Praying for Afghanistan

 

These days call upon us to pray for our Afghan sisters and brothers are treated.  The Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation Rome group shared the following information.  Let us do all we can to help.

During these days we have heard and seen how our afghan sisters and brothers are suffering and trying to escape from their country after the Taliban took power. Our prayer and thoughts are with Afghanistan. Sr. Ann Scholz from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the United States, shared with us this initiative of the The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) who have prepared a resource to aid our efforts to support the Afghan people, especially women and girls, in their time of need. They are inviting people of faith and good will to join them in a “Sacred Silence for Afghanistan”. The website allows one to register for an Interfaith Prayer Vigil on August 31; an Interfaith Prayer Toolkit; the chance to Contribute a Prayer of your own, as well as a number of ways to Help Our Afghan Allies by volunteering, donating, advocating, teaching, and learning. 

Thanksgiving for the Earth

 

Yesterday we had our annual Prayer Service in thanksgiving for our benefactors, friends, families, associates, and all those who support our ministries.  It was an opportunity to thank all those who have supported us.  Early in the prayer we prayed in Thanksgiving for the Earth.  It was a moving experience as one of our sisters held a bowl of incense and faced the four directions as the prayer below was read.  May we pray for our earth and all who inhabit it.

Thanksgiving for the Earth                                                          

Creator, the strength of all creatures, we honor you. Listen to the thoughts of your people.  We honor your Spirit who renews the world and calls us to care for your creation to the East, to the South, to the West and to the North.

We live by the ways you have entrusted to us within the circle of life. Come Great Spirit as we gather in your name.

We look to the East:

The place of dawning, there is beauty in the morning, there the seeker finds new visions as each sacred day is born. All who honor life around them, all who honor life within, shall shine with light and glory when the morning comes again. And we pray, Come Holy Spirit, Come

We look to the South:

In the South, the place of growing, there is wisdom in the earth, Both the painful song of dying and joyful song of birth. As the Earth gives up her lifeblood so that her children’s hearts may beat, so we give back to her our reverence for the holy ground beneath our feet. And we pray, Come Holy Spirit, Come

We look to the West:

The place of seeing, there is born a vision of the servant of the servants, who proclaimed the Gospel to us. Guide us at the end of each day and fill us with your peace. And we pray, Come Holy Spirit, Come

We look to the North:

We look to God our Creator who cleanses our earth with snow, wind, and rain. To Jesus who fills us with the wideness of mercy and grace and lovingly embraces all the people.  And the Holy Spirit who comes to inspire us. And we pray, Come Holy Spirit, Come

You can view the entire Prayer Service at https://youtu.be/IzQh30W6-Pc

Today is the Feast of the Assumption.  Our Development Director shared this on our social media so I thought it would be nice to share it on our blog.  Happy Feast of the Assumption.

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

Mary’s Assumption is the preview of God’s promise of salvation to the Faithful. It asserts that the souls of those who will be saved shall one day, after the end of the world, be reunited with their bodies and live forever with God, just as Mary is in Heaven now with both her body and soul.

It was Mary who first shared in the fruit of the Risen Jesus. She was assumed into Heaven even before the end of the world since she was the most united with Our Lord in His life, Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Just imagine the joy Mary must have felt when she realizes God’s love for her. This light and happiness carried Mary through all of her sorrows. She never fails to be a perfect example of how to bring love and joy into the darkest places. In our struggles, we, like Mary, can find the light of Christ in order to persevere.

Mary understood what it meant to do the will of God. We are called to imitate Mary as we try to spread God’s message and carry His love to all. Just as Mary radiated her son’s light and love, we are each called to emulate her and bring that joy into the world and shine with the fire of Christ’s love.

This excerpt is from https://www.fs-vierzehnheiligen.de/.../the-assumption-of...

 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven, “and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves.  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.  Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.  I am the bread of life.  Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:  41 – 51)

Whenever I read this gospel, I always think of the song I Am the Bread of Life by Suzanne Toolan.  As I reflected on the words today, I was very much reminded of the number of times I have sung this song.  Take some time today and reflect on the words and remember the number of times you have heard it.  May we always remember that we do hunger for Jesus and allow him to fill our hearts and needs.

I Am the Bread Of Life

I am the Bread of life, you who comes to me shall not hunger, you who believes in me shall not thirst.   No one can come to me unless the Father draw him.

            And I will raise you up, and I will raise you up,  and I will raise you up on the last day.

The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world, and he who eats of this bread, He shall live forever, He shall live forever.

Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink of His blood, and drink of His blood, You shall not have life within you.

I am the Resurrection, I am the Life, he who believes in me even if he die, he shall live forever.

Yes, Lord, we believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world.

Suzanne Toolan

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” John 6: 35

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus proclaimed as the “Bread of Life” for all who hunger and thirst.  We are often left wanting for more when we put all our hopes in the world’s ability to take away our hunger and satisfy our thirst. For those who are searching for more than what the world offers, Jesus reminds us that it is God who wants to satisfy the longings and hunger of the human heart.

In the homily I heard this morning the priest used a quote from Pierre Teilhard Chardin, “The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.”  When I heard this quote, it caused me to pause and think. Our world is suffering greatly between natural disasters, the resurgence of the Covid virus due to the Delta variant, the flood of migrants at our southern border, and violence in our streets.  Where can we find hope in these times?  I believe our hope lies in our Gospel reading today.  Our loving God wants to feed both our spiritual and physical hunger.  God rains down bread from Heaven to feed the people’s physical hunger and Jesus teaches them about how God wants to satisfy the desires of our hearts.

We are transformed through the Eucharist.  Each time we receive the Eucharist our spiritual hunger is satisfied.  May we always seek the Lord who desires to feed us.

God’s grace transforms us through the Eucharist. We are invited to reflect during this week about our spiritual hunger and thirst and seek out the Lord who always feeds us.