On the Tenth Day of Christmas
Collect:
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings:
AM Psalm 68; Gen. 28:10-22
PM Psalm 72; Heb. 11:13-22; John 10:7-17
From Forward Day by Day:
Genesis 28:10-22. Surely the LORD is in this place--and I did not know it!
It wasn't until I was in my forties that I ventured into the American Southwest. City--dweller that I am, the vastness of the desert took me by surprise. I had no idea how connected you could feel to things divine, there in the great open spaces of the desert. How could emptiness seem so full? Moon, stars, deep skies, far horizons--God's hand in creation seemed more immediate to me there than it had ever been in my city church. And like Jacob at Bethel, my reaction was as much terror as awe, a deep disquiet within me. I knew the Navaho regard this landscape as sacred, but I never knew why until I stood there with a friend, having driven hundreds of miles into the desert, sensing God's presence everywhere. I now believe that in certain places, and at certain times in one's life, the connection between earth and heaven becomes absolutely transparent--like the thin places described by Celtic saints. I saw no ladder to heaven on that visit to the Four Corners (few of us are given Jacob's vision), but I had a sense that the Lord was present in this most improbable of places, transfiguring the desert night and the empty sky into a place of desolate grace.
For Today
O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of thy truth;
Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
A Morning Resolve
I will try this day to live a simple, sincere and serene life, repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God.
In particular I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right.
And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Limerick & Killaloe - (Dublin, Ireland)
Advent calendar: Ways to Move Systems -- like businesses and governments -- Toward Sustainability:
8. Attend meetings to oppose local sprawl.
From: Christmas CLARESHARE December 2006
Ty Mam Duw Poor Clare Colettine Community
3rd January
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
God had a name. You have a name. The people you love have names. Who is
your role model, to whom do you look up? Add them to your collection.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
A slave amidst poverty
The Lord of all comes as a slave amidst poverty. The hunter has no wish to startle his prey. Choosing for his birthplace an unknown village in a remote province, he is born of a poor maiden and accepts all that poverty implies, for he hopes by stealth to ensnare and save us.
If he had been born to high rank and amidst luxury, unbelievers would have said the world had been transformed by wealth. If he had chosen as his birthplace the great city of Rome, they would have thought the transformation had been brought about by civil power. Suppose he had been the son of an emperor. They would have said: "How useful it is to be powerful!" Imagine him the son of a senator. It would have been: "Look what can be accomplished by legislation!"
But in fact, what did he do? He chose surroundings that were poor and simple, so ordinary as to be almost unnoticed, so that people would know it was the Godhead alone that had changed the world. This was his reason for choosing his mother from among the poor of a very poor country, and for becoming poor himself.
Theodotus of Ancyra, Theodatus (~446), bishop of Ancyra (modern Ankara), supported Cyril of Alexandria at the Council of Ephesus
more infor: www.newadvent.org/cathen/14579a.htm or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodotus_of_Ancyra
On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Day 10, January 3
Ten Lords A-leaping
The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God's name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)
Little Is Much! (1 Kings 19:9-18)
You would think that after his experience on Mt. Carmel that Elijah would have spent the rest of his life in total optimism. The numerical odds against his success up there were astronomical. There were nine hundred pagan prophets lined up against him and even those who were expected to support him were silent. Not to worry! God heard the simple prayer of that one man and, technically, over-answered his prayer!
So, it is somewhat shocking when the curtain goes up on the next scene and we find our hero hiding. We don't know the whole story, but he is probably overwhelmed with the human side of having to constantly stand alone for God.
Truth is that the curtain in each of our lives frequently rises to expose our personal discouragement and frustration. This side of Christmas, it is good for us to be reminded that God is an expert at doing big things in small ways. The Scripture says that Elijah's encouragement came in a "gentle whisper." For the shepherds it was the "baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." We should never forget that, "little is much, when God is in it!"
- Wes Smith
McMinnville, Oregon, USA
Father,
It all seemed so big; the celebration, the glitz, the cleanup. And I, well, I still seem so small, so insignificant. Lord, let me be totally honest. Often, I simply seem useless, unneeded, extra baggage. Are You SURE You want me? I mean, I can understand us needing You, but, You want ME!!! Thank You for making me feel needed. Thank You for reestablishing my sense of worth. But, stay with me Lord. I will need You to remind me of all that again.
Amen
RESOLUTIONS AND PRAYERS
Today the gym will be full of people. My guess is that it will stay that way until the end of the week and then it will get back to normal.
Most of them will disappear: they will catch colds, or have two early meetings in a row, or just not be in the mood. Or they will get on the scale and not see the subtraction they want to see and get discouraged. Or they will miss a few days and mess up the perfection of their compliance with their resolution about exercise in the New Year, and then they will say to themselves Oh, what's the use? and that will be that.
As a service, then, a few words of unsolicited advice:
1. Don't try to keep your resolution all by yourself. Stop thinking of it in terms of willpower. In fact, consider not thinking of it as a resolution at all: think of it as a prayer. You are not alone--no one on earth is alone. God is with us, and can do things we can't do. Just ask God for the help you need, in a childish way that may feel pretty foolish to you in the beginning -- do it anyway. Try approaching it for a time as if you trusted God more than you really do -- you have nothing to lose by doing this, and you may find God more trustworthy than you imagined.
2. Don't expect or demand perfection of yourself. Think instead of developing a habit, laying down layer after layer of the behavior you want to see in yourself. People build habit from the bottom up, layer by layer -- not from the top down.
3. Don't be harsh with yourself when you fail. Everybody fails. If you are mean to yourself about it, you will hurt your own feelings, and then you will run in self defence to the very behavior you're trying to change, as a source of quick comfort. You have no right and no reason to love yourself any less than God loves you. Failure is a chance to let God help us.
3. Don't start big and shrink. Start small and grow. Don't set too ambitious an agenda at first--set a small one. Otherwise you'll give up when you fail to meet your enormous goal. Instead, make a small change and allow it to cement itself into the routine of your life.
4. When you break your stride, don't try to make it up. Just get back on the horse. Don't spend two hours at the gym on Tuesday because you didn't spend on hour there on Monday. Just go in and do your hour. Don't fast all day today because you ate an entire cake yesterday. Just get back on your plan. Every day is a new day.
Blessings on you in 2007. May your New Year's prayers bear the fruit you need, and may you become, more and more, the person God had in mind in forming you.
Copyright © 2007 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings:
AM Psalm 68; Gen. 28:10-22
PM Psalm 72; Heb. 11:13-22; John 10:7-17
From Forward Day by Day:
Genesis 28:10-22. Surely the LORD is in this place--and I did not know it!
It wasn't until I was in my forties that I ventured into the American Southwest. City--dweller that I am, the vastness of the desert took me by surprise. I had no idea how connected you could feel to things divine, there in the great open spaces of the desert. How could emptiness seem so full? Moon, stars, deep skies, far horizons--God's hand in creation seemed more immediate to me there than it had ever been in my city church. And like Jacob at Bethel, my reaction was as much terror as awe, a deep disquiet within me. I knew the Navaho regard this landscape as sacred, but I never knew why until I stood there with a friend, having driven hundreds of miles into the desert, sensing God's presence everywhere. I now believe that in certain places, and at certain times in one's life, the connection between earth and heaven becomes absolutely transparent--like the thin places described by Celtic saints. I saw no ladder to heaven on that visit to the Four Corners (few of us are given Jacob's vision), but I had a sense that the Lord was present in this most improbable of places, transfiguring the desert night and the empty sky into a place of desolate grace.
For Today
O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of thy truth;
Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
A Morning Resolve
I will try this day to live a simple, sincere and serene life, repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God.
In particular I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right.
And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Limerick & Killaloe - (Dublin, Ireland)
Advent calendar: Ways to Move Systems -- like businesses and governments -- Toward Sustainability:
8. Attend meetings to oppose local sprawl.
From: Christmas CLARESHARE December 2006
Ty Mam Duw Poor Clare Colettine Community
3rd January
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
God had a name. You have a name. The people you love have names. Who is
your role model, to whom do you look up? Add them to your collection.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
A slave amidst poverty
The Lord of all comes as a slave amidst poverty. The hunter has no wish to startle his prey. Choosing for his birthplace an unknown village in a remote province, he is born of a poor maiden and accepts all that poverty implies, for he hopes by stealth to ensnare and save us.
If he had been born to high rank and amidst luxury, unbelievers would have said the world had been transformed by wealth. If he had chosen as his birthplace the great city of Rome, they would have thought the transformation had been brought about by civil power. Suppose he had been the son of an emperor. They would have said: "How useful it is to be powerful!" Imagine him the son of a senator. It would have been: "Look what can be accomplished by legislation!"
But in fact, what did he do? He chose surroundings that were poor and simple, so ordinary as to be almost unnoticed, so that people would know it was the Godhead alone that had changed the world. This was his reason for choosing his mother from among the poor of a very poor country, and for becoming poor himself.
Theodotus of Ancyra, Theodatus (~446), bishop of Ancyra (modern Ankara), supported Cyril of Alexandria at the Council of Ephesus
more infor: www.newadvent.org/cathen/14579a.htm or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodotus_of_Ancyra
On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Day 10, January 3
Ten Lords A-leaping
The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God's name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)
Little Is Much! (1 Kings 19:9-18)
You would think that after his experience on Mt. Carmel that Elijah would have spent the rest of his life in total optimism. The numerical odds against his success up there were astronomical. There were nine hundred pagan prophets lined up against him and even those who were expected to support him were silent. Not to worry! God heard the simple prayer of that one man and, technically, over-answered his prayer!
So, it is somewhat shocking when the curtain goes up on the next scene and we find our hero hiding. We don't know the whole story, but he is probably overwhelmed with the human side of having to constantly stand alone for God.
Truth is that the curtain in each of our lives frequently rises to expose our personal discouragement and frustration. This side of Christmas, it is good for us to be reminded that God is an expert at doing big things in small ways. The Scripture says that Elijah's encouragement came in a "gentle whisper." For the shepherds it was the "baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." We should never forget that, "little is much, when God is in it!"
- Wes Smith
McMinnville, Oregon, USA
Father,
It all seemed so big; the celebration, the glitz, the cleanup. And I, well, I still seem so small, so insignificant. Lord, let me be totally honest. Often, I simply seem useless, unneeded, extra baggage. Are You SURE You want me? I mean, I can understand us needing You, but, You want ME!!! Thank You for making me feel needed. Thank You for reestablishing my sense of worth. But, stay with me Lord. I will need You to remind me of all that again.
Amen
RESOLUTIONS AND PRAYERS
Today the gym will be full of people. My guess is that it will stay that way until the end of the week and then it will get back to normal.
Most of them will disappear: they will catch colds, or have two early meetings in a row, or just not be in the mood. Or they will get on the scale and not see the subtraction they want to see and get discouraged. Or they will miss a few days and mess up the perfection of their compliance with their resolution about exercise in the New Year, and then they will say to themselves Oh, what's the use? and that will be that.
As a service, then, a few words of unsolicited advice:
1. Don't try to keep your resolution all by yourself. Stop thinking of it in terms of willpower. In fact, consider not thinking of it as a resolution at all: think of it as a prayer. You are not alone--no one on earth is alone. God is with us, and can do things we can't do. Just ask God for the help you need, in a childish way that may feel pretty foolish to you in the beginning -- do it anyway. Try approaching it for a time as if you trusted God more than you really do -- you have nothing to lose by doing this, and you may find God more trustworthy than you imagined.
2. Don't expect or demand perfection of yourself. Think instead of developing a habit, laying down layer after layer of the behavior you want to see in yourself. People build habit from the bottom up, layer by layer -- not from the top down.
3. Don't be harsh with yourself when you fail. Everybody fails. If you are mean to yourself about it, you will hurt your own feelings, and then you will run in self defence to the very behavior you're trying to change, as a source of quick comfort. You have no right and no reason to love yourself any less than God loves you. Failure is a chance to let God help us.
3. Don't start big and shrink. Start small and grow. Don't set too ambitious an agenda at first--set a small one. Otherwise you'll give up when you fail to meet your enormous goal. Instead, make a small change and allow it to cement itself into the routine of your life.
4. When you break your stride, don't try to make it up. Just get back on the horse. Don't spend two hours at the gym on Tuesday because you didn't spend on hour there on Monday. Just go in and do your hour. Don't fast all day today because you ate an entire cake yesterday. Just get back on your plan. Every day is a new day.
Blessings on you in 2007. May your New Year's prayers bear the fruit you need, and may you become, more and more, the person God had in mind in forming you.
Copyright © 2007 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org
posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 3:02 PM
1 Comments:
At 11:01 PM,
Patrick said…
About 3 years ago I dropped into a black hole – four months of absolute terror. I wanted to end my life, but somehow [Holy Spirit], I reached out to a friend who took me to hospital. I had three visits [hospital] in four months – I actually thought I was in hell. I imagine I was going through some sort of metamorphosis [mental, physical & spiritual]. I had been seeing a therapist [1994] on a regular basis, up until this point in time. I actually thought I would be locked away – but the hospital staff was very supportive [I had no control over my process]. I was released from hospital 16th September 1994, but my fear, pain & shame had only subsided a little. I remember this particular morning waking up [home] & my process would start up again [fear, pain, & shame]. No one could help me, not even my therapist [I was terrified]. I asked Jesus Christ to have mercy on me & forgive me my sins. Slowly, all my fear has dissipated & I believe Jesus delivered me from my “psychological prison.” I am a practicing Catholic & the Holy Spirit is my friend & strength; every day since then has been a joy & blessing. I deserve to go to hell for the life I have led, but Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, delivered me from my inequities. John 3: 8, John 15: 26, are verses I can relate to, organically. He’s a real person who is with me all the time. I have so much joy & peace in my life, today, after a childhood spent in orphanages [England & Australia]. Fear, pain, & shame, are no longer my constant companions. I just wanted to share my experience with you [Luke 8: 16 – 17].
Peace Be With You
Patrick
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