Dear Friends,
Hope you had a good week – if it wasn’t great, let’s pray next week will be a little easier. A lot has happened world-wide: the ‘cease-fire’ & Trump’s inauguration to mention just two significant things. A lot of prayer needed ………
We are coming towards the end of the month & with a big stretch of the imagination maybe spring is on the horizon. But today we will focus on winter. Joyce Rupp points out the shelter that winter gives us in ‘The Cave of the Soul’ – others are impatient to see the end of winter. In researching for Winter, I found several worthwhile pieces we could include so, before we leave winter behind finally, in a couple of weeks we will have a few more wintery attachments before moving into spring.
Our blessing today is simply called ‘A Blessing’ and is from one of Margaret Rizza’s many CDs, ‘Fire of Love’. May you feel blessed as you listen to it.
With our love & prayer
The Cave of the Soul
Joyce Rupp
Let the dawns
come late,
let the sunsets
arrive early,
let the evenings
extend themselves
while I lean
into the abyss of my being.
Let me lie in the cave
of my soul,
for too much light
blinds me,
steals the source
of revelation.
Let me seek solace
in the empty places
of winter’s passage,
those vast dark nights
that never fail to shelter me.
Something Wise, Something Joyful
Ruth Burgess
Walk wisely in this world.
Listen before you speak,
look deeply before you leap.
Share love with those who walk beside you.
And on long winter nights
when the moon is hiding
and frost crusts the soil,
do not be afraid to try our something different,
something wild,
something joyful,
just for the hell of it
and hope that it leads you to heaven.
Winter
Winter Silence ………………. Teach Us Stillness.
Barren Trees ………………….. Teach Us Stillness.
Bold Blue Skies ………………. Teach Us Stillness.
Dancing Snowflakes …………Teach Us Stillness.
Frosty Mornings ………………. Teach Us Stillness.
Bright Stars ……………………. Teach Us Stillness.
Cold Winter Nights ……………Teach Us Stillness.
Quiet Energy…………………….. Teach Us Stillness.
Frozen Earth………………………….Teach Us Stillness.
Months of Darkness…………… Teach Us Stillness.
Sleeping Seeds……………………..Teach Us Stillness.
Stones of Strength……………….Teach Us Stillness.
Northern Lights…………………….. Teach Us Stillness.
A Winter Blessing
Macrina Wiederkehr
Blessed are you, winter,
dark season of waiting,
you affirm the dark seasons of our lives,
forecasting the weather of waiting in hope.
Blessed are you, winter,
you faithfully guard a life unseen,
calling those who listen deeply
to discover winter rest.
Blessed are you, winter,
frozen and cold on the outside,
within your silent, nurturing womb
you warmly welcome all that longs for renewal.
Blessed are you, winter,
your bleak, barren trees
preach wordless sermons
about emptiness and solitude.
Blessed are you, winter,
you teach us valuable lessons
about waiting in darkness
with hope and trust.
Blessed are you, winter,
season of blood red sunsets
and star-filled, long, dark nights,
faithfully you pour out your beauty.
Blessed are you, winter,
when your tiny snowflakes
flurry through the air,
you awaken our sleeping souls.
Blessed are you, winter,
with your wild and varied moods,
so intent on being yourself,
you refuse to be a people-pleaser.
Blessed are you, winter,
when ice storms crush our hearts and homes,
you call forth the good in us
as we rush to help one another.
Blessed are you, winter,
your inconsistent moods
often herald spring’s arrival,
yet how gracefully you step aside
when her time has come.