Prayer Segment #9: Two Poems

These two poems were used when I was at Catholics on Call, a young adult discernment conference.  (Which, by the way, was an amazing experience and one which I would highly recommend.)  I use the last two lines from each to center myself throughout the day and remind myself that God and His Will are most  important.

The Summer Day (Mary Oliver)

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean --
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down --
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Ten Thousand Flowers (Wu-Men)

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.

Prayer Segment #8: Mercy

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday.  It's a very new feast, in terms of the Church: JP II declared the feast for the 2nd Sunday of Easter in 2000.  There is a novena leading up to the day.  If I had been on top of things last week, I would have posted it then.  Keep this in your back pocket for next Good Friday.  Although you can pray the novena any time.  So maybe keep it in your front pocket too.

The Chaplet, given by Christ to St. Faustina, is one of my favorite prayers.  It begs God for mercy with two short prayers (said on rosary beads):

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and for those of the whole world.

For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

It speaks to me in the simplicity of the way it unites self-accusation and intercession... and brings them before the Cross.  I am a sinner in need of mercy; I recognize that the world is in need of mercy; Jesus' death and life overflow with mercy.

Christ also gave St. Faustina an image to meditate: rays of light and red, water and blood, flowing from his heart. As the wounds of Christ grow more meaningful to my prayer life (I've mentioned this before, yes?), so does this image of his wounded Heart.

Finally, as a less spiritual note, St. Faustina unites my heritage.  She is Polish, which makes me feel united with my dad's mother, and she was baptized Helen, my mom's mother's name.

Prayer Segment #7: Friends in High Places

Another member of the Grad/Non-Trad women's group once shared her belief that the saints fight over us.  Over who gets to be each person's patron.  I came into the year with two and found saints clamoring left and right to be included in my litany.  I offer you this litany in thanksgiving to them, because these wonderful men, women, and angels have gotten me through the first semester of grad school and I'm sure will have my back for the second!


St. Michael, defend us in battle.

St. Anthony, pray for us.
St. Paul, pray for us.
Holy Father Francis, pray for us.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
St. Cecilia, pray for us.
St. Catherine Laboure, pray for us.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us.

St. Catherine of Sienna, pray for us.
St. Therese Liseaux, pray for us.
St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us.

Bl. John Paul the Second, pray for us.
Bl. Frederic Ozanam, pray for us.

St. Raphael, pray for us.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Pray Segment #6: Meditations on Communion

From St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life:

When worldly people question you about your receiving Communion so frequently, answer them that it is to learn to love God, to be purified from your faults, to be freed from your miseries, to be comforted in your troubles, to be strengthened in your weaknesses. Tell them that two sorts of persons are to receive Communion often: those who are perfect because, being well disposed, they would be very wrong if they did not draw near to the source and spring of perfection; and those who are imperfect, that they may be able to rightly to seek perfection; the strong, that they may not become weak, and the weak, that they become strong; the sick that they may become well and the healthy that they may not become sick. Say about yourself, that being imperfect, weak, and sick it is necessary that you have frequent contact with him who is your perfection, your strength and your doctor.

Also tell them that those who do not have many worldly concerns should receive Communion often since they have the opportunity; and that those who have many worldly concerns should do the same because they need it; and that he who works very hard and is loaded with troubles must eat nourishing food frequently. Let them know that you receive the Holy Sacrament to learn to receive it well, since we rarely do an action well unless we practise it often.

Receive Communion frequently, Philothea. With the advice of your spiritual Father, receive as often as you can.... I assure you that similarly by repeatedly adoring and feeding in this divine Sacrament, on him who is beauty, goodness and purity, you will become completely beautiful, completely good and completely pure.

Prayer, Segment 5: Defend Us in Battle

In honor of the feast of the Archangels.  St. Michael and I are getting close... or at least, he has been a sort of heavenly body guard for me.  I've prayed his prayer at the end of Mass for years now, but only in the very recent past have I grown to appreciate his guardianship.  Or maybe he's been watching over me a little more intensely lately.

I had a moment with him when taking an exam for one of my distance classes.  My mind was wandering in negative circles, and I thought, "This is ridiculous.  It is absurd to fail a test because I can't make my mind focus."  Then it occurred to me that someone has a vested interest in people failing in their contemplation of God.  So I prayed the St. Michael prayer and finished the test.  Since then, I have started calling on Michael so often that most of the time, I only have time for a quick invocation: "St. Michael, defend me!"

I say all this to give a shout-out to the angel who has been constantly with me for the past six weeks or so, and thank him for it!  Here's his prayer as my home parish prays it; you find all sorts of variations, depending on where you go:

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle.  Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of Heavenly Hosts, by the divine power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who roam throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen.

Prayer, Segment 4: Sojourners

Sometimes it's helpful to remember that we are only sojourners and aliens in this world, seeking another home.  As much as we are called to invest in the people of this world, they, not it, matter, because people have the capacity for immortality; the world is fleeting.

Prayer, Segment 3: Wait Upon the Lord

A couple weeks ago, a friend mentioned as part of a story, how she had prayed the first few verses of Psalm 25 when discerning the next step God had for her, quoting a line from it that intrigued me: "I wait upon the Lord."  Since I am currently in the process of discerning many things about life, I decided to open my Bible to that page that night.  I prayed the verses she mentioned... and then kept reading.  The whole Psalm is a lovely prayer for someone who is waiting for her call while actively seeking what the Lord wants right now, so I give it here to you:

Psalm 25

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul,
my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be disgraced
do not let my enemies gloat over me.
No one is disgraced who waits for you,
but only those who are treacherous without cause.

Make known to me your ways, LORD;
teach me your paths.
Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
for you I wait all the day long.
Remember your compassion and your mercy, O LORD,
for they are ages old.
Remember no more the sins of my youth;
remember me according to your mercy,
because of your goodness, LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD,
therefore he shows sinners the way,
He guides the humble in righteousness,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth
toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.

For the sake of your name, LORD,
pardon my guilt, though it is great.
Who is the one who fears the LORD?
God shows him the way he should choose.
He will abide in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
The counsel of the LORD belongs to those who fear him;
and his covenant instructs them.
My eyes are ever upon the LORD,
who frees my feet from the snare.

Look upon me, have pity on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart;
bring me out of my distress.
Look upon my affliction and suffering;
take away all my sins.

See how many are my enemies,
see how fiercely they hate me.
Preserve my soul and rescue me;
do not let me be disgraced, for in you I seek refuge.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
I wait for you, O LORD.

Redeem Israel, O God,
from all its distress!

Prayer, Segment 2: Change My Water Into Wine

Also, a prayer at the CVN training, this song hit home. Matt Aujero, a fellow CVN trainee and the writer of this song, explained that when he wrote it, "I was trying to be my own miracle, rather than letting God." Wow. I'm bad at letting God make miracles in my life on His time, and I hate when I seem to discern His plan but then things go awry. So it was a solid reminder that God always takes what we are doing and makes it something more. He makes it something good and holy and pleasing, which I simply cannot do on my own.

“Turn My Water Into Wine”
By Matt Aujero and Anthony Rennekamp

When I’m broken, may you heal the shattered fragments.
When I’m shaken, I ask you to calm my nerves.
When I’m impatient, may I trust you with my heart.
Cuz I try so hard, but I can only go so far.

Refrain:
Let You, Lord, turn my water into wine
(2x w/ echo)

At Cana, they listened to Your Mother
As she said, "Do whatever He tells you."
I lack the same faith, for I choose my will over Yours
May I realize only You can make me more

Take my hand
And what I have
It's hardly anything
Please transform me (Repeat)

And in the end
I just ask You

Prayer, Segment 1: Your Life Is a Sacred Journey

I am going to start a new section of the blog : sharing my favorite prayers. Sometimes they will come with stories, sometimes without. Here is the first one, prayed with a finger labyrinth. It came from the CVN training weekend.

"Your life is a sacred journey.

And it is about change, growth,

continuously expanding

your vision of what is possible,

stretching your soul,

learning to see clearly and deeply,

listening to your intuition, taking courageous risks

and embracing challenges at every step along the way.

You are on the path, exactly where you are

meant to be right now.

And from here, you can only go forward,

shaping your life story into a magnificent tale

of triumph, of healing, of courage,

beauty, wisdom, power, dignity, and love."

Caroline Joy Adams