Wednesday, April 21, 2004
You are the light, Lord,
your cross is a beacon upon the hill,
guiding us all through the web of darkness,
the only sure sign
to lead us home.
You are the light, Lord.
In the light of your suffering,
I learn to love those who hate,
see with different eyes
the hand of the oppressor,
the hand of the victim,
the hand outstretched in need
or in anger or in blessing.
You are the light, Lord,
and on your cross,
the place where heaven and earth
come crashing together
in the incredible pain
of birth, sacrifice and salvation,
I am redeemed.
May I dwell in your light forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2004
your cross is a beacon upon the hill,
guiding us all through the web of darkness,
the only sure sign
to lead us home.
You are the light, Lord.
In the light of your suffering,
I learn to love those who hate,
see with different eyes
the hand of the oppressor,
the hand of the victim,
the hand outstretched in need
or in anger or in blessing.
You are the light, Lord,
and on your cross,
the place where heaven and earth
come crashing together
in the incredible pain
of birth, sacrifice and salvation,
I am redeemed.
May I dwell in your light forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Forgive Us, Lord
O Lord,
on this day
when explosions of hate
create explosions of cars
and take the life of the innocent
in a willy-nilly sacrifice
to the darkness,
a sacrifice done in your name,
as people strive to justify
the burning anger in their hearts,
forgive us.
Forgive us
for wiring the explosive,
by not realizing the harmfulness of our actions,
by putting expediency over truth,
by putting rationalization above loving care,
by putting gain above right.
Forgive us
for loading the truck with explosive
by turning our backs as we benefit
from the exploitation of others,
by not crying out when we saw evil done
in the name of good,
by not forgiving the wrongs done
to our great grandfathers,
by our great grandfathers,
for our great grandfathers.
Forgive us
for setting the detonators
by putting self-righteousness
above the righteousness of God,
by putting our determination to get our way
above the needs of our fellow man,
for belittling what others hold dear,
and chosing not to be the neighbor
you have called us to be.
Forgive us
for pulling the trigger
by our love of anger,
our joy in seeing others as the enemy,
our delight in making those we don't understand
the enemy.
Forgive us, Lord,
those who make the bombs,
those who spread the hate,
those who ignore the truth,
those who benefit from others' pain.
Not one of us
stands before you
with fully clean hands.
Help us to purge our hearts
and see with the eyes of God
the evil we do,
and with your wisdom,
give us the loving hearts to learn
to go and sin no more.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
O Lord,
on this day
when explosions of hate
create explosions of cars
and take the life of the innocent
in a willy-nilly sacrifice
to the darkness,
a sacrifice done in your name,
as people strive to justify
the burning anger in their hearts,
forgive us.
Forgive us
for wiring the explosive,
by not realizing the harmfulness of our actions,
by putting expediency over truth,
by putting rationalization above loving care,
by putting gain above right.
Forgive us
for loading the truck with explosive
by turning our backs as we benefit
from the exploitation of others,
by not crying out when we saw evil done
in the name of good,
by not forgiving the wrongs done
to our great grandfathers,
by our great grandfathers,
for our great grandfathers.
Forgive us
for setting the detonators
by putting self-righteousness
above the righteousness of God,
by putting our determination to get our way
above the needs of our fellow man,
for belittling what others hold dear,
and chosing not to be the neighbor
you have called us to be.
Forgive us
for pulling the trigger
by our love of anger,
our joy in seeing others as the enemy,
our delight in making those we don't understand
the enemy.
Forgive us, Lord,
those who make the bombs,
those who spread the hate,
those who ignore the truth,
those who benefit from others' pain.
Not one of us
stands before you
with fully clean hands.
Help us to purge our hearts
and see with the eyes of God
the evil we do,
and with your wisdom,
give us the loving hearts to learn
to go and sin no more.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Help Us, Lord
Help us, Lord!
Our hearts are so hard,
so filled with self-righteousness,
self-gratification,
self,
so filled with fear
and hurt,
and anger,
that all too often we drive all the love out,
and touch our fellows with hurt
instead of care,
angry words,
instead of patience,
bitterness
instead of healing,
death
instead of the invitation to life.
O Lord,
Heal us, Lord!
Help us to be peacemakers,
help us to act as the meek,
to understand our reliance on you
like the poor,
help us to hunger and thirst
after you,
after your word,
after your ways,
so that in your hands
you can use us to transform the world.
Most of all,
help us to be merciful
as you are merciful
today,
and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Help us, Lord!
Our hearts are so hard,
so filled with self-righteousness,
self-gratification,
self,
so filled with fear
and hurt,
and anger,
that all too often we drive all the love out,
and touch our fellows with hurt
instead of care,
angry words,
instead of patience,
bitterness
instead of healing,
death
instead of the invitation to life.
O Lord,
Heal us, Lord!
Help us to be peacemakers,
help us to act as the meek,
to understand our reliance on you
like the poor,
help us to hunger and thirst
after you,
after your word,
after your ways,
so that in your hands
you can use us to transform the world.
Most of all,
help us to be merciful
as you are merciful
today,
and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
John at the Tomb
How strange it was
to see the empty room
where only a short time before
you had helped lay him to rest.
How tenderly she had wrapped
the cloth around him,
as tenderly as she had dressed him
as a baby,
the last, sad duty
a grieving mother could offer.
And there it was,
blood-streaked,
laid out just as it was left,
but now empty of any burden.
Suddenly,
did not the pieces click together,
as your mind finally realized
the unhoped for reality in front of you:
He was risen.
And from the deepest depths of your being,
the grief shattered,
as an unhoped for joy filled your heart.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
How strange it was
to see the empty room
where only a short time before
you had helped lay him to rest.
How tenderly she had wrapped
the cloth around him,
as tenderly as she had dressed him
as a baby,
the last, sad duty
a grieving mother could offer.
And there it was,
blood-streaked,
laid out just as it was left,
but now empty of any burden.
Suddenly,
did not the pieces click together,
as your mind finally realized
the unhoped for reality in front of you:
He was risen.
And from the deepest depths of your being,
the grief shattered,
as an unhoped for joy filled your heart.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Monday, April 19, 2004
Prayer to Jesus, Our Divine Mercy
O Lord,
Sweet Jesus,
Our Divine Mercy
who offers it freely
to all who will come,
make our hearts like yours.
Help us to see with your eyes,
so that we do not see enemies,
but your children,
so that we do not see the angry young man,
but a soul who needs your healing,
so that we see those frustrated with abuse
who long to strike out
as souls in need of your help and peace,
so that we see those who would take our lives
as those marred by sin,
but still your children.
Help us to act with your mind,
to deal mercifully with all those whose lives we touch,
to know that there are real people
who make the items we buy,
who give us service,
who come for help,
who work for us,
who make our lives possible.
Help us to love with your heart,
not just the friends of our daily life,
but all those who need love,
and respect,
and care,
especially those
who are hard to love.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
O Lord,
Sweet Jesus,
Our Divine Mercy
who offers it freely
to all who will come,
make our hearts like yours.
Help us to see with your eyes,
so that we do not see enemies,
but your children,
so that we do not see the angry young man,
but a soul who needs your healing,
so that we see those frustrated with abuse
who long to strike out
as souls in need of your help and peace,
so that we see those who would take our lives
as those marred by sin,
but still your children.
Help us to act with your mind,
to deal mercifully with all those whose lives we touch,
to know that there are real people
who make the items we buy,
who give us service,
who come for help,
who work for us,
who make our lives possible.
Help us to love with your heart,
not just the friends of our daily life,
but all those who need love,
and respect,
and care,
especially those
who are hard to love.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
