The good news of Christ
Above all things, O Lord, let us rejoice in your presence. Let our hearts love you and let our mouths proclaim you. Let our souls hunger for you and let our whole being desire you; until we are one with you, for you are God, blessed for ever. Amen.
—Anselm of Canterbury (c.1033-1109) (From Prayer of the Day)
Father, I want to be righteous, doing what is correct and right, in order to please you in all things and be holy as you are holy, so give me the righteousness of Christ in the sanctification of the Spirit. Continue reading “Lord, I want”
Around the table of the Lord,
On this his day, among his saints,
We eat his supper, drink his blood,
Our every need he freely grants. Continue reading “Around the table of the Lord”
Lord, let us feel toward no man ill,
Prevent us paying wrong with wrong;
Keep words from sounding harsh or shrill,
Toward evildoers let love be long. Continue reading “A thousand motives”
Give me the grace to touch a soul today,
A single soul, or if by mercy’s kind embrace,
Might I save two? One to take my place,
Another to extend the Kingdom’s sway.
The power, the glory, the quiet peace
The Spirit of God bestows;
Let courage in Christ and faith increase,
The heart in hope repose. Continue reading “Put us on our feet”
Ah, Lord, the heart is weighed
With darkened thoughts and lonely sighs;
None care to listen, none have paid
The price, none seek the heavenly prize.
Can seven thousand faithful hide
Among a wayward church? Have they
No objecting voice? Have they not cried
Against the obscene who dance and play? Continue reading “With darkened thoughts and lonely sighs”
Our heavenly Father,
Let us jettison what divides, embrace what unites, rejoice in the Cross which reconciles.
Let us hear what others say, test all things, prove the spirits, seek after truth.
Let us value silence, know the power of words, use the influence of a good example in the imitation of Christ. Continue reading “Let us jettison what divides”
God who controls heaven and earth,
Again, the bombs of terrorism have exploded,
Again, lives have been lost and hundreds injured,
The pleasure of competition turned into a field of war.
Save those who have been injured, O Lord,
Let your people offer hope,
May those who see no sense in this slaughter,
Understand that peace is far from the earth. Continue reading “Prayer for the victims of the Boston marathon, and ourselves”
The heart is slow, behind the head,
To rest upon the truth it knows;
Until the two are joined and wed,
His patient love to man God shows. Continue reading “The heart is slow”