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The Prayer of the Spinner by Gerrit Dou, 17th c.
"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice.
-Meister Eckhart (1260-1328)
View Selected Prayers
On the Road
We are always somewhere
on the road to Emmaus,
heads bowed against the sting
of wind-whipped sand.
Concerned with making miles
before the end of day
we do not always hear
the summons sent to us.
What does it mean to realize
resurrection from the dead?
The answer is never
all that clear and the road
makes so many twists and turns
through Gaza, Guatemala,
Colombia, Rwanda, Israel and Sudan.
All we really know is that
we must follow where it leads
and only stop to make repairs
along the way
until we meet once again
in Galilee.
-- Clarence. C. Kean, Portsmouth, N.H.
A Prayer Attributed to Sir Francis Drake - 1577
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well 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 storms will show your mastery;
Where losing 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.
A Franciscan Benediction
May God bless you with discomfort,
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger,
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears,
To shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain to joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness,
To believe that you can make a difference in this world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
Amen.
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