[Fr. Ed Hays writes beautiful books of prayer that transform the everday, ordinary experiences of life into sacred moments. The following blessing prayer is from Prayers for the Domestic Church: A Handbook for Worship in the Home.]
Watches and calendars may be placed on the table.
Lord, You who live outside of time,
and reside in the imperishable moment,
we ask Your blessing this New Year's Day (Eve)
upon Your gift to us of time.
Bless our clocks and watches,
You who kindly direct us
to observe the passing of minutes and hours.
May they make us aware of the miracle
of each second of life we experience.
May these our ticking servants
help us not to miss that which is important,
while You keep us from machine-like routine.
May we ever be free from being clock watchers
and instead become time lovers.
Bless our calendars,
these ordered lists of days, weeks and months,
of holidays, holy days, fasts and feasts --
all our special days of remembering.
May these servants, our calendars,
once reserved for the royal few,
for magi and pyramid priests,
now grace our homes and our lives.
May they remind us of birhtdays and other gift-days,
as they teach us the secret
that all life
is meant for celebration
and contemplation.
Bless, Lord, this new year,
each of its 365 (366) days and nights.
Bless us with new moons and full moons.
Bless us with happy seasons and a long life.
Grant to us, Lord,
the new year's gift
of a year of love.
Amen.+
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Anti-establishment for the 21st century
Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr
"Thus says the LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near."
--Zephaniah 3:1-2
Today on the First Things blog, Anchoress Elizabeth Scalia reflects on the odd disdain so many people have for Denver Broncos quarterback and happy Christian Tim Tebow. I was less interested in Scalia's specific comments about Tebow (who seems like a nice, likeable, humble, faith-filled fellow to me) and more in her thoughts about a culture that would treat such a guy like a freak. Scalia excoriates contemporary culture for its fake allegiance to tolerance, cooperation, and the condemnation of self-interest:
Scalia's point is that our culture is, in fact, the epitome of self-indulgence and hedonism. If Tim Tebow is a freak in our culture, then the men and women who still answer the call to consecrated life in monasteries and religious orders and utterly alien to this world.
This generation obsessed with being different ought to consider the ultimate example of otherness - and learn from them.
Abba, convict us of our blind selfishness and hypocrisy. Help us to learn from your saints, those of old and those who walk among us today, nearly invisible to the eyes of the world. Amen.
"Thus says the LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near."
--Zephaniah 3:1-2
Today on the First Things blog, Anchoress Elizabeth Scalia reflects on the odd disdain so many people have for Denver Broncos quarterback and happy Christian Tim Tebow. I was less interested in Scalia's specific comments about Tebow (who seems like a nice, likeable, humble, faith-filled fellow to me) and more in her thoughts about a culture that would treat such a guy like a freak. Scalia excoriates contemporary culture for its fake allegiance to tolerance, cooperation, and the condemnation of self-interest:
If unselfishness, co-operation, and bare profits were truly prized by the narrative builders [of contemporary culture], then monasteries would be heralded as authentic models of the doctrine of “fairness” and practical solutions to our socio-economic dolors; people would be encouraged to dedicate their educations, their talents, and their monies to help grow and sustain them. Ditto for parish outreaches, faith-based job-training programs and soup kitchens; church-administered hospitals, substance abuse programs, and crisis pregnancy centers.
Scalia's point is that our culture is, in fact, the epitome of self-indulgence and hedonism. If Tim Tebow is a freak in our culture, then the men and women who still answer the call to consecrated life in monasteries and religious orders and utterly alien to this world.
This generation obsessed with being different ought to consider the ultimate example of otherness - and learn from them.
Abba, convict us of our blind selfishness and hypocrisy. Help us to learn from your saints, those of old and those who walk among us today, nearly invisible to the eyes of the world. Amen.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Letting go so that we may receive
"Wisdom is vindicated by her works."
--Matthew 11:19
Today's meditation from Jay Cormier's Waiting in Joyful Hope is so good, I have to quote from it at length:
This is precisely what Emmanuel comes to save us from. He reorders our priorities. He gives us an abiding peace in which to rest, and all our efforts may arise from his infinite pool of energy and wisdom. He gives us eyes to see the sacredness of every unfolding moment.
But we must first surrender all those things we cling to so that he can give them back to us as sanctified gifts.
--Matthew 11:19
Today's meditation from Jay Cormier's Waiting in Joyful Hope is so good, I have to quote from it at length:
We are not a very patient people.Encouraging words, but hard words for me. I cling so desperately most days to my to-do list, this never-ending agenda of accomplishment that I have, for the most part, arbitrarily imposed on myself. And in my desperate rush to check things off, I miss important, sacred moments, I become fragmented and harried, and my overall affect becomes increasingly grim, angry, and afraid.
We can't spare the time to stop and catch our breath. Quiet unnerves us; silence is a sure sign that something is wrong; reflection and thoughtfulness are luxuries. We do not live in the moment -- we live in the next moment.
We need to be constantly connected, online, and plugged in.
We are terrified of being bored.
We are in a constant hurry -- and yet we do not get very far.
We struggle to walk between the austere, demanding John at the Jordan and the Jesus who welcomes and forgives all.
Too often we let our fears and doubts, our cynicism and fatalism, affect our decision making. We are defeated by what is not rather than inspired by what could be....
Advent calls us to patience -- not patience that passively accepts without complaint whatever disappoints us, but patience that is certain in the hope of better things to come...These days of Advent are a microcosm of our lives, revealing to us the preciousness of time and confronting us with our mortality. May these days teach us to realize the sacred in our lives, to behold God's love in the midst of our family and friends, to embrace the patience of Advent in order to see our lives and world through the eyes of God.
This is precisely what Emmanuel comes to save us from. He reorders our priorities. He gives us an abiding peace in which to rest, and all our efforts may arise from his infinite pool of energy and wisdom. He gives us eyes to see the sacredness of every unfolding moment.
But we must first surrender all those things we cling to so that he can give them back to us as sanctified gifts.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
My Deal with the Blessed Virgin Mary
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
On an autumn weekday in 1993 I went into an empty Catholic Church, knelt before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and prayed. I was not a Catholic, though I had been sporadically attending Mass with my girlfriend, and even now I'm not entirely sure what brought me there. I was anxious about many things that day. My girlfriend and I were at a pivotal place (we were maintaining an intense but long-distance relationship), I was uncertain about my course of studies (I was in graduate school at the time), and I was feeling spiritually lost and in need of guidance.
In my desperation, I prayed to the Blessed Mother, something totally foreign to my Baptist upbringing, and asked her to intercede for me, to pray for me and help me resolve the big decisions I faced about school and about my girlfriend. I loved this young woman, could see her as my wife, and was anxious that our relationship succeed. In the kind of reckless spiritual bargaining people often find themselves engaging in during prayer, I offered Mary a deal: Take me under your protection and pray for me, and I will dedicate myself to you and your Church.
I had no idea what I was promising but the Blessed Mother evidently accepted my plea. In two months time I had transfered schools, which put me in much closer proximity to my girlfriend. We were engaged six months later, and have been married for 16 years now. Our daughter will be two years old in a few weeks.
On the other hand, I was not as faithful to our bargain. I did become Catholic eventually, though it took me another seven years to finally follow through. My devotion to Mary was anemic at best, and I have always been the most cafeteria of Catholics, even as I have tried to exercise some discipline in prayer and study and development of my own faith. I am a deeply flawed disciple, to say the least.
But periodically I am reminded of that day nearly 20 years ago when she accepted me, a lost boy so anxious to love and be loved and find my place in the world. Today, as I prayed in church during the feast of her Immaculate Conception, I felt her presence again and could sense her loving, caring, prayerful protection as she graciously continues to hold up her end of our deal.
And so on this day I rededicate myself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to her son my Savior and Lord, and to his body, the Church, that through his grace I might be a better servant to him, to my family and friends, and to my brothers and sisters in need, now and forever.
Hail, holy queen, mother of mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.
On an autumn weekday in 1993 I went into an empty Catholic Church, knelt before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and prayed. I was not a Catholic, though I had been sporadically attending Mass with my girlfriend, and even now I'm not entirely sure what brought me there. I was anxious about many things that day. My girlfriend and I were at a pivotal place (we were maintaining an intense but long-distance relationship), I was uncertain about my course of studies (I was in graduate school at the time), and I was feeling spiritually lost and in need of guidance.
In my desperation, I prayed to the Blessed Mother, something totally foreign to my Baptist upbringing, and asked her to intercede for me, to pray for me and help me resolve the big decisions I faced about school and about my girlfriend. I loved this young woman, could see her as my wife, and was anxious that our relationship succeed. In the kind of reckless spiritual bargaining people often find themselves engaging in during prayer, I offered Mary a deal: Take me under your protection and pray for me, and I will dedicate myself to you and your Church.
I had no idea what I was promising but the Blessed Mother evidently accepted my plea. In two months time I had transfered schools, which put me in much closer proximity to my girlfriend. We were engaged six months later, and have been married for 16 years now. Our daughter will be two years old in a few weeks.
On the other hand, I was not as faithful to our bargain. I did become Catholic eventually, though it took me another seven years to finally follow through. My devotion to Mary was anemic at best, and I have always been the most cafeteria of Catholics, even as I have tried to exercise some discipline in prayer and study and development of my own faith. I am a deeply flawed disciple, to say the least.
But periodically I am reminded of that day nearly 20 years ago when she accepted me, a lost boy so anxious to love and be loved and find my place in the world. Today, as I prayed in church during the feast of her Immaculate Conception, I felt her presence again and could sense her loving, caring, prayerful protection as she graciously continues to hold up her end of our deal.
And so on this day I rededicate myself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to her son my Savior and Lord, and to his body, the Church, that through his grace I might be a better servant to him, to my family and friends, and to my brothers and sisters in need, now and forever.
Hail, holy queen, mother of mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.
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