Summer prayer

Father, Creator of all, thank You for summer!
Thank you for the warmth of the sun and the increased daylight.
Thank You for the beauty I see all around me
and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation.
Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family,
and for the more casual pace of the summer season.
Draw me closer to You this summer.
Teach me how I can pray no matter where I am or what I am doing.
Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence
and light my path with Your Word and Counsel.
As I enjoy Your creation,
create in me a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.
Amen

- Summer prayer from ‘Ignatian spirituality’

 Image "Yellow Cosmos Flower And Blue Sky" courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A summer prayer

Father, Creator of all, thank You for summer!
Thank you for the warmth of the sun and the increased daylight.
Thank You for the beauty I see all around me
and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation.
Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family,
and for the more casual pace of the summer season.
Draw me closer to You this summer.
Teach me how I can pray no matter where I am or what I am doing.
Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence
and light my path with Your Word and Counsel.
As I enjoy Your creation,
create in me a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.
- Summer prayer from ‘Ignatian spirituality’

(Photo by me.)

I wish you...

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys 
in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye."

- Unity Church, 'I Wish You Enough'

Image "Family" courtesy of arztsamui  / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

peace

“Peace is not the product of terror or fear.

Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.

Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.

Peace is the generous,

tranquil contribution of all

to the good of all.

Peace is dynamism.

Peace is generosity.

It is right and it is duty.” 

― Oscar A. Romero

photo by me

Looking ahead

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;
Rather look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God, whose very own you are,
will lead you safely through all things;
And when you cannot stand it,
God will carry you in His arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
The same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you today and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering or will give you
unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace and put aside all anxious thoughts
and imaginations.
- St. Francis de Sales

 Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Using time

May the God of time and eternity
who gave us twenty four hours in each day. 
Enliven your senses so that you may truly 
See what you are looking at 
Taste what you are eating 
Listen to what you are hearing
Face what you are suffering 
Celebrate the ways that you are loved 
And offer whatever you are doing to God. 
So that the water of the present moment 
may be turned into wine. 
- Ray Simpson, Prayer Rhymes for busy people

Image courtesy of prozac1/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wisdom from the east

“You were born with potential. 
You were born with goodness and trust. 
You were born with ideals and dreams. 
You were born with greatness. 
You were born with wings. 
You are not meant for crawling, so don't. 
You have wings. 
Learn to use them and fly." 
- Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273)

Image courtesy of prozac1/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Christ as a light - celtic prayer

Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right
- Celtic daily prayer from Northumbria Community

Image courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

A prayer by St Columba

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me,
Be thou a smooth path below me,
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me,
Today – tonight – and for ever
- St. Columba

Photo by me of a celtic cross on Iona

A prayer for beginning the day

"In the silence of the morning
we are alive to the new day's light,
alert to the early stirrings of the wind
and the first sounds of the creatures.
In the silence of our heart
we hear the yearnings that are in us and the fears,
the hopes that rise from within
and the doubts that trouble our soul.
In the beginnings of this day, O God,
before night's stillness is lost to the day's busyness,
open to us the treasure of our inner being
that in the midst of this day's busyness
we may draw on wisdom.
Assure us again of our origins in you,
assure us again that our true depths are of you."
- From 'Sounds of the Eternal: A Celtic Psalter'

(Image courtesy of Evgeni Dinev / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)