Getting the lead out and leading by example. Celebrating The Birth of Dorothy Day!

Good Evening Dear Family of Love!

Today has been another day at the Faith Factory and an added bonus of going to a peace rally. A small but mighty group of us protested on Broadway and Main tonight! We protested against nuclear war and war in general. The sponsors are from the Catholic Worker Movement. Today we celebrate the feast day of Dorothy Day. She was featured last evening and will be again.  Let us begin with this prayer as if it were the collect of the day:

 Prayer for the Intercession of Servant of God Dorothy Day. (From the Dorothy Day Guild)

God our Creator,
Your servant Dorothy Day exemplified the
Catholic faith by her conversion,
life of prayer and voluntary poverty,
works of mercy, and
witness to the justice and peace
of the Gospel.
May her life
inspire people
to turn to Christ as their savior and guide,
to see his face in the world’s poor and
to raise their voices for the justice
of God’s kingdom.
We pray that you grant the favors we ask
through her intercession so that her goodness
and holiness may be more widely recognized
and one day the Church may
proclaim her Saint.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Sometimes protesting and rallies are the equivalent of prayer walking. They put our feet, voices, out into God's world as part of speaking out for the voiceless and truth to power. Rallies and protests to me is faith and prayer in action. Dorothy Day inspires me daily to get the lead out and lead by example. Love for the poor is central to her message and it goes without saying that we must do this without fear and without question. Sometimes we make mistakes but we must press on. So dear ones find a local rally and speak out in a special kind of prayer. God will thank you for it. A follow up on our guest at the Faith Factory, he was still there today. Before I left my time at church I gave him his 3 lunches and checked on him. We will see what happens tomorrow.  

Now let us turn to tonight's meditation and prayer time beginning with quotes from Dorothy Day. 

If I have achieved anything in my life, it is because I have not been embarrassed to talk about God.

Dorothy Day

An act of love, a voluntary taking on oneself of some of the pain of the world, increases the courage and love and hope of all.

Dorothy Day

We cannot love God unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other. We know Him in the breaking of bread, and we know each other in the breaking of bread, and we are not alone anymore. Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust, where there is companionship.
Dorothy Day

IN LAK’ECH

Tú eres mi otro yo.

You are my other me.

Si te hago daño a ti,

If I do harm to you,

Me hago daño a mi mismo.

I do harm to myself.

Si te amo y respeto,

If I love and respect you,

Me amo y respeto yo.

I love and respect myself.

Luis Valdez

Hail, gladdening Light, of God’s pure glory poured, 
Who is the immortal Father, heavenly, blest, 
Holiest of holies, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now we are come to the sun’s hour of rest, 
The lights of evening round us shine, 
We hymn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit divine.

Worthiest art thou at all times to be sung, 
With undefilèd tongue, 
Son of our God, Giver of life, alone! 
Therefore in all the world thy glories, Lord, they own.

John Keble 

God we light our candles and pray to be lights to the world sowing the seeds of the Fruits of the Spirit to all. We light the world with your love and share it with all of our family members and even our enemies. We light the world with joy as we empower each of us with the love energy of joy. We light the dark places as we become peacemakers and pray for the peace of the world. We pray for the resolve to be patient and take time to breathe when we are anxious and tense. We pray that we may be kind in our words and deeds and see You Abba God face to face in all of our family members' faces. We pray that we may convey and practice a spirit of generosity and that we may become cheerful givers. We pray that we may engage in faithfulness that we may never lose heart when we are afraid and unsure. We pray that all our actions may be guided by self-control. We light our candles and pray that we may use the gifts of the fruits of the spirit wisely in God's service and in the service of all of our family members. We add our prayers for Louisiana, New York, and all other places where there was great violence and natural disasters this day. We lift up these our prayers to you O God, this night and always. Amen. 

Tonight let us form a virtual circle with our hands interlocked like this.

Let us stay there together and imagine what it would be like to be truly united as the Family of God in Community.

Let us imagine relying upon one another without fear and reservation.

Let us imagine the richness each one of us brings to the world and to the table.

Let us imagine speaking gently with words that heal not to harm.

Let us imagine being able to look at one another and see God's face in everyone we meet. 

Let us imagine no longer having to be suspicious just because of the color of our skin, faith community, gender expression and sexual orientation, or where we come from.  

Let us imagine actually listening in holy dialog and finding common ground.

Let us imagine being in solidarity with one another when times get tough and we need to lean upon one another. 

Let us imagine and pray as we light this single candle of unity.that we are together as the Family of God in Community right here, right now, and in the holy presence of God and each other.

God we pray that we may build bridges by learning from each other, walking united in love and peace, and by letting go of our agendas that seek only to divide and harm. We pray that we may build bridges where we may at the beginning meet each other halfway and begin a holy dialogue seeking peace and understanding. We pray that we may build bridges based on unconditional love and acceptance and common ground. We pray that we may build bridges by seeing God in and through each other by acknowledging that God made us in God's image and likeness. We pray that we may build bridges by engaging in holy listening with our listening ears and hearts. We pray that we may build bridges together and tear down the walls that seek only to divide, harm, and cause us to be afraid and hate one another without cause. We pray that we may build bridges of Compassion, Acceptance, Love and Mercy beginning this night and always. Amen.

or this

Psalm 86:11–17

Inclina, Domine

11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth; *
knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.

12 I will thank you, O LORD my God, with all my heart, *
and glorify your Name for evermore.

13 For great is your love toward me; *
you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.

14 The arrogant rise up against me, O God,
and a band of violent men seeks my life; *
they have not set you before their eyes.

15 But you, O LORD, are gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.

16 Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *
give your strength to your servant;
and save the child of your handmaid.

17 Show me a sign of your favor,
so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *
because you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

"How can you see Christ in people?" And we only say: It is an act of faith, constantly repeated. It is an act of love, resulting from an act of faith. It is an act of hope, that we can awaken these same acts in their hearts, too, with the help of God...

Dorothy Day

 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.

Deuteronomy 6:20–25

Moses said, “When your children ask you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your children, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. The Lord displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case. If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.’ ”

A Song of Christ’s Humility

Philippians 2:6-11

Though in the form of God, *

Christ Jesus did not cling to equality with God,

But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, *

and was born in human likeness.

Being found in human form, he humbled himself *

and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him *

and given him the name above every name,

That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, *

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, *

to the glory of God the Father.

Common sense in religion is rare, and we are too often trying to be heroic instead of just ordinarily good and kind.

Dorothy Day

Eternal Spirit, 
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, 
Source of all that is and that shall be, 
Father and Mother of us all, 
Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! 
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world! 
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! 
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom 
sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us. 
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. 
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us. 
From trials too great to endure, spare us. 
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, 
now and for ever. Amen.

Acts 8:26–39

An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,

and like a lamb silent before its shearer,

so he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.

Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.

Dorothy Day

The Song of Hannah

1 Samuel 2:1-8

My heart exults in you, O God; *

my triumph song is lifted in you.

My mouth derides my enemies, *

for I rejoice in your salvation.

There is none holy like you, *

nor any rock to be compared to you, our God.

Do not heap up prideful words or speak in arrogance; *

Only God is knowing and weighs all actions.

The bows of the mighty are broken, *

but the weak are clothed in strength.

Those once full now labor for bread, *

those who hungered now are well fed.

The childless woman has borne sevenfold, *

while the mother of many is forlorn.

God destroys and brings to life, casts down and raises up; *

gives wealth or takes it away, humbles and dignifies.

God raises the poor from the dust; *

and lifts the needy from the ash heap

To make them sit with the rulers *

and inherit a place of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are God’s *

on which the whole earth is founded.

John 4:31–38

The disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

The Song of Mary Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *

for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *

you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,

and holy is your name.

You have mercy on those who fear you *

from generation to generation.

You have shown strength with your arm *

and scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones *

and lifting up the lowly.

You have filled the hungry with good things *

and sent the rich away empty.

You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *

for you have remembered your promise of mercy,

The promise made to our forebears, *

to Abraham and his children for ever.





If you are rushed for time, sow time and you will reap time. Go to church and spend a quiet hour in prayer. You will have more time than ever and your work will get done. Sow time with the poor. Sit and listen to them, give them your time lavishly. You will reap time a hundredfold.

Dorothy Day

Most gracious God, we thank you that your servant James Theodore Holly labored to build a Church in which all might be free: Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom you call from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The works of mercy are the opposite of the works of war, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, nursing the sick, visiting the prisoner. But we are destroying crops, setting fire to entire villages and to the people in them. We are not performing the works of mercy but the works of war.  Dorothy Day

Christ Has No Body. by Teresa of Avila. 

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.

Voluntary poverty isn't going around with some burlap bag around you and imitating the poor. It means being indifferent to the material, doing as Christ said. He went and sat down with the rich and Zachaeus and publicans and sinners. Dorothy Day

Matthew 5:1-12New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Beatitudes

5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Charity is only as warm as those who administer it.

Dorothy Day

Prayers for Sanctuary

God we pray this night that wherever we maybe we may find sacred space. May this be such a time a and place as this is.

God we pray that when we don't feel safe that we may look inwardly and find our heart homes a place of sacred space and safety.

God we pray that we may be a soft place in which to fall for all of our family members.

God we take this time to be together as one family where we can truly pray and feel the love we have for one another.

God we pray for all who are lonely, lost, and afraid that we may extend a loving hand and prayer towards them.

God we pray for peace in this fragile and broken world that we may seek to be peace makers, hope bringers, love givers, and radiate joy to all.

God we pray to be in harmony with nature and all living things and for the protection and conservation of your Cathedral of Life.

God we pray for all who are ill and in pain that their suffering may be relieved and given you healing balm.

God we pray for an end to all division and hatred that we all may be one and learn from each other.

God we lift up these our prayers in your holy and life giving name. Amen.

Song of SimeonNunc Dimittis

Praise be to God, I have lived to see this day.
God’s promise is fulfilled, and my duty done.

At last you have given me peace,
for I have seen with my own eyes 
the salvation you have prepared for all nations - 
a light to the world in its darkness, 
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be God, sustaining, redeeming, sanctifying, 
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. 
Amen.

The Wisdom of God

the Love of God

and the Grace of God

strengthen you

to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,

in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.

(source: Celtic)

Good Night Dear Family ! I love you and give thanks to God for you this night. Let us lead by example so that others may follow in the footsteps of God and spread the God News in Love. 

Peace, love, prayers, and God's blessings,

Sara

Resources:

Lectionary Page

Enriching Our Worship

In Lak 'Ech - Luis Valdez

Book of Common Praye

Walk With Me On Our Journey

Quote Sites for Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day Guild - Prayer of Intercession

A New Zealand Prayer Book