Friday, April 27, 2007
A Prayer
Lord, teach us to see with your eyes,
that light is light,
and dark is dark,
and that truth is not determined
by the whims of the times.
Lord, teach us to work with your hands,
honestly, in love, and knowing that the little we do today matters.
Lord, help us to act in ways that please you,
choose in our day to day steps the ways that honor you,
and shed your light with all we come in contact to.
Lord, give us the strength to stand tall
in a world that longs to pull us down into the dust,
to stand for the rights of the unborn and the vunerable,
to stand for virtue in a world that longs to call virtue vice,
and to answer the call to lead when you give it.
Help us to work for your light,
this day and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship
Friday, April 20, 2007
Morning Prayer
I woke up this morning
to the song of a robin
singing his morning prayers to the dawn,
announcing a new day.
I woke up this morning
to the gift of a new day,
a moment to raise up my heart to You, O Lord,
another opportunity
to be your light,
showing the daylight of Your hope
to the dark world around me.
O Lord,
Help me to be this day
sunlit with the Son's light,
and that as I go about my day,
I leave the places I go
Brighter with your love.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
to the song of a robin
singing his morning prayers to the dawn,
announcing a new day.
I woke up this morning
to the gift of a new day,
a moment to raise up my heart to You, O Lord,
another opportunity
to be your light,
showing the daylight of Your hope
to the dark world around me.
O Lord,
Help me to be this day
sunlit with the Son's light,
and that as I go about my day,
I leave the places I go
Brighter with your love.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Morning Prayer
Friday, April 06, 2007
Good Friday Night
Let me remember this night, Lord,
when your poor battered body
lay cold in the tomb,
and you descended into the realm of the dead,
how those who loved you felt -
how dark the night
without your light to shine on them,
how they gathered,
a lost cluster of souls,
sheep without a shepherd
not knowing what was to befall them
so soon.
O my Jesus,
when I am lost and lone and torn and frightened,
bring me back to remember how lost they felt,
and then remind me, too,
of the glory that would dawn on Easter morning.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
when your poor battered body
lay cold in the tomb,
and you descended into the realm of the dead,
how those who loved you felt -
how dark the night
without your light to shine on them,
how they gathered,
a lost cluster of souls,
sheep without a shepherd
not knowing what was to befall them
so soon.
O my Jesus,
when I am lost and lone and torn and frightened,
bring me back to remember how lost they felt,
and then remind me, too,
of the glory that would dawn on Easter morning.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Passion of Christ
Friday, March 30, 2007
Leaven
Heavy and dark,
The hard wheat of our lives,
Comes to life with your spark,
O Lord, the leaven that thrives
In the hearts of those who trust in you.
Lifting us up,
Your love is like leaven
A drink from the cup
Of the wonders of heaven
Letting the light of God in.
Like leaven makes light
the heavy hard wheat
May we in your sight
Make all lives more sweet
Through the touch of your love.
May each word that we say,
Each action we do
Reflect your loving way,
Bring the light down from you
To shine in the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
The hard wheat of our lives,
Comes to life with your spark,
O Lord, the leaven that thrives
In the hearts of those who trust in you.
Lifting us up,
Your love is like leaven
A drink from the cup
Of the wonders of heaven
Letting the light of God in.
Like leaven makes light
the heavy hard wheat
May we in your sight
Make all lives more sweet
Through the touch of your love.
May each word that we say,
Each action we do
Reflect your loving way,
Bring the light down from you
To shine in the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Let Me Walk
Let me walk, O Lord,
in the ways of Your peace,
in the paths of Your love,
where hope does not cease,
by the streams of Your mercy
where my soul finds release,
Let me walk, O Lord, with Thee.
Let me learn, O Lord,
To stand tall with You
Where my soul finds its solace,
touched by the True.
Transformed by Your light
into something brand new.
Let me learn, O Lord, from Thee.
Be my strength, O Lord,
when the day turns to night,
when the storm clouds gather,
obscuring my sight.
Let your cross be my guide
until faith is made sight.
All my strength, O Lord, comes from Thee.
Let me hunger, O Lord,
For the true Bread of Life,
That cuts through my emptiness
like the edge of a knife,
touching me, healing me,
ending my strife,
O Thou true Bread of Life, stay with me!
Susan E. Stone, 2007
in the ways of Your peace,
in the paths of Your love,
where hope does not cease,
by the streams of Your mercy
where my soul finds release,
Let me walk, O Lord, with Thee.
Let me learn, O Lord,
To stand tall with You
Where my soul finds its solace,
touched by the True.
Transformed by Your light
into something brand new.
Let me learn, O Lord, from Thee.
Be my strength, O Lord,
when the day turns to night,
when the storm clouds gather,
obscuring my sight.
Let your cross be my guide
until faith is made sight.
All my strength, O Lord, comes from Thee.
Let me hunger, O Lord,
For the true Bread of Life,
That cuts through my emptiness
like the edge of a knife,
touching me, healing me,
ending my strife,
O Thou true Bread of Life, stay with me!
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Loving God
Friday, March 09, 2007
Responds
In a world that swirls with anger, Lord,
teach me to love.
In a world that sees attack as a right and a joy,
teach me to cherish breaking the chains of hate.
In a world that seeks conformity in the name of tolerance,
teach me the patience to stand firm in peace.
In a world that seeks to strike out and hurt what it doesn't agree with,
teach me to follow in your footsteps,
in your way,
following your light,
touched by your love,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone
teach me to love.
In a world that sees attack as a right and a joy,
teach me to cherish breaking the chains of hate.
In a world that seeks conformity in the name of tolerance,
teach me the patience to stand firm in peace.
In a world that seeks to strike out and hurt what it doesn't agree with,
teach me to follow in your footsteps,
in your way,
following your light,
touched by your love,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, Loving God
In My Weakness
Today, Lord,
how small and weak I seem,
lost in my petty griefs and pains,
incapable,
weak,
sad.
O Lord,
refresh my heart
in the knowledge
that no matter how gray the world feels,
you are with me.
Remind me it is not my strength that matters,
but the firm hand you steady me with,
the strength you have
to use my weakness as your tool.
Touch me with that certainty
that it is not my joy that counts,
but the joy you whisper into my heart.
In my weakness, let me be your tool,
this day and always,
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2007
how small and weak I seem,
lost in my petty griefs and pains,
incapable,
weak,
sad.
O Lord,
refresh my heart
in the knowledge
that no matter how gray the world feels,
you are with me.
Remind me it is not my strength that matters,
but the firm hand you steady me with,
the strength you have
to use my weakness as your tool.
Touch me with that certainty
that it is not my joy that counts,
but the joy you whisper into my heart.
In my weakness, let me be your tool,
this day and always,
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Trust
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Meditation on Matthew 5:6
O Bread of Life,
Teach me to hunger for you,
To realize the empty gnawing I feel
When separated from you,
To know that you are the answer
To the darkness that threatens my life.
O Bread of Life,
Help me to hunger for your ways,
The ways of peace that come from only you,
The ways of light in a world of darkness,
The ways of hope in a world of despair.
O Bread of Life,
Help me to hunger for you,
Help me to thirst for your presence,
Help me to know your ways all the days of my life,
to yearn to walk with you,
live for you,
be with you
in small things and in large,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Teach me to hunger for you,
To realize the empty gnawing I feel
When separated from you,
To know that you are the answer
To the darkness that threatens my life.
O Bread of Life,
Help me to hunger for your ways,
The ways of peace that come from only you,
The ways of light in a world of darkness,
The ways of hope in a world of despair.
O Bread of Life,
Help me to hunger for you,
Help me to thirst for your presence,
Help me to know your ways all the days of my life,
to yearn to walk with you,
live for you,
be with you
in small things and in large,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Bread of Life, Christian Living, Discipleship
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Meditation on Matthew 5:5
Help me O Lord
to learn that spirit of quiet love,
the meekness that sees you shining in the eyes of the needy,
the gentleness that knows that "ME' is not what the world is about,
the kindness that comes from love, and being loved, and loving in return,
the peace that comes from you, unbidden.
Help me, O Lord,
to learn, like you did in Gethsemane,
to say, "Not my will, but Yours, O Father,"
in loving submission,
not based on angry desire to have my way,
or in self-righteous indignation,
but in the love that reaches out,
takes the blows,
heals the wounds,
shows the light of Heaven's love,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
to learn that spirit of quiet love,
the meekness that sees you shining in the eyes of the needy,
the gentleness that knows that "ME' is not what the world is about,
the kindness that comes from love, and being loved, and loving in return,
the peace that comes from you, unbidden.
Help me, O Lord,
to learn, like you did in Gethsemane,
to say, "Not my will, but Yours, O Father,"
in loving submission,
not based on angry desire to have my way,
or in self-righteous indignation,
but in the love that reaches out,
takes the blows,
heals the wounds,
shows the light of Heaven's love,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Christian Living, Discipleship
Monday, February 26, 2007
Meditation on Matthew 5:3
Lord, help me to be
one of the poor in spirit,
one who knows that you are the one I rely on,
not my strong hand,
you are the one who brings me what I need,
not my cleverness or strength,
you are the one who holds me in the night
when the darkness comes crashing down,
you are my hope.
Let me remember, O Lord,
how surrounded by things
I can be incredibly empty,
that crying "Me! Mine!"
opens up a pit that can never be filled,
how my real hunger can burn, unfed,
even as my body suffers from too much food,
how thinking I have the answers
leads me, once again, and again,
into the dust.
Help me nourish the knowledge
that You are the way
that brings me life, hope and happiness.
You are the source of living waters
that soothe the burning in my heart,
You are the Bread of Life
that feeds my aching hunger,
You are the Rock
who shelters me from the storm.
Lord, without you , I am naught!
Be Thou my king,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
one of the poor in spirit,
one who knows that you are the one I rely on,
not my strong hand,
you are the one who brings me what I need,
not my cleverness or strength,
you are the one who holds me in the night
when the darkness comes crashing down,
you are my hope.
Let me remember, O Lord,
how surrounded by things
I can be incredibly empty,
that crying "Me! Mine!"
opens up a pit that can never be filled,
how my real hunger can burn, unfed,
even as my body suffers from too much food,
how thinking I have the answers
leads me, once again, and again,
into the dust.
Help me nourish the knowledge
that You are the way
that brings me life, hope and happiness.
You are the source of living waters
that soothe the burning in my heart,
You are the Bread of Life
that feeds my aching hunger,
You are the Rock
who shelters me from the storm.
Lord, without you , I am naught!
Be Thou my king,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Help Me O Lord, scripture
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Teach Us
And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death,
and Hades followed him;
and they were given power over a fourth of the earth,
to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence
and by wild beasts of the earth.
Revelations 6:8 RSV
Bombs that rock the crowded streets
fuel of hate that feeds the beast,
red of maw and black of heart
that longs to tear your soul apart,
Pale the horse that finds us here,
wrapped in anger, wrapped in fear.
Teach us, Lord the way to go
When we face this bloody foe,
To break the chains of hate and blight
To bring with us your own pure light
To still the crying in the night.
When anger blinds the heart of man
And hardness strides across the land,
Fields unplowed and hunger stalks
while Satan laughs at endless talks
how hard to find the ways of peace
to let the endless fighting cease.
Pale the horse that finds us here,
wrapped in anger, wrapped in fear.
Teach us, Lord, the way to see,
To be the tool of your mercy,
Fill us with your truth and might
That we might always choose the right
That stills the crying in the night.
The pale horse rides across the land
Death by gun and fire and hand,
Cain's dark madness sweeping wide
Brothers killed for greed and pride
Done for country, God and gold
The story is so very old.
Pale the horse that finds us here,
wrapped in anger, wrapped in fear.
Teach us Lord, to be your tool
Though others think we are the fool,
Walking with you in your light
Through sword and fire and angry fight
To still the crying in the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Christian Living, Discipleship, man's inhumanity, scripture
Monday, February 19, 2007
Rubble
Amid the rubble,
bomb shards of a broken life,
wreckage of a hate gone mad,
fire of a rejecting world,
still You walk, Lord,
seeking the lost,
comforting the injured,
helping the afflicted,
looking over the twisted hate
that uses you,
that rejects you,
makes you the scapegoat of so many things.
At a casual glance,
not much has changed since you walked the earth,
Cain still chooses to kill his brother,
Eve still reaches for the forbidden,
we build new towers of Babel daily.
And yet, the sparks you planted build into flickering flames,
lighting up the darkness.
Help us be those lights, Lord,
the lamps of Heaven's light piercing the darkness of sin,
the oil of peace in the land of hate,
the hand that pushes aside the rubble,
reaches out,
lifts up our brother, shaken to his core,
and helps him into the day.
We are but dust without your spirit.
Breathe in us, that we might live,
and living,
bring that life to others,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
bomb shards of a broken life,
wreckage of a hate gone mad,
fire of a rejecting world,
still You walk, Lord,
seeking the lost,
comforting the injured,
helping the afflicted,
looking over the twisted hate
that uses you,
that rejects you,
makes you the scapegoat of so many things.
At a casual glance,
not much has changed since you walked the earth,
Cain still chooses to kill his brother,
Eve still reaches for the forbidden,
we build new towers of Babel daily.
And yet, the sparks you planted build into flickering flames,
lighting up the darkness.
Help us be those lights, Lord,
the lamps of Heaven's light piercing the darkness of sin,
the oil of peace in the land of hate,
the hand that pushes aside the rubble,
reaches out,
lifts up our brother, shaken to his core,
and helps him into the day.
We are but dust without your spirit.
Breathe in us, that we might live,
and living,
bring that life to others,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: current evils, Discipleship
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Morning Prayer
Teach me, O Lord each morning, to see every single day,
The touch of your most perfect love upon life's weary way,
The touch of your supporting hand upon my weary life,
The touch of your unexpected peace that heals the deepest strife.
Teach me, O Lord, each morning to remember as I go
That you walked the way upon the earth, each step from heel to toe,
Dust and laughter along the way you've felt, the taste of joy and pain,
The burning of the summer sun, the blessing of the rain.
Teach me, O Lord each morning, that when you said "Come follow me,"
You knew that I could walk that way, no impossibility
Because you blazoned out the path, with hope and love and cross,
And walk it ever with me, in happiness or loss.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
The touch of your most perfect love upon life's weary way,
The touch of your supporting hand upon my weary life,
The touch of your unexpected peace that heals the deepest strife.
Teach me, O Lord, each morning to remember as I go
That you walked the way upon the earth, each step from heel to toe,
Dust and laughter along the way you've felt, the taste of joy and pain,
The burning of the summer sun, the blessing of the rain.
Teach me, O Lord each morning, that when you said "Come follow me,"
You knew that I could walk that way, no impossibility
Because you blazoned out the path, with hope and love and cross,
And walk it ever with me, in happiness or loss.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Morning Prayer
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Crosses
Some crosses come of rough hewn wood,
Heavy the weight across the shoulders,
Rough the ropes that bind the arms
As the Son of man, marches in procession,
There to give His all for the likes of me.
Some crosses come in the barked orders of a cruel commander,
Selecting victims to die for retribution,
There one man shoulders his cross,
Replacing another to go down into that darkness,
Praising God each day, until, impatient,
They inject him with poison to speed him off to his Master.
Some crosses come in the shape of a long slow disease,
Stealing strength, freedom of movement,
And at last the ability to speak
From a loving man who spoke word after word,
Bearing his burden, in pain and patience
Day by day,
While the world watched, sometimes snickering,
Until at last, when it was time,
He returned home with a final amen.
Some crosses are simple, but hard to shoulder:
Smiling at the troubled spouse,
Being kind to a tired shop clerk,
Reaching out to someone who frustrates and hurts,
Walking a sick baby,
Caring.
Help me, O Lord,
To carry the crosses you send me
With fortitude and love,
Whether in great things or little,
For love of You,
Because You ask it,
And always, through Your help,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Heavy the weight across the shoulders,
Rough the ropes that bind the arms
As the Son of man, marches in procession,
There to give His all for the likes of me.
Some crosses come in the barked orders of a cruel commander,
Selecting victims to die for retribution,
There one man shoulders his cross,
Replacing another to go down into that darkness,
Praising God each day, until, impatient,
They inject him with poison to speed him off to his Master.
Some crosses come in the shape of a long slow disease,
Stealing strength, freedom of movement,
And at last the ability to speak
From a loving man who spoke word after word,
Bearing his burden, in pain and patience
Day by day,
While the world watched, sometimes snickering,
Until at last, when it was time,
He returned home with a final amen.
Some crosses are simple, but hard to shoulder:
Smiling at the troubled spouse,
Being kind to a tired shop clerk,
Reaching out to someone who frustrates and hurts,
Walking a sick baby,
Caring.
Help me, O Lord,
To carry the crosses you send me
With fortitude and love,
Whether in great things or little,
For love of You,
Because You ask it,
And always, through Your help,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Carrying My Cross, Discipleship, Loving God
Monday, February 05, 2007
In My Smallness, I Remember
There are moments when my smallness
comes hammering home,
when I bash my head upon the eye of the needle,
when I know that in true wealth, God's measure,
I am but a pauper, standing here, hat in hand.
O Lord, let not my hardheadedness
get in the way of your mercy.
Help me to remember who is Master,
who is servant,
who is Giver,
who controls.
Today, I am confronted with the reality
that the tissues of strength I hide behind
are but paper walls,
and without your strength,
they crumble in the wind.
Help me, Lord to remember
that it is not my strong hand,
but your hand holding mine,
that it is not my strong back,
but your support,
it is not my wisdom,
but the light that comes from you that matters.
Open my heart, Lord,
and let your light in,
and may I,
in the frailty of my life
thank you for your touch,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
comes hammering home,
when I bash my head upon the eye of the needle,
when I know that in true wealth, God's measure,
I am but a pauper, standing here, hat in hand.
O Lord, let not my hardheadedness
get in the way of your mercy.
Help me to remember who is Master,
who is servant,
who is Giver,
who controls.
Today, I am confronted with the reality
that the tissues of strength I hide behind
are but paper walls,
and without your strength,
they crumble in the wind.
Help me, Lord to remember
that it is not my strong hand,
but your hand holding mine,
that it is not my strong back,
but your support,
it is not my wisdom,
but the light that comes from you that matters.
Open my heart, Lord,
and let your light in,
and may I,
in the frailty of my life
thank you for your touch,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Humility, Need for God
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Open This Day My Heart
Open this day my heart, O Lord,
And let me see the truth of my being
Those darknesses I hold in my heart,
The hard places I see without seeing.
Throw open the dark and let in your truth,
The saving touch of your light,
Restore me, make me white as wool,
Clean to stand in your sight.
How often it is that I miss the mark,
Fall short of the way you would send me,
My good intentions crumble like dirt,
As I let in the darkness to bend me.
It is only by clinging here to your cross,
That I can find help for my falling,
Only by standing up and facing my wrongs
Can my life answer your calling.
O help me see clearly where I go wrong,
Bring your light into my life.
Strip away all the veils that I wrap me in,
Thy Spirit sharper than any knife.
O Lord of my life, shape me and mold me,
Forgive me my failings this day.
O cleanse me and make me the way that you would
Make me all yours, this I pray.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
And let me see the truth of my being
Those darknesses I hold in my heart,
The hard places I see without seeing.
Throw open the dark and let in your truth,
The saving touch of your light,
Restore me, make me white as wool,
Clean to stand in your sight.
How often it is that I miss the mark,
Fall short of the way you would send me,
My good intentions crumble like dirt,
As I let in the darkness to bend me.
It is only by clinging here to your cross,
That I can find help for my falling,
Only by standing up and facing my wrongs
Can my life answer your calling.
O help me see clearly where I go wrong,
Bring your light into my life.
Strip away all the veils that I wrap me in,
Thy Spirit sharper than any knife.
O Lord of my life, shape me and mold me,
Forgive me my failings this day.
O cleanse me and make me the way that you would
Make me all yours, this I pray.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Penitence
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
For Love
Lost and afraid, I turn to You,
O Lord, King of my heart,
You who walk each step with us,
Near as breath You stand, never apart,
Emmanuel, O God-With-Us,
who knows our grief and pain,
Who gave so much in woe and blood
To free us from our stain.
Today they tell us black is white
And evil things are right,
And sing the praise of midnight sins
and tell me it is light,
But You are there beside me,
I need You more each day,
To guide my steps through all the dirt
They kick across Your way.
How clear it is in this dark clime
that the world is not our home,
We are only pilgrims here,
Our purpose is to roam
Across this dark and painful land
To be lanterns of your light,
O keep us near along our way,
Protect us in this night.
O bring to mind how you were born
To walk this dusty place,
Creator entering into the world,
A caring, loving face,
Your words like fire burned the air
You walked the way to go,
And then You let them take Your life,
Your depths of love to show.
Upon that heavy cross of wood
You proved how deep the care
That Heaven bore for this poor world,
To hang in sorrow there,
To taste our fear down to the dregs,
To know the depths of grief,
Carrying the weight of all our sin,
Killed like some common thief.
And this you did for love alone,
To open wide the way,
O teach me Lord, to love You more,
Each moment of the day.
No matter how the darkness grows,
Help me to stand there true,
And when at last, my eyes I close,
I wake to be with you.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
O Lord, King of my heart,
You who walk each step with us,
Near as breath You stand, never apart,
Emmanuel, O God-With-Us,
who knows our grief and pain,
Who gave so much in woe and blood
To free us from our stain.
Today they tell us black is white
And evil things are right,
And sing the praise of midnight sins
and tell me it is light,
But You are there beside me,
I need You more each day,
To guide my steps through all the dirt
They kick across Your way.
How clear it is in this dark clime
that the world is not our home,
We are only pilgrims here,
Our purpose is to roam
Across this dark and painful land
To be lanterns of your light,
O keep us near along our way,
Protect us in this night.
O bring to mind how you were born
To walk this dusty place,
Creator entering into the world,
A caring, loving face,
Your words like fire burned the air
You walked the way to go,
And then You let them take Your life,
Your depths of love to show.
Upon that heavy cross of wood
You proved how deep the care
That Heaven bore for this poor world,
To hang in sorrow there,
To taste our fear down to the dregs,
To know the depths of grief,
Carrying the weight of all our sin,
Killed like some common thief.
And this you did for love alone,
To open wide the way,
O teach me Lord, to love You more,
Each moment of the day.
No matter how the darkness grows,
Help me to stand there true,
And when at last, my eyes I close,
I wake to be with you.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Jesus' Love
Monday, January 29, 2007
Miserare Nobis
Hear our prayer, this day, O Lord,
And let our cry come unto Thee,
You who walk us through the valley,
You who guide us across the sea,
Hear the wailing of our sorrow,
Each loss felt most bitterly,
Every day reaching up to Heaven --
"Lord, have mercy, mercy on me."
Miserare nobis, always --
How we send this cry to Thee,
Walking past the man in sorrow,
Focusing only on our "me".
Teach us, Lord, to hear your answer,
Give us, Lord, the eyes to see
How to learn to love each other,
Lord, have mercy, hear my plea.
Lord, bring light to cure our blindness,
Open up our hearts to see,
How you gave your life to love us,
Died in pain most miserably,
There to teach us all the lesson
Of how love is God's own key,
Help us strip away the shadows,
Lord have mercy, hear my plea.
Lord, may those of us who love you
Learn how not to turn and flee
When the need cries out for our hands,
When our hearts quake miserably.
Teach us how to walk that hard path
Transformed by Your love's truth to see
How we are the tools in your hand,
There to be Your love's mercy.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
And let our cry come unto Thee,
You who walk us through the valley,
You who guide us across the sea,
Hear the wailing of our sorrow,
Each loss felt most bitterly,
Every day reaching up to Heaven --
"Lord, have mercy, mercy on me."
Miserare nobis, always --
How we send this cry to Thee,
Walking past the man in sorrow,
Focusing only on our "me".
Teach us, Lord, to hear your answer,
Give us, Lord, the eyes to see
How to learn to love each other,
Lord, have mercy, hear my plea.
Lord, bring light to cure our blindness,
Open up our hearts to see,
How you gave your life to love us,
Died in pain most miserably,
There to teach us all the lesson
Of how love is God's own key,
Help us strip away the shadows,
Lord have mercy, hear my plea.
Lord, may those of us who love you
Learn how not to turn and flee
When the need cries out for our hands,
When our hearts quake miserably.
Teach us how to walk that hard path
Transformed by Your love's truth to see
How we are the tools in your hand,
There to be Your love's mercy.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Mercy on Mankind
Sunday, January 28, 2007
On My Knees
There are times and moments, Lord, like now,
Where the words rush by me, escaping somehow.
What is there for me to say,
When I see the darkness day by day.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Word by word, and life by life,
The world gone mad with hate and strife,
Those who should be there to show us the way
Have secret sins that they must obey.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
The hardness of heart across the world
like a sword it slashes, like a spear, it's hurled
To pit the one against another,
Over and over Cain slays his brother.
On my knees, I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Lord, help us stand against this night,
And touch our hearts with Thy pure light.
Help us walk in mercy's way,
Shine with your love, day by day.
On my knees, I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Teach our hearts, then how to be
Loving followers of Thee,
Knowing how to shed your light,
In this land of sin and night.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Remind us of Thy mercy-seat,
A cross where Heaven and earth do meet,
You bled and died to open the door,
A flame of Love forever more.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Where the words rush by me, escaping somehow.
What is there for me to say,
When I see the darkness day by day.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Word by word, and life by life,
The world gone mad with hate and strife,
Those who should be there to show us the way
Have secret sins that they must obey.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
The hardness of heart across the world
like a sword it slashes, like a spear, it's hurled
To pit the one against another,
Over and over Cain slays his brother.
On my knees, I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Lord, help us stand against this night,
And touch our hearts with Thy pure light.
Help us walk in mercy's way,
Shine with your love, day by day.
On my knees, I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Teach our hearts, then how to be
Loving followers of Thee,
Knowing how to shed your light,
In this land of sin and night.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
O my Lord, have mercy.
Remind us of Thy mercy-seat,
A cross where Heaven and earth do meet,
You bled and died to open the door,
A flame of Love forever more.
On my knees I pray to Thee:
Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: current evils, Discipleship, Mercy on Mankind
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Not By My Power
Thank you Lord, for those weaknesses I cry about,
All those things I know that teach me
that it is not by my power I get things done,
those moments of weakness that show clearly
how much I need you.
There are those pauses in the struggle when I turn around,
as if I were walking up a mountain way
Where I sometimes get a glimpse and see how far
you have brought me this far, this day,
by the power of your hand.
Those moments give me hope, O God,
For those days when I feel frail and weak,
and indecisive and uncertain, lost,
and I feel so all alone - turning, let me seek
You who must be my strength.
Soften my heart O Lord, so that I know
It is you who are the doer of my good, not I
that no matter what, I rest in your hands,
and in your hands, even when I cry,
I could be in no better place.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
All those things I know that teach me
that it is not by my power I get things done,
those moments of weakness that show clearly
how much I need you.
There are those pauses in the struggle when I turn around,
as if I were walking up a mountain way
Where I sometimes get a glimpse and see how far
you have brought me this far, this day,
by the power of your hand.
Those moments give me hope, O God,
For those days when I feel frail and weak,
and indecisive and uncertain, lost,
and I feel so all alone - turning, let me seek
You who must be my strength.
Soften my heart O Lord, so that I know
It is you who are the doer of my good, not I
that no matter what, I rest in your hands,
and in your hands, even when I cry,
I could be in no better place.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Need for God
Friday, January 26, 2007
Dawn
This morning dawns anew,
Soft with light above the mountain,
A moment to savor, to plan, to do,
To share with you, O Love's true fountain.
Teach me this day to recall
Your words to me when I would turn away,
How easy it is to slip and fall
Away from the heights where I wish to stay.
Love is not easy, this is true,
Each moment a choice that must be made,
But help me to pick those choices with you,
Here in the light, not there in the shade.
Dawn moves from dark into light -
May my life follow that way,
From the black of sin's midnight,
Into at last, the light of your day.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Soft with light above the mountain,
A moment to savor, to plan, to do,
To share with you, O Love's true fountain.
Teach me this day to recall
Your words to me when I would turn away,
How easy it is to slip and fall
Away from the heights where I wish to stay.
Love is not easy, this is true,
Each moment a choice that must be made,
But help me to pick those choices with you,
Here in the light, not there in the shade.
Dawn moves from dark into light -
May my life follow that way,
From the black of sin's midnight,
Into at last, the light of your day.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Emmanuel, Need for God
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Help Me, Lord
Help me Lord, for I am weak,
Teach me to walk in your ways
Even when you come to me some days
In shapes I would not rather seek.
Help me Lord, for my love is poor,
Let me look into those eyes,
Dressed in some distressing guise,
And remember how you open the door.
Help me Lord, not to shrink
when you come to me unclean
or in the form of smart-mouthed teen
Let me be the helping link.
Help me Lord, to love like you
All those irritating ones who seem
There to make me want to scream,
May my help to them renew.
When hurtful words long to be said
Or I long to turn away,
Let me remember that sad day,
When you gave all and hung there dead.
Your love embraced me with all my sin,
In loving thanks, teach me to be
Love's channel to all those that I see,
Help me to let you enter in.
Teach me the little ways of love,
The simple word, the needed smile,
The oil that makes our lives worthwhile,
And leads the soul to hope above.
Make me a channel of your peace,
And say the word that you would say,
And touch their lives in just that way
Until my life on earth shall cease.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Teach me to walk in your ways
Even when you come to me some days
In shapes I would not rather seek.
Help me Lord, for my love is poor,
Let me look into those eyes,
Dressed in some distressing guise,
And remember how you open the door.
Help me Lord, not to shrink
when you come to me unclean
or in the form of smart-mouthed teen
Let me be the helping link.
Help me Lord, to love like you
All those irritating ones who seem
There to make me want to scream,
May my help to them renew.
When hurtful words long to be said
Or I long to turn away,
Let me remember that sad day,
When you gave all and hung there dead.
Your love embraced me with all my sin,
In loving thanks, teach me to be
Love's channel to all those that I see,
Help me to let you enter in.
Teach me the little ways of love,
The simple word, the needed smile,
The oil that makes our lives worthwhile,
And leads the soul to hope above.
Make me a channel of your peace,
And say the word that you would say,
And touch their lives in just that way
Until my life on earth shall cease.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Help
Monday, January 22, 2007
Love Is Not Easy
"Love is not easy," You once told me,
"Watch me in the garden, and you will see
How Love is a struggle, hard and heavy,
When Love and our wants do not agree,
And the prayer on our lips is, 'Father, hear me!'
And we, hearing Him in Love, do not flee.
This is a sacrifice most pleasing."
Love is not easy - I understand, but know
When I am touched by the hand of loss and sorrow,
The road of hard choices where Love has me go,
You have walked that hard road, too and the shadows only show
There is light up ahead, where you vanquished the foe.
Help me to love, Lord.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
"Watch me in the garden, and you will see
How Love is a struggle, hard and heavy,
When Love and our wants do not agree,
And the prayer on our lips is, 'Father, hear me!'
And we, hearing Him in Love, do not flee.
This is a sacrifice most pleasing."
Love is not easy - I understand, but know
When I am touched by the hand of loss and sorrow,
The road of hard choices where Love has me go,
You have walked that hard road, too and the shadows only show
There is light up ahead, where you vanquished the foe.
Help me to love, Lord.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Emmanuel, Jesus' Love
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Ways of Your Mercy
Teach me o Lord, the ways of your mercy,
How to reach out in truth,
Not in the false sentimentality of popular notions,
that shifting sense of fairness
that changes with fashion and taste,
but in the true ways your word reveals,
caring for the ugly and the outcast,
the unpopular, the needy,
in the ways that you show us to do.
Teach me O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
How to reach out in truth,
Not with the false rationality that blooms ever anew
to find reasons not to help, to say no
in spite of the truth of what your word reveals,
help me not to turn my back on the ones you send me,
help me not to grow hard hearted with the call now to love,
but to walk in the ways that you call us to do.
Teach me, O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
To see your eyes shining in the face of the lost,
To hear your voice calling in the cry of the hungry,
To reach out and cover your shoulders as I clothe the naked,
To feel your touch in the hands of the unloved.
Through your help, O Lord, let me reach out to God's children
As if I were reaching out in love to you.
This day, and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
How to reach out in truth,
Not in the false sentimentality of popular notions,
that shifting sense of fairness
that changes with fashion and taste,
but in the true ways your word reveals,
caring for the ugly and the outcast,
the unpopular, the needy,
in the ways that you show us to do.
Teach me O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
How to reach out in truth,
Not with the false rationality that blooms ever anew
to find reasons not to help, to say no
in spite of the truth of what your word reveals,
help me not to turn my back on the ones you send me,
help me not to grow hard hearted with the call now to love,
but to walk in the ways that you call us to do.
Teach me, O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
To see your eyes shining in the face of the lost,
To hear your voice calling in the cry of the hungry,
To reach out and cover your shoulders as I clothe the naked,
To feel your touch in the hands of the unloved.
Through your help, O Lord, let me reach out to God's children
As if I were reaching out in love to you.
This day, and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, Mercy on Mankind
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Lord, You Ask the Hardest Things Sometimes
Meditation on Luke 6: 27-36
Lord, you ask the hardest things sometimes,
to love those who hate us,
to act kindly towards those who wish to harm us,
to bless those who wish us dead.
O Lord, give me the strength
to break the chains of hate
that tie us to sin's blackness,
weighing us down with anger,
and pain,
retaliation,
shame,
breeding darkness from darkness,
grief from grief..
When I see the depths of anger and hate that surrounds us,
I recoil in fear and disgust and disbelief,
for such a thing comes not from above,
no matter how much they do it in the name of God,
or Peace,
or Right,
or Self-determination.
Such things come only from the pit.
Teach me how to be an instrument of your peace
In an era fraught with danger, hate and night.
Touch my hands that they may act in peace
your way, for your reasons.
Touch my lips, that they may say words of blessing
the way you would have it be,
even to those who would harm me.
Touch my heart
That I may learn how to act lovingly
Even when my mind screams out for blood,
Help me to do this because you asked it,
Help me to do this through your help,
Help me to do this for your glory,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Lord, you ask the hardest things sometimes,
to love those who hate us,
to act kindly towards those who wish to harm us,
to bless those who wish us dead.
O Lord, give me the strength
to break the chains of hate
that tie us to sin's blackness,
weighing us down with anger,
and pain,
retaliation,
shame,
breeding darkness from darkness,
grief from grief..
When I see the depths of anger and hate that surrounds us,
I recoil in fear and disgust and disbelief,
for such a thing comes not from above,
no matter how much they do it in the name of God,
or Peace,
or Right,
or Self-determination.
Such things come only from the pit.
Teach me how to be an instrument of your peace
In an era fraught with danger, hate and night.
Touch my hands that they may act in peace
your way, for your reasons.
Touch my lips, that they may say words of blessing
the way you would have it be,
even to those who would harm me.
Touch my heart
That I may learn how to act lovingly
Even when my mind screams out for blood,
Help me to do this because you asked it,
Help me to do this through your help,
Help me to do this for your glory,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, scripture
Monday, January 15, 2007
Cloth of White
The white wool sits there in my hand,
the wheel goes round and round and round,
As the thread is formed, a thin white strand,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it sat on back of ewe,
The wheel goes round and round and round,
And knew the sun, the feel of dew,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it knew the shearer's hand,
The wheel goes round and round and round
all gathered up in a dirty white band,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it met the water clear,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
That made its grime all disappear,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it met the woolen card,
And the wheel goes round and round and round
To make it smooth and not so hard,
And the wheel goes round and round.
And soon it will be cloth of wool,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
To keep me from the winter's cool,
and the wheel goes round and round.
The hand of God works like that too,
and the wheel goes round and round and round
Takes me through each step I rue,
and the wheel goes round and round,
Finds me wild then cuts the dross,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
The tool he uses is his own cross,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Baptismal waters to wash my soul
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
And his own love to make me whole,
And the wheel goes round and round,
His cleansing comb sweeps through my life,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
to straighten out the noise and strife,
and the wheel goes round and round and round.
Spun into thread for God's tapestry
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
I'm part of that bright cloth, you see,
and the wheel goes round and round.
Each life is precious in his hand,
And the wheel goes round and round and round,
Each life has place, a shining strand
And the wheel goes round and round.
The cloth he makes a shining white,
And the wheel goes round and round and round,
To clothe his Bride in linen bright,
And the wheel goes round and round.
And when the last strand's woven in
And the wheel goes round and round and round,
The wedding feast will then begin.
And the wheel goes round and round.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
the wheel goes round and round and round,
As the thread is formed, a thin white strand,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it sat on back of ewe,
The wheel goes round and round and round,
And knew the sun, the feel of dew,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it knew the shearer's hand,
The wheel goes round and round and round
all gathered up in a dirty white band,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it met the water clear,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
That made its grime all disappear,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Once it met the woolen card,
And the wheel goes round and round and round
To make it smooth and not so hard,
And the wheel goes round and round.
And soon it will be cloth of wool,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
To keep me from the winter's cool,
and the wheel goes round and round.
The hand of God works like that too,
and the wheel goes round and round and round
Takes me through each step I rue,
and the wheel goes round and round,
Finds me wild then cuts the dross,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
The tool he uses is his own cross,
And the wheel goes round and round.
Baptismal waters to wash my soul
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
And his own love to make me whole,
And the wheel goes round and round,
His cleansing comb sweeps through my life,
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
to straighten out the noise and strife,
and the wheel goes round and round and round.
Spun into thread for God's tapestry
and the wheel goes round and round and round,
I'm part of that bright cloth, you see,
and the wheel goes round and round.
Each life is precious in his hand,
And the wheel goes round and round and round,
Each life has place, a shining strand
And the wheel goes round and round.
The cloth he makes a shining white,
And the wheel goes round and round and round,
To clothe his Bride in linen bright,
And the wheel goes round and round.
And when the last strand's woven in
And the wheel goes round and round and round,
The wedding feast will then begin.
And the wheel goes round and round.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Jesus' Love
At This Time
Now at this time when I come here to be
with just you and I, O most dear Lord of me,
Let me stand in your presence, all quiet and stilled,
Anchored on your words, O Lord, open and filled.
Anchored in your love, O Lord, which changes me,
Anchored to your cross, O Lord, which sets me free.
This be my resting place, my lamp in the night,
My ark in the flood, my fortress of light.
My solid rock are You, my hope and my way
Jesus, my Savior, guide me each day.
Dear Lamb of God who bore all to save me,
Teach me to love you more - how I want to be
Anchored here firm in what will not fade away,
Safe in your hand til I come home to stay.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
with just you and I, O most dear Lord of me,
Let me stand in your presence, all quiet and stilled,
Anchored on your words, O Lord, open and filled.
Anchored in your love, O Lord, which changes me,
Anchored to your cross, O Lord, which sets me free.
This be my resting place, my lamp in the night,
My ark in the flood, my fortress of light.
My solid rock are You, my hope and my way
Jesus, my Savior, guide me each day.
Dear Lamb of God who bore all to save me,
Teach me to love you more - how I want to be
Anchored here firm in what will not fade away,
Safe in your hand til I come home to stay.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Loving God
Let Me Stand Here
Now, in this moment, at this minute,
Let me stand here,
Firm, unmoved,
anchored on your words, O Lord,
anchored in your love, O Lord,
anchored to your cross, O Lord.
This be my resting place,
my fortress in the darkness,
my strength in the flood,
my sold rock,
my hope.
Jesus, Savior,
Lamb of God
You who take away the sins of the world,
teach me to love you more,
anchored here
in the love that will not fade,
in the palm of your hand.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Let me stand here,
Firm, unmoved,
anchored on your words, O Lord,
anchored in your love, O Lord,
anchored to your cross, O Lord.
This be my resting place,
my fortress in the darkness,
my strength in the flood,
my sold rock,
my hope.
Jesus, Savior,
Lamb of God
You who take away the sins of the world,
teach me to love you more,
anchored here
in the love that will not fade,
in the palm of your hand.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, God Our Shelter, Loving God
Sunday, January 14, 2007
How
How do we walk, O Lord, when we see the darkness falling?
How do we stand, O Lord, when the winds are blowing long?
How do we pray, O Lord, when shouts are growing louder?
How do we love, O Lord, when the evil seems so strong?
Let me recall that night You prayed there in the garden,
All alone with grief, of knowing what would be,
How heavy was the weight of sin upon your shoulders,
How your heart longed to leave, but you chose to set us free.
You let them take you there, you chose to walk the darkness,
You let them take you there, and let the Father be your light
You let Him guide your steps, in pain and blood and sorrow,
You stepped out in the dark, and let the Father be your sight.
O teach me Lord, to trust, when darkness is around me,
O help me walk in faith when I cannot see my way,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
O let me remember, Lord, how you stood there next to Pilate,
Marked there with blood and dirt, a crown of twisted thorn,
Marked with the harsh whip's stripes you bore to heal the broken,
Prepared to bear your cross, our salvation being born.
You let them mock you there, as you listened to their howlings,
You let them call you fool to bring us through Death's night.
You took their blows and words, an offering to the Father,
In grief and pain and blood, you brought the world to light.
O teach me Lord, to give when others seek to stop me,
O help me stand in faith when they try to block my way,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
Let me remember how they nailed you to the crossbeam,
And raised your body up between the earth and sky
And then you looked at those who chose to take your life there,
And prayed forgiveness on the ones who made you die.
You let them take your life, you gave it to the Father,
A sacrifice in love, to open up the way
No cursing passed your lips as your blood dripped out in offering,
But words of blessing there were what you had to say.
O teach me Lord your words when others try to harm me,
O help me stand in faith and remember how to pray,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
You were the sacrifice that opened wide God's mercy,
The weight of sin you bore to free us from our plight
Emmanuel, you came, Creator to creation
And went down into death to lead us into light.
The face of love is yours, no other is as perfect,
You put your hand in ours to show us how to be,
And if we take your hand, you will guide us to tomorrow,
Refined, transformed and white, in loving purity.
O teach me Lord, to love, when loving is not easy,
O help me stand in faith when death draws near to stay,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
How do we stand, O Lord, when the winds are blowing long?
How do we pray, O Lord, when shouts are growing louder?
How do we love, O Lord, when the evil seems so strong?
Let me recall that night You prayed there in the garden,
All alone with grief, of knowing what would be,
How heavy was the weight of sin upon your shoulders,
How your heart longed to leave, but you chose to set us free.
You let them take you there, you chose to walk the darkness,
You let them take you there, and let the Father be your light
You let Him guide your steps, in pain and blood and sorrow,
You stepped out in the dark, and let the Father be your sight.
O teach me Lord, to trust, when darkness is around me,
O help me walk in faith when I cannot see my way,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
O let me remember, Lord, how you stood there next to Pilate,
Marked there with blood and dirt, a crown of twisted thorn,
Marked with the harsh whip's stripes you bore to heal the broken,
Prepared to bear your cross, our salvation being born.
You let them mock you there, as you listened to their howlings,
You let them call you fool to bring us through Death's night.
You took their blows and words, an offering to the Father,
In grief and pain and blood, you brought the world to light.
O teach me Lord, to give when others seek to stop me,
O help me stand in faith when they try to block my way,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
Let me remember how they nailed you to the crossbeam,
And raised your body up between the earth and sky
And then you looked at those who chose to take your life there,
And prayed forgiveness on the ones who made you die.
You let them take your life, you gave it to the Father,
A sacrifice in love, to open up the way
No cursing passed your lips as your blood dripped out in offering,
But words of blessing there were what you had to say.
O teach me Lord your words when others try to harm me,
O help me stand in faith and remember how to pray,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
You were the sacrifice that opened wide God's mercy,
The weight of sin you bore to free us from our plight
Emmanuel, you came, Creator to creation
And went down into death to lead us into light.
The face of love is yours, no other is as perfect,
You put your hand in ours to show us how to be,
And if we take your hand, you will guide us to tomorrow,
Refined, transformed and white, in loving purity.
O teach me Lord, to love, when loving is not easy,
O help me stand in faith when death draws near to stay,
O let me know that You will guide me where You want me
O help me trust You, Lord, to lead me into day.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Passion of Christ, Trust
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Ecce Homo!
You stand there, Lord, looking small, forlorn
Before the haughty Roman judge,
Beneath the twisted crown of thorn
Bloody and beaten, Your face a smudge
Ecce Homo!
Looking at the gathered crowd
As You lift your bloodied head
You see them crying, hungry, loud
longing to see You dead.
Ecce Homo!
No self-pity touches you there,
Standing beaten, carrier of sin,
But love and grief at what you bear,
To save their souls within.
Ecce Homo!
What depth of care under bloody crown
Shows softly in your eyes,
Not cry or blow or anger's frown
Can hide the love that within you lies.
Ecce Homo!
Lord, I am not worthy to meet your eyes,
The love that lingers there for me
Have I not, like Peter, told my lies,
Then longed to hide where you could not see?
Ecce Homo!
Or like Judas, have I not betrayed you?
Reached out my hand for some fool's gold
In the dark of my heart, by what I chose to do,
With love grown empty, life grown cold.
Ecce Homo!
And yet here you stand with loving heart
pouring yourself out like a drink offering,
letting the cup be drained, your death the start
of an undeserved rebirth, a unexpected spring.
Ecce Homo!
Help me to know the truth you show,
The ways of love deeper than the sea,
God's gift of life that I might grow
Into the child you want me to be.
Ecce Homo!
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Before the haughty Roman judge,
Beneath the twisted crown of thorn
Bloody and beaten, Your face a smudge
Ecce Homo!
Looking at the gathered crowd
As You lift your bloodied head
You see them crying, hungry, loud
longing to see You dead.
Ecce Homo!
No self-pity touches you there,
Standing beaten, carrier of sin,
But love and grief at what you bear,
To save their souls within.
Ecce Homo!
What depth of care under bloody crown
Shows softly in your eyes,
Not cry or blow or anger's frown
Can hide the love that within you lies.
Ecce Homo!
Lord, I am not worthy to meet your eyes,
The love that lingers there for me
Have I not, like Peter, told my lies,
Then longed to hide where you could not see?
Ecce Homo!
Or like Judas, have I not betrayed you?
Reached out my hand for some fool's gold
In the dark of my heart, by what I chose to do,
With love grown empty, life grown cold.
Ecce Homo!
And yet here you stand with loving heart
pouring yourself out like a drink offering,
letting the cup be drained, your death the start
of an undeserved rebirth, a unexpected spring.
Ecce Homo!
Help me to know the truth you show,
The ways of love deeper than the sea,
God's gift of life that I might grow
Into the child you want me to be.
Ecce Homo!
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Need for God, Passion of Christ
Let Me Stand Beneath Your Cross
Between the midnight of those who reach out in hate
Shedding blood on the streets in God's holy name,
And those who see religion as the source of pain and disgrace
And see life on this Earth as just a meaningless game,
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
And know that Your ways and theirs just are not the same.
Between the easy answer of it's all about me,
And the anger that lets frightened souls die
As offerings to hate that say "I'm stronger than you,"
As others choose nothingness as an end to the cry,
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
And see in Your light the blackness of Satan's dark lie.
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
that place touched in such an unusual way,
God walking as man beneath the Sun He made,
Where You stand to welcome us, to heal our hearts of clay,
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
When all else is darkness, You are my day.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Shedding blood on the streets in God's holy name,
And those who see religion as the source of pain and disgrace
And see life on this Earth as just a meaningless game,
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
And know that Your ways and theirs just are not the same.
Between the easy answer of it's all about me,
And the anger that lets frightened souls die
As offerings to hate that say "I'm stronger than you,"
As others choose nothingness as an end to the cry,
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
And see in Your light the blackness of Satan's dark lie.
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
that place touched in such an unusual way,
God walking as man beneath the Sun He made,
Where You stand to welcome us, to heal our hearts of clay,
Let me stand here beneath Your cross, Lord,
When all else is darkness, You are my day.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: current evils, Discipleship, Jesus' Love
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Your Children
Weeping and wailing over the world
Cries of loss that pierce the night,
Despair and grief piling high upon anger
Oil of death waiting to ignite --
Let us see it as You, O we Your children, Lord --
Rip the veils from our sight.
In a world that shows so clearly
The heart of darkness that painfully beats
There right beneath the surface,
In our homes and in our streets
Show us how to walk as Your children, Lord,
Bearers of Your light.
Only Your light can shatter the midnight,
Only Your touch can soften the hate,
Without Your voice to soothe the anger,
There is no escape from the evil fate
That awaits your erring children, Lord.
Keep us in your sight!
In this hard world that sin has wrought
A hard world growing ever darker,
May we who call You Master see
That what You taught us is the marker
And help us be Your children, Lord
Your hands in the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Cries of loss that pierce the night,
Despair and grief piling high upon anger
Oil of death waiting to ignite --
Let us see it as You, O we Your children, Lord --
Rip the veils from our sight.
In a world that shows so clearly
The heart of darkness that painfully beats
There right beneath the surface,
In our homes and in our streets
Show us how to walk as Your children, Lord,
Bearers of Your light.
Only Your light can shatter the midnight,
Only Your touch can soften the hate,
Without Your voice to soothe the anger,
There is no escape from the evil fate
That awaits your erring children, Lord.
Keep us in your sight!
In this hard world that sin has wrought
A hard world growing ever darker,
May we who call You Master see
That what You taught us is the marker
And help us be Your children, Lord
Your hands in the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, man's inhumanity, Mercy on Mankind
Sermon in a Loaf of Bread
Flour white as winter snow,
White as purity, you know,
Take six cups measured well,
And keep some more at hand to go.
Yeast that makes soft bread to grow,
Mix with water warm, you know,
Two cups will do to start the brew,
And next, two spoons of sugar go.
Take some salt, a spoon or so,
Salt gives savour, I'm sure you know,
Preserves the good like holy life,
Into the flour it must go.
Oil, two spoons, will so
Add richness to the bread, you know,
Richness to remind us of God's loving touch,
Into the yeast water it must go.
Half the flour, watch it flow
Into the mixing bowl you know,
Remember how God rewards the giving,
As you watch it whitely go.
Now comes the yeast to make it grow,
Yeast lets the air in, you know,
Like God's grace to a sin-sick world,
Into half the flour it must go.
With spoon and then with hand also
Stir flour and yeast. You know
How hard hearts are made soft through strife
So push the dough where it must go.
Add more flour to make it grow,
Like children growing up you know,
Soon all the flour gets added in,
To your kneeding board the dough must go.
Now you get to beat the dough,
Kneed it long, for you must know
That bread, like hearts, needs lots of work.
To the rising bowl it must go.
Now the hard part - watch that dough
double in size with time, you know.
Taking it early will make it heavy.
Like the prodigal's Father, let it go.
Double it twice, then shape that dough,
Like God letting us live our lives, you know,
He gives us freedom to suffer and joy,
Then pushes us where he wants us to go.
In your pans let your bread loaves grow,
As God wants us shaped his way, you know.
As they rise one last time, heat the oven hot,
Then into bake they do go.
Lovely the smell of bread from dough
Like growth in holiness, you know.
You know they will be done when they thump true,
Then to their proper end they'll go!
Susan E. Stone, 2007
White as purity, you know,
Take six cups measured well,
And keep some more at hand to go.
Yeast that makes soft bread to grow,
Mix with water warm, you know,
Two cups will do to start the brew,
And next, two spoons of sugar go.
Take some salt, a spoon or so,
Salt gives savour, I'm sure you know,
Preserves the good like holy life,
Into the flour it must go.
Oil, two spoons, will so
Add richness to the bread, you know,
Richness to remind us of God's loving touch,
Into the yeast water it must go.
Half the flour, watch it flow
Into the mixing bowl you know,
Remember how God rewards the giving,
As you watch it whitely go.
Now comes the yeast to make it grow,
Yeast lets the air in, you know,
Like God's grace to a sin-sick world,
Into half the flour it must go.
With spoon and then with hand also
Stir flour and yeast. You know
How hard hearts are made soft through strife
So push the dough where it must go.
Add more flour to make it grow,
Like children growing up you know,
Soon all the flour gets added in,
To your kneeding board the dough must go.
Now you get to beat the dough,
Kneed it long, for you must know
That bread, like hearts, needs lots of work.
To the rising bowl it must go.
Now the hard part - watch that dough
double in size with time, you know.
Taking it early will make it heavy.
Like the prodigal's Father, let it go.
Double it twice, then shape that dough,
Like God letting us live our lives, you know,
He gives us freedom to suffer and joy,
Then pushes us where he wants us to go.
In your pans let your bread loaves grow,
As God wants us shaped his way, you know.
As they rise one last time, heat the oven hot,
Then into bake they do go.
Lovely the smell of bread from dough
Like growth in holiness, you know.
You know they will be done when they thump true,
Then to their proper end they'll go!
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Christian Living, Discipleship
Saturday, January 06, 2007
O Lord, Open Our Ears
O Lord, open our ears that we might hear
Your soft-whispered word within our ear,
The touch of your truth - a light so clear
That it burns away the night.
Now while today is in our hands,
This gift from you even now demands
Our openness to Your truth which stands
In everlasting light.
Each minute, a precious gift from You,
So much is needed, so much to do
Each moment a chance to begin anew
To work through Your might.
Salt and light you ask us to be -
Guide us to see as you would see,
Teach us to love as deep and free
As Heaven's depth and height.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Your soft-whispered word within our ear,
The touch of your truth - a light so clear
That it burns away the night.
Now while today is in our hands,
This gift from you even now demands
Our openness to Your truth which stands
In everlasting light.
Each minute, a precious gift from You,
So much is needed, so much to do
Each moment a chance to begin anew
To work through Your might.
Salt and light you ask us to be -
Guide us to see as you would see,
Teach us to love as deep and free
As Heaven's depth and height.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Walking Through the Shadows
Walking through the shadows,
A valley dark and deep,
It's hard to see a safety zone,
A place where I might sleep,
And yet I know you're with me,
You are my only light
When shadows seem like midnight,
Your touch will give me sight.
Walking through the shadows,
I cannot see ahead,
I do not know the pitfalls,
But I know where I am led.
You call me now to follow,
And follow you I try,
O lift me when I stumble,
O hear me when I cry.
Walking through the shadows,
In a land that's dark with pain,
Scarred with the hand of Eve's wrong choice,
Scarred with the mark of Cain,
I think of how you loved enough
To walk our weary ways,
To taste our grief, to know our pain,
The dust of all our days.
Walking through the shadows
You felt the weight of sin -
One night in spring beneath the trees,
You took our darkness in,
Took it all the way to death,
And transformed the dark to light,
And called us all to follow you
To leave this angry night.
Walking in the shadows,
I am a pilgrim here,
And through your healing touch, O Lord,
I will not walk with fear,
For you are there beside me
To share this shadowed way,
And you will guide my steps at last
To the place night cannot stay.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
A valley dark and deep,
It's hard to see a safety zone,
A place where I might sleep,
And yet I know you're with me,
You are my only light
When shadows seem like midnight,
Your touch will give me sight.
Walking through the shadows,
I cannot see ahead,
I do not know the pitfalls,
But I know where I am led.
You call me now to follow,
And follow you I try,
O lift me when I stumble,
O hear me when I cry.
Walking through the shadows,
In a land that's dark with pain,
Scarred with the hand of Eve's wrong choice,
Scarred with the mark of Cain,
I think of how you loved enough
To walk our weary ways,
To taste our grief, to know our pain,
The dust of all our days.
Walking through the shadows
You felt the weight of sin -
One night in spring beneath the trees,
You took our darkness in,
Took it all the way to death,
And transformed the dark to light,
And called us all to follow you
To leave this angry night.
Walking in the shadows,
I am a pilgrim here,
And through your healing touch, O Lord,
I will not walk with fear,
For you are there beside me
To share this shadowed way,
And you will guide my steps at last
To the place night cannot stay.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Emmanuel, In the Valley of the Shadow, Trust
Monday, December 25, 2006
Your Path Through the Darkness
Between the midnight of those who scoff
and the darkness of those who strike out in anger,
and the laughter of Satan as he watches the struggles
pile the pyre of hate and angst and grief
higher and higher and higher,
Teach me O Lord,
each day,
each moment
to see your path through the darkness,
to be willing to walk your steps through the rubble,
to cling to your light, no matter if it's brightness pains me
as I see the shrouds they would wrap your truth in.
O You who died for love of me,
teach me to live for love of You,
one breath at a time,
one step at a time,
one encounter at a time,
and may the light of the fire of Your love
keep the darkness of this age
from overwhelming my heart,
so that I may be your witness,
no matter the cost,
This day, and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
and the darkness of those who strike out in anger,
and the laughter of Satan as he watches the struggles
pile the pyre of hate and angst and grief
higher and higher and higher,
Teach me O Lord,
each day,
each moment
to see your path through the darkness,
to be willing to walk your steps through the rubble,
to cling to your light, no matter if it's brightness pains me
as I see the shrouds they would wrap your truth in.
O You who died for love of me,
teach me to live for love of You,
one breath at a time,
one step at a time,
one encounter at a time,
and may the light of the fire of Your love
keep the darkness of this age
from overwhelming my heart,
so that I may be your witness,
no matter the cost,
This day, and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Jesus' Love, Need for God
Friday, December 15, 2006
O Lord of My Life
O Lord of my life in the night and the day,
My shelter, my home when all else seems to stray,
Your words are my compass, your love is my guide,
O keep me, dear Master, there safe by your side.
In this world of darkness where promises fail,
There is no sure shore, no firm-footed trail
That leads one to peace or into the light
Except through your love which shines there so bright.
O help me to walk in the way where you lead,
My Shepherd, my Guide who provides all I need,
O Comfort of lost ones, o Bright Morning Star,
My peace is with you, my hope where you are.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
My shelter, my home when all else seems to stray,
Your words are my compass, your love is my guide,
O keep me, dear Master, there safe by your side.
In this world of darkness where promises fail,
There is no sure shore, no firm-footed trail
That leads one to peace or into the light
Except through your love which shines there so bright.
O help me to walk in the way where you lead,
My Shepherd, my Guide who provides all I need,
O Comfort of lost ones, o Bright Morning Star,
My peace is with you, my hope where you are.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Praise and Thanksgiving
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Teach Us How to Walk
O Lord,
Teach us how to walk
in a world that shows so clearly
the heart of darkness that beats
without your light to shatter the midnight,
without your touch to soften the anger,
without your voice to soothe the hatred,
without your love to heal the hurts.
Each day we can look around us
and hear the growing cacophony,
the anger of Cain slaying his brother,
the selfish determination of Eve to have her own way,
Lust that trips even good men like David,
Weeping and wailing that pierces the night,
Despair and grief piling high upon anger.
In this hard world
that seems to be growing harder,
Help us realize how important it is
to be the salt that preserves
by the spreading of your truth with our lives,
to be the light that shows
how God is love,
and not the tool for our hate,
how to be the leaven
that lets heaven's light and air
permeate through the hardness of a sin-sick world,
and let us touch those you bring our way
with the hope that can only come from you
through our actions,
our choices,
our words,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Teach us how to walk
in a world that shows so clearly
the heart of darkness that beats
without your light to shatter the midnight,
without your touch to soften the anger,
without your voice to soothe the hatred,
without your love to heal the hurts.
Each day we can look around us
and hear the growing cacophony,
the anger of Cain slaying his brother,
the selfish determination of Eve to have her own way,
Lust that trips even good men like David,
Weeping and wailing that pierces the night,
Despair and grief piling high upon anger.
In this hard world
that seems to be growing harder,
Help us realize how important it is
to be the salt that preserves
by the spreading of your truth with our lives,
to be the light that shows
how God is love,
and not the tool for our hate,
how to be the leaven
that lets heaven's light and air
permeate through the hardness of a sin-sick world,
and let us touch those you bring our way
with the hope that can only come from you
through our actions,
our choices,
our words,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Need for God
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Light
The darkness seems so deep, my Lord,
And the way seems hard to find,
The rocks' sharp edges cut my feet.
As I grope forward, nearly blind.
And yet your light burns in my heart,
and that alone can ease my mind.
The light you give is my one true guide
As I wander across the land
Your love's the strength that carries me on
Through the rock and burning sand
My manna in the wilderness
Comes from your loving hand.
And when I meet another soul
Fed with your loving light
The darkness seems less heavy,
Less solemn is the night,
O may I spread the light you give
to make this lost gloom bright.
Like lanterns in the midnight, Lord,
Each soul that looks to you,
To bring the touch of heaven's light
to a world of loss and rue,
O may our witness light the night
to show your love is true.
O Light of Heaven, bring the day
When midnight fades to light,
And shadows flee and disappear
Beneath your loving sight.
And dawn breaks through the sin-sick sky
all brokenness made right.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
And the way seems hard to find,
The rocks' sharp edges cut my feet.
As I grope forward, nearly blind.
And yet your light burns in my heart,
and that alone can ease my mind.
The light you give is my one true guide
As I wander across the land
Your love's the strength that carries me on
Through the rock and burning sand
My manna in the wilderness
Comes from your loving hand.
And when I meet another soul
Fed with your loving light
The darkness seems less heavy,
Less solemn is the night,
O may I spread the light you give
to make this lost gloom bright.
Like lanterns in the midnight, Lord,
Each soul that looks to you,
To bring the touch of heaven's light
to a world of loss and rue,
O may our witness light the night
to show your love is true.
O Light of Heaven, bring the day
When midnight fades to light,
And shadows flee and disappear
Beneath your loving sight.
And dawn breaks through the sin-sick sky
all brokenness made right.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, October 30, 2006
Prayer to St. Perpetua
O Perpetua,
standing there on the arena sands,
the witnesses to your death
said you steadied the hand
of the soldier there to take your life
so he could make a clean stroke
and send you on to that realm
where you would go to take up your martyr's crown,
fair witness to show the the things of true value in a dark and angry world.
O Perpetua,
Teach me not to waver
when the little ills and pains and setbacks of life seem overwhelming,
and steady my hand,
that I too may live as a witness
in a world that longs to demand other allegiances from me
and to take me far away from my walk with Christ.
When the dust of the world grows dense,
pray that I remember you, standing on those sands,
and in that moment's flash,
remember my true goal.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
standing there on the arena sands,
the witnesses to your death
said you steadied the hand
of the soldier there to take your life
so he could make a clean stroke
and send you on to that realm
where you would go to take up your martyr's crown,
fair witness to show the the things of true value in a dark and angry world.
O Perpetua,
Teach me not to waver
when the little ills and pains and setbacks of life seem overwhelming,
and steady my hand,
that I too may live as a witness
in a world that longs to demand other allegiances from me
and to take me far away from my walk with Christ.
When the dust of the world grows dense,
pray that I remember you, standing on those sands,
and in that moment's flash,
remember my true goal.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Saints
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Thou
Thou,
like a breath of wind, unseen but not unfelt,
whose presence breathes across the waters of my heart,
Breathing life into each breath I take,
surrounding me in my every move,
sharing in my every joy,
feeling the anguish of my every pain,
Thou.
O Lord, Giver of life,
Comforter, Quickener, Spirit, Breath,
Direct my feet in the way they should go,
Fill my heart with that love I should have,
Teach me that trust that will let me always walk in the light,
Even through the grief,
Even through the pain
Even through the loss that comes merely with living.
And let me rest in the knowledge that you are here with me,
day by day,
giving me the words when I know not what to say,
giving me the hope to walk another step,
giving me the joy that comes unbidden
from the fountains of Heaven.
Thou,
O Lord,
O Spirit,
O God,
Glory to you!
Susan E. Stone, 2006
like a breath of wind, unseen but not unfelt,
whose presence breathes across the waters of my heart,
Breathing life into each breath I take,
surrounding me in my every move,
sharing in my every joy,
feeling the anguish of my every pain,
Thou.
O Lord, Giver of life,
Comforter, Quickener, Spirit, Breath,
Direct my feet in the way they should go,
Fill my heart with that love I should have,
Teach me that trust that will let me always walk in the light,
Even through the grief,
Even through the pain
Even through the loss that comes merely with living.
And let me rest in the knowledge that you are here with me,
day by day,
giving me the words when I know not what to say,
giving me the hope to walk another step,
giving me the joy that comes unbidden
from the fountains of Heaven.
Thou,
O Lord,
O Spirit,
O God,
Glory to you!
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Loving God, Praise and Thanksgiving
Monday, July 03, 2006
Each Day a Choice
This is a day,
like any other day,
a day that beckons to us
in different ways,
but each day a choice:
Thou or Me,
my way, Lord,
or let me come to Thee.
Each day a renewal
of choice before me,
sometimes I lose
and say Me, not Thee.
Forgive me Lord,
when I stumble and fall,
for each day I acknowledge
that I hear your call.
My life is like grass
curing white in the sun,
a spark and it fires,
burns fast and is gone,
And when I am ash
and forgotten by all,
May I rest in your heart
having answered your call.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
like any other day,
a day that beckons to us
in different ways,
but each day a choice:
Thou or Me,
my way, Lord,
or let me come to Thee.
Each day a renewal
of choice before me,
sometimes I lose
and say Me, not Thee.
Forgive me Lord,
when I stumble and fall,
for each day I acknowledge
that I hear your call.
My life is like grass
curing white in the sun,
a spark and it fires,
burns fast and is gone,
And when I am ash
and forgotten by all,
May I rest in your heart
having answered your call.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Loving God
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Pilgrim's Journey Home
The sun sinks low near the end of the day
As my weary back bends beneath its load.
My mind is filled with sweet thoughts of home
That waits for me at the end of the road.
At times each step seems so hard to take,
My hands do shake and my knees grow weak,
Yet far ahead the road leads on,
To the place I go, to the home I seek.
Some may think that I walk in vain,
Step after step on this pilgrim's way,
They think me foolish for what I do,
Glance while I pass, and then turn away.
And yet they wonder where comes the strength
To love when others would choose to hate,
To ease the pain of another's load,
To try when others curse their fate.
It is not I who can do this thing,
It is not I who is strong, you see --
The joy, the peace, the strength within
To take each step, it is not me.
It only looks like I walk alone,
Another carries me along the way.
He gave his life to set me free
And brings me home at the end of the day.
O Jesus, you whisper into my heart
The words of life that set me free,
Your arms are strength where I am weak,
When I fall down you carry me.
And though the valley ahead seems dark,
O Good Shepherd you comfort me,
It will be but the pathway home,
And where you lead, I long to be.
To the Tune of Lord Franklin.
(midi of the tune can be found here:
http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/midis7/franklin.mid)
As my weary back bends beneath its load.
My mind is filled with sweet thoughts of home
That waits for me at the end of the road.
At times each step seems so hard to take,
My hands do shake and my knees grow weak,
Yet far ahead the road leads on,
To the place I go, to the home I seek.
Some may think that I walk in vain,
Step after step on this pilgrim's way,
They think me foolish for what I do,
Glance while I pass, and then turn away.
And yet they wonder where comes the strength
To love when others would choose to hate,
To ease the pain of another's load,
To try when others curse their fate.
It is not I who can do this thing,
It is not I who is strong, you see --
The joy, the peace, the strength within
To take each step, it is not me.
It only looks like I walk alone,
Another carries me along the way.
He gave his life to set me free
And brings me home at the end of the day.
O Jesus, you whisper into my heart
The words of life that set me free,
Your arms are strength where I am weak,
When I fall down you carry me.
And though the valley ahead seems dark,
O Good Shepherd you comfort me,
It will be but the pathway home,
And where you lead, I long to be.
To the Tune of Lord Franklin.
(midi of the tune can be found here:
http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/midis7/franklin.mid)
Labels: Discipleship, God Our Shelter, Hope, In the Valley of the Shadow
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Blood and Light
The sword falls,
exposing a thin red line separating life and death,
today and forever,
goodness in a neighbor's eyes and the face of evil in human form.
See it cut,
that first blow,
brother against brother,
opening a red stream pouring out over the earth,
a river of grief and loss,
and sorrow and confusion,
exhilaration,
adulation,
oppression,
the mark of Cain ever with the human race,
as men see themselves
as more worthy,
more deserving,
more needy,
more right,
wallowing in the river
no matter the price
as demons howl.
The whip rips the flesh,
the thorn pierces he scalp,
the hammer rends as nail pierces muscle and nerve.
This blood trickles down like all the other blood,
yet where it touches,
light grows to combat the dark,
light to heal the anger in the neighbor's eyes,
to heal the hurt of the lost and bereaved,
to stand with the homeless,
the oppressed,
the needy.
All you who are touched by this light
offer up your hands,
hands for the light to use.
Pass it on,
this light given to us in blood,
in love,
in redemption.
Pass it on,
hand to hand,
word by word,
to heal the mark of Cain,
the death march of time,
and quell that demon howling,
the song of grief that has been mankind's birthright
since the fall.
Pass it on,
and one day, you will see it come back to you,
in the loving smile and shining eyes
of him who says, "Well done."
Susan E. Stone, 2006
exposing a thin red line separating life and death,
today and forever,
goodness in a neighbor's eyes and the face of evil in human form.
See it cut,
that first blow,
brother against brother,
opening a red stream pouring out over the earth,
a river of grief and loss,
and sorrow and confusion,
exhilaration,
adulation,
oppression,
the mark of Cain ever with the human race,
as men see themselves
as more worthy,
more deserving,
more needy,
more right,
wallowing in the river
no matter the price
as demons howl.
The whip rips the flesh,
the thorn pierces he scalp,
the hammer rends as nail pierces muscle and nerve.
This blood trickles down like all the other blood,
yet where it touches,
light grows to combat the dark,
light to heal the anger in the neighbor's eyes,
to heal the hurt of the lost and bereaved,
to stand with the homeless,
the oppressed,
the needy.
All you who are touched by this light
offer up your hands,
hands for the light to use.
Pass it on,
this light given to us in blood,
in love,
in redemption.
Pass it on,
hand to hand,
word by word,
to heal the mark of Cain,
the death march of time,
and quell that demon howling,
the song of grief that has been mankind's birthright
since the fall.
Pass it on,
and one day, you will see it come back to you,
in the loving smile and shining eyes
of him who says, "Well done."
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Christian Living, current evils, Discipleship
Monday, January 09, 2006
Dust
O Lord,
my life without you is dust,
a dry, barren dust
slipping through the fingers of time
until it all blows away,
leaving nothing
but a dessicated residue,
a shadow
a dry memory.
O Lord,
yours is the breath
that gives life to this dust,
yours are the living waters
that leads this dust to bloom,
Yours is the hope,
the peace,
the love.
Remind me, O Lord,
that even as the darkness gathers,
you are the light.
That even as my feet tremble
and the road seems to fade,
you are my sure compass.
That even when all seems lost
you are there,
and will be there
every step of the way.
When the cup I am asked to drink
seems like bitter poison,
remind me of the cup
you drank down to the dregs for love
and with that memory,
grant me the strength to live for you
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
my life without you is dust,
a dry, barren dust
slipping through the fingers of time
until it all blows away,
leaving nothing
but a dessicated residue,
a shadow
a dry memory.
O Lord,
yours is the breath
that gives life to this dust,
yours are the living waters
that leads this dust to bloom,
Yours is the hope,
the peace,
the love.
Remind me, O Lord,
that even as the darkness gathers,
you are the light.
That even as my feet tremble
and the road seems to fade,
you are my sure compass.
That even when all seems lost
you are there,
and will be there
every step of the way.
When the cup I am asked to drink
seems like bitter poison,
remind me of the cup
you drank down to the dregs for love
and with that memory,
grant me the strength to live for you
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Discipleship, Need for God
Monday, December 05, 2005
The Wood of my Cross
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. II Corinthians 4: 7-10
that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death;. Phillipians 3:10
Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
Today, Lord,
I feel the rough wood of the cross you have asked me to bear,
the pain you have given me,
a gift,
a gift to teach me,
a gift of joining,
a gift of love.
On days like this, Lord,
I find the path winding back to the garden,
shadow-wreathed in the moonlight,
that spring evening among the olive trees,
where you prayed in such agony of heart.
Let me kneel beside you,
and watch,
and too offer my prayer up to the Father,
Abba,
not my will but yours.
Or, as the pain crescendos,
I find myself watching,
as the scourge crashes down upon your back,
stripes borne for my sake,
and know how much you understand my little pain,
and as part of your body, Lord,
my pain connected to yours,
a sharing,
a bearing
that connects me to the reality of what you gave,
and what will be.
And now,
here I sit at the foot of your cross,
bearing the cross you have given me,
contemplating the life of you
who has called me to entwine myself to him,
grafted on by your loving hand,
contemplating the pain of sin,
and realize, once again,
how in suffering I am drawn closer
to that reality of what you were willing to bear
for my sake,
and I embrace this cross,
your gift,
and in your suffering,
my suffering is redeemed
from meaninglessness
into your glory.
Deo Gratias.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. II Corinthians 4: 7-10
that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death;. Phillipians 3:10
Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
Today, Lord,
I feel the rough wood of the cross you have asked me to bear,
the pain you have given me,
a gift,
a gift to teach me,
a gift of joining,
a gift of love.
On days like this, Lord,
I find the path winding back to the garden,
shadow-wreathed in the moonlight,
that spring evening among the olive trees,
where you prayed in such agony of heart.
Let me kneel beside you,
and watch,
and too offer my prayer up to the Father,
Abba,
not my will but yours.
Or, as the pain crescendos,
I find myself watching,
as the scourge crashes down upon your back,
stripes borne for my sake,
and know how much you understand my little pain,
and as part of your body, Lord,
my pain connected to yours,
a sharing,
a bearing
that connects me to the reality of what you gave,
and what will be.
And now,
here I sit at the foot of your cross,
bearing the cross you have given me,
contemplating the life of you
who has called me to entwine myself to him,
grafted on by your loving hand,
contemplating the pain of sin,
and realize, once again,
how in suffering I am drawn closer
to that reality of what you were willing to bear
for my sake,
and I embrace this cross,
your gift,
and in your suffering,
my suffering is redeemed
from meaninglessness
into your glory.
Deo Gratias.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Discipleship
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Meditation on the Nativity
O Lord,
how often we think we are rich,
living in plenty,
but our hearts, instead,
are living in the barrens,
a desert haunted
by dry winds ripping at our souls,
waiting for the rain from Heaven
that makes the desert bloom,
that brings the peace we long for,
looking for it in so many wrong places,
forgetting the source,
forgetting the call,
forgetting you.
So much like how the world
once turned its back
on a stable,
and a child,
and the song of angels,
leaving no room at the inn
like we too often
leave no room in our lives,
though how our hearts long to be filled,
were made to hear that song,
to know that child.
Touch our ears, O Lord,
that we might hear that song,
Touch our hearts, O Lord,
that we might realize the emptiness,
Touch our eyes, O Lord,
that we might realize the true poverty
which is life without you,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
how often we think we are rich,
living in plenty,
but our hearts, instead,
are living in the barrens,
a desert haunted
by dry winds ripping at our souls,
waiting for the rain from Heaven
that makes the desert bloom,
that brings the peace we long for,
looking for it in so many wrong places,
forgetting the source,
forgetting the call,
forgetting you.
So much like how the world
once turned its back
on a stable,
and a child,
and the song of angels,
leaving no room at the inn
like we too often
leave no room in our lives,
though how our hearts long to be filled,
were made to hear that song,
to know that child.
Touch our ears, O Lord,
that we might hear that song,
Touch our hearts, O Lord,
that we might realize the emptiness,
Touch our eyes, O Lord,
that we might realize the true poverty
which is life without you,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Advent Nativity Epiphany, Discipleship
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
In witnessing the bitter ashes of another's sorrow,
in witnessing their loss, frustration, anger,
watching as they rail against the universe you have placed us into,
as they rail against you for having put us here,
as the rail against how others use the name of God
to excuse actions, violence, manipulation,
or how others use you for just a comfortable income,
even if they don't believe,
I see their pain and rejection,
throwing you out as a symbol of evil and persecution,
following into that ancient trap
of making God small so we can be like God
so we can be our own god,
so we can structure the universe we see
in patterns of our own liking
even if they don't match the reality,
or soothe us when the darkness falls,
or transform us into anything
but a hungry, unsatisfied ME.
O Lord,
who breathed upon the waters before history began,
who out of chaos brought into being order,
who has whispered to the prophets,
who has made the truth clear,
who has told us what is the right way to live:
Love justice,
be merciful,
walk humbly,
do that to others we want done to ourselves,
to love you with all we have,
and our neighbor as well as ourselves.
O Lord, who larger than we can remember, chose to come to earth,
to empty yourself,
to be Jesus, whose very name echos salvation,
Emmanuel, God With Us,
who knows what it is like
to taste the dust of the road after a long, thirsty walk,
who knows hunger,
who knows what it is like to lose a parent,
who knows what it is like to see sorrow caused by one's actions,
who knows what it is like to see one's mother grieve beyond grief,
who knows what it is like to have friends,
who knows what it is like to see those friends scatter
who knows what it is like to be bereft, alone,
who knows what it is like to go down to the gates of death,
God who is our companion
in all the aches and miseries and sorrows of life,
sharing, transforming,
sanctifying our lives by joining our lives with yours,
allowing us to see beneath the veil of pain and meaninglessness
how we are on a road that can lead to the light,
the light beckoning from the place where heaven and earth meet
at the cross,
a light to burn away the meaningless dross,
until we stand revealed,
your child.
Forgive us our anger,
our angst,
our struggles,
and teach us to see with your eyes,
to love with your heart,
to walk with your feet
no matter what the cost,
until we are
the people you wish to forge us into.
Amen.
Susan Stone, 2005
in witnessing their loss, frustration, anger,
watching as they rail against the universe you have placed us into,
as they rail against you for having put us here,
as the rail against how others use the name of God
to excuse actions, violence, manipulation,
or how others use you for just a comfortable income,
even if they don't believe,
I see their pain and rejection,
throwing you out as a symbol of evil and persecution,
following into that ancient trap
of making God small so we can be like God
so we can be our own god,
so we can structure the universe we see
in patterns of our own liking
even if they don't match the reality,
or soothe us when the darkness falls,
or transform us into anything
but a hungry, unsatisfied ME.
O Lord,
who breathed upon the waters before history began,
who out of chaos brought into being order,
who has whispered to the prophets,
who has made the truth clear,
who has told us what is the right way to live:
Love justice,
be merciful,
walk humbly,
do that to others we want done to ourselves,
to love you with all we have,
and our neighbor as well as ourselves.
O Lord, who larger than we can remember, chose to come to earth,
to empty yourself,
to be Jesus, whose very name echos salvation,
Emmanuel, God With Us,
who knows what it is like
to taste the dust of the road after a long, thirsty walk,
who knows hunger,
who knows what it is like to lose a parent,
who knows what it is like to see sorrow caused by one's actions,
who knows what it is like to see one's mother grieve beyond grief,
who knows what it is like to have friends,
who knows what it is like to see those friends scatter
who knows what it is like to be bereft, alone,
who knows what it is like to go down to the gates of death,
God who is our companion
in all the aches and miseries and sorrows of life,
sharing, transforming,
sanctifying our lives by joining our lives with yours,
allowing us to see beneath the veil of pain and meaninglessness
how we are on a road that can lead to the light,
the light beckoning from the place where heaven and earth meet
at the cross,
a light to burn away the meaningless dross,
until we stand revealed,
your child.
Forgive us our anger,
our angst,
our struggles,
and teach us to see with your eyes,
to love with your heart,
to walk with your feet
no matter what the cost,
until we are
the people you wish to forge us into.
Amen.
Susan Stone, 2005
Labels: Discipleship
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Transformations
O Lord,
so much I do not understand
while you refine me in the furnace
bringing to the surface
each and every one of the imperfections
I long to pretend are not there,
that I hate,
that I would deny,
and yet, until I learn to deal with them
as you would have me deal with them,
they are such stumbling blocks,
roadblocks
set between me and thee.
O Lord,
how you pull the veils away from my eyes,
show me my willingness to anger,
and how I love to take umbrage,
and how I devise ways to refuse the needs of others,
to refuse the duties at hand,
to be hard when I should be soft,
to be soft where I should be firm,
to find excuses not to pray,
to do all those things that human flesh
gives into without your grace.
How I long to cling to my veils,
deny the reality,
refuse to grow,
refuse the refining of your love,
and yet, Lord,
how I long with each and every breath
to be what you want me to be,
in the way you want me to be,
in your time.
O Lord,
forgive my whining,
and cleanse me in your refining fire,
strip away the illusions of holiness
that keep me from you,
until at last,
realizing that I stand naked before your sight,
unworthy in my imperfectness,
and acknowledge
that it is only with your grace
that I am healed,
only with your love
that I am made whole,
and all the good I long to do,
and all the holiness I long to wrap around myself
is but a poor shadow of you
and the white garments you intend to dress me in.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
O Lord,
so much I do not understand
while you refine me in the furnace
bringing to the surface
each and every one of the imperfections
I long to pretend are not there,
that I hate,
that I would deny,
and yet, until I learn to deal with them
as you would have me deal with them,
they are such stumbling blocks,
roadblocks
set between me and thee.
O Lord,
how you pull the veils away from my eyes,
show me my willingness to anger,
and how I love to take umbrage,
and how I devise ways to refuse the needs of others,
to refuse the duties at hand,
to be hard when I should be soft,
to be soft where I should be firm,
to find excuses not to pray,
to do all those things that human flesh
gives into without your grace.
How I long to cling to my veils,
deny the reality,
refuse to grow,
refuse the refining of your love,
and yet, Lord,
how I long with each and every breath
to be what you want me to be,
in the way you want me to be,
in your time.
O Lord,
forgive my whining,
and cleanse me in your refining fire,
strip away the illusions of holiness
that keep me from you,
until at last,
realizing that I stand naked before your sight,
unworthy in my imperfectness,
and acknowledge
that it is only with your grace
that I am healed,
only with your love
that I am made whole,
and all the good I long to do,
and all the holiness I long to wrap around myself
is but a poor shadow of you
and the white garments you intend to dress me in.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Discipleship
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Lord,
You are our healer
and our hope,
you ask us to bear our cross,
then help us struggle beneath its weight.
You ask us to be merciful,
and, if we are open to you,
fill our hearts with mercy.
You ask us to be the one
others can practice their mercy on,
and if we are open,
you fill us with your patience
and strength
and love
to lay there, ill,
in need of mercy.
Today, O Lord,
be with all those who are ill,
with pain of body,
with sorrow of mind,
with loss,
bereavement,
aching in their hearts,
loss.
Help all of us
who call you Lord
to answer that call
to be your hands,
to be the tool of your mercy,
to be the lips to say your words
to those in pain,
to be the good Samaritans,
to bind the wounds.
Hold us all in your hands, O Lord,
and at the end,
bring us safely home to be with you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
You are our healer
and our hope,
you ask us to bear our cross,
then help us struggle beneath its weight.
You ask us to be merciful,
and, if we are open to you,
fill our hearts with mercy.
You ask us to be the one
others can practice their mercy on,
and if we are open,
you fill us with your patience
and strength
and love
to lay there, ill,
in need of mercy.
Today, O Lord,
be with all those who are ill,
with pain of body,
with sorrow of mind,
with loss,
bereavement,
aching in their hearts,
loss.
Help all of us
who call you Lord
to answer that call
to be your hands,
to be the tool of your mercy,
to be the lips to say your words
to those in pain,
to be the good Samaritans,
to bind the wounds.
Hold us all in your hands, O Lord,
and at the end,
bring us safely home to be with you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Discipleship
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Lord,
This day,
teach us the patience
that you have for us,
the willing waiting
that gives the prodigal
chance to return,
that sees the pain
in the faithful son's heart,
that weeps with the mournful
and celebrates with the happy.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
This day,
teach us the patience
that you have for us,
the willing waiting
that gives the prodigal
chance to return,
that sees the pain
in the faithful son's heart,
that weeps with the mournful
and celebrates with the happy.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Discipleship
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Lord,
help me to discover
where my true treasure is,
not in my strong right hand,
not in the quickness of my mind,
the smoothness of my words,
the riches in my pocket,
the network of my friends,
the things I surround myself with,
not in anything
of I
or mine
or thing
or place.
You, O Lord,
are the true treasure,
the God who heals me,
who transforms me,
who draws me near
undeservedly.
Let me know
You,
who are my true strength,
you who are my true love,
you who holds me in the palm of his hand,
now and forever.
Let me be the tool in your hand,
to do your work,
when and as you wish it,
a lantern filled with your light
to shine your message forth,
let me be a little storehouse
of your love
to share with those whose lives I touch,
and Lord,
help me to always realize
you are the source,
and I the vessel,
you are the treasure,
and I the tool,
this day
and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
help me to discover
where my true treasure is,
not in my strong right hand,
not in the quickness of my mind,
the smoothness of my words,
the riches in my pocket,
the network of my friends,
the things I surround myself with,
not in anything
of I
or mine
or thing
or place.
You, O Lord,
are the true treasure,
the God who heals me,
who transforms me,
who draws me near
undeservedly.
Let me know
You,
who are my true strength,
you who are my true love,
you who holds me in the palm of his hand,
now and forever.
Let me be the tool in your hand,
to do your work,
when and as you wish it,
a lantern filled with your light
to shine your message forth,
let me be a little storehouse
of your love
to share with those whose lives I touch,
and Lord,
help me to always realize
you are the source,
and I the vessel,
you are the treasure,
and I the tool,
this day
and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Discipleship
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Thank you for my weakness, Lord,
in letting me
have to let go and let you,
in letting me be the tool
you use to reach others,
to let others
practice being Christ
to those in need,
to joining you
on your long hard walk
to Golgotha
to strip away
the layers of defense
between me
and thee
until
here,
at the foot of your cross
I can press my face
against the rough wood,
touch your feet,
look up into your eyes
and know
what truly matters.
Be thou my life, Lord,
now and forever.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
in letting me
have to let go and let you,
in letting me be the tool
you use to reach others,
to let others
practice being Christ
to those in need,
to joining you
on your long hard walk
to Golgotha
to strip away
the layers of defense
between me
and thee
until
here,
at the foot of your cross
I can press my face
against the rough wood,
touch your feet,
look up into your eyes
and know
what truly matters.
Be thou my life, Lord,
now and forever.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Encourage yourselves daily while it is still "today,"
so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin. Hebrews 3:13
O Lord,
let us hear your voice today,
soft and smiling,
gentle,
sincere,
clear,
angry
or sad,
today
in the minutes you have gifted us with,
in the time
which is a tribute to you,
of the room
you have give us
to maneuver in
now,
while time makes sense,
and we are wrapped up in potential
and possiblity
and reality.
O Lord,
your voice echos in and out
of the winds,
surrounding us,
with their gentle singing,
stinging us
with the intensity of their truth,
soothing us
with the beauty of your love.
O Lord,
let it enter our hearts, NOW.
let it enter our minds NOW
let it pierce through the daylight
and bloom in our midnight
and soften us,
and enwrap us
in the reality of your love
until we become the ones
you long to transform us to.
O Lord,
let us not harden our hearts,
save us from the desert
of our own bitterness,
our own hate,
our own sin,
our own anger,
our own loathing
our own Meribah,
our own Massah,
lost in the darkness,
never to know your rest,
alone,
always,
out of time.
O Lord!
Susan E. Stone, 2005
so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin. Hebrews 3:13
O Lord,
let us hear your voice today,
soft and smiling,
gentle,
sincere,
clear,
angry
or sad,
today
in the minutes you have gifted us with,
in the time
which is a tribute to you,
of the room
you have give us
to maneuver in
now,
while time makes sense,
and we are wrapped up in potential
and possiblity
and reality.
O Lord,
your voice echos in and out
of the winds,
surrounding us,
with their gentle singing,
stinging us
with the intensity of their truth,
soothing us
with the beauty of your love.
O Lord,
let it enter our hearts, NOW.
let it enter our minds NOW
let it pierce through the daylight
and bloom in our midnight
and soften us,
and enwrap us
in the reality of your love
until we become the ones
you long to transform us to.
O Lord,
let us not harden our hearts,
save us from the desert
of our own bitterness,
our own hate,
our own sin,
our own anger,
our own loathing
our own Meribah,
our own Massah,
lost in the darkness,
never to know your rest,
alone,
always,
out of time.
O Lord!
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Discipleship
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Loving
O Lord,
sometimes it's just so hard
to see the sorrows,
frustrations,
desires
of our loved ones,
to let them go
like doves flying off
into your care.
How often I want to scream,
NO! Don't do that!
and sometimes,
it pierces through my thick head
that you watching us
make all the wrong choices,
as we choose sin over good,
anger over love,
lust over charity,
must know how much restraint and love
it takes
to watch those who you care fore
choose badly.
O Lord,
help me to choose the good over the bad,
the light over the dark
to feel my heart conflicted, breaking with love
than to reject the chance to love,
and to thank you always
for your great mercy,
this day,
and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
sometimes it's just so hard
to see the sorrows,
frustrations,
desires
of our loved ones,
to let them go
like doves flying off
into your care.
How often I want to scream,
NO! Don't do that!
and sometimes,
it pierces through my thick head
that you watching us
make all the wrong choices,
as we choose sin over good,
anger over love,
lust over charity,
must know how much restraint and love
it takes
to watch those who you care fore
choose badly.
O Lord,
help me to choose the good over the bad,
the light over the dark
to feel my heart conflicted, breaking with love
than to reject the chance to love,
and to thank you always
for your great mercy,
this day,
and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship, Help Me O Lord
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Thank you Lord
for those frailites
that teach us
that it is not by our power
we get things done,
but by yours,
those moments of weakness
that show us
how much we need you,
those pauses in the struggle
that let us turn around,
like if we were walking a mountain path,
and see how far
you have brought us up
by the power of your hand.
O God,
this day
when I am frail
and weak
and indecisive
and uncertain,
and I feel so all alone,
I know
that no matter what,
I rest in your hands,
and in your hands,
I could be in no better place.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2oo4
for those frailites
that teach us
that it is not by our power
we get things done,
but by yours,
those moments of weakness
that show us
how much we need you,
those pauses in the struggle
that let us turn around,
like if we were walking a mountain path,
and see how far
you have brought us up
by the power of your hand.
O God,
this day
when I am frail
and weak
and indecisive
and uncertain,
and I feel so all alone,
I know
that no matter what,
I rest in your hands,
and in your hands,
I could be in no better place.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2oo4
Labels: Discipleship
O Lord,
I am in your hands,
this day,
voiceless,
sick,
feeling winter is winding in,
and how the cold touches me,
heart and soul.
O Lord,
Let me learn from this
and find the ability
to be a channel of your light
to warm the hearts
of others
touched by the cold,
who feel lost in the dark.
As winter moves to spring,
remind me O Lord,
that life here is but a passage,
and I,
like a winter's leaf will fall
Yet after the snow
comes the spring
of life with you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
I am in your hands,
this day,
voiceless,
sick,
feeling winter is winding in,
and how the cold touches me,
heart and soul.
O Lord,
Let me learn from this
and find the ability
to be a channel of your light
to warm the hearts
of others
touched by the cold,
who feel lost in the dark.
As winter moves to spring,
remind me O Lord,
that life here is but a passage,
and I,
like a winter's leaf will fall
Yet after the snow
comes the spring
of life with you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, November 08, 2004
Masks
Jesus,
how much you are still
a sign of contradiction,
and some create
such interesting masks
to clothe your reality.
For some,
the mask
a sign of ignorance,
being backwards,
unthinking,
unlearned.
For some,
the mask is
an enlightened teacher,
a guru,
or the mask of a prophet,
the mask of a revolutionary
who lived and died
and that was enough.
For some,
we see the light behind the masks
man makes.
Help us see behind the masks we make,
and stripped of all we add,
may we find that you are Emmanuel,
God with us,
suffering and dying
that we might live,
and might have that life abundantly
in your peace,
and in seeing,
may those of us
who have experienced
the truth of your reality
be signposts
for those
who look at the masks
of their own creation.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Forgive Us Our Misuse of You, O Lord
O Lord,
Please pierce the heart
of those who would use you,
body and blood, soul and divinity,
there in the form of bread,
food of the poor,
symbol and reality
of your love for us,
as a political statement
of their determination
to act in sin
pierce their hearts
with the reality of their wrongdoing,
and may they realize the enormity
of the wrong they do
and return in penance.
O Lord,
pierce the hearts of the priests,
the bishops,
and those entrusted
to lead us
with the reality of the wrong
that others do for political statement,
and may they be given wisdom
to act rightly,
the strength of heart
to stand up for the truth,
wisdom to recognize the right action,
and the fire of courage
that comes from the touch of your Holy Spirit.
O Lord,
help us, just the regular men and women
who love you,
to be willing to stand up and say,
This is wrong,
the wisdom to know how to act,
and the joy of being your witness.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Please pierce the heart
of those who would use you,
body and blood, soul and divinity,
there in the form of bread,
food of the poor,
symbol and reality
of your love for us,
as a political statement
of their determination
to act in sin
pierce their hearts
with the reality of their wrongdoing,
and may they realize the enormity
of the wrong they do
and return in penance.
O Lord,
pierce the hearts of the priests,
the bishops,
and those entrusted
to lead us
with the reality of the wrong
that others do for political statement,
and may they be given wisdom
to act rightly,
the strength of heart
to stand up for the truth,
wisdom to recognize the right action,
and the fire of courage
that comes from the touch of your Holy Spirit.
O Lord,
help us, just the regular men and women
who love you,
to be willing to stand up and say,
This is wrong,
the wisdom to know how to act,
and the joy of being your witness.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship, Eucharist, Forgiveness, Man's Sinfulness
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Let Me Be Your Tool
Dear Lord,
I think
of all those people
who long to do good,
who see light
but don't understand it,
who look at the counterfeit,
and not knowing how to choose,
pick the pretty false
over the solid true,
and think it is well.
I do not know
all the answers, Lord,
but would,
if you choose,
to help show
those who look
the true from the false
the tinfoil from the gold,
the solid from the insubstantial.
Let me point someone
to your beacon on the hill,
where heaven and earth meet
at the cross at Golgotha,
where you wait
to give life
to those who will listen.
I do not know
all the answers, Lord,
but your hands
know what to do.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
I think
of all those people
who long to do good,
who see light
but don't understand it,
who look at the counterfeit,
and not knowing how to choose,
pick the pretty false
over the solid true,
and think it is well.
I do not know
all the answers, Lord,
but would,
if you choose,
to help show
those who look
the true from the false
the tinfoil from the gold,
the solid from the insubstantial.
Let me point someone
to your beacon on the hill,
where heaven and earth meet
at the cross at Golgotha,
where you wait
to give life
to those who will listen.
I do not know
all the answers, Lord,
but your hands
know what to do.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Thursday, November 04, 2004
The Tools In Your Hand
O Lord, King of the Universe,
You hold our feeble lives in your hands,
and yet,
caring for us,
you have lifted us up
by the power of the Cross,
and by the blood of Jesus.
Help us see, O God,
how we are your children,
this day,
always,
and that by living your word,
by being salt and leaven,
you use us to let your light shine in.
Thank you, Lord,
for the chances you give us
to stand up against the darkness,
to be beacons
of your light,
lanterns against the dark.
Thank you Lord,
for letting us be the tools in your hand.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
You hold our feeble lives in your hands,
and yet,
caring for us,
you have lifted us up
by the power of the Cross,
and by the blood of Jesus.
Help us see, O God,
how we are your children,
this day,
always,
and that by living your word,
by being salt and leaven,
you use us to let your light shine in.
Thank you, Lord,
for the chances you give us
to stand up against the darkness,
to be beacons
of your light,
lanterns against the dark.
Thank you Lord,
for letting us be the tools in your hand.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
You Have Given Us a Sign
O Abba,
Our Father in Heaven,
Let your name be holy!
You have given to us a sign
that you have not forgotten us,
but that in your hands
is mercy
and the hope and peace that only come
from heaven.
Help us Lord,
to use this gift as you would have us do,
to shine your light into the darkness,
to see Jesus in those in need,
to work for the culture of life,
and to be a witness for you,
this day and always.
In the name of Jesus, Alleluia!
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Our Father in Heaven,
Let your name be holy!
You have given to us a sign
that you have not forgotten us,
but that in your hands
is mercy
and the hope and peace that only come
from heaven.
Help us Lord,
to use this gift as you would have us do,
to shine your light into the darkness,
to see Jesus in those in need,
to work for the culture of life,
and to be a witness for you,
this day and always.
In the name of Jesus, Alleluia!
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship, Divine Mercy, Pro-life
Friday, October 29, 2004
Be Thou our strength O Lord,
as nations are born
to turn their back on you,
and others maim
in some mistaken concept
that their need
to strike out
is pleasing to you.
and the days seem dark indeed.
But you Lord,
are always the light
even when night seems so close,
and you beckon us
to hear your voice
and be filled.
Lord, be our peace,
and feed us with yourself
and we shall be healed.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
as nations are born
to turn their back on you,
and others maim
in some mistaken concept
that their need
to strike out
is pleasing to you.
and the days seem dark indeed.
But you Lord,
are always the light
even when night seems so close,
and you beckon us
to hear your voice
and be filled.
Lord, be our peace,
and feed us with yourself
and we shall be healed.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, October 25, 2004
Light
There is that part of me
that sees the darkness
swirling about the world,
the death from hate,
the death from anger
the death from self indulgence
the death from neglect,
and all those innocent deaths
for convenience,
to put one out of their pain,
supposedly
an act of mercy.
O Lord,
yet out of the darkness,
I see your cross
blazing in the night
a beacon
connecting heaven to earth,
and I know, once again,
that we have not been left forsaken.
Fill me with your light, Lord,
make me a lantern,
a channel
that will cascade that light
into the dark corners of my world
dispelling the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
There is that part of me
that sees the darkness
swirling about the world,
the death from hate,
the death from anger
the death from self indulgence
the death from neglect,
and all those innocent deaths
for convenience,
to put one out of their pain,
supposedly
an act of mercy.
O Lord,
yet out of the darkness,
I see your cross
blazing in the night
a beacon
connecting heaven to earth,
and I know, once again,
that we have not been left forsaken.
Fill me with your light, Lord,
make me a lantern,
a channel
that will cascade that light
into the dark corners of my world
dispelling the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, October 18, 2004
Whispers
Let your words,
O Lord,
whisper into my heart
this day,
as I struggle
as I busy myself,
as I interact,
as I forget
as I fear
as I hope.
Breathe your presence
into all my day
that I may find myself
there with you
never alone
no matter if the moment seems
hard
or dark
or lost
or hopeless,
for where you are
there is light
and hope
and promise,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Let your words,
O Lord,
whisper into my heart
this day,
as I struggle
as I busy myself,
as I interact,
as I forget
as I fear
as I hope.
Breathe your presence
into all my day
that I may find myself
there with you
never alone
no matter if the moment seems
hard
or dark
or lost
or hopeless,
for where you are
there is light
and hope
and promise,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Sunday, October 17, 2004
This Day, O Lord
This day, O Lord,
help us to forget our fears
as we respond to your invitation
to pray without ceasing,
to cast our cries to you,
to be transformed
into the tools
you use
to bring light,
peace,
hope
into the dark and aching world.
Teach us to know
that when we lift up our arms,
no matter how weary,
you will let us win the day
against the darkness,
just like you won the war
the day you stretched out your arms
on Golgotha
in an open embrace
to free the whole world.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
help us to forget our fears
as we respond to your invitation
to pray without ceasing,
to cast our cries to you,
to be transformed
into the tools
you use
to bring light,
peace,
hope
into the dark and aching world.
Teach us to know
that when we lift up our arms,
no matter how weary,
you will let us win the day
against the darkness,
just like you won the war
the day you stretched out your arms
on Golgotha
in an open embrace
to free the whole world.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship, Passion of Christ
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Lord,
you give us the crosses we are to bear,
and call us at last home,
and sometimes,
how much we would rather be elsewhere, anywhere,
but where you have placed us.
Lord, give us the strength
to put our faith in you,
to put our trust in you,
to put our hands in yours,
to feel your arms around us even in our darkest moments
and to know that you too
knew what it was like to bear
grief and pain,
agony and sorrow,
rejection and misery,
seeing your loved ones aching
for their inability to stop what was happening,
and in your knowing,
you are always there to comfort us,
aid us,
and walk with us
down that last frightening walk
until you take us home in glory.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
you give us the crosses we are to bear,
and call us at last home,
and sometimes,
how much we would rather be elsewhere, anywhere,
but where you have placed us.
Lord, give us the strength
to put our faith in you,
to put our trust in you,
to put our hands in yours,
to feel your arms around us even in our darkest moments
and to know that you too
knew what it was like to bear
grief and pain,
agony and sorrow,
rejection and misery,
seeing your loved ones aching
for their inability to stop what was happening,
and in your knowing,
you are always there to comfort us,
aid us,
and walk with us
down that last frightening walk
until you take us home in glory.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
They
Lord,
while we rant and rave
about things "they" ought to do,
and actions "they" ought to take,
and the misery and pain and injustice
that surrounds the world,
teach us to look at our own hands,
teach us to open our hearts,
teach us to look at you,
high upon the cross
giving your lifeblood
that we might have life,
and that abundantly.
And in that moment,
may we fall to our knees,
and know
that the "they" we rant and rave about
too often should be us,
that ours are the hands
that you can use
to make a difference,
ours our the lips
that you can use
to bring your blessing
to the needful,
ours the feet
that can walk in the paths
of righteousness and goodness
for you
if we open our hearts
and let you in.
O Lord,
may we hunger and thirst for you
this day,
and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Lord,
while we rant and rave
about things "they" ought to do,
and actions "they" ought to take,
and the misery and pain and injustice
that surrounds the world,
teach us to look at our own hands,
teach us to open our hearts,
teach us to look at you,
high upon the cross
giving your lifeblood
that we might have life,
and that abundantly.
And in that moment,
may we fall to our knees,
and know
that the "they" we rant and rave about
too often should be us,
that ours are the hands
that you can use
to make a difference,
ours our the lips
that you can use
to bring your blessing
to the needful,
ours the feet
that can walk in the paths
of righteousness and goodness
for you
if we open our hearts
and let you in.
O Lord,
may we hunger and thirst for you
this day,
and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, October 11, 2004
Lanterns
O Lord,
infinite Ocean of Mercy,
our source,
our hope,
our truth,
help us this day to be your hands here
on this world
where the unmerciful nature
of the dark confronts us daily.
Help us this day to be lanterns of your light
and show those around us
that the dark
is not the truth
no matter how common
or prevalent.
Help us this day
to be beacons of your hope,
and by our love for you,
by our actions,
by our words
by the choices we make
may we show others the way
home to you.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Amen.
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, Loving God
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Lord,
I do not know why
you have put me where you have,
or why you let me experience
the pain
sorrow
frustration
anger
each day,
knowing that I will come here
and give it all back to you,
questioning,
but not like Job,
hurting,
but not like the widow of Nain,
sick,
but not like the woman with a hemmorhage,
guilty,
but perhaps not like the woman who
washed your feet with her tears.
Here, though,
in this place,
I learn about mercy,
the vague emptiness
the greyness
that life is
without your touch,
the joy
that comes
from your touch unexpected,
the perseverance
that makes each day worth facing.
Day by day, Lord,
hold my hand,
and bring me to this place
at the foot of the cross,
at the mercy seat,
at the fount of living water,
where heaven and earth meet,
where hope is given to mankind
and tomorrow
is given its light.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
I do not know why
you have put me where you have,
or why you let me experience
the pain
sorrow
frustration
anger
each day,
knowing that I will come here
and give it all back to you,
questioning,
but not like Job,
hurting,
but not like the widow of Nain,
sick,
but not like the woman with a hemmorhage,
guilty,
but perhaps not like the woman who
washed your feet with her tears.
Here, though,
in this place,
I learn about mercy,
the vague emptiness
the greyness
that life is
without your touch,
the joy
that comes
from your touch unexpected,
the perseverance
that makes each day worth facing.
Day by day, Lord,
hold my hand,
and bring me to this place
at the foot of the cross,
at the mercy seat,
at the fount of living water,
where heaven and earth meet,
where hope is given to mankind
and tomorrow
is given its light.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Friday, October 01, 2004
In Our Impatience
O Lord,
in our impatience
to have the world a better place,
to stop the evils,
to create a place
for holiness and happiness and truth,
teach us to act
with your patience
waiting to change the hearts of man
instead of forcing our will upon him,
teach us to act
with your mercy,
showing us that acting
in anger and haste and frustration
shatter the peace
you would give us,
teach us to act with your love,
knowing even the person who wishes to harm us
is your child,
deserving of respect and understanding
and your salvation.
Help us realize, Lord,
that it is not from the top down
that the world will be saved,
but from the bottom up,
each of us acting
like your loving child,
shedding your light,
touching life by life,
heart by heart,
day by day.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
in our impatience
to have the world a better place,
to stop the evils,
to create a place
for holiness and happiness and truth,
teach us to act
with your patience
waiting to change the hearts of man
instead of forcing our will upon him,
teach us to act
with your mercy,
showing us that acting
in anger and haste and frustration
shatter the peace
you would give us,
teach us to act with your love,
knowing even the person who wishes to harm us
is your child,
deserving of respect and understanding
and your salvation.
Help us realize, Lord,
that it is not from the top down
that the world will be saved,
but from the bottom up,
each of us acting
like your loving child,
shedding your light,
touching life by life,
heart by heart,
day by day.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, September 27, 2004
To See Beyond
O Lord,
Teach us this day,
to see beyond ourselves,
to see beyond our wants,
to see beyond our things,
to see the poor man
sitting at our gate,
to see the hungry child
whose mother sews our clothes,
to see the desperate woman
who knows not where to turn.
Lord,
teach us to ignore our prejudices,
and see the hurt,
and the anger,
and the loneliness,
and the sorrow
not as threats,
but as wounds to be healed,
and remind us
that we are your hands upon the earth,
and as we care for these,
we care for you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
O Lord,
Teach us this day,
to see beyond ourselves,
to see beyond our wants,
to see beyond our things,
to see the poor man
sitting at our gate,
to see the hungry child
whose mother sews our clothes,
to see the desperate woman
who knows not where to turn.
Lord,
teach us to ignore our prejudices,
and see the hurt,
and the anger,
and the loneliness,
and the sorrow
not as threats,
but as wounds to be healed,
and remind us
that we are your hands upon the earth,
and as we care for these,
we care for you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Thursday, September 23, 2004
I Don't Want to Be Here, God
I don't want to be here, God.
I don't want to deal
with the things you have sent my way,
and I am sooo tired,
tired of the strain,
tired of the pain,
tired.
O Jesus,
in the garden
how tired were you,
dealing with the things the Father
had send your way,
betrayed,
misunderstood,
and now here at this moment,
to be the sacrifice
for all our sins.
O Jesus,
Lord and master,
who dealt with all my sins,
all the wrongs I have done
and are done to me,
Lord give me strength
to do the Father's will,
and like you,
may I always say yes,
even as I long to be far away.
O dear Mother Mary,
as you watched them drag your son
through the streets,
so tired,
so hurt,
so worn,
did you not want to be there,
did you not want to wake up
and find it all a nightmare?
O pray for me, Holy Mother of God,
that I might bear the cross
selected for me
with more acceptance,
even as I long to run anywhere else,
knowing that
our Father
knows well what he is doing,
and being in his hands
is the only true refuge.
Susan E. Stone, 2oo4
I don't want to be here, God.
I don't want to deal
with the things you have sent my way,
and I am sooo tired,
tired of the strain,
tired of the pain,
tired.
O Jesus,
in the garden
how tired were you,
dealing with the things the Father
had send your way,
betrayed,
misunderstood,
and now here at this moment,
to be the sacrifice
for all our sins.
O Jesus,
Lord and master,
who dealt with all my sins,
all the wrongs I have done
and are done to me,
Lord give me strength
to do the Father's will,
and like you,
may I always say yes,
even as I long to be far away.
O dear Mother Mary,
as you watched them drag your son
through the streets,
so tired,
so hurt,
so worn,
did you not want to be there,
did you not want to wake up
and find it all a nightmare?
O pray for me, Holy Mother of God,
that I might bear the cross
selected for me
with more acceptance,
even as I long to run anywhere else,
knowing that
our Father
knows well what he is doing,
and being in his hands
is the only true refuge.
Susan E. Stone, 2oo4
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, September 20, 2004
In My Distraction
O Lord,
in my distraction by the day-to-day,
the excitement of the moment,
the pace of events,
the need for attention right now
never let me forget
that you are there,
waiting,
calling,
knowing.
O Lord,
in my distraction by the day-to-day
please come take me away,
away from ME and My,
and help me focus on you,
on being your hands to those who need
on being your voice to those who should hear,
and most of all,
just being there with you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
O Lord,
in my distraction by the day-to-day,
the excitement of the moment,
the pace of events,
the need for attention right now
never let me forget
that you are there,
waiting,
calling,
knowing.
O Lord,
in my distraction by the day-to-day
please come take me away,
away from ME and My,
and help me focus on you,
on being your hands to those who need
on being your voice to those who should hear,
and most of all,
just being there with you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, September 06, 2004
O Lord,
In the darkness of our fears,
we turn to you,
you, who are our beacon
while the storm roars
and the darkness threatens.
O Lord,
when the storm breaks,
and the dawn comes,
and we view what we have lost,
and the fear
turns to grief,
anger,
the longing to punish,
be with us still,
may we cling to you
instead of shut you out
in our hurt.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
In the darkness of our fears,
we turn to you,
you, who are our beacon
while the storm roars
and the darkness threatens.
O Lord,
when the storm breaks,
and the dawn comes,
and we view what we have lost,
and the fear
turns to grief,
anger,
the longing to punish,
be with us still,
may we cling to you
instead of shut you out
in our hurt.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Meditation on the Apostle's Creed
I
I believe in God the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth,
in that place
before time began,
before space,
where like a mighty breath
you said,
"Let there be light,"
and time and space began,
and from the void, there was light,
and you saw it,
and it was good.
II
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son,
Our Lord,
conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
in the most profound Yes spoke by human lips,
who was born of the Virgin Mary
one dark night
when the celestial lights
lit up the sky in celebration
of an angelic chorus.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
For love he chose to suffer,
while the chorus of an angry mob sang of death,
in atonement,
a celebration of God’s care -
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended to the dead..
O how the darkness howled
in that seeming triumph,
as Mary held her son
cold and battered and bloody,
as the shroud was readied,
as the stone was rolled in place.
And yet what a transformation,
there he preached to the prisoners,
led the captives free,
as the darkness howled in frustration,
unable to keep him.
On the third day he arose again.
The first fruits,
God incarnate,
Emmanuel,
ready to call us all home,
our interceder,
our healer,
our rescuer,
beloved,
sitting at the right hand of the Father.
where he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
III
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
the breath of the Father upon the waters,
the comforter,
the fire from above,
the love
that groans out in prayer
when we know not what to say,
the kindler,
our gift from the Father.
IV
I believe in the holy catholic church,
Christ’s body here on earth,
our hands for his work,
our hearts for his light,
our voice for his word,
the communion of saints,
we, sharing,
loving,
aiding,
together, God’s children,
leaven for a hard world,
salt to preserve,
light to enrich,
the forgiveness of sin,
that healing touch
that washes us clean,
breaks the chains of darkness,
frees us by his love
to be his children,
the resurrection of the body,
in glorious form
for life everlasting! Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
I believe in God the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth,
in that place
before time began,
before space,
where like a mighty breath
you said,
"Let there be light,"
and time and space began,
and from the void, there was light,
and you saw it,
and it was good.
II
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son,
Our Lord,
conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
in the most profound Yes spoke by human lips,
who was born of the Virgin Mary
one dark night
when the celestial lights
lit up the sky in celebration
of an angelic chorus.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
For love he chose to suffer,
while the chorus of an angry mob sang of death,
in atonement,
a celebration of God’s care -
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended to the dead..
O how the darkness howled
in that seeming triumph,
as Mary held her son
cold and battered and bloody,
as the shroud was readied,
as the stone was rolled in place.
And yet what a transformation,
there he preached to the prisoners,
led the captives free,
as the darkness howled in frustration,
unable to keep him.
On the third day he arose again.
The first fruits,
God incarnate,
Emmanuel,
ready to call us all home,
our interceder,
our healer,
our rescuer,
beloved,
sitting at the right hand of the Father.
where he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
III
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
the breath of the Father upon the waters,
the comforter,
the fire from above,
the love
that groans out in prayer
when we know not what to say,
the kindler,
our gift from the Father.
IV
I believe in the holy catholic church,
Christ’s body here on earth,
our hands for his work,
our hearts for his light,
our voice for his word,
the communion of saints,
we, sharing,
loving,
aiding,
together, God’s children,
leaven for a hard world,
salt to preserve,
light to enrich,
the forgiveness of sin,
that healing touch
that washes us clean,
breaks the chains of darkness,
frees us by his love
to be his children,
the resurrection of the body,
in glorious form
for life everlasting! Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Thoughts on the Passion, Springtime and Bearing Fruit
Dear Lord,
Here it is,
spring once again.
Interesting how you died in the spring,
when the weather was changing,
and the moon was full,
and like a seed,
planted in a tomb
to rise up,
our salvation
the first fruits
of God's love.
The soil beneath my hoe
is damp and dark
through much use,
fertilized and composted.
In a similar way,
you feed my soul
with prayer,
and fasting
and Eucharist
and your holy word.
May the garden of my heart,
the depths of my soul
bear the fruit you desire.
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Here it is,
spring once again.
Interesting how you died in the spring,
when the weather was changing,
and the moon was full,
and like a seed,
planted in a tomb
to rise up,
our salvation
the first fruits
of God's love.
The soil beneath my hoe
is damp and dark
through much use,
fertilized and composted.
In a similar way,
you feed my soul
with prayer,
and fasting
and Eucharist
and your holy word.
May the garden of my heart,
the depths of my soul
bear the fruit you desire.
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship, Passion of Christ
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Thank you, Lord, for Our Vunerabilities
Thank you, Lord,
for our vunerabilities,
all those failings
which make us realize
how frail we are,
how likely to fall,
how imperfect.
When we give in
to our anger,
our pride,
our feelings of overconfidence,
and fall,
teach us, Lord,
how much we need you,
how much we depend on you,
how much less perfect
than you,
and in teaching us the truth and power of humility,
let us discover how you
want to hold our hand
each and every step.
In my lack of perfection, Lord,
instead of grief and anger and only shame,
let me always find
completion
in the love and care you offer.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Thank you, Lord,
for our vunerabilities,
all those failings
which make us realize
how frail we are,
how likely to fall,
how imperfect.
When we give in
to our anger,
our pride,
our feelings of overconfidence,
and fall,
teach us, Lord,
how much we need you,
how much we depend on you,
how much less perfect
than you,
and in teaching us the truth and power of humility,
let us discover how you
want to hold our hand
each and every step.
In my lack of perfection, Lord,
instead of grief and anger and only shame,
let me always find
completion
in the love and care you offer.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Prayer to be God's Witness
This day, O Lord,
help us to be living witnesses
of the great wonder
of God's love
for mankind,
even amid a storm of dark troubles
and the evil of everyday life.
Let us shine
like cities on the hill,
radiating like beacons
of your love
to all we come in contact with today.
Let us be the salt
that preserves
in a world that is aching
for that which saves.
May our example show them
the truth of where they should look.
May we be the leaven
that lifts up the heaviness
of life,
and allows the light of your wonder
to penetrate
into every niche and corner.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
This day, O Lord,
help us to be living witnesses
of the great wonder
of God's love
for mankind,
even amid a storm of dark troubles
and the evil of everyday life.
Let us shine
like cities on the hill,
radiating like beacons
of your love
to all we come in contact with today.
Let us be the salt
that preserves
in a world that is aching
for that which saves.
May our example show them
the truth of where they should look.
May we be the leaven
that lifts up the heaviness
of life,
and allows the light of your wonder
to penetrate
into every niche and corner.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, January 19, 2004
Gifts from the Holy Spirit
Lord,
teach me to not say no,
when the Spirit touches me
with the gifts
you would have me use.
Open my heart
with a generous response
when He comes to shower me
with that which your love
offers
to make my life more fully yours.
O Holy Spirit,
fill me with the fire of your love,
and help me to know
the things I should do,
the actions I should take,
the paths I should take,
the words I should say.
May I cherish your gifts
more than gold and silver,
for they are the tools
that a loving God
gives me.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Lord,
teach me to not say no,
when the Spirit touches me
with the gifts
you would have me use.
Open my heart
with a generous response
when He comes to shower me
with that which your love
offers
to make my life more fully yours.
O Holy Spirit,
fill me with the fire of your love,
and help me to know
the things I should do,
the actions I should take,
the paths I should take,
the words I should say.
May I cherish your gifts
more than gold and silver,
for they are the tools
that a loving God
gives me.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Hands of God
She has walked through the fields
and seen the withered crop
and knows the future
for her children
her life
her world.
Lord, we are in your hands,
she prays.
He has seen his family perish
buried under the rubble
with his hopes and dreams
and plans,
all gone to dust.
Lord, as you will, he prays.
I am in your hands.
The grandmother holds her grandchildren tight
as the funeral progresses,
as yet another young person
succumbs to slim,
and a warm heart is consigned to the cold ground.
Lord, she is in your hands, the old woman prays.
Yet Lord,
who are your hands upon the earth?
Is it not we who call ourselves your children?
Open our eyes that we may see with yours.
Open our hearts that we may love as you love,
Open our minds that we may see ways
to be your hands upon the earth
and always be willing to do the work
you would have us do,
now and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
She has walked through the fields
and seen the withered crop
and knows the future
for her children
her life
her world.
Lord, we are in your hands,
she prays.
He has seen his family perish
buried under the rubble
with his hopes and dreams
and plans,
all gone to dust.
Lord, as you will, he prays.
I am in your hands.
The grandmother holds her grandchildren tight
as the funeral progresses,
as yet another young person
succumbs to slim,
and a warm heart is consigned to the cold ground.
Lord, she is in your hands, the old woman prays.
Yet Lord,
who are your hands upon the earth?
Is it not we who call ourselves your children?
Open our eyes that we may see with yours.
Open our hearts that we may love as you love,
Open our minds that we may see ways
to be your hands upon the earth
and always be willing to do the work
you would have us do,
now and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Lord,
Teach me never to be like
the servant that was forgiven much
but was unwilling to forgive.
Teach me to see with your eyes
the unloving roots of violence
and man's uncharitable acts,
how they are rooted
in anger,
and greed,
and selfish desire,
and how, if we do not follow your word
and break the chain,
they propagate
day after day,
fear after fear,
tear after long tear.
Teach me always to be your peacemaker,
and like you,
my model and my enabler,
may I always reach out with love,
and a generous hand,
and understanding,
and the willingness to forgive,
and listen
and care.
Use me, O Lord,
to break the chains
of unforgiveness and hatred
in small things as well as the large.
May I always be the instrument of your peace.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Teach me never to be like
the servant that was forgiven much
but was unwilling to forgive.
Teach me to see with your eyes
the unloving roots of violence
and man's uncharitable acts,
how they are rooted
in anger,
and greed,
and selfish desire,
and how, if we do not follow your word
and break the chain,
they propagate
day after day,
fear after fear,
tear after long tear.
Teach me always to be your peacemaker,
and like you,
my model and my enabler,
may I always reach out with love,
and a generous hand,
and understanding,
and the willingness to forgive,
and listen
and care.
Use me, O Lord,
to break the chains
of unforgiveness and hatred
in small things as well as the large.
May I always be the instrument of your peace.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Friday, January 09, 2004
This day, O Lord,
I offer you that which I have to give:
my willingness to go through the doors you open
(If you please, help me realize that they are there!)
my hardheadedness,
(O Lord, may it become steadfastness, and not
wrongheaded mistakes!)
my pity for those in need,
(Please turn this into compassion in action!)
my longing to be righteous,
(I ask you to transform this into true action,)
my awareness that I am nothing without you
(May this awareness lead me not into the paths of
insecurity, fear and depression, but only lead to true
conversion and contriteness of heart!)
My audaciousness
(to ask your aid in this and everything!)
Lord,
teach me
the patience I need,
the willingness to rely on you,
the knowledge to remember to offer all my day up
the joy and the sorrow,
the obstacles, the successes
for love of you
for your glory,
now and forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone 2004
I offer you that which I have to give:
my willingness to go through the doors you open
(If you please, help me realize that they are there!)
my hardheadedness,
(O Lord, may it become steadfastness, and not
wrongheaded mistakes!)
my pity for those in need,
(Please turn this into compassion in action!)
my longing to be righteous,
(I ask you to transform this into true action,)
my awareness that I am nothing without you
(May this awareness lead me not into the paths of
insecurity, fear and depression, but only lead to true
conversion and contriteness of heart!)
My audaciousness
(to ask your aid in this and everything!)
Lord,
teach me
the patience I need,
the willingness to rely on you,
the knowledge to remember to offer all my day up
the joy and the sorrow,
the obstacles, the successes
for love of you
for your glory,
now and forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, January 05, 2004
Prayer for Crabby Days
O Lord,
on days when I feel touched with anger,
or frustration,
or pain,
teach me to keep my tongue silent.
Help me remember
that it is better to be silent
than right
in a way that hurts another,
that the right to admonish
is not a right to harm
or belittle,
or injure,
but only to heal.
O Lord, on days when I long to complain or attack,
teach me to smile,
and offer up the tension to you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
O Lord,
on days when I feel touched with anger,
or frustration,
or pain,
teach me to keep my tongue silent.
Help me remember
that it is better to be silent
than right
in a way that hurts another,
that the right to admonish
is not a right to harm
or belittle,
or injure,
but only to heal.
O Lord, on days when I long to complain or attack,
teach me to smile,
and offer up the tension to you.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Prayer for dealing with others
Dear Lord,
Expand my patience!
Let me give you all my anxieties,
worries, and fears.
Help me see into the hearts
of those who depend on me for guidance,
teach me to guide them with your wisdom,
not to feel attacked when they ignore me
or choose the wrong.
Remind me to pray often for them,
to commend them always to your will,
to ask you to watch over them often,
to keep them ever in your hands.
Help me to understand
that it is your will that matters,
not mine,
that it is your timing that counts,
not mine,
and that free will is a gift you give to all of us.
Teach me above all
to let go and let you do your work
in your way and in your time.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Dear Lord,
Expand my patience!
Let me give you all my anxieties,
worries, and fears.
Help me see into the hearts
of those who depend on me for guidance,
teach me to guide them with your wisdom,
not to feel attacked when they ignore me
or choose the wrong.
Remind me to pray often for them,
to commend them always to your will,
to ask you to watch over them often,
to keep them ever in your hands.
Help me to understand
that it is your will that matters,
not mine,
that it is your timing that counts,
not mine,
and that free will is a gift you give to all of us.
Teach me above all
to let go and let you do your work
in your way and in your time.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship
Saturday, October 04, 2003
Prayer to learn to love those we find hard to love
Lord,
give us the grace to remember
that to love our own is an easy thing,
for as you said, even sinners do this.
Help us to love those who aren't one of ours,
who aren't lovable,
and who need your help so badly.
Open our hearts that we may always respond to them!
Thus, may we spread
your light of love
hroughout the dark of life.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Lord,
give us the grace to remember
that to love our own is an easy thing,
for as you said, even sinners do this.
Help us to love those who aren't one of ours,
who aren't lovable,
and who need your help so badly.
Open our hearts that we may always respond to them!
Thus, may we spread
your light of love
hroughout the dark of life.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Labels: Discipleship
Sunday, September 28, 2003
A Prayer for Victims, Both Theirs and Mine
Let us pray
For all those victims
of injustice
and anger
and selfishness.
For all those babies never to be born,
for all those killed through violence,
for all those touched by terrorism,
for all those scarred by the anger of a loved one,
for all those marred by war,
for all those who die marked by our indiference,
Lord hear our prayer.
Forgive me, O Lord,
For all those times
I turned my back on someone I knew was in need,
for all those times
I hesitated because of my inconvenience,
for all the times
I did not cry out when I knew there was injustice,
for all those times
I didn't think to share,
For all the times
I said the word I knew would hurt,
for all those times
I didn't write the letter or make the visit,
for all those times
I had to prove I was right even though it hurt someone,
for all those times
I marked someone by my own indifference,
my own selfishness,
my own anger.
O my Jesus,
help me to always see you
in whatever distressing garb you choose to wear,
and let me realize
that by turning my back on them,
I am turning my back on you
and making the world a darker place
instead of a place filled with your light.
Susan E. Stone, © 2003
Let us pray
For all those victims
of injustice
and anger
and selfishness.
For all those babies never to be born,
for all those killed through violence,
for all those touched by terrorism,
for all those scarred by the anger of a loved one,
for all those marred by war,
for all those who die marked by our indiference,
Lord hear our prayer.
Forgive me, O Lord,
For all those times
I turned my back on someone I knew was in need,
for all those times
I hesitated because of my inconvenience,
for all the times
I did not cry out when I knew there was injustice,
for all those times
I didn't think to share,
For all the times
I said the word I knew would hurt,
for all those times
I didn't write the letter or make the visit,
for all those times
I had to prove I was right even though it hurt someone,
for all those times
I marked someone by my own indifference,
my own selfishness,
my own anger.
O my Jesus,
help me to always see you
in whatever distressing garb you choose to wear,
and let me realize
that by turning my back on them,
I am turning my back on you
and making the world a darker place
instead of a place filled with your light.
Susan E. Stone, © 2003
Labels: current evils, Discipleship
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Prayer for the right spirit when defending the faith
Forgive us Lord,
when in longing to defend what is right,
when in trying to support the truth
we do what is hurtful and mean,
forgetting to take out
whatever logs are in our own eyes
to take the speck out of the eye of our fellows,
forgetting to work all things in love.
Lord, forgive us
when hurt by our fellow man,
we complain, and strike back.
Heal us Lord,
and give us strength to offer you
our hurts and sadnesses,
to offer you the pain of being corrected,
rather rightly or not.
If it is our job to correct,
help us learn to do it in ways that heal,
not hurt,
And whatever we do in your name,
may we always do it for your glory,
without hate, anger,
or the taint of self-righteousness.
May we learn to be quiet
in our longing and respect for you,
rather than speak words
that would drive any away from you,
or harm those who love you.
And when we speak,
may it always be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Forgive us Lord,
when in longing to defend what is right,
when in trying to support the truth
we do what is hurtful and mean,
forgetting to take out
whatever logs are in our own eyes
to take the speck out of the eye of our fellows,
forgetting to work all things in love.
Lord, forgive us
when hurt by our fellow man,
we complain, and strike back.
Heal us Lord,
and give us strength to offer you
our hurts and sadnesses,
to offer you the pain of being corrected,
rather rightly or not.
If it is our job to correct,
help us learn to do it in ways that heal,
not hurt,
And whatever we do in your name,
may we always do it for your glory,
without hate, anger,
or the taint of self-righteousness.
May we learn to be quiet
in our longing and respect for you,
rather than speak words
that would drive any away from you,
or harm those who love you.
And when we speak,
may it always be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Labels: Discipleship
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
On Malice
O Lord,
remember this day
all those whose lives are touched by the tragedy
of human malice,
from the angry word spoken in haste,
the blow of an angry hand,
the pain caused by retribution
the bomb exploded.
O Lord,
let us always be aware
of the ripples caused by our harsh words,
our anger,
our willingness to act out of hurt,
and instead,
teach us to be instruments of your peace,
to heal instead of hurt,
to calm instead of agitate,
to love instead of hate.
Susan Stone
remember this day
all those whose lives are touched by the tragedy
of human malice,
from the angry word spoken in haste,
the blow of an angry hand,
the pain caused by retribution
the bomb exploded.
O Lord,
let us always be aware
of the ripples caused by our harsh words,
our anger,
our willingness to act out of hurt,
and instead,
teach us to be instruments of your peace,
to heal instead of hurt,
to calm instead of agitate,
to love instead of hate.
Susan Stone
Labels: current evils, Discipleship, man's inhumanity
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Prayer for Spiritual Honesty
Dear Lord,
Today, I ask that I do not rationalize away
the things I should not do, but do,
the things I should do, but don't.
Let me see
by your holy light
the truth of my decisions,
how they are of you
or are of me.
And may I,
by the truth you give me,
repent of the ill,
and choose only
to do what you would will.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Dear Lord,
Today, I ask that I do not rationalize away
the things I should not do, but do,
the things I should do, but don't.
Let me see
by your holy light
the truth of my decisions,
how they are of you
or are of me.
And may I,
by the truth you give me,
repent of the ill,
and choose only
to do what you would will.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Labels: Discipleship
Monday, August 18, 2003
Learning to Be Leaven
Teach me Lord
not to shrink in disgust
when you come to me
dressed in the distressing guise
of someone I have not yet learned to love,
a smart-mouthed teen,
an unwashed person of the street,
a neighbor who plays loud music at night,
a crying child,
a manipulative co-worker,
a rude driver,
a harried sales clerk
a rude waiter,
or whoever.
When the hurtful word rises to my lips,
or I feel the desire to avert my eyes and walk away,
or the need to strike back,
instead, o Lord,
Let me be a channel of your peace,
and say the calming word,
and act in love,
and soothe the sore
even if it isn't pleasant,
and in knowledge that the little daily things
done with love
are in some ways the most important things of all
in spreading your truth.
I want to do these things for you,
as if I were doing them to you,
by your power.
Thus, with your help,
I might become the
leaven,
light,
salt
you have said I should be.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone
Teach me Lord
not to shrink in disgust
when you come to me
dressed in the distressing guise
of someone I have not yet learned to love,
a smart-mouthed teen,
an unwashed person of the street,
a neighbor who plays loud music at night,
a crying child,
a manipulative co-worker,
a rude driver,
a harried sales clerk
a rude waiter,
or whoever.
When the hurtful word rises to my lips,
or I feel the desire to avert my eyes and walk away,
or the need to strike back,
instead, o Lord,
Let me be a channel of your peace,
and say the calming word,
and act in love,
and soothe the sore
even if it isn't pleasant,
and in knowledge that the little daily things
done with love
are in some ways the most important things of all
in spreading your truth.
I want to do these things for you,
as if I were doing them to you,
by your power.
Thus, with your help,
I might become the
leaven,
light,
salt
you have said I should be.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone
Labels: Discipleship
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Leaven: A Prayer
Oh my Jesus,
you said the kingdom of heaven is like the leaven
that makes the bread rise,
light and fluffy.
May we be bearers of that leaven,
the perfect love that comes down from Heaven
to share your love and light and hope
so that wherever we turn,
we can leaven the dark hardness around us.
May each word we speak,
each choice we make,
each life we touch
be filled with your leaven.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone 2003
Oh my Jesus,
you said the kingdom of heaven is like the leaven
that makes the bread rise,
light and fluffy.
May we be bearers of that leaven,
the perfect love that comes down from Heaven
to share your love and light and hope
so that wherever we turn,
we can leaven the dark hardness around us.
May each word we speak,
each choice we make,
each life we touch
be filled with your leaven.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone 2003
Labels: Discipleship
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Prayer to see Jesus in Others
Oh Lord,
Help me to remember that is not
the irritating neighor I aid,
the lonely traveller on the bus I listen to,
the sad child I hug,
the frightened friend who I pray for,
the grumpy husband I find keys for,
the sick person whose hand I hold,
but I do this all to you,
coming to me in the guise of the poor, and lonely, irritating and needy.
When my patience grows weary,
and my heart grows cold,
and my fright makes me faint,
may I warm my soul at this knowledge,
and come away,
strengthened to give once more.
Oh Lord,
Help me to remember that is not
the irritating neighor I aid,
the lonely traveller on the bus I listen to,
the sad child I hug,
the frightened friend who I pray for,
the grumpy husband I find keys for,
the sick person whose hand I hold,
but I do this all to you,
coming to me in the guise of the poor, and lonely, irritating and needy.
When my patience grows weary,
and my heart grows cold,
and my fright makes me faint,
may I warm my soul at this knowledge,
and come away,
strengthened to give once more.
Labels: Discipleship
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
On Being a Peacemaker
Lord, this day, make us the tools of your peace.
When we want to act with anger,
may we remember how you behaved when you were mocked and scorned,
and respond instead, with love.
When we feel burdened,
let us remember you falling from the weight of the cross,
and respond with offering our cares to you instead of feeling hurt.
When we feel we have been taken advantage of, or slighted, or are unrewarded,
let us remember you giving up everything, even your mother, your clothing, your life,
and realize you are our ultimate reward, and everything else is passing shadows.
Dear Lord,
help us to carry our daily crosses
in ways you would,
and instead of spreading hurt for hurt,
we can turn hurt
into the chance to spread your love and peace wherever we are.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
Lord, this day, make us the tools of your peace.
When we want to act with anger,
may we remember how you behaved when you were mocked and scorned,
and respond instead, with love.
When we feel burdened,
let us remember you falling from the weight of the cross,
and respond with offering our cares to you instead of feeling hurt.
When we feel we have been taken advantage of, or slighted, or are unrewarded,
let us remember you giving up everything, even your mother, your clothing, your life,
and realize you are our ultimate reward, and everything else is passing shadows.
Dear Lord,
help us to carry our daily crosses
in ways you would,
and instead of spreading hurt for hurt,
we can turn hurt
into the chance to spread your love and peace wherever we are.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
Labels: Discipleship
Friday, July 25, 2003
In the Darkness of These Days
O my Jesus,
in the darkness of these days,
bring to our minds
the example of your martyrs who have gone before,
such as St. Maximilan Kolbe,
who show us by their example
how to choose what is right
and how to radiate your light
no matter the wickedness of the world around them.
O my Jesus,
in the darkness of these days,
may we who love you
learn from the example of your loving saints,
such as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
how to show the truth of your light
by loving action
no matter the darkness they find surrounding them.
O my Jesus,
in the darkness of these days,
when hope seems thinner,
may we hear the message of your love for us,
from the gospels, from your witnesses such as St.
Faustina,
and know that no matter how dark the night seems to be
falling,
that we can trust in you, O Lord, and the light of your
love,
now and forever.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
O my Jesus,
in the darkness of these days,
bring to our minds
the example of your martyrs who have gone before,
such as St. Maximilan Kolbe,
who show us by their example
how to choose what is right
and how to radiate your light
no matter the wickedness of the world around them.
O my Jesus,
in the darkness of these days,
may we who love you
learn from the example of your loving saints,
such as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
how to show the truth of your light
by loving action
no matter the darkness they find surrounding them.
O my Jesus,
in the darkness of these days,
when hope seems thinner,
may we hear the message of your love for us,
from the gospels, from your witnesses such as St.
Faustina,
and know that no matter how dark the night seems to be
falling,
that we can trust in you, O Lord, and the light of your
love,
now and forever.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
Labels: current evils, Discipleship
Friday, July 18, 2003
A Prayer for the Strength to Submit to God's Will
O Blessed Mother,
I long to answer the call of your son
like you answered the announcement of the angel,
"Be it done to me according to thy word,"
no matter the cost,
But I am weak, and wavering,
And fall so often.
O sweet Mary,
Thank you for being there
when I lay in the dust,
unable to stand up,
to take me by the hand,
and lead me back to your Son.
Pray for me, O holy mother of God,
that my good intentions
grow into realities,
and that I can live up to my longing
to tell God
"Not my will, but thine!"
Susan E. Stone © 2003
O Blessed Mother,
I long to answer the call of your son
like you answered the announcement of the angel,
"Be it done to me according to thy word,"
no matter the cost,
But I am weak, and wavering,
And fall so often.
O sweet Mary,
Thank you for being there
when I lay in the dust,
unable to stand up,
to take me by the hand,
and lead me back to your Son.
Pray for me, O holy mother of God,
that my good intentions
grow into realities,
and that I can live up to my longing
to tell God
"Not my will, but thine!"
Susan E. Stone © 2003
Labels: Discipleship
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
Veils
Fortunate are those who are like the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to them...
Lord, you hold everything in your hands,
and yet I think from time to time
that it is I who am in charge,
I who have to power to direct and control my destiny,
I who have the strength to get to where I want to be.
Those who depend on you,
although they may have little
have the greatest riches in the world,
for they have you.
Lord, I know that these veils
of self-sufficiency are just illusions.
It is by your strength that I am strong,
by your might that I have power,
by your love that I can love others.
May I always long to go where you want me.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
Lord, you hold everything in your hands,
and yet I think from time to time
that it is I who am in charge,
I who have to power to direct and control my destiny,
I who have the strength to get to where I want to be.
Those who depend on you,
although they may have little
have the greatest riches in the world,
for they have you.
Lord, I know that these veils
of self-sufficiency are just illusions.
It is by your strength that I am strong,
by your might that I have power,
by your love that I can love others.
May I always long to go where you want me.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
Labels: Discipleship, scripture, Trust
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Teach Me, O Lord
"Beloved, if God so loved us,
we must also love one another."
(1 John 4:11)
Teach me, Lord, to love when it's not convenient,
when I'd rather be doing something fun for me,
when the job is dirty and unpleasant,
when the person who needs me is mean, or frightning, or
ugly or greedy,
when I want to be angry and self-righteous,
when I hurt.
Teach me to look with your eyes,
full of compassion,
instead of mine,
full of me.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
"Beloved, if God so loved us,
we must also love one another."
(1 John 4:11)
Teach me, Lord, to love when it's not convenient,
when I'd rather be doing something fun for me,
when the job is dirty and unpleasant,
when the person who needs me is mean, or frightning, or
ugly or greedy,
when I want to be angry and self-righteous,
when I hurt.
Teach me to look with your eyes,
full of compassion,
instead of mine,
full of me.
Susan E. Stone © 2003
Labels: Discipleship, scripture
