An Evening giving thanks for the lives of C.S. Lewis and John F. Kennedy!

"Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny." ~ C. S. Lewis

"Television should be our Lyceum, our Chautauqua, our Minsky's and our Camelot." ~ E. B. White

"There will be great presidents again but there will never be another Camelot." ~ Jackie Kennedy


Good Evening Family!

Happy Friday! Today we remember and celebrate the lives of C.S. Lewis and John F. Kennedy who brought much into our lives. C.S. Lewis brought us the wonderful Chronicles of Narnia and many extraordinary theological tomes and President John F. Kennedy was a prophet who died all too soon and left us with a legacy many likened to Camelot. These men gave us wonderful insights into life and living and how to engage in the work of being human. Tonight we ponder their words of wisdom and give thanks for their legacies. 

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." ~ C. S. Lewis

"One person can make a difference, and everyone should try." ~ John F. Kennedy


"Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties." ~ C. S. Lewis

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." ~ John F. Kennedy


"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." ~ C. S. Lewis

"This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor." ~ John F. Kennedy


"Don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see HIM." ~ C. S. 
Lewis

"We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future." ~ John F. Kennedy


"Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny." ~ C. S. Lewis

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." ~ John F. Kennedy


"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." ~ C. S. Lewis

"There can be no progress if people have no faith in tomorrow." ~ John F. Kennedy

"God wants a child's heart and a grownup's head." ~ C. S. Lewis

"Never let your fears hold you back from pursuing your hopes." ~ John F. Kennedy

"Mercy detached from justice grows unmerciful." ~ C. S. Lewis

"The state is the servant of the citizen, and not his master." ~ John F. Kennedy

"I want God, not my idea of God." ~ C. S. Lewis

"Lets talk to one another instead of about one another." ~ John F. Kennedy


"Christ, who said to the disciples, 'You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends, 'You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.'" ~ C. S. Lewis

"The best road to progress is freedom's road." ~ John F. Kennedy

"The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." ~ John F. Kennedy

"It is in the American tradition to stand up for one's rights--even if the new way to stand up for one's rights is to sit down." ~ John F. Kennedy

"We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others." ~ John F. Kennedy

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Come let us worship.


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

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

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

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.

Psalm 134 Ecce nunc

Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, *
you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.
Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; *
the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

Psalm 141:1-3,8ab Domine, clamavi

O LORD, I call to you; come to me quickly; *
hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, *
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD,
and guard the door of my lips; *
let not my heart incline to any evil thing.
My eyes are turned to you, Lord GOD; *
in you I take refuge.

Here are 10 C.S. Lewis Quotes on Prayer

“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” 

“It is much easier to pray for a bore than to go visit him.” 

“For most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait.” 

“We must lay before him what is in us; not what ought to be in us.” 

“A concentrated mind and a sitting body make for better prayer than a kneeling body and a mind half asleep.”

“For prayer is request. The essence of request, as distinct from compulsion, is that it may or may not be granted.”  

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” 

“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.” 

“You can't know, you can only believe—or not.”

It is the God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:6-10

Let us light our candles and walk in the light and enter silently into the Gratitude Zone and Give Thanks To God. Take time to continue or begin a gratitude journal and write down what you are grateful for during this retreat time. 

Hymn


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.




Psalm 139:1-9

139 Domine, probasti

1 Lord, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.

3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

4 You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

6 Where can I go then from your Spirit? *
where can I flee from your presence?

7 If I climb up to heaven, you are there; *
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.

8 If I take the wings of the morning *
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

9 Even there your hand will lead me *
and your right hand hold me fast.

1 Peter 1:3-9

A Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice,* even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Although you have not seen* him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

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.

John 16:7-15

7Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate* will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about* sin and righteousness and judgement: 9about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

12 ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

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.

O God of searing truth and surpassing beauty, we give you thanks for Clive Staples Lewis whose sanctified imagination lights fires of faith in young and old alike; Surprise us also with your joy and draw us into that new and abundant life which is ours in Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Gracious God we come to you this night with many things on our hearts and minds. Lift our spirits as we reflect upon our celebration of Thanksgiving and the end of the Church Year looking forward into the season of Advent. May we see each of these as times of joyful expectation.

Gracious God we pray for our family throughout the world and that peace may prevail everywhere and in our own country.

Gracious God  we pray for  understanding between all peoples and that we begin to not be afraid of race, creed, color, gender, or sexual orientation.

Gracious God we offer our prayers and thanksgivings to you  remembering especially____________

Gracious God we pray for the least of these that they may find safe shelter, warm meals, and protective clothing. We pray that we may see you in them as we serve and love them without fear and judgement.

Gracious God we pray for all who travel and that the weather will be in their favor.

Gracious God may we always be thankful and have an attitude of gratitude.

We pray these prayers and offer them in the Name of your Only Son who taught us the true meaning of thanksgiving by instituting the Holy Eucharist which means Holy Thanksgiving. 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.

God you have reminded us that we are precious, help us to convey this to all the voiceless ones.
May we lift up our voices with strength and loving compassion for those who cannot speak.

God you have reminded us that we are to be a forever and eternal family and as we are this we need to lovingly respond to the need of our family members. 
May we lift up our voices with strength and loving compassion for those who cannot speak.

God you teach us many things day by day. May we remember that we are each other's keeper.
May we lift up our voices with strength and loving compassion for those who cannot speak.

God you love us unconditionally through and through. May we find the way to do this and model your example. May we have courage to speak the words I love you with warm hearts and light in our eyes.
May we lift up our voices with strength and loving compassion for those who cannot speak. 

God we pray for all who are ill and seeking healing. We pray and give thanks for healing that has already taken place. May we speak up for our family members who may not know how to advocate for themselves.
May we lift up our voices with strength and loving compassion for those who cannot speak.

God we pray for ourselves and on behalf of others remembering especially_____________
May we lift up our voices with strength and loving compassion for those who cannot speak.

Jesus we come to you with our voices united in prayer for peace and lift up these our petitions and prayers in your Name. Amen.

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

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.


Now let us  begin relaxing our bodies by unwinding, breathing, doing some relaxation exercises that will make you feel de-stressed.

After this let us listen to this Ravi Shankar Chants of India  or this Relaxation: Relaxing Nature Sounds and Tibetan Chakra Meditation Music for Relaxation Meditation

As we listen we begin to prepare to pray and give thanks for the days leading up to our weekend of  rest, relaxation, and renewal.

Come Holy Spirit, calm our hearts, minds, and physical selves that  we may feel your  enlivening and empowering presence.

Gracious Spirit, we pray for peace in this troubled and broken world of ours  and in ourselves.

Gracious Spirit, as we approach God's day of Sabbath may we prepare ourselves in heart and mind to meet Jesus in the breaking of the bread, the cup of salvation, and by drinking from the well of the Water of life that never runs dry.

Gracious Spirit, help us to give ourselves permission to take rest, do self-care, and honor God by entering into that weekly Sabbath Rest.

Gracious Spirit, give us courage to serve the least of these and become their loving and compassionate brothers and sisters.

Gracious Spirit, heal all those who are ill in body, mind, and spirit.

Gracious Spirit, we pray for the protection of those who travel .

Gracious Spirit, may we ever seek to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

Gracious Spirit, encircle all those who are dying and who have died.  Enfold you loving arms around the departed and give loving comfort to those who mourn. May we lovingly enfold them as well.

Gracious Spirit, as the night has fallen and we shall soon be at rest we pray with special intention for ourselves and especially our family members who have asked us to pray for their concerns especially___________________

We add any other prayers, celebrations, remembrances, and thanksgivings here. We pray these prayers in the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer or the alternative is said. 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

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.

Hymn

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

The blessing of God, the eternal goodwill of God, the shalom of God, the wildness and the warmth of God, be among us and between us, now and always.

Today's Celtic Rite of Compline from the Northumbria Community may be added!

Friday – The Boisil Compline
Boisil, Prior of Melrose Abbey, died in 661. Bede described him as a ‘priest of great virtue and prophetic spirit.’ Boisil, on his first meeting with Cuthbert, who was to be his pupil, exclaimed, ‘Behold, the servant of the Lord!’ – recognizing the call of God on the young man’s life.If this Compline is being used in a group setting the * notation indicates a change of reader; words in bold are said all together; words in bold italic are said by each person in turn; and + indicates where you might make the sign of the cross.



+ (silently)

* O Lord, You will keep us safe
and protect us forever.

I am placing my soul and my body
in Thy safe keeping this night, O God,
in Thy safe keeping, O Jesus Christ,
in Thy safe keeping, O Spirit of perfect truth.
The Three who would defend my cause
be keeping me this night from harm.

* I call on You, O God,
for You will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.

* Show the wonder of Your great love,
You who save by Your right hand
those who take refuge in You from their foes.

* Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Lighten my darkness, Lord.
Let the light of Your presence
dispel the shadows of night.

* Christ with me sleeping,
Christ with me waking,
Christ with me watching,
each day and each night.

* Save us, Lord, while we are awake,
guard us while we are asleep;
that, awake, we may watch with Christ,
and, asleep, may rest in His peace.

God with me protecting,
the Lord with me directing,
the Spirit with me strengthening
for ever and for evermore.

* In the name of the Father precious,
and of the Spirit of healing balm.
In the name of the Lord Jesus,
I lay me down to rest.

The peace of all peace
be mine this night
+ in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Today’s Meditation

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think that I am following Your will

does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please You

does in fact please You.

And I hope that I have that desire

in all that I am doing.

And I know that if I do this,

You will lead me by the right road

although I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust You always,

though I may seem to be lost

and in the shadow of death,

I will not fear, for You are ever with me,

and will never leave me

to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

++++

Good Night All! I love you and give God thanks for you this day and always! Let us lace up our shoes and put on an attitude of gratitude and fearlessly with Compassion, Acceptance, Love, and Mercy walk into and through the Gratitude Zone this weekend and always.

With love and a grateful heart,

Sara

Resources

Satucket Lectionary Page - C.S. Lewis

A to Z Quotes

Book of Common Prayer

Enriching our Worship

Quote sites for prayers

Northumbria Community

A New Zealand Prayer Book

Walk With Me On Our Journey

Contemplative Cottage -Celtic Advent Calendar 2019

The below are from the Northumbria Community

Celtic Advent: November 16th

This was the traditional beginning of monastic fasting and preparation for the feast of Christmas, reflecting Lent in lasting for forty days. We seek to prepare the way for the Lord to come right to the centre of our lives. Every valley and pot-hole should be filled in, every mountain and hill levelled and every obstacle removed. The mountains are the wrongs we do, and the pot-holes are the good things we fail to do.

It is said that the door to the stable where the Christ-child has been born is very low – and only those who kneel find access. Being ready for Christmas should mean that our thoughts are focused not just on letters, cards, food and drink, and presents, but on repentance, humility and interior ‘house-cleaning’. The more we prepare in this way, the less we will be overwhelmed by the commercialisation of Christmas.

Prepare a way for the Lord!

Show me, Lord Jesus, how I may best prepare to celebrate Your birth into this world. Show me those things I need to repent of, that I may find Your forgiveness. Show me how to avoid the greed and selfishness of this season and focus on what is truly essential. Amen

Tomorrow's Feast Day along with Thanksgiving:

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) November 22nd (Northumbria Community)

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, but preferred to be called ‘Jack’. His father was a solicitor and his mother, who died when Jack was a child, was a clergyman’s daughter. His time as a boy was spent with his brother, or more often reading alone in an attic full of books. As an academic at Oxford he taught English at Magdalen College. As he tells in his book ‘Surprised by Joy’, he recognised the existence of God in 1929 and came to belief in Jesus in 1931.

He was a brilliant Christian apologist. His radio broadcasts, now collected as ‘Mere Christianity’, made theology practical and accessible for ordinary people when much of the Church was awash with modernism and scepticism. His ‘Screwtape Letters’ – the writings of a fictional demon – alerted a whole generation to the stratagems of hell, the existence of which many Christians no longer retained the courage to believe in.

His science fiction trilogy and the seven ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ allow all who have been scared by the ‘watchful dragons’ of religion to experience awe, joy and wondering love in the presence of One who, in our world, is known by a different name. He was a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams and was profoundly influenced by the writings of George MacDonald.

As a middle-aged professor he married, and then fell in love with, Joy Davidman, an American divorcée with two young sons. Her death devastated and deepened him, prompting the poem ‘As the ruin falls’.

Instead of a prayer today, a meditation in C.S. Lewis’s own words, also found in C.D.P. Finan Readings June 6th. Let our prayer arise out of it:

Love’s as hard as nails. Love is nails: blunt, thick, hammered through the medial nerves of One who, having made us, knew the thing that He had done: seeing (with all that is) our cross, and His.

Tomorrow's Celtic Saint of the Day:

Columbanus (538-615) November 23rd

A tireless Irish missionary monk working in Europe, Columbanus established two main foundations, at Luxeuil and Bobbio. He was no stranger to hardship, persecution and controversy. He was also known for the strictness of the Rule of Life that he and his followers observed; this rule was widely adopted.

In his ‘Letter to a Young Disciple’ he gives advice, including: Be helpful when you are at the bottom of the ladder and be the lowest when you are in authority. Be guileless in friendship, astute in the face of deceit. Keep your options open when there is no problem, but dig in when you must choose. Be pleasant when things are unpleasant, and sorrowful when they are pleasant. Disagree where necessary, but be in agreement about truth. Be slow to anger, swift to learn, slow also to speak, as St James says, equally swift to hear. Be up and doing to make progress, slack to take revenge, careful in word, eager in work. Be gentle to the weak, firm to the stubborn, steadfast to the proud, humble to the lowly. Never be greedy, but always generous – if not in money, then in spirit. Be persistent in study, unshaken in turmoil, joyful in suffering. Be respectful to the worthy, merciful to the poor. Be mindful of favours, unmindful of wrongs. Be a lover of the ordinary man, and do not wish for riches. Obey your seniors, keep up with your juniors, equal your equals, emulate the perfect. Do not envy your betters, or grieve at those who surpass you, or censure those who fall behind, but agree with those who urge you on. Weep and rejoice at the same time – out of zeal and hope.

Teach me, my Lord, to be true to the calling I have from You, true to the Rule I have promised to follow, and true to all the people You give me to love and serve. So may I show Your goodness, truth and love in every part of my life. Amen.