindness:
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Faith:
"Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light."
- Helen Keller
Courage:
"This is courage… to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends."
- Euripedes
Hope:
"Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark."
- George Iles
Charity:
"We must not only give what we have; we must also give what we are."
- Desire-Joseph Mercier
Love:
"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love."
- Mother Teresa
Patience:
"Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on, Hold fast, Hold out. Patience is genius."
- Comte Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
Determination:
"The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Gratitude:
"A single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer."
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Humility:
"Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right."
- Ezra Taft Benson
Forgiveness:
"Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean."
- Dag Hammarskjold
Peace:
"We must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
So you would like to interview me? God asked.
If you have the time I said.
God smiled. My time is eternity.
What questions do you have in mind for me?
What surprises you most about humankind?
God answered...
That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.
That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health.
That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.
That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived.
God's hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.
And then I asked...
As a parent, what are some of life's lessons
you want your children to learn?
To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved.
To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.
To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.
To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.
To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings.
To learn that two people can
look at the same thing
and see it differently.
To learn that it is not enough that they
forgive one another,
but they must also forgive themselves.
"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.
"Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?"
God smiled and said,
Just know that I am here... always.
When I was growing up, I lay in my bed every night and silently said my prayers. In synagogue, during the time for private contemplation, I could not hear a whisper, a sigh, or a plea from those around me -- only the organ playing. As an adult, I prayed late at night, my head under the covers. For me, prayers were private, on the list of taboo topics, along with sex and money.
When my friend Bev asked me if I wanted to be prayer partners, I stared at her.
"What does that mean?" I asked her.
"We pray together every week," she said. "We each write down our prayers, then read them aloud to each other."
"Read them aloud?" I repeated. That seemed like some sort of heresy—blithely stating my deepest spiritual thought to another mortal.
"It's quite powerful," Bev assured me. "It adds energy to your prayers." My palms were wet, my mouth was dry. I was both scared and curious. Bev and I held different religious doctrines: hers was Catholic and mine was Jewish. We would be directing our prayers to different names —- Bev to her Jesus, me to my God. Bev was used to praying with others; but I had never done so. What would it be like to pray together? How could I reveal even to a friend my very private conversations with God? Yet I had been reading about the power of collective prayer and the idea intrigued me. I agreed to try it.
We met a week later, early in the morning, before work. Our chapel was a coffee shop. Our spiritual music was supplied by the espresso machine. Bev had a short list of nondenominational responsive readings as a warm-up. How odd, to sit over a cup of coffee and read, "I surrender. I know that I need God's help." How unusual to sit among the bagels and pastries and ask out loud for help and forgiveness.
"Now, think of things you usually pray for and write them down," Bev instructed. My mind went blank. Though I prayed every night, those prayers seemed too childish and mundane to write down.
I smoothed my paper and fiddled with my pen. The cash register clanged. The red-cheeked baby across from me threw her pacifier on the floor. It tumbled near my feet. I picked it up and handed it to her mom. Behind me a newspaper rattled as a woman with wild gray hair turned to the features section. "You're not listening," a blond woman told a silver-haired man two tables over. Usually when I prayed, the world stopped or at least seemed to. But this time my prayers were not cloistered and hallowed; they were just another conversation in this busy coffee shop.
I picked up the pen and wrote "I pray for self-love." I took a deep breath. "I pray for more fun," I wrote. "I pray for meaningful work." I forced myself to put at least five prayers on my list. Was that too many, too greedy? I wondered.
"Are you done?" Bev asked.
I nodded, my voice in hiding.
"Want me to go first?" Bev asked. I nodded again. Bev read, "I thank God for my blessings. I pray to check in with God throughout the day and to listen to God's guidance."
As I wrote down her words, I savored the prayer. What a good idea, checking in with God. I had never thought to make that desire so intentional. Then I wondered, was there a copyright on prayers? How would Bev feel if I added that prayer to my list? She read another prayer: "I want to embrace beauty and order and release clutter with ease and grace." I thought of my kitchen, my garage, my basement-teaming with clutter. Yes, that too. I was practically bouncing in my seat as I read Bev's prayers back to her.
When it was my turn to read my own prayers it took me three tries to get the first sentence out. Bev wrote it down. I stumbled over the second sentence and marched my way through the third. I felt I had conquered something large when I finished reading her my list. It was quite remarkable, listening to her read aloud my sacred secret prayers as though they were already true.
"I love your prayer for a more compassionate world," she said. "I'm going to add that to my prayers."
I smiled, as if I'd just landed on my feet after a triple somersault.
We were just finishing when Carol, one of my coworkers, walked up to our table, to-go sack in hand, newspaper tucked under one arm, laptop slung over the other. "Hey, you seem pretty intent. What are you doing, cramming for an exam or something?"
I felt as if I'd just been caught peeling off my panty hose in public. I put my arm over my list of prayers and thought of saying, "We're just talking." But telling even a little lie during a prayer time seemed ill advised.
"Well," I said, looking at Bev for guidance, "we're, uh, praying." I watched Carol's face carefully.
"Good for you. I used to pray with a group on Saturday mornings. I really miss that," Carol said and walked away.
"Want to meet again next week?" Bev asked, putting her papers in her briefcase.
I nodded. I was already thinking of all the prayers I was going to add, real-life stuff that I wanted help and support for.
Bev and I have now been praying together for nine years. I still love silent prayer and I still do a lot of it. But I also love the vulnerability and openness of sharing my prayers. Writing down my prayers makes them more real for me. Saying them aloud makes me feel closer to God. Hearing Bev echo back my deepest spiritual desires makes me feel like they are already coming true.
Beyond the individual prayers, I like our intention: a Jew and a Catholic, gathering to make a "joyful noise unto the Lord," praying for ourselves and for a kinder, more compassionate world.
-- Deborah Shouse
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still water;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff --
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
