DELIVER ME

Lord, deliver me;

Deliver my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.

Deliver me from deep darkness,

From eternal night.

Deliver me from evil,

From all that would harm.

Deliver me from anxiety,

My mind from despair.

Deliver me from isolation,

My heart from loneliness.

Deliver me from fearfulness,

And keep me from wastefulness.

Deliver me from all that would disturb,

And enfold me in you peace.

Come, Lord, surround me with your light,

Keep me under your protecting love.

Strengthen me with your gracious power,

My strong deliverer and my Saviour.

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SAVIOUR OF THE SINFUL

Saviour of the sinful,

Need of the needy,

Help of the helpless,

Hope of the hopeless,

Strength of the weak,

Healer of the sick,

Love of the loveless,

Come, O Christ.

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LENTEN REFLECTION

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Lord,

Take my small offering of self-denial this Lent,

as a sign of my great longing for you.

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Lord I hunger for your presence in my life,

and I thirst for your love.

I hunger for justice for those who are wrong and oppressed,

and I thirst for your peace.

I hunger for a glimpse of your glory,

and I thirst for your stillness in my heart.

God of giving, God of longing,

God of pain, I hunger for you

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SPIRIT OF GOD

Holy and Mighty One,

Holy and Strong One:

May the power of your Spirit

Enable us.

May the brooding of your Spirit

Awaken us.

May the fire of your Spirit

Enflame us.

May the wind of your Spirit

Move us.

May the wisdom of your Spirit

Inspire us.

May the breath of your Spirit

Enliven us.

May the gifts of your Spirit

Equip us.

May the presence of your Spirit

Be ever with us.

Holy and Mighty One,

Holy and Strong One.

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LENTEN PSALM OF HEALING

I thank you, God,

for the warming of the winds

that brings a melting of the snow,

for daylight hours that daily grow longer

and richer in the aroma of hope.

Spring lingers beneath the horizon

as approaching echoes of Easter

ring in my ears.

I lift up my heart to you, Beloved,

in this season of Lent

that gently sweeps across

my sluggish and sleeping heart,

awakening me

to a deeper love for you.

May the wind of the Spirit

that drove Jesus into the desert,

into the furnace of prayer,

also drive me with a passion

during this Lenten season

to enkindle the fire of my devotion

in the desert of Lenten love.

Birds above, on migratory wings,

signal me to an inner migration,

a message that draws me homeward bound

on Spirit's wings

to the heart of my Beloved.

May I earnestly use this Lenten season

to answer the inner urge

to return.

Amen.

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LEAD ME LORD

Jesus, Rest for the Weary,

the heaviness of my burden

overwhelms me.

The immensity of this situation

presses down upon me.

The weight of the pain I carry

crushes my hopeful vision of life.

I long for an easing of my distress.

Let me hear gain

Your promising words of comfort.

Speak them to my heart:

"Come to me, all you who are weary,

and carrying heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

I lean my burdened life

on the bosom of your love

and wait to be consoled.

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HEAVY BURDENS

Jesus, Rest for the Weary,

the heaviness of my burden

overwhelms me.

The immensity of this situation

presses down upon me.

The weight of the pain I carry

crushes my hopeful vision of life.

I long for an easing of my distress.

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Let me hear gain

Your promising words of comfort.

Speak them to my heart:

"Come to me, all you who are weary,

and carrying heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

I lean my burdened life

on the bosom of your love

and wait to be consoled.

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BLESSING OF ACCEPTANCE

May the grace of acceptance

well up within you;

may it trickle into your pockets of resistance;

may it water desert areas,

and wash away barriers.

May it fill your being

with a wholehearted 'yes' to your illness,

and to whatever the future holds.

May the blessing of acceptance

be yours and yours in abundance.

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BLESSING OF FORGIVENESS

May the God of forgiveness bless you

and bless you kindly.

May the forgiveness you offer yourself

be gentle and wholesome.

May the forgiveness you offer another

be generous and wholehearted.

May the forgiveness you offer yourself be lavish.

May the forgiveness you offer another be prodigal,

May all whom you may have harmed

touch you kindly with forgiveness,

and may you know the peace of true forgiveness.

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BLESSING OF JOY

May all the sings sing in me.

May all that dances dance in me.

May all that delights delight in me.

May all that laughs laugh in me.

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EMBRACING HOPE

Loving Gardener of Life,

turn my time of sorrow

toward a season of hope.

I long to return to joy.

I yearn to be free from sadness.

May the eyes of my faith

look beyond my loss

and see the promise of spring

that follows every winter.

Never-Ending Source of Hope,

may the power of the Resurrection

assure me of future happiness.

I hold out my downcast spirit to you

and offer you my trusting heart.

I await the healing I need,

confident that your grace

will restore my inner peace.

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ONE WHO IS LONELY​

Eternal Presence,

you are with me on my journey.

You know the loneliness

that wraps around my heart

and leaves a void of sadness.

Comfort me on my dreary days

when emptiness is all I know.

Do not let me succumb

to isolated self-pity.

Let me experience your presence.

Fill my downcast spirit

with your joy.

Keep me close to your abiding love.

with every step I take.

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​A PRAYER FOR PATIENCE

God, teach me to be patient -

Teach me to go slow -

Teach me how to "wait on You"

When my way I do not know. . .

Teach me forbearance

When things do not go right

So I remain unruffled

When others grow "uptight". . .

Teach me how to quiet

My racing, rising heart

So I may hear the answer

You are trying to impart. . .

Teach me to let go, dear God,

And pray undisturbed until

My heart is filled with inner peace

And I learn to know Your will!

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​A PRAYER FOR HEALING

Lord, I come now before you in the weakness

that has overcome me, with the feeling that I

cannot share and try to hide, with the emptiness

that sometimes grips me, and with the physical

and mental pain that so often preoccupies me,

but I also come in faith and trust, in humility and

reverence, and I ask to be relieved and healed.

You took human weakness on yourself when you

lived, suffered and died for our sake. By rising

from the dead, you manifested your victory over

all human weakness, over all the negatives that

tend to break us, and over death itself. Because

of that our trust in you is deepened. You can

overcome the negative feelings we experience.

Now I present myself to you, knowing that you

love me just as I am, but knowing also that your

will is my happiness and that you can bring this

about in ways that I will not be able to

understand.

Help me this day not to be undermined by

illness, by pain, or by the problems that beset me.

I ask this, not just for myself but for the sake of

all those lives I touch.

Amen.

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ST. TERESA OF AVILA'S BOOKMARK

Let nothing disturb you

Let nothing frighten you

All things pass away

God never changes

Patience obtains all things

Those who have God

find they lack nothing.

God alone suffices.

Amen.

LEAD ME LORD, GO AHEAD OF ME

I am in trouble; Lord, hear me.

I am distressed in body and mind.

Listen to me, Lord of lords,

Hear my heartfelt cry, my prayer from the depths.

In my desperation I call upon you for survival.

In my great trouble I turn to you, God Almighty.

Lead me, Lord, go ahead of me.

Drive away my fears and my enemy.

Lord, make my way smooth and straight,

Until I recover my strength and my confidence.

Give me joy this day for my journeying.

Lord, let all who call upon you and find you.

Be to all a mighty strength and shield.

Forgive us our sinfulness and wandering.

We have left your way for confusion and darkness.

We have turned from your path and into trouble.

We have brought upon ourselves pain and distress.

Our wounds are self-inflicted,

For you would not hurt us.

Lord, hear our cry, forgive our sins,

Cleanse and restore us.

Holy God, listen to our plea,

And be our leader and guide.