The Most Perfect Prayer on Earth

The Our Father is a perfect prayer. It comes from Jesus, which, in itself, makes it the most powerful prayer on earth. It is a humble prayer, yet beautiful and powerful in its simplicity. We come before our "Abba" as His beloved children, recognizing His omniscience and majesty while at the same time trustfully placing ourselves in his hands. After acknowledging his greatness we petition Him asking for 7 things:

1. In "hallowed be thy name" we are praising Him and asking that He be recognized as holy throughout the earth.
2. "Thy kingdom come" - we are asking for the coming of his kingdom and for his reign in our hearts
3. "Thy will be done" - we are praying that his will be done here on earth by each of us and that his holy
     will may "reign" as it does in heaven
4. "Give us this day our daily bread" - we are petitioning Him here that all our daily needs be met
5. "Forgive us our trespasses" - we are asking God for forgiveness of our sins. But it comes with a catch-
    because we pray "as we forgive those who trespass against us". To be forgiven you must also forgive
    others. Like father...like son.
6. "Lead us not into temptation" - we are asking him for the grace to resist the temptations of the world and
    to help us not sin.
7." Deliver us from evil" - here, we are asking the Lord to protect us and deliver us from the snares of
     Satan and the evil spirits.

This is the greatest prayer of all and we should pray it every single day, uniting it with Jesus' praying of the Our Father along with our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Can you imagine the changes that would come about if all people would recite this prayer with truth and from the heart? The entire world would change.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us; and lead us not into
temptation but deliver us from evil.  Amen
                                

To the Immaculate Virgin, On a Winter Night

I found this Thomas Merton poem on Brian's site, A Book of Everything, and loved it! It has become one of my favorite poems.

To the Immaculate Virgin, On a Winter Night

Lady, the night is falling and the dark
Steals all the blood from the scarred west.
The stars come out and freeze my heart
With drops of untouchable music, frail as ice
And bitter as the new year's cross.

Where in the world has any voice
Prayed to you, Lady, for the peace that's in your power?
In a day of blood and many beatings
I see the governments rise up, behind the steel horizon,
And take their weapons and begin to kill.

Where in the world has any city trusted you?
Out where the soldiers camp the guns begin to thump
And another winter comes down
To seal our years in ice.
The last train cries out
And runs in terror from this farmer's valley
Where all the little birds are dead.

The roads are white, the fields are mute.
There are no voices in the wood
And trees make gallows up against the sharp-eyed stars.
Oh where will Christ be killed again
In the land of these dead men?

Lady, the night has got us by the heart
And the whole world is tumbling down.
Words turn to ice in my dry throat
Praying for a land without prayer,

Walking to you on water all winter
In a year that wants more war.
              
         Thomas Merton - 1949

You can find more of Thomas Merton's poetry here.

Faith

banked embers
an unseen hand stokes
the fireseed
day after day
fanning the flames
of forever

Thank you, Jennifer, for defending life.

A while back I wrote a post on one of my other blogs about opening our eyes and seeing the writing on the wall http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/10/tekel.html . Tekel means that we have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. This word continues to be relevant as our country continues it's downward spiral. It doesn't need to be this way. Repentance opens the floodgates of our Lord's mercy. Each of us must turn away from sin and we must also repent as a nation. America (and other countries) are acting as "little gods" and playing with life itself. Abortion, partial birth abortion, euthanasia, cloning....where will it end? God alone is the Author of Life. America would do well to remember this. Our job is to defend life not end life.This particular baby's death did not take place here but it has happened in the U.S. a number of times. You can read the story here http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=36333. Every time I read stories like this I wonder:
If people are not horrified by a tiny baby left to die what has happened to their hearts? God have mercy on us.
Thank you, Jennifer, for using your strong voice to defend the most innocent of all God's children.

The Brother of Sloth

You see it everywhere - blank apathetic stares when God is mentioned. Yes, this has happened to me often, I'll mention God and people's eyes will glaze over. Personally, I can't think of a better topic than the great I AM, Creator of all that is, the Author of Life. And truthfully - people's hearts should leap for joy at the mention of His name. Why does the mention of God get such a lukewarm response so often? According to statistics, most people believe in God. Then why do so few speak about Him? A great spiritual apathy has grabbed hold of our nation and world.

The sorriest sight I ever did see
Was the brother of Sloth: Apathy
A vice so great and so profound
Spying an evil, he'll make not a sound
Too lazy to stand and use his own voice
By his very silence has made his choice
He has made his bed and there he lies
Being "politically correct" is his disguise
A mask he wears to fool friend and foe
Hides a stunted soul that has failed to grow
A failure to act - a slowness to speak
Beneath the cover his spirit is weak
Neither hot nor cold, lukewarm at best
He views the world with disinterest.

What's the cure for apathy? Prayer. Ask the Lord to remove apathy from your heart. Pray that He pours His Spirit into your soul. The Holy Spirit's fire will stir up the soul as He pours his zeal into it.

Abba, set souls on fire for you. Pour your Spirit upon us, for where Your Spirit rests there is no apathy. May zeal for your House consume us! I ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, from whom all good things come. Amen.

The Dragon

Alas, dear Christ, the dragon is here again.
Alas, he is here: terror has seized me, and fear.
Alas, that I ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge.
Alas, that his envy led me to envy too.
I did not become like God; I was cast out of Paradise.
Temper, sword, awhile, the heat of your flames
and let me go again about the garden,
entering with Christ, a thief from another tree.

             St. Gregory

I love this piece by St. Gregory. It is so poetic and full of truth. Don't we all wish to go again about the garden? We will someday :)
 Thank you, Jesus, for defeating the dragon, Satan, and the dragons of sin which sneak their way into our hearts. Amen

John 1:14

 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
 and we beheld His glory, as the only begotten of the Father,
 full of grace and truth"                   John  1:14

Thank you, Father, for sending your beloved Son to save us.

A Prayer of Abandonment

Father,
I abandon myself into Your hands;
Do with me as You will.
For whatever You do I thank You.
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
as in all Your creatures.
I ask nothing else My Lord.
Into Your hands I commend my soul;
I give it to You with the love of my heart,
for I love You and so need to give myself -
to surrender myself into Your hands,
with a trust beyond all measure,
because You are my Father.
          
           Brother Charles of Jesus

The universe in her eyes

the grass
cushioned her body
cradled her head
in loving arms
the sky gathered
her in...beckoning
the stars gleamed
in her eyes
windows of a soul
lost in the beauty
of creation

The Weeping Rose

Hiding behind my fig leaf
Cowering in the shame of Eve
I, too, consumed fruit forbidden
Sweet to the lips, bitter to the soul
And mourned outside Eden's gates
An earthen vessel, Adam's seed
Lost in the dust of time
A rose wilted  for lack of the Son
"Where are you?" echoed in my soul

At the faintest "here i am"
A broken arrow, a crooked bow
Stood before the Mercy Seat
Unbathed, covered with grime
Unrecognizable to all but you
Your eyes pierced through the filth
And saw the swan in the ugly duckling
You tucked my heart into your side
Two hearts beat as one
And in this Divine chamber
A weeping rose unfurled her first petal

Shadow Girl, may you rest in peace

the gates of never-never land
you entered a broken reed
fallow the field of your youth
no seed of love sown therein
like a deck of cards
shuffled from house to house
where many skeletons lived
in dark cellar closets hidden
home a word you never knew
a tiny dancer lost in shadows
don't snap my wings you cried
i cried
if you hug me I will break
shattered you were, in pieces
too many cracks had weakened
the whole and you leaked  throughout
a broken ship listing skyward
a fragile bird, prey for hawks
and other scavengers of the night
look both ways before you cross
too young i could not lead
with a shuttered heart
you could not follow

Abba's House

There is a place
For which we long
A house of Love
Where all belong

T'were not mentioned
T'would be remiss
In this land of peace
Truth and Justice kiss

The lion and the lamb
Lay side by side
In verdant meadows
Love and joy abide

 Home we are called
A name we are given
By the Father's Hand
Upon our hearts written

A fountain of life
Where love pours out
There are many mansions
In my Father's house

Father

You Are
A bottomless well
Infinite
I plumb your depths
Forever
Great the sea of Thy
Mercy
Awash  in waves of Thy
Spirit
My tears mingling
Father
With the rain of Thy
Justice
No beginning, no ending
     i
Am humbled by Your
Greatness

A Divine wink

" I have had a tremor of bliss, a wink of heaven, a whisper,
And I will no longer be denied; all things
Proceed to a joyful consummation."
T.S. Elliot

My Lord and my God, may the seed that you have planted in me continue to grow until it becomes a tree of life that bears the fruit of eternity. Thank you for the small glimpses of heaven that you have given me. Utterly Thine, O Lord!

The Beautiful Gate

http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/08/beloved.html

Heart speak

I love poetry. I call it " heart speak". Often a poem can speak volumes with few words. Truth abounds in poetry. Here is one I enjoy for the truth it speaks:

If thou couldst empty all thyself of self,
Like to a shell dishabited
Then might He find thee on the ocean shelf
And say:"This is not dead,"
And fill thee with Himself instead
But thou art all replete with very thou
And hast such shrewd activity
That when He comes He says:"This is enow
Unto itself: 'Twere better let it be
It is so small and full, there is no room for Me."
-T.E. Brown

The more we empty ourselves, the more He fills us. If I did not own a thing on this earth....
I would still have Him. And if I have Him - I have everything.

A thread of light

Blankets of soft memories
Float around my head
Settling where they will
Cushioning those old hurts
Lying on their concrete bed of mourning
I lift my hand to catch one
But it passes through my fingers
A thread of light
Weaving a promise in the shadows


Utterly Thine O Lord

Ebb Tide

Before my conversion my faith was almost non-existent. I rarely went to church. This left many doors open to the evil one and he certainly used them. As the saying goes " The devil is like a chained dog; he can only bite if you get too close." Well, I got too close and was bitten many times.

They debark in waves
You surf on your bed of deceit
You ride swiftly to your goal
Leaving nothing in your wake
But streams of lies
And puddles of despair
With cunning,
You lie in wait
For the next break


Thank you, Lord for healing my many wounds.

Journal

There came a point in time when my writing took on a new tone. The Lord started calling me . Sometimes I would write down whatever came into my heart:


Do you know I AM WHO AM

Question Me and believe

I love you, little flower

Come see the Son

Open up

Love is here



Another time what came out was this:


Walk in the light my little ones. Enter the kingdom of justice and love. Enter my beating heart and come into the light of my Glory. O, the goodness and love of Pure Holiness.


This happened many times. Maybe it was a small preview of what was to come. Maybe it was to prepare me for what was coming next [my conversion]. I don't really know. The Lord works in unusual ways and calls each person differently. His love for each one of us is immense and no one should doubt this. This is where faith comes in. Even if we do not feel His love at times....by faith we know it is there.

Scars

Bits and pieces of life
Wrapped in a confusion of scars
Untangled by the brevity of my pen
Set to rest
Black wounds in a bed of white