Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

June 24, 2009

And now in the serenity and quiet of this lovely place,
touch the depths of truth, feel the hem of Heaven.
---Adlai Stevenson---
A Prayer Before Prayer
 
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who purchased me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection.
Through Thine own Anointed One, O God,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need,
Love towards God,
The affection of God,
The smile of God,
The wisdom of God.
The grace of God,
The fear of God,
And the will of God
To do on the world of the Three,
As angels and saints
Do in heaven;
Each shade and light,
Each day and night,
Each time in kindness,
Give Thou us Thy Spirit.

Serenity: More

We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time
and no imagination left for being.
As a result, men are valued not for what they are
but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness.
---Thomas Merton---

Be still and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10

This week, our new chapel doors were installed. Above a beautiful scene of the Jordan river, in the midst of the cross that intersects the whole, are the words, Be still and know that I am God.

As we looked at those words this morning, Charlie+ and I were wondering if they were dark enough. Perhaps we should do something to enhance them so that they could be seen from the end of the hallway. Then one of our wise parishioners, who is a regular attendee of our Wednesday morning Chapel service said,

"You’re hurrying down the hallway, thinking of all the things you have to do, and then you see the doors, so you stop, and contemplate them. And then, as your eyes move upward, you see the words, 'Be Still... .'"

She talked of how those words, seen as the last thing one notices before entering the chapel, reminded her as nothing else could that God is there, in the midst of all the things we have to do, reminding us of God’s presence, calling us to something higher – a live lived in peaceful stillness.

We need reminders. We need to be prodded to be still, because we forget, just as often as we forget what is on our shopping list, or what tasks await us in the morning. This is one reason why a daily habit of reading scripture, and of contemplation, helps us. In those times, we are reminded that God is, and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews )

Through daily devotions, through sacraments, through deep friendship, and through a variety of visual reminders like our new chapel doors, we can once again step back, breathe deeply, and say, "oh yes. God IS here. I can let this go after all." This is the key to serenity.

By reading the scriptures I am so renewed
that all nature seems renewed around me and with me.
The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green.
The whole world is charged with the glory of God
and I feel fire and music under my feet.
---Thomas Merton---

Daily Morning Prayer

Daily Morning Prayer

My dear Lord,
I depend wholly upon Thee,
wean me from all other dependences.
Thou art my all, thou dost overrule all and delight in me.
Thou art the foundation of goodness,
how can I distrust Thee?
how be anxious about what happens to me?
In the light of Thy preciousness
the world and all its enjoyments are infinitely poor:
I value the favor of men no more than pebbles.
Amid the blessings I receive from Thee
may I never lose the heart of a stranger [pilgrim].
May I love Thee, my benefactor, in all my benefits,
not forgetting that my greatest danger
arises from my advantages.
Produce in me self-despair that will make Jesus precious to me,
delightful in all His offices,
pleasurable in all His ways,
and may I love His commands as well as His promises.
Help me to discern between true and false love,
the one consisting of supreme love to Thee, the other not,
the former uniting Thy glory and man's happiness
that they may become one common interest,
the latter disjointing and separating them both,
seeking the latter with neglect of the former.
Teach me that genuine love is different in kind
from that wrought by rational arguments or the motive of self-interest,
that such love is a pleasing passion affording joy to the mind where it is.
Grant me grace to distinguish between the genuine and the false,
and to rest in Thee who art all love.
From: The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, ed. Arthur Bennett, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1975. (author undesignated) 183.

This Week at St. James

Note: Our new Chapel doors have been installed, and are absolutely exquisite. Take the time to go see them when you are nearby.

Prayers Etc.

For those on our prayer list:

In Closing:

The Prayer of the Chalice
 
Father, to you I raise my whole being
- a vessel emptied of self. Accept, O Lord,
this my emptiness, and so fill me with
yourself, your light, your love, your
life - that these your precious gifts
may radiate through me and over-
flow the chalice of my heart into
the hearts of all with whom I
come in contact this day
revealing unto them
the beauty of
your joy
and
wholeness
and the
serenity
of your peace
which nothing can destroy.
---Francis Nuttall---

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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