The love of learning, the sequestered
nooks, and all the sweet serenity of
books...
Longfellow
I weave a silence on my
lips,
I weave a silence into my mind,
I weave a silence within my
heart.
I close my ears to distractions,
I close my eyes to attentions,
I close my heart to temptations.
Calm me O Lord, as you stilled the
storm.
Still me O Lord, keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me
cease,
Enfold me Lord in your
peace.
Celtic Traditional
All Wound Up
There are
times when I don't much like this world we live in. Those are usually the
times when I've let it get to me. I find myself feeling stressed,
concerned about deadlines, wondering if things are going to happen that need to
happen....we all know those moments.
I have a poster in my
office that says, "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles; it empties
today of its strength." I agree with the sentiment. But I don't
always live it.
A few weeks ago, my son David said, "Mom, you worry
about everything. Why don't you just relax?" It was one of those
times when the right word was spoken at the right time: I got the message.
I was worrying about everything. I was having difficulty in
that daily living out of faith and trust. After all, worry comes
naturally.
Last week, I took a trip to Bon Secours, and walked the
labyrinth. The longer I walked, the slower I went, and in the act of
slowing down, and walking that path which is full of surprises, I began to hear
the message more clearly. "Slow down. You are not in charge. I
am. Worry is a form of control. Let it go." It seemed as
though, as I walked the twisted paths of the labyrinth, my own twisted up mind
and heart began to unravel. A simple act of walking and listening made all
the difference.
Today I found myself drawn to the quote above from
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "the love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
and all the sweet serenity of books." It reminded me how often we seek a
sequestered nook in our daily life. Sometimes that nook is a moment of
peace in a busy day. All of us need times of quiet, times to reflect, to
listen. The quote comes from a much longer poem, Morituri
Salutamus, Longfellow's reflections on his 50th college reunion. In
it, he laments the desire to follow the "marketplace, the eager love of gain"
rather than the "sequestered nooks" of a quiet scholar's life. We may not
all be scholars, but like scholars, we are called to a life that has time for
reflection in the forms of prayer, contemplation, meditation - listening to God
and to one another. I hope I remember to seek the sequestered nooks when
the marketplace of worry is calling to me. I hope I remember the
wisdom of the labyrinth: walk slowly, listen, and let go.
O God of
peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in
quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit,
lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are
God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
AMEN
Debra's Mid-week Meditation
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God‹what is good and
acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
Chapter 12, which we will consider this week and next, contains some of
Paul's great wisdom about being the Body of Christ.
Christians are to act differently than others-not just to set themselves
apart-but because of the mercy which has been showered upon them from
God.
We are being encouraged to live a responsive life-
a life which
remembers with each breath and heart beat that God loves us and
is loving
us.
We renew our minds; in other words, re-orient our thinking; through
prayer, meditation, worship and compassion.
It is hard to focus on a different way of being when the world clamors
around.
So-we might want to seek out stillness where we can find
it.
I walk on a quiet trail and breathe in the stillness of the river as well
as the air that moves around me. It is quiet and yet still
moving.
Perhaps that is what it is like to be quiet within--
The heart is
not anxious even though the feet are still
moving.
Discernment requires surrender.
To know the will of God means that you
will need to hang out with God and let God be the
leader.
For me, prayer and stillness, make this more
possible.
Try some stillness this week.
Blessings,
Debra
Oh let thy sacred will
All thy delight in me
fulfill!
Let me not think an action mine own way,
But as thy love shall
sway,
Resigning up the rudder to thy
skill.
George Herbert
Daily Morning Prayer
http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html
If the link doesn't open, highlight it, click copy, and then paste
it into your web browser address line.
This Week at St.
James
Sunday: 8:00 and 10:15 Holy
Eucharist in Susan Tucker Moore
Room
9:00
Christian Formation Discernment
meeting
9:00
Stewardship meeting
Monday: 7:00 pm Youth Focus
Tuesday:
7:00 pm Sunday School Teacher's meeting
Wednesday:
Community Leadership Dinner
Prayers Etc.
Those in need of healing and their families:
Chloe Sarah J.
Vallie L.
Anna B.
Lelia G.
Margaret
Jeffrey
Natalie K.
Matty
Henry H.
Joel B.
Susan L.
Nancy B.
Rosemary
MS
Phil
O. Aris
Dave
Maria
R. Paul & Fritz
Earl C.
David W.
Uncle Bob O.
Mary Anne S.
J.B., Heather, Chase & Sandy
All wounded soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen in our military
hospitals.
In
Closing:
...being attentive to the times of the day: when the
birds began to sing, and the deer came out fo the morning fog, and the sun came
up. The reason why we don't take time is a feeling that we have to keep moving.
This is a real sickness. We live in the fullness of time. Every
moment is God's own good time, His kairos. The whole thing boils down to
giving ourselves in prayer a chance to realize that we have what we seek.
We don't have to rush after it. IT was there all the time, and if we give
it time, it will make itself known to us.
Thomas Merton
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever he may send you,
May he guide you through the
wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May he bring
you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you
May
he bring you home rejoicing
once again into our
doors.
Pax et Bonum,
Loree+