Very glibly, we often say, “I
hope and pray that...” and I question, “Do we truly pray?” The universal response would be...”.probably
not”! In the most recent news, we have heard much about and observed the
selection of the new papal pope ~ Jorge
Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
Thrilled immensely, I am, since he is the first Jesuit pope and first
non-European since the Middle Ages; he has decided to call himself Francis
after St. Francis of Assisi...the humble friar who dedicated his life to
helping the poor. Although I am not of Roman Catholic faith and have studied Comparative Religions, I have
deep respect for all faiths and their places of worship.
Many years ago, after my second
year of teaching in Hamilton, I spent the 2-month summer travelling
Europe. Italy definitely impressed
me. One of our stops was at the
Monastery of St. Francis of Assisi. The location seemed so befitting and
spiritual...the monastery sitting atop a hillside of numerous olive trees...so
serene and peaceful. When there, the symbol of
“the olive branch” seemed so
alive.
Prayer is an
invocation or act that seems to activate a rapport
with a deity, an
object of worship or a spiritual entity
through deliberate
communication.
Prayer can be a form
of religious practice,
may be either
individual or communal
and take place in
public or in private.
It may involve the
use of words or song.
There are different
forms of prayers such as: petitionary prayers,
prayers of
supplication, thanksgiving, worship and praise.
When Pope Francis I was elected
by the conclave and presented to the waiting crowd of thousands in St. Peter's
Square, “with Francis' attitude of humility, asking the crowd to pray for him before he prayed
for them...his choice to travel alone to Rome alone (without entourage), his
always walking or riding his bike throughout Vatican City (in lieu of papal
transportation), his insistence on paying his hotel bill the next morning ~
will, if lasting, endear him to people, whether Catholics or
non-Catholics. It may armour him to take
on the extravagances, corruption and in-fighting of the Curia, the Vatican
administration,” writes Robert Howard of
the Hamilton Spectator.
His request for all in St.
Peter's Square and everywhere to pray for him, was most effectual as complete silence
reigned...the thousands bowed their heads along with Pope Francis I … for a
couple minutes of personal reflection and sincere prayer. Known to all
Christian denominations and beyond, he cited a couple lines from the prayer of
St. Francis ~ Lord, make me an
instrument of your peace...Where there is darkness, (let me) sow light.
After his retreat
from the balcony, he did what no predecessor had ever done:
he tweeted to the
world...Immensely Happy to be Your New Pope...Francis I
Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola
Dear Lord,
Teach me to be
generous;
Teach me to
serve You as You deserve;
Teach me to
give and not to count the cost;
Teach me to
fight and not to heed the wounds;
Teach me to
work and not to seek for rest;
Teach me to
labour and not to ask for reward except
that of
knowing that I am doing well.
Amen.
Prayer of St.
Francis of Assisi
Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is
hatred, let me sow love.
Where there
is injury, pardon.
Where there
is doubt, faith.
Where there
is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there
is sadness, joy.
O Divine
Master, grant that I may not seek
so much to be
consoled as to console;
To be
understood as to understand;
To love as to
be loved.
For it is in
giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it is in
dying, that we are born to eternal life.
Sister Wendy
Becket
(born February 25,
1930 in South Africa,
she is a British
hermit who is known as an art expert)
Please give me a
loving heart
that tries to
understand how other people feel.
Help me to be
kind and sensitive and not to put myself first.
Prayer for
Spiritual Renewal
by Sir Francis Drake
(1540-1596)
Disturb
us, Lord, when
We are
too pleased with ourselves,
When
our dreams have come true
Because we
have dreamed too little,
When we
arrived safely
Because
we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord,
When
with the abundance of things we possess
We have
lost our thirst
For the
waters of life.
Having fallen
in love with life
We have
ceased to dream of eternity,
And in
our efforts to build a new earth
We have
allowed our vision
Of the
new Heaven to dim.
Disturb
us, Lord, to dare more boldly
To
venture on wider seas
Where stars will show
your mastery,
Where
long sight of land
We
shall find the stars.
We ask
You to push back
The horizons of our
hopes
And to
push into the future
In
strength, courage, hope and love.
Mahatma Gandhi: One of the busiest and most famous men in the world used to set
aside Monday as a Day of Silence. “In His Image” by Paul Brand (page 211), he
wrote about Gandhi, “He needed the
stillness in order to rest his vocal cords and to promote inner harmony in his
soul amid the turmoil of life around him.
I wonder what power would be released if all Christians devoted one day
a week to listening to the voice of God to discern His coded message for our
lives.”
We Don't Always
Get What We Pray For
(Anonymous
Soldier...Civil War)
I asked God
for strength, that I might achieve.
I
was made weak, that I might learn humbly
to obey.
I
asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was
given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I
asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was
given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked
for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was
given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got
nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.
Despite
myself, my prayers were answered.
I,
among all people, am most richly blessed!
Modern Day Prayer
Quotes
God, grant me the serenity to
accept things I cannot change, courage to change things I can and wisdom to
know the difference. (Reinhold Niebuhr ~ American Theologian)
To be a Christian without
prayer, is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. (Martin Luther)
Is prayer your steering wheel
or your spare tire? (Corrie Ten Boon ~
devotional writer)
Dale Carnegie was asked, “What
is the secret of your life?” Dale replied, “Every day I pray. I yield myself to God ~ the tensions and anxieties
go out of me...then peace and power come in.”
Many a person is praying for
rain with his tub the wrong side up.
(Sam Jones, an American revivalist)
Crafted by Merle
Baird-Kerr...March 15, 2013
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