Day 329 | Thursday, 11 February 2021

Day 329 - Audio Version

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Day 329 | Thursday, 11 February 2021

 A Beginning:
“Let us declare the greatness of God: who fills the earth with beauty.
Causes the sea to shout praise and the birds to sing glory.
Great and loving is our God: touching us in our need,
Sending friends to listen and embrace, giving food in all seasons with abundant grace.
Holy and awesome is our God: painting sunsets that take our breath away,
Whispering comfort in the darkest night, filling the silence with a gentle presence.
Wondrous and compassionate is our God: guarding us as the apple of God’s eye,
Holding us with infinite and tender care, setting our hearts on fire, our minds to new possibilities and our voices to singing.”

 A Prayer of Invocation:
“Our Father, whose full glory is unseen by human eyes: as we settle our hearts now to seek you, help us to seek you in the right place: not within ourselves, but high above us.  Help us to seek you in the right way: not each by ourselves, but in unity.  Help us to seek you in your Son, in whose name we offer our prayers, to see your glory revealed.  Amen”

 A Prayer of Confession:
“Holy God, like a loving father and caring mother, you watch over us and beckon us to follow the right path.  But we get stuck: stopped by our fear of trying something new, trapped by our memories of past failures, caught in a web of conflicting choices, halted by the clamor of many voices.  We know the distress of worry and the blur of tears.  Like staring at an empty page, we feel trapped and hesitant.

“Free us, O God, to follow with joyful steps, to hear clearly your directions, to be bold in our loving, courageous in our caring and brave in our speaking.  Through our Lord, Jesus.  Amen”

 Mystery
“Eternal God, you are a song amid silence, a voice out of quietness, a light out of darkness, a presence in the emptiness, a coming out of the void. You are all of these things and more.
You are mystery that encompasses meaning, meaning that penetrates mystery.

You are God.
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We are men and women. We strut and brag. We put down others and bluster out assertions of our achievements - and then something happens: We wonder who we are and if we matter. Night falls. We are alone in the dark and afraid. Someone dies, and we feel powerless. A child is born, and we are touched by the miracle of new life.

At such moments we pause ... to listen to a song amid silence, a voice out of stillness, to look for a light out of darkness. We want to feel a presence in the emptiness. We find ourselves suddenly at peace. Oftentimes, the feeling passes quickly, and we are on the move again: success to achieve, money to make.

O Lord, you have to catch us on the run most of the time. We are too busy to stop, too distracted to pause for contemplation. But even on the run, we still need you. Maybe, too, we could slow up a bit. Help us Lord, eternal God.  Help us, too, to move from the center of all - to living with you as our Center. Amen!”

 A Blessing:
“Grant us and all people the joy that Jesus promised - and when we have experienced it, let us spread it around. Amen.”