Opening Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
Help me to realize the many voices of hunger, the many sounds of thirst, the many cries of loneliness, the many callings of sickness and nakedness and imprisonment. Help me to hear in all of them something of You calling to me to become more than I am. More understanding. More compassionate. More involved. More like You. (Reflections on the Word by Ken Gire)
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 82
Scripture for the Day: Ezekiel 34:1-16
Reading for Reflection:
To suffer with another person does not mean to
drown oneself in the other’s suffering; that would be as foolish as jumping
into a pool to save a sinking swimmer only to drown oneself. More to the point, I doubt that it is even
possible to enter fully into another person’s pain, for suffering is a
profoundly solitary experience. To
suffer with another person means to be there in whatever way possible, to share
the circumstances of the other’s life as much as one can—not to add to the world’s
pool of suffering, but to gain intimate understanding of what the other
requires.
What
we usually learn, once we are there, is that there is no “fix” for the person
who suffers, only the slow painful process of walking through the suffering to
whatever lies on the other side. Once
there, we learn that being there is the best we can do, being there not as a
cure but as a companion to the person who suffers on his or her slow journey. There is no arm’s-length “solution” for
suffering, and people who offer such only add to the pain. But there is comfort and even healing in the
presence of people who know how to be with others, how to be fully there. (The
Active Life by Parker Palmer)
Reflection and Listening: silent and written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Song for the Week: For All the Saints
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Song for the Week: For All the Saints
For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
thou Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
and win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
thou Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
and win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Closing Prayer:
Go forth now as God’s
servant. Remember God’s presence often
and draw strength from the knowledge that the One who calls and sends also
sustains. Amen. (A Guide to Prayer by Rueben P. Job
and Norman Shawchuck)
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