Dear All,
Here we are at the end of Eastertide – for some it will have passed quickly & for others, very slowly. I find by about the 5th or 6th week I have lost my Easter energy – energy that should last till Pentecost! Looking through resources related to the Spirit, I found a new energy – I hope you may find renewed life in the ones we have chosen.
The blessing this week is Rutter’s ‘Go Forth’ – maybe it fits with our exit from Eastertide & gives us a programme for the next weeks & months?
Go forth into the world in peace;
Be of good courage, hold fast that which is good,
Render to no one evil for evil.
Go forth into the world in peace.
Strengthen the fainthearted,
Support the weak,
Help the afflicted,
Honour all persons.
Love and serve the Lord,
Rejoicing in the power of the Spirit,
And the blessing of God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit
be upon you and remain with you always. Amen.
With our love to you all,
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. -Acts 2
Spirit, Wild One,
sweeping in, unseen, unannounced,
unexpected, uncompromising,
pressing through the door,
startling those hovering in fear,
shaking them out of the corners,
awakening concealed gifts.
Spirit, Wild One,
relentless loving presence,
bringing strength to the weak,
courage to the fearful,
determination to the doubtful,
joy to the disheartened,
faith to the disbelieving.
Spirit, Wild One,
come whirling into my soul space,
gather what remains in disarray,
lift up what is neglected,
send forth what wants to hold back,
impassion what hesitates,
heal what remains wounded.
Spirit, Wild One,
breathe large gusts in me,
sweep through my being,
drench me with hope,
soften my resistance,
wrap your love around me
until I welcome you fully.
Joyce Rupp, “Prayer Seeds’’
Come Spirit who is our Light.
Shine among the shadows within.
Warm and transform our hearts.
Come, Spirit, who makes a home in us.
Draw us to the treasure of your dwelling.
Reveal to us the inner journey of love.
Come, Spirit, Comforter and Consoler.
Heal the wounded. Soothe the anxious.
Be consolation for all that grieve and ache.
Come, Spirit, who energises our being.
Keep us from the tangles of toil and travail.
Lead us to moment of prayer and play.
Come, Spirit, consuming Fire of Love.
Fill us with enthusiasm for your vision.
May the desire for truth be vibrant within us.
Come, Spirit, joy of our souls.
Dance amid life’s hills and valleys.
Encircle us with the delight of your dance.
Come, Spirit of wisdom and insight.
Draw us toward your goodness and light.
Direct our growth and guide our ways.
Come, Spirit, guide of wounded ones.
Be warmth in hearts of those grown cold.
Empower the powerless, rekindle the weary.
Come, Spirit, source of our Peace.
Deepen in us the action of peacemakers.
Heal the divisions that ravage the earth.
The Gift of the Spirit.
The Spirit does not re-make us. The apostles at Pentecost were not turned into new people. Rather they became fully themselves for the first time. The Spirit called out of them that which was most creative, most courageous, most generous, most fully & completely human; and he does that to us too. The Spirit broke through the barriers of the apostles’ petty ambitions, their blind materialism, their cowardly fears; and he does that to us too. The Spirit did not transform Peter & James & John & the rest into totally new human beings. She liberated that which was best in each of them. She did not attempt to create a new kind of person but spoke to those depths of the personality of each apostle who had already heard their call but feared to respond. St Paul tells us that the Spirit speaks to our spirit. The God who calls speaks to that spark of divinity that is in each one of us. God’s Spirit touches that finest, sharpest point in our personality, the very core of our identity, that tells us that we can be far more than we are. We are free to respond or not.
Andrew Greeley
Walking With the Spirit.
We walk together,
You & I,
Talking sometimes,
Often in awesome silence.
Wandering & wondering with you,
Holy Spirit,
Unrestrained as the wild winds,
Ever-moving as the tides.
Fire of passion,
Still small voice.