Friday, April 27, 2018

Getting to know Christina Rossetti and preparing for our retreat weekend








Good Evening Beloved Community!

Today is the feast day of Christina Rossetti and I always like to focus our prayers once in awhile on notable poets who have something to say to our souls.Christina Rossetti does this and more.  Her words dovetail nicely with the blog we had last evening and will be a great preparation for our weekly time of retreat and Sabbath Rest and period of introspection. I will not repeat our prayer walking framework until Monday where we will have a more refined on to work with. And so let us begin.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace. 

Opening Poem (Christina Rossetti)

Alas my Lord,/How should I wrestle all the livelong night/With Thee my God, my Strength and my Delight?
How can it need/So agonized an effort and a strain/To make Thy Face of Mercy shine again?
How can it need/Such wringing out of breathless prayer to move/Thee to Thy wonted Love, when Thou art Love?
Yet Abraham/So hung about Thine Arm outstretched and bared,/That for ten righteous Sodom had been spared.
Yet Jacob did/So hold Thee by the clenched hand of prayer/That he prevailed, and Thou didst bless him there.
Elias prayed,/And sealed the founts of Heaven; he prayed again/And lo, Thy Blessing fell in showers of rain.
All Nineveh/Fasting and girt in sackcloth raised a cry,/Which moved Thee ere the day of grace went by.
Thy Church prayed on/And on for blessed Peter in his strait,/Till opening of its own accord the gate.
Yea, Thou my God/Hast prayed all night, and in the garden prayed/Even while, like melting wax, Thy strength was made.
Alas for him/Who faints, despite Thy Pattern, King of Saints:/Alas, alas, for me, the one that faints.
Lord, give us strength/To hold Thee fast, until we hear Thy Voice/Which Thine own know, who hearing It rejoice.
Lord, give us strength/To hold Thee fast until we see Thy Face,/Full Fountain of all Rapture and all Grace.
But when our strength/Shall be made weakness, and our bodies clay,/Hold Thou us fast, and give us sleep till day.

Light of the World Phos hilaron 
Light of the world, in grace and beauty, Mirror of God’s eternal face, Transparent flame of love’s free duty, You bring salvation to our race. Now, as we see the lights of evening, We raise our voice in hymns of praise; Worthy are you of endless blessing, Sun of our night, lamp of our days.

As we continue our time of  Sabbath Rest may we take time to light our candles once again  and pray and shine the light of Christ to a fragile and broken world. God help us to illumine our pathways so that we may follow in the footsteps where you are leading us. We pray that the light we carry may shine brightly into the dark places and into our family member's lives. We pray that the darkness that we are experiencing my be illumined by the light of Christ and God's grace. We pray for peace and that we may light candles to show that we are in unity with each other. Help us to hold the Christ light to everyone we meet. We pray this night for all of the least of these who are seeking food, clothing, shelter,and clean water. We pray for all or our family members who seek to do us harm that you O God may set their hearts ablaze with love and the difference between right and wrong. We pray that we may become peacemakers and light bearers and that we may seek to do God's will. We pray this night that we may continue to love one another with compassion, acceptance, love and mercy. The Light of Christ in me recognize the light of Christ in you this night and always. 
 




Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti
Christ our Passover Pascha nostrum
1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Romans 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22


Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; *
therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, *
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.


Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; *
death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; *
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin, *
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.


Christ has been raised from the dead, *
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death, *
by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, *
so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

Our lessons for today celebrate the Feast Day of Christina Rossetti



84 Quam dilecta!

1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

2 The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.

3 Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will always be praising you.

4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.
5 Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.

6 They will climb from height to height, *
and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.

7 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
hearken, O God of Jacob.

8 Behold our defender, O God; *
and look upon the face of your Anointed.

9 For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, *
and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

10 For the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
he will give grace and glory;

11 No good thing will the Lord withhold *
from those who walk with integrity.

12 O Lord of hosts, *
happy are they who put their trust in you!

Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti

Exodus 3:1-6

Moses at the Burning Bush

3Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ 4When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 5Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ 6He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

A Song of Ezekiel
Ezekiel 36:24-28
I will take you from among all nations; *
and gather you from all lands to bring you home.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you; *
and purify you from false gods and uncleanness.
A new heart I will give you *
and a new spirit put within you.
I will take the stone heart from your chest *
and give you a heart of flesh.
I will help you walk in my laws *
and cherish my commandments and do them.
You shall be my people, *
and I will be your God.

As you walk upon the earth, treat each step as a prayer.
~ Black Elk


Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti

Revelation 21:1-4

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home* of God is among mortals.
He will dwell* with them;
they will be his peoples,*
and God himself will be with them;* 
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

A Song of Christ’s Goodness
Anselm of Canterbury
Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you; *
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
Often you weep over our sins and our pride, *
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgment.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds, *
in sickness you nurse us and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying, we are born to new life; *
by your anguish and labor we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness; *
through your gentleness, we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead, *
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy, heal us; *
in your love and tenderness, remake us.
In your compassion, bring grace and forgiveness, *
for the beauty of heaven, may your love prepare us.

Christina Rossetti

Matthew 6:19-23

Concerning Treasures

19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust* consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust* consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Sound Eye

22 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

A Song of the Wilderness
Isaiah 35:1-7,10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, *
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
It shall blossom abundantly, *
and rejoice with joy and singing.
They shall see the glory of the Lord, *
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weary hands, *
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to the anxious, “Be strong, do not fear! *
Here is your God, coming with judgment to save you.”
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, *
and the ears of the deaf be unstopped.
Then shall the lame leap like a deer, *
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness *
and streams in the desert;
The burning sand shall become a pool *
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
The ransomed of God shall return with singing, *
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
Joy and gladness shall be theirs, *
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

Christina Rossetti - A Religious Poem

Psalm 90:2

1.

Before the mountains were brought forth, before 
  Earth and the world were made, then God was God: 
And God will still be God, when flames shall roar 
  Round earth and heaven dissolving at His nod: 
  And this God is our God, even while His rod 
Of righteous wrath falls on us smiting sore: 
And this God is our God for evermore 
  Through life, through death, while clod returns to clod. 
For though He slay us we will trust in Him; 
  We will flock home to Him by divers ways: 
  Yea, though He slay us we will vaunt His praise, 
Serving and loving with the Cherubim, 
Watching and loving with the Seraphim, 
  Our very selves His praise through endless days.

2.

Rend hearts and rend not garments for our sins; 
  Gird sackcloth not on body but on soul; 
  Grovel in dust with faces toward the goal 
Nor won, nor neared: he only laughs who wins. 
Not neared the goal, the race too late begins; 
  Or left undone, we have yet to do the whole; 
  The sun is hurrying west and toward the pole 
Where darkness waits for earth with all her kins. 
Let us to-day, while it is called to-day, 
  Set out, if utmost speed may yet avail– 
  The shadows lengthen and the light grows pale: 
    For who through darkness and the shadow of death, 
Darkness that may be felt, shall find a way, 
  Blind-eyed, deaf-eared, and choked with failing breath?

3.

Thou Who didst make and knowest whereof we are made, 
  Oh bear in mind our dust and nothingness, 
  Our wordless tearless dumbness of distress: 
Bear Thou in mind the burden Thou hast laid 
Upon us, and our feebleness unstayed 
  Except Thou stay us: for the long long race 
  Which stretches far and far before our face 
Thou knowest,–remember Thou whereof we are made. 
If making makes us Thine, then Thine we are; 
  And if redemption, we are twice Thine own: 
If once Thou didst come down from heaven afar 
  To seek us and to find us, how not save? 
Comfort us, save us, leave us not alone, 
  Thou Who didst die our death and fill our grave.

4.

So tired am I, so weary of to-day, 
  So unrefreshed from foregone weariness, 
  So overburdened by foreseen distress, 
So lagging and so stumbling on my way, 
I scarce can rouse myself to watch or pray, 
  To hope, or aim, or toil for more or less,— 
  Ah, always less and less, even while I press 
Forward and toil and aim as best I may. 
Half-starved of soul and heartsick utterly, 
  Yet lift I up my heart and soul and eyes 
  (Which fail in looking upward) toward the prize: 
Me, Lord, Thou seest though I see not Thee; 
  Me now, as once the Thief in Paradise, 
Even me, O Lord my Lord, remember me.

5.

Lord, Thou Thyself art Love and only Thou; 
  Yet I who am not love would fain love Thee; 
  But Thou alone being Love canst furnish me 
With that same love my heart is craving now. 
Allow my plea! for if Thou disallow, 
  No second fountain can I find but Thee; 
  No second hope or help is left to me, 
No second anything, but only Thou. 
O Love accept, according my request; 
  O Love exhaust, fulfilling my desire: 
  Uphold me with the strength that cannot tire, 
Nerve me to labor till Thou bid me rest, 
  Kindle my fire from Thine unkindled fire, 
And charm the willing heart from out my breast.

6.

We lack, yet cannot fix upon the lack: 
  Not this, nor that; yet somewhat, certainly. 
  We see the things we do not yearn to see 
Around us: and what see we glancing back? 
Lost hopes that leave our hearts upon the rack, 
  Hopes that were never ours yet seemed to be, 
  For which we steered on life’s salt stormy sea 
Braving the sunstroke and the frozen pack. 
If thus to look behind is all in vain, 
  And all in vain to look to left or right, 
Why face we not our future once again, 
Launching with hardier hearts across the main, 
  Straining dim eyes to catch the invisible sight, 
And strong to bear ourselves in patient pain?

7.

To love and to remember; that is good: 
  To love and to forget; that is not well: 
  To lapse from love to hatred; that is hell 
And death and torment, rightly understood. 
Soul dazed by love and sorrow, cheer thy mood; 
  More blest art thou than mortal tongue can tell: 
  Ring not thy funeral but thy marriage bell, 
And salt with hope thy life’s insipid food. 
Love is the goal, love is the way we wend, 
  Love is our parallel unending line 
    Whose only perfect Parallel is Christ, 
Beginning not begun, End without end: 
    For He Who hath the heart of God sufficed, 
  Can satisfy all hearts,–yea, thine and mine.

8.

We feel and see with different hearts and eyes:— 
  Ah Christ, if all our hearts could meet in Thee 
  How well it were for them and well for me, 
Our hearts Thy dear accepted sacrifice. 
Thou, only Life of hearts and Light of eyes, 
  Our life, our light, if once we turn to Thee, 
  So be it, O Lord, to them and so to me; 
Be all alike Thine own dear sacrifice. 
Thou Who by death hast ransomed us from death, 
  Thyself God’s sole well-pleasing Sacrifice, 
    Thine only sacred Self I plead with Thee: 
    Make Thou it well for them and well for me 
That Thou hast given us souls and wills and breath; 
  And hearts to love Thee; and to see Thee, eyes.

9.

Star Sirius and the Pole Star dwell afar 
  Beyond the drawings each of other’s strength: 
  One blazes through the brief bright summer’s length 
Lavishing life-heat from a flaming car; 
  While one unchangeable upon a throne 
  Broods o’er the frozen heart of earth alone, 
Content to reign the bright particular star 
  Of some who wander or of some who groan. 
They own no drawings each of other’s strength, 
  Nor vibrate in a visible sympathy, 
    Nor veer along their courses each toward each: 
  Yet are their orbits pitched in harmony 
Of one dear heaven, across whose depth and length 
  Mayhap they talk together without speech.

10.

Tread softly! all the earth is holy ground. 
  It may be, could we look with seeing eyes, 
  This spot we stand on is a Paradise 
Where dead have come to life and lost been found, 
Where Faith has triumphed, Martyrdom been crowned, 
  Where fools have foiled the wisdom of the wise; 
  From this same spot the dust of saints may rise, 
And the King’s prisoners come to light unbound. 
O earth, earth, earth, hear thou thy Maker’s Word: 
  “Thy dead thou shalt give up, nor hide thy slain”— 
  Some who went weeping forth shall come again 
    Rejoicing from the east or from the west, 
As doves fly to their windows, love’s own bird 
    Contented and desirous to the nest. 

11.

Lifelong our stumbles, lifelong our regret, 
  Lifelong our efforts failing and renewed, 
  While lifelong is our witness, “God is good:” 
Who bore with us till now, bears with us yet, 
Who still remembers and will not forget, 
  Who gives us light and warmth and daily food; 
  And gracious promises half understood, 
And glories half unveiled, whereon to set 
Our heart of hearts and eyes of our desire; 
  Uplifting us to longing and to love, 
Luring us upward from this world of mire, 
  Urging us to press on and mount above 
  Ourselves and all we have had experience of, 
Mounting to Him in love’s perpetual fire.

12.

A dream there is wherein we are fain to scream, 
  While struggling with ourselves we cannot speak: 
  And much of all our waking life, as weak 
And misconceived, eludes us like the dream. 
For half life’s seemings are not what they seem, 
  And vain the laughs we laugh, the shrieks we shriek; 
  Yea, all is vain that mars the settled meek 
Contented quiet of our daily theme. 
When I was young I deemed that sweets are sweet: 
  But now I deem some searching bitters are 
  Sweeter than sweets, and more refreshing far, 
    And to be relished more, and more desired, 
And more to be pursued on eager feet, 
  On feet untired, and still on feet though tired.

13.

Shame is a shadow cast by sin: yet shame 
  Itself may be a glory and a grace, 
  Refashioning the sin-disfashioned face; 
A nobler bruit than hollow-sounded fame, 
A new-lit lustre on a tarnished name, 
  One virtue pent within an evil place, 
  Strength for the fight, and swiftness for the race, 
A stinging salve, a life-requickening flame. 
A salve so searching we may scarcely live, 
  A flame so fierce it seems that we must die, 
    An actual cautery thrust into the heart: 
    Nevertheless, men die not of such smart; 
And shame gives back what nothing else can give, 
  Man to himself,–then sets him up on high.

14.

When Adam and when Eve left Paradise 
  Did they love on and cling together still, 
  Forgiving one another all that ill 
The twain had wrought on such a different wise? 
She propped upon his strength, and he in guise 
  Of lover though of lord, girt to fulfil 
  Their term of life and die when God should will; 
Lie down and sleep, and having slept arise. 
Boast not against us, O our enemy! 
  To-day we fall, but we shall rise again; 
We grope to-day, to-morrow we shall see: 
    What is to-day that we should fear to-day? 
    A morrow cometh which shall sweep away 
  Thee and thy realm of change and death and pain.

15.

Let woman fear to teach and bear to learn, 
  Remembering the first woman’s first mistake. 
  Eve had for pupil the inquiring snake, 
Whose doubts she answered on a great concern; 
But he the tables so contrived to turn, 
  It next was his to give and hers to take; 
  Till man deemed poison sweet for her sweet sake, 
And fired a train by which the world must burn. 
Did Adam love his Eve from first to last? 
  I think so; as we love who works us ill, 
  And wounds us to the quick, yet loves us still. 
Love pardons the unpardonable past: 
Love in a dominant embrace holds fast 
  His frailer self, and saves without her will.

16.

Our teachers teach that one and one make two: 
  Later, Love rules that one and one make one: 
  Abstruse the problems! neither need we shun, 
But skilfully to each should yield its due. 
The narrower total seems to suit the few, 
  The wider total suits the common run; 
  Each obvious in its sphere like moon or sun; 
Both provable by me, and both by you. 
Befogged and witless, in a wordy maze 
  A groping stroll perhaps may do us good; 
  If cloyed we are with much we have understood, 
If tired of half our dusty world and ways, 
  If sick of fasting, and if sick of food;— 
And how about these long still-lengthening days?

17.

Something this foggy day, a something which 
  Is neither of this fog nor of to-day, 
  Has set me dreaming of the winds that play 
Past certain cliffs, along one certain beach, 
  And turn the topmost edge of waves to spray: 
  Ah pleasant pebbly strand so far away, 
So out of reach while quite within my reach, 
  As out of reach as India or Cathay! 
I am sick of where I am and where I am not, 
  I am sick of foresight and of memory, 
  I am sick of all I have and all I see, 
    I am sick of self, and there is nothing new; 
Oh weary impatient patience of my lot!— 
  Thus with myself: how fares it, Friends, with you?

18.

So late in Autumn half the world’s asleep, 
  And half the wakeful world looks pinched and pale; 
  For dampness now, not freshness, rides the gale; 
And cold and colorless comes ashore the deep 
With tides that bluster or with tides that creep; 
  Now veiled uncouthness wears an uncouth veil 
  Of fog, not sultry haze; and blight and bale 
Have done their worst, and leaves rot on the heap. 
So late in Autumn one forgets the Spring, 
  Forgets the Summer with its opulence, 
The callow birds that long have found a wing, 
  The swallows that more lately gat them hence: 
Will anything like Spring, will anything 
  Like Summer, rouse one day the slumbering sense?

19.

Here now is Winter. Winter, after all, 
  Is not so drear as was my boding dream 
  While Autumn gleamed its latest watery gleam 
On sapless leafage too inert to fall. 
Still leaves and berries clothe my garden wall 
  Where ivy thrives on scantiest sunny beam; 
  Still here a bud and there a blossom seem 
Hopeful, and robin still is musical. 
Leaves, flowers and fruit and one delightful song 
  Remain; these days are short, but now the nights 
  Intense and long, hang out their utmost lights; 
Such starry nights are long, yet not too long; 
Frost nips the weak, while strengthening still the strong 
  Against that day when Spring sets all to rights.
20.

A hundred thousand birds salute the day:— 
  One solitary bird salutes the night: 
Its mellow grieving wiles our grief away, 
  And tunes our weary watches to delight; 
It seems to sing the thoughts we cannot say, 
  To know and sing them, and to set them right; 
Until we feel once more that May is May, 
  And hope some buds may bloom without a blight. 
This solitary bird outweighs, outvies, 
  The hundred thousand merry-making birds 
Whose innocent warblings yet might make us wise 
Would we but follow when they bid us rise, 
  Would we but set their notes of praise to words 
And launch our hearts up with them to the skies.

21.

A host of things I take on trust: I take 
  The nightingales on trust, for few and far 
  Between those actual summer moments are 
When I have heard what melody they make. 
So chanced it once at Como on the Lake: 
  But all things, then, waxed musical; each star 
  Sang on its course, each breeze sang on its car, 
All harmonies sang to senses wide-awake. 
All things in tune, myself not out of tune, 
  Those nightingales were nightingales indeed: 
  Yet truly an owl had satisfied my need, 
And wrought a rapture underneath that moon, 
  Or simple sparrow chirping from a reed; 
For June that night glowed like a doubled June.

22.

The mountains in their overwhelming might 
  Moved me to sadness when I saw them first, 
And afterwards they moved me to delight; 
  Struck harmonies from silent chords which burst 
  Out into song, a song by memory nursed; 
Forever unrenewed by touch or sight 
Sleeps the keen magic of each day or night, 
  In pleasure and in wonder then immersed. 
All Switzerland behind us on the ascent, 
  All Italy before us we plunged down 
    St. Gothard, garden of forget-me-not: 
    Yet why should such a flower choose such a spot? 
Could we forget that way which once we went 
  Though not one flower had bloomed to weave its crown?

23.

Beyond the seas we know stretch seas unknown, 
  Blue and bright-colored for our dim and green; 
  Beyond the lands we see, stretch lands unseen 
With many-tinted tangle overgrown; 
And icebound seas there are like seas of stone, 
  Serenely stormless as death lies serene; 
  And lifeless tracks of sand, which intervene 
Betwixt the lands where living flowers are blown. 
This dead and living world befits our case 
  Who live and die: we live in wearied hope, 
We die in hope not dead; we run a race 
To-day, and find no present halting-place; 
  All things we see lie far within our scope, 
And still we peer beyond with craving face.

24.

The wise do send their hearts before them to 
  Dear blesséd Heaven, despite the veil between; 
  The foolish nurse their hearts within the screen 
Of this familiar world, where all we do 
Or have is old, for there is nothing new: 
  Yet elder far that world we have not seen; 
  God’s Presence antedates what else hath been: 
Many the foolish seem, the wise seem few. 
Oh foolishest fond folly of a heart 
  Divided, neither here nor there at rest! 
    That hankers after Heaven, but clings to earth; 
    That neither here nor there knows thorough mirth, 
Half-choosing, wholly missing, the good part:— 
  Oh fool among the foolish, in thy quest.

25.

When we consider what this life we lead 
  Is not, and is; how full of toil and pain, 
  How blank of rest and of substantial gain, 
Beset by hunger earth can never feed, 
And propping half our hearts upon a reed; 
  We cease to mourn lost treasures mourned in vain, 
  Lost treasures we are fain and yet not fain 
To fetch back for a solace of our need. 
For who that feel this burden and this strain, 
  This wide vacuity of hope and heart, 
Would bring their cherished well-beloved again: 
  To bleed with them and wince beneath the smart, 
To have with stinted bliss such lavish bane, 
  To hold in lieu of all so poor a part?

26.

This Life is full of numbness and of balk, 
  Of haltingness and baffled short-coming, 
  Of promise unfulfilled, of everything 
That is puffed vanity and empty talk: 
Its very bud hangs cankered on the stalk, 
  Its very song-bird trails a broken wing, 
  Its very Spring is not indeed like Spring, 
But sighs like Autumn round an aimless walk. 
This Life we live is dead for all its breath; 
  Death’s self it is, set off on pilgrimage, 
  Travelling with tottering steps the first short stage: 
    The second stage is one mere desert dust 
    Where Death sits veiled amid creation’s rust:— 
Unveil thy face, O Death who art not Death.

27.

I have dreamed of Death:–what will it be to die 
  Not in a dream, but in the literal truth 
  With all Death’s adjuncts ghastly and uncouth, 
The pang that is the last and the last sigh? 
Too dulled, it may be, for a last good-bye, 
  Too comfortless for any one to soothe, 
  A helpless charmless spectacle of ruth 
Through long last hours, so long while yet they fly. 
So long to those who hopeless in their fear 
  Watch the slow breath and look for what they dread: 
While I supine, with ears that cease to hear, 
    With eyes that glaze, with heart-pulse running down, 
  (Alas! no saint rejoicing on her bed), 
    May miss the goal at last, may miss a crown.

28.

In life our absent friend is far away: 
  But death may bring our friend exceeding near, 
  Show him familiar faces long so dear 
And lead him back in reach of words we say. 
He only cannot utter yea or nay 
  In any voice accustomed to our ear; 
  He only cannot make his face appear 
And turn the sun back on our shadowed day. 
The dead may be around us, dear and dead; 
  The unforgotten dearest dead may be 
    Watching us, with unslumbering eyes and heart, 
Brimful of words which cannot yet be said, 
    Brimful of knowledge they may not impart, 
Brimful of love for you and love for me.



Christina Rossetti 

Lord God, whose strength is sufficient for all who lay hold on it, grant us in your mercy to comfort our hearts and be strong. Humility, temperance, purity, largeheartedness, sympathy, zeal – grant us these evidences of faith, servants of hope, fruits of love; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our strength, our righteousness, and our hope of glory. Amen.

(Christina Rossetti, quoted in Fox, A Chain of Prayer, p.161)


O God, whom heaven cannot hold, you inspired Christina Rossetti to express the mystery of the Incarnation through her poems: Help us to follow her example in giving our hearts to Christ, who is love; and who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

A Prayer to the Holy Spirit

By Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
O God the Holy Ghost
Who art light unto thine elect
Evermore enlighten us.
Thou who art fire of love
Evermore enkindle us.
Thou who art Lord and Giver of Life,
Evermore live in us.
Thou who bestowest sevenfold grace,
Evermore replenish us.
As the wind is thy symbol,
So forward our goings.
As the dove, so launch us heavenwards.
As water, so purify our spirits.
As a cloud, so abate our temptations.
As dew, so revive our languor.
As fire, so purge our dross

Prayer of Hope
O Lord, in Whom is our hope, remove far from us, we pray Thee, empty hopes and presumptuous confidence. Make our hearts so right with Thy most holy and loving heart, that hoping in Thee we may do good; until that day when faith and hope shall be abolished by sight and possession, and love shall be all in all.- Christina G. Rossetti, 1830-1895
CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD
FLOWERS preach to us if we will hear:-- 
The rose saith in the dewy morn: 
I am most fair; 
Yet all my loveliness is born 
Upon a thorn. 
The poppy saith amid the corn: 
Let but my scarlet head appear 
And I am held in scorn; 
Yet juice of subtle virtue lies 
Within my cup of curious dyes. 
The lilies say: Behold how we 
Preach without words of purity. 
The violets whisper from the shade 
Which their own leaves have made: 
Men scent our fragrance on the air, 
Yet take no heed 
Of humble lessons we would read. 
But not alone the fairest flowers: 
The merest grass 
Along the roadside where we pass, 
Lichen and moss and sturdy weed, 
Tell of His love who sends the dew, 
The rain and sunshine too, 
To nourish one small seed.

Christina Rossetti
From 'Goblin Market and Other Poems' (1862).

Today's lesson from the Good Book Club

Acts 12:20-25

The Death of Herod

 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. The people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!’And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

 But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents. Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark. 



Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe we pray for peace in this troubled world that you made out of and in love. 

Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe , we pray that wars and violence may cease and love, goodness, and unity may take their place among all of your children our brothers and sisters.

Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe, we pray for all the least of these from all the four corners of this world that we may lovingly respond and come to their aid. We pray for safe shelter, clean water, nourishing food for their bodies, minds, and spirits, and clothing and shoes to protect them from harm  and the affects of climate change. 

Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe, we pray for all who are mourning losses of any kind that their hearts will be comforted and that we may with you lovingly respond with deep and abiding love and compassion.

Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe, we pray for ourselves and those who have come to us seeking and requesting prayers, especially______________________

Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe, we pray for  those who are dying and those who have died today.

Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe, we pray for all those who are preparing for worship and are in this three day worship cycle as they come to you and spend time in Holy Sabbath Rest of body, mind, and spirit.

Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe, we pray for all of our most vulnerable family members remembering the elderly, all races, creeds, the bullied,  memory challenged and mentally ill, abused women and children, refugees, immigrants,  children, the disabled, the LGBTQ community, and all of our animal family members who face extinction and being endangered species.  God may we remember that these may be us from time to time and that we need to make these faces, persons, and living things come alive and reside in our hearts and heart- homes as an awareness of how far we must go to become truly united in love and see You in them. 


Healing and life giving God and creator of the universe, we lift up these our prayers in the Name of Jesus your son this night and always. Amen. 

God help us to unplug and find ourselves listening for what you have to tell us in your still small voice.

God we pray that we may seek times of silence and rest without having to have noise  to comfort and distract us.

God we pray for simpler times when we knew how to be silent and meditative.

God we pray for all of our family members who lack food, clothing, shelter, and proper medical care.


God we pray for peace in this your fragile and broken world that love and peace may prevail and that  we may become peacemakers and Children of God.

God we pray for all who are traveling this weekend and especially all of our family members who walk and do not have reliable transportation.

God we give thanks to day for_______________________

God we pray for ourselves and on behalf of others for____________________________

God we lift up these our prayers to you in the Name of Jesus your only son. Amen.

A Song of Faith
1 Peter 1:3-4,18-21
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, *
by divine mercy we have a new birth into a living hope;
Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, *
we have an inheritance that is imperishable in heaven.
The ransom that was paid to free us *
was not paid in silver or gold,
But in the precious blood of Christ, *
the Lamb without spot or stain.
God raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory *
so that we might have faith and hope in God.

The settings of the Lord's Prayer from A New Zealand Prayer Book.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.    Amen.
or the alternative form.
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.

Let us pray in the words attributed to St. Francis and Teresa of Avila.
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.

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)
Christ Has No Body

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through 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 on earth but yours.”  Teresa of Avila
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)



God’s Blessing be with you,
Christ’s peace be with you,
the Spirit’s outpouring be with you,
now and always. Amen.
(source: Celtic)

The Song of Simeon Nunc dimittis
Luke 2:29-32
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.



May the blessing of the God of Abraham and Sarah, and of Jesus
Christ born of our sister Mary, and of the Holy Spirit, who broods
over the world as a mother over her children, be upon you and
remain with you always. Amen.


+++++++++++++++

Good Night Dear Ones! Don't forget to place your worries, anxieties, fears, in the Worry/Sabbath Box and leave them there. Our theme this weekend is perseverence in the face of stress. What does that mean? Stay tuned until tomorrow.   I love you and Give God Thanks for you this night and always!

With love to the brim and overflowing,

Sara

Resources
Satucket Lectionary Page
Oremus Bible Browser
Enriching Our Worship 1 (1997)
Quotes, prayers, poems, Christina Rossetti
Online Book of Common Prayer
A New Zealand Prayer Book
Walk With Me On Our Journey





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