Prayer of Abandonment

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,  
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself
into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,  
for you are my Father.

~ Charles de Foucauld

Lord, you do give us what we need

And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours 

according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  

        To our God and Father be glory 

        for ever and ever. Amen. 

Philippians 4.19-20

You visit the earth and water it,

you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

you provide the people with grain,

for so you have prepared it. 

You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

and blessing its growth. 

You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 

The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

the hills gird themselves with joy, 

the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

the valleys deck themselves with grain,

they shout and sing together for joy.  

Psalm 65: 9-13

Make me know the way I should walk

I remember the days of old,
I think about all your deeds,
I meditate on the works of your hands
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
      Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
      for in you I put my trust.
      Teach me the way I should go,
      for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143.5,6,8

Let us not use the Mass to decorate political or secular events

[78.] It is not permissible to link the celebration of Mass to political or secular events, nor to situations that are not fully consistent with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, it is altogether to be avoided that the celebration of Mass should be carried out merely out of a desire for show, or in the manner of other ceremonies including profane ones, lest the Eucharist should be emptied of its authentic meaning.

~ Redemptionis Sacramentum

Give me wisdom, O Lord

O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,
who have made all things by your word,
and by your wisdom have formed humankind
to have dominion over the creatures you have made,
and rule the world in holiness and righteousness,
and pronounce judgement in uprightness of soul,
give me the wisdom that sits by your throne,
and do not reject me from among your servants.

For I am your servant, the son of your servant-girl,
a man who is weak and short-lived,
with little understanding of judgement and laws;
for even one who is perfect among human beings
will be regarded as nothing
without the wisdom that comes from you.

With you is wisdom, she who knows your works
and was present when you made the world;
she understands what is pleasing in your sight
and what is right according to your commandments.

Send her forth from the holy heavens,
and from the throne of your glory send her,
that she may labour at my side,
and that I may learn what is pleasing to you.

For she knows and understands all things,
and she will guide me wisely in my actions
and guard me with her glory.

Wisdom 9:1-6, 9-11

Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me.

“Jesus Christ, inner light,
    do not let my darkness speak to me,
      Jesus, Christ, inner light,
        enable me to welcome your love.”

~ Saint Augustine

"The vision still has its time."

First, remember that all of us have been called into the church to labor.  Yes, to labor.  To be saved is to be sent.

Secondly, we didn’t create the church.  Christ did.  We don’t give the church its mission.  Christ does.  The work of the church doesn’t necessarily align with our goals, which isn’t to say that those goals aren’t grand and worthy.  Some probably are; others, perhaps not.  Yet the vision we serve predates us; the vision summons us; we don’t adjudicate the vision; we are judged by it.

For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash one has no integrity;
but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.
(Habakkuk 2:2-4).

Sometimes a loss, or a weakness, of faith doesn’t lead people out of the church.  It leads them into an evangelical lethargy.  Lacking confidence and patience in God’s vision, they substitute their own.  They’re upset with church leaders, church teaching, church congregations.  All their talk is of future church, future bishops and priests, future congregations.  Our God is the God of Is.  The devil deals in what might be.

The church always stands in need of reform, because it is not the Kingdom of God.  It serves the Kingdom.  It attends the vision.  But we must always guard against impatience with the vision, or lack of confidence in it.  Then we’re tempted to replace the church, to which Christ has called us, with one, which we create, and which exists nowhere, save in our minds.  Saints reform the church by serving Christ in the church.  The weak in faith are often seduced into becoming pundits.

Here is one of those Gospel verses, which we don’t often quote.  It sticks a bit in the contemporary caw.

When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, “We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do” (Luke 17:10).

Surrender is scary, but it allows confident rest.  St.  John XXIII used to say to himself, at the end of each of his days as pope, “Lord.  It’s your church.  I’m going to bed.  ”

From "From Groceries to Gospel".  Terrance W. Klein
 (http://americamagazine.org/content/good-word/groceries-gospel)
 October 3, 2016.