Having grown up in a christian home, prayers and Bible verses played a predominate roll in my life. As a child I often preached to my dolls lined up on my bed. A girlfriend, Irma, and I would play at conducting services ending with a rousing altar call.
As a grown woman I once got to preside over a Sunday morning service at our Unity church and fulfilled a couple of items on my 'Bucket List'.
1. Stand at a pulpit and preach a sermon.
2. Give the Benediction at end of service.
Ah, what a joy for me.
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Benedictions
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God be with you till we meet again;
By His counsel guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again.
Refrain
Till we meet, till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus feet;
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.
^
*God be with you till we meet again;
With the oil of joy anoint you;
Sacred ministries appoint you;
God be with you till we meet again.
^
words:Jeremiah Rankin, music: William Tomer
*(there are several more verses, the second one here is my favorite)
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Sufi Blessing
May the Spirit of God rest upon you.
May God's peace abide with you.
May God's presence illuminate your heart
Now and forever more.
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Old Egyptian Blessing
May God stand between you and
all the empty spaces
where you must walk.
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(-:Old Gaelic Blessing :-)
May those who
Love us, Love us.
And those that
don't love us,
May God turn
their hearts.
And if he doesn't
turn their hearts
May he turn
their ankles
So we'll know them
By their limping.
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Prayers
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The fruit of prayer is a deepening of faith,
and the fruit of faith is love,
and the fruit of love is service.
Mother Teresa
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Lord make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury - pardon.
Where there is doubt - faith
Where there is despair - hope.
Where there is darkness - light.
Where there is sadness - joy.
Oh, Divine Master, let me not so nuch seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in forgiving we are forgiven
and it is in dying we are born in eternal life.
St. Francis Assi
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Lord, take me where You want me to go,
Let me meet who You want me to meet:
Tell me what You want me to say,
and Keep me out of your way.
Father Mychal, chaplain Fire Dept NYC
killed 9-11-01 World Trade Center
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1. O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!
2. Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;
thou discernest my thought from afar.
3. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted with all my ways.
4. Even before a word is on my tongue,
lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5. Thou dost beset me behind and before,
and layest thy hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high, I cannot attain it.
7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8. If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!
If I make my bed in She'ol, thou are there!
9. If I take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10. even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
11. If I say, "Let only darkness cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
12. even the darkness is not dark to thee,
they night is bright as the day;
for darkness is as light with thee.
13. For thou didst form my inward parts,
thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.
14. I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.
Wonderful are thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
14. my frame was not hidden from thee,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16. Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
in thy book were written, every one of them.
17. How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!
18. If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
(with apologies to David)
(19. through 22 I skip, you'll have to look to see why. It is not a part of my prayer life.)
23. Search me, O God, and know my heart!
24. And see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalms 139
2 comments:
I love that old Gaelic blessing! I have a lovely book of Celtic prayers, by David Adams, who was Vicar of the church on Holy Island (Lindisfarne) in Northumberland (UK, of course) Holy Island is reckoned to be the cradle of British Christianity and is a wonderful place. You can feel both peace there, and a feeling for the troubles the monks had from the Vikings.
I could go on and on, but I had better not!
Oh Gilly, I would have loved for you to go on and on. I have come to blogging and discovered wonderful stories at every turn. We all are sharing our point of view and life experiences. I know the feel of holy spaces and would love to visit the Holy Island. I am so enjoying getting to know you.
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