Here is a great Native American Prayer to enrich your devotions: Give us hearts to understand;   Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;   never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;   Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;   never to take from her what we cannot use.   Give us hearts to understand   That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;   that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;   That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;   that as we care for her she will care for us.   We have forgotten who we are.   We have sought only our own security.   We have exploited simply for our own ends.   We have distorted our knowledge.   We … [Read more...]

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
 it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction 
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.Nothing we do is complete,
 which is another way of saying that 
the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.That is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.We cannot do everything and
 there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete,
 but it is … [Read more...]

Teach me to listen, O God,To those nearest me,My family, my friends my co-workers,Help me to be aware that No matter what words I hear,The message is“Accept the person I am. Listen to me.”Teach me to listen, my caring God,To those far from me –The whisper of the hopeless,The plea of the forgotten,The cry of the anguished.Teach me to listen, O God my Mother,To myself.Help me to be less afraidTo trust the voice inside –In the deepest part of meTeach me to listen, Holy Spirit,For your voice-In busyness and in boredom,In certainty and in doubt, In noise and in silence.Teach me, Lord, to listen.  Amen    - adapted from St Ignatius by John Veltri SJ … [Read more...]

Earth teach me stillness        as the grasses are stilled with light. Earth teach me suffering        as old stones suffer with memory. Earth teach me humility        as blossoms are humble with beginning. Earth teach me caring        as the mother who secures her young. Earth teach me courage        as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me limitation        as the ant which crawls on the ground. Earth teach me freedom        as the eagle which soars in the sky. Earth teach me resignation        as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me regeneration        as the seed which rises in the spring. Earth teach me to forget myself        as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me to remember kindness        as dry fields weep with rain. — Ute prayer … [Read more...]

May God give you…For every storm, a rainbow,For every tear, a smile,For every care, a promise,And a blessing in each trial.For every problem life sends,A faithful friend to share,For every sigh, a sweet song,And an answer for each prayer. … [Read more...]