Posts
I wrote this for our service a few weeks ago, and several of you have asked for a copy. I hope it brings you peace.
God, in the stillness of this moment, I allow myself to feel your healing presence.
I allow myself to feel your holy energy surrounding me like a familiar blanket, soft, warm, and safe.
In this moment, I release my fear, my worry, my anger, and any negative emotion I may be feeling.
Enfolded in your power, I relax into your goodness, your light, and I rest here for as long as I need.
I open my heart to your renewing love.
I open my heart to forgiveness.
I open my heart to receive love from others.
And in this moment, I see myself as you see me...a beautiful and perfect child of the Universe.
My life is your gift to me. The way I choose to live it is my gift to you.
As I make this journey through Lent, show me a clear path to you.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Reverend Teresa Angle-Young (Feb. 2012)
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Finding Hope
Lent is always a very interesting time for me, a time to assess and reassess, to look deeply into my heart and soul and ask the hard questions, the probing questions, about my life, about my witness, and about my spirit.
When Jesus entered the desert for 40 days, he struggled. He wrestled with his demons. He was tempted by his frailties. He had to decide if he would take what the world offered, or live into a new reality, a new hope. He chose hope. And he chose it knowing that it might just get him killed, but he took that risk in order to show us a better way, a higher path, and in doing so, he revealed the heart of God.
Sometimes decisions are difficult, sometimes life is challenging and unfair, and we all have to struggle with our own humanity, face our own temptations and demons, and make the decision to live bravely in the face of those things, or to succumb to the easy path.
As we each take that inventory of our lives, as we try to live into the example of Jesus, my prayer for myself and for each of you is that we look past the temptation, past the fear, and past the loneliness in our lives, to find hope, that we face challenges with courage and resolve, and most of all, that like Jesus, we remember who we are, beloved children of God, made in God's image, and carrying the light of God's spirit inside of us.
May your light shine in the wilderness.
Blessings for a holy Lent,
Teresa
When Jesus entered the desert for 40 days, he struggled. He wrestled with his demons. He was tempted by his frailties. He had to decide if he would take what the world offered, or live into a new reality, a new hope. He chose hope. And he chose it knowing that it might just get him killed, but he took that risk in order to show us a better way, a higher path, and in doing so, he revealed the heart of God.
Sometimes decisions are difficult, sometimes life is challenging and unfair, and we all have to struggle with our own humanity, face our own temptations and demons, and make the decision to live bravely in the face of those things, or to succumb to the easy path.
As we each take that inventory of our lives, as we try to live into the example of Jesus, my prayer for myself and for each of you is that we look past the temptation, past the fear, and past the loneliness in our lives, to find hope, that we face challenges with courage and resolve, and most of all, that like Jesus, we remember who we are, beloved children of God, made in God's image, and carrying the light of God's spirit inside of us.
May your light shine in the wilderness.
Blessings for a holy Lent,
Teresa
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Entering the Wilderness
When we travel, we all want things to go smoothly, to have fun, and to stay safe. But not all journeys are like that. Such is the journey through Lent, which we embark upon today.
Today is Ash Wednesday, a day when we are reminded that life is fleeting, and often too short, and that we waste a lot of it. It is a day when we mark the beginning of a journey, one that takes us inside ourselves, where we take that fearless moral inventory, face our demons, are confronted with temptation, and ultimately, where we face our greatest questions about faith and God.
It is not an easy journey. It is dangerous, and scary, to stare into the reality of our mortality, at the reality of who we really are and how we are spending the life we have been given, and then to look into the face of God and see how we measure up to being the person that God created us to be, in God's own image, with God's own spirit residing in us.
I cannot pray for any of us to have an easy journey. Rather, I pray for us to have a brave one, to be fearless and honest and willing.
Wishing you a holy Lent,
Teresa
Today is Ash Wednesday, a day when we are reminded that life is fleeting, and often too short, and that we waste a lot of it. It is a day when we mark the beginning of a journey, one that takes us inside ourselves, where we take that fearless moral inventory, face our demons, are confronted with temptation, and ultimately, where we face our greatest questions about faith and God.
It is not an easy journey. It is dangerous, and scary, to stare into the reality of our mortality, at the reality of who we really are and how we are spending the life we have been given, and then to look into the face of God and see how we measure up to being the person that God created us to be, in God's own image, with God's own spirit residing in us.
I cannot pray for any of us to have an easy journey. Rather, I pray for us to have a brave one, to be fearless and honest and willing.
Wishing you a holy Lent,
Teresa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)