Telling Secrets

img_9454x.jpg 

I believe that by and large the human family all has the same secrets, which are both very telling and very important to tell.  They are telling in the sense that they tell what is perhaps the central paradox of our condition-that what we hunger for perhaps more than anything else is to be known in our full humanness, and yet that is often just what we also fear more than anything else.  It is important to tell at least from time to time the secret of who we truly and fully are-even if we tell it only to ourselves-because otherwise we run the risk of losing track of who we truly and fully are and little by little come to accept instead the highly edited version which we put forth in hope that the world will find it more acceptable than the real thing. 

It is important to tell our secrets too because it makes it easier that way to see where we have been in our lives and where we are going.  It also makes it easier for other people to tell us a secret or two of their own, and exchanges like that have a lot to do with what being a family is all about and what being human is all about.”-Fredrick Buechner

The Simple Purity of Love

img_5592-contrastx.jpg

There can only be two basic loves, the love of God unto the forgetfulness of self, or the love of self to the forgetfulness of God-St. Augustine 

The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I’m afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2,3 MSG)  

Father, please protect me from satisfying myself in things that diminish my vision of You and guide me through the maze of seduction and deception that would attempt to harden my heart and quite my passion for You, that the purity of my love shall be preserved.  Amen

Lonely

img_9281x.jpg

I have noticed one thing in particular:  increasing prosperity has not made people more friendly toward one another.  They’re better off; but that newfound wealth has not resulted in a new sense of community.  I get the impression that people are more preoccupied with themselves and have less time for one another that when they didn’t possess so much.  There’s more competitiveness, more envy, more unrest, and more anxiety.  There’s less opportunity to relax, to get together informally, and enjoy the little things in life.  Success has isolated a lot of people and made them lonely. -Henri Nouwen

Wander into Temptation

easter-sunday-176x.jpg 

When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.” (Matthew 26:40-42) 

Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is…that is why bad people know very little about badness.  They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.  We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it:  and Christ because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means-the only complete realist      -C.S. Lewis

Jesus

chapel-b_w-spotlightx.jpg

The Jesus who is the one whom we search for even when we do not know that we are searching and hide from even when we do not know that we are hiding.”—Fredrick Buechner

Jesus, thank you that you respect and honor our freedom, and although you love us so deeply—deeper than the deepest oceans—you do not force yourself upon us, but in your vulnerability you wait to be wanted and pursued by us.  You keep your heart open with all your loving affections toward us, even though we often don’t recognize you or altogether reject you.   You invite us even tonight to change our thinking and take a chance with the way of life that you have come to offer, calling us to  turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is better than we ever dared hope, dream, or imagine!

Beauty

easter-sunday-007x.jpg


Too late have I loved you, 
O Beauty so ancient, 
O Beauty so new. 
Too late have I loved you! 
You were within me but I was outside myself, 
and there I sought you! 
In my weakness I ran after the beauty of the things you made. 
You were with me, 
and I was not with you. 
The things you have made kept me from you,
the things which would have no being 
unless they existed in you! 
You have called, 
you have cried, 
and you have pierced my deafness. 
You have radiated forth, 
you have shined out brightly, 
and you have dispelled my blindness. 
You have sent forth your fragrance, 
and I have breathed it in, 
and I long for you. 
I have tasted you, 
and I hunger and thirst for you. 
You have touched me,    
and I ardently desire your peace. 

-Prayer of St. Augustin


Set Free

img_9669xr.jpg

O Lord Jesus, You who came to us to show the compassionate love of your Father, make your people know this love with their hearts, minds and souls.  So often we feel lonely, unloved, and lost in the valley of tears.  We desire to feel affection, tenderness, care, and compassion, but suffer from inner darkness, emptiness, and numbness.  I pray tonight:  Come, Lord Jesus, come.  Do not just come to our understanding, but enter our hearts—our passions, emotions, and feelingsand we shall be             set FREE

Bringing This Day to a Close

img_9505.JPG

O Lord my God, thank you for bringing this day to a close; Thank you for giving me rest in body and soul.  Your hand  has been over me and has guarded and preserved me.  Forgive my lack of faith and any wrong that I have done today, and help me to forgive all who have wronged me.  Let me sleep in peace under your protection, and keep me from the temptations of darkness.  Into your hands I commend my loved ones and all who dwell in this house; I commend to you my body and soul.  O God, your holy name be praised.  Amen  -Dietrich Bonhoeffer