A late vigil, prayers, and lessons! We need to rest !

Good Evening Dear Family of God and Love!

Today I give thanks to God on  Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday for being 3 years Cancer free and having my diabetes in control. I don't know about you but these things make me happy but today when we received the President's Proposed Budget it took my celebration down a few notches. We must be earnestly praying with our feet, voices, and on our knees for the least of these. Tonight, I was going to post the budget here in the blog but I feel that might wrangle your nerves and mine. So we will have a time of Compline (Night Prayer) Walk With Me On Our Journey style.  So let us begin:

Close your eyes and breathe in and out, tense and release the muscle groups in your body.

Now let us engage in the "Be Stills"

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Lather, rinse, repeat!

Let's spend some time in silence and think of the people in our lives who need love and care. 


It is time for our nightly Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigil!
Let's light our candles and be at prayer. This night let us pray that we may put God's commandments to love God, one another, ourselves, and our enemies into action. We pray for the needs of this fragile and broken world. We pray for conservation of God's Cathedral of Life that sustains all living things. We pray that we may endeavor to be and bring  the light and love to this troubled nation of ours and continue to to pray and wisely consider the words of the prophet Micah:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm 1

Beatus vir qui non abiit

1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2 Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
and they meditate on his law day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
everything they do shall prosper.
4 It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.

The Magnificat


My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Jeremiah 17:5–10

Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength, 
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse-- 
who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings.

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.




Luke 16:19–31

Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"


The Beatitudes Matthew 5:3–12 

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (5:3)
Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)
Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)
Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10

O Lord, strong and mighty, Lord of hosts and King of glory: Cleanse our hearts from sin, keep our hands pure, and turn our minds from what is passing away; so that at the last we may stand in your holy place and receive your blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 A Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much 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 pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.

For our Enemies  (From the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER)
O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

God, we pray that we may always acknowledge the sacredness of life and that each day is holy. 

God, as we hear the rush of the evening breeze may we remember your holy walk in the Garden.

God we pray that we may take care of your Cathedral of Life and not waste precious resources.

God we pray that we may see the holiness of all things and especially in each other.

God we pray that we may live each day as a holy day and treat everything we do and each other with loving reverence.

God we pray for our littlest souls that they may be protected from harm. 

God we pray for safe environments for all God's children to live, move, and just be their beautiful selves.

God we pray for children who are in need of forever homes! May they find the right family that fits.

God we pray for an end to child abuse, neglect, and human trafficking.

God we pray for all the missing children that they may be returned to their families safely and that their families may finally know what happened to them.

God as we prepare for our weekly Sabbath observances we pray for love and understanding among all faith communities.

God we pray that we may learn to love each other and respect each other's beliefs with out fear and the need to speak in violent language towards our brothers and sisters.

God we pray for all faith leaders who are preparing for the Sabbath and the people whom they care for. We pray for an increase in all ministries lay and ordained, that we may be God's hands and feet in the world.


God we pray  for all who are ill and in need of healing may have the courage to wait for healing in Your time and if it is your will.

God  we pray for all those who are caregivers, those in the medical arts, and those who have the responsibility of caring for those who have died.

God we pray for all who mourn and especially those who have entered eternal life today.

God we pray for____________________

God we Give thanks for________________

God as you have taught us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first we pray for the least of these our family members, that we may lovingly respond to their needs.

Or these:

God we pray for all of our elderly family members who are struggling to meet the needs of daily living. We pray that we may never forget that they are our examples to follow and we must protect and care for them always. 

God we pray for all of our mentally ill family members who are struggling with mental illnesses that rob them of their independence, memory, joy in living, and being chronically depressed. We pray that we may find solutions to their problems and that they may receive the care that they need and that we may never forget them.

God we pray for women who keep being downgraded in their health care and human rights  May we walk with them daily and support them and speak out when their rights are being violated and that we may rise to support them and raise our voices clearly in support of them. 

God we pray for the needs of children that they may be kept safe from harm and that they may receive the extra benefits they need and that they may never be treated as dirt and unworthy of help. 

God  we pray for the LGBTQ community who must be allowed to live authentically and have equal rights, universal human rights and that they may be treated with dignity and respect. We pray that we may never forget Stonewall, Orlando, or Matthew Shepherd.

God we pray for the least of these that they may never be forgotten and that their needs may be provides and that we may raise our voices to help them in time of need.

God we pray for__________________

God we pray that the President's Proposed budget may we struck down and that all people may be treated with the utmost care and that no one will have to go without food, clothing, shelter, housing,  help meeting daily needs without having to live on the streets without fear of having to know where their next meal or roof over their head is. 

God in your mercy hear our prayers! Amen.

Visit this place, O Lord, and drive far from it all snares of the
enemy; let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in
peace; and let your blessing be upon us always; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.


Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace

The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless us and keep us. Amen.

++++++

Good Night Dear Ones! We will return to our longer format and we may indeed pray using the President's Proposed Budget but tonight we rest. I love you and give God thanks for you always. 

With love and prayers,

Sara