Welcome to Tuesday, when we pause to say wow, to praise.
Breath Meditation
Relax with a few deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Let your breathing return to normal and focus your attention on the feeling of the air entering and leaving your body. As you notice your mind wandering, return your focus to the breath.
The Sarum Prayer
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 New Song
Words of praise on the lips of the oppressed and those who stand with them are tied to the longing of God for justice. Especially what Scripture calls the “new song” referred to many times in the Psalms, in the prophets, and in the Revelation (or Apocalypse, which means unveiling). The new song is an appeal to God to rise up on their behalf. It is a declaration of the certain defeat of their oppressors. This is the song, to use the image of Psalm 23, that we sing at the table set before us in the presence of our foes.
Hear the call to the new song in Isaiah 42: 10–16
Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops. Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands. The LORD will march out like a champion [and say] “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant. I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools. I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Prayer for Wisdom & Justice
O Divine Wisdom, who dwells within the holy of holies, and whose light shines through all things created, fill our hearts, O blessed One, with the hope of a blessed future. Make all things new, return wrong to right, and cause us to walk in the ways of justice without which there can be no peace. Amen.
Prayer for Loved Ones
This is a prayer of love and remembrance for our loved ones. Over the next minute simply name your loved ones, calling each to mind in love, lifting each in the embrace of remembered love, to the God who is the source of all being.
Pause for Gratitude
Identify three things, big or small, ordinary or extraordinary, that you could be thankful for. Pause for bit to consider them.
Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Benediction
So have a blessed day, go in peace, wash your hands, love your neighbor: you are not alone.