Searching for a way to make prayer
more meaningful for the group of seniors with whom I pray, I “happened” upon AWED to HEAVEN ROOTED to EARTH a
book by Wa lter Brueggemann. It
challenged me. It also delighted me with
his use of unique phrases and wonderful words. It seemed to be the catalyst I
needed.
For Professor Brueggemann “Prayer
is an exercise in faith, obedience and praise that cannot be done apart from
God’s presence and guidance.” In the 41
years that he taught in seminaries he steadfastly began each class with
prayer.
AWED to HEAVEN ROOTED to EARTH is a collection of these
prayers. He offers these as “possible
resources for those who habitually utter public prayer.” He says that prayer
needs “to be figured in fresh ways and that that figuring is scripture.” It must be “well said.”
“I
believe that in an intensely secularized context the task of prayer is to
re-imagine our life in the presence of God and therefore offer direct address
to God—that playfully said invites interaction with the God who has pledged to
hear.”
My hope
is to read and re-read his ideas and put them into my preparation for prayer
with my group of seniors. As a retired
teacher myself, I admire his honesty as he prepares to retire, “Over that time
I have of course studied with a variegated assemblage of students. For some of them I have been a treasured
teacher, for others not at all. But all
of them, by choice or not, prayed with me, and some I have found to be more
mature in prayer than I.”
His use
of scripture certainly “figures” in the following prayer.
“Ours is a seduced world”
God of all truth, we
give thanks for your faithful utterance of reality.
In your truthfulness,
you have called the world “very good.”
In your truthfulness
you have promised,
“I have loved you
with an everlasting love.”
In your truthfulness,
you have assured,
“This is my beloved
Son.”
In your truthfulness,
you have voiced, “Fear not I am with you.”
In your truthfulness,
you have guaranteed that
“Nothing shall
separate us from your love in Jesus Christ.”
It is by your
truthfulness that we love.
And yet, we live in a
world phony down deep,
In which we
participate at a slant.
Ours is a seduced
world,
where we call evil
good and good evil,
where we put darkness
for light and light for darkness,
where we call bitter
sweet and sweet bitter (Isa.5:20),
where we call war
peace and peace war,
so that we rarely see
the truth of the matter.
Give us courage to
depart the pretend world of euphemism,
To call things by
their right name,
To use things for
their right use,
To love our neighbor
as you love us.
Overwhelm our fearful
need to distort,
that we may fall back
into your truth-telling about us,
that we may be
tellers of truth and practitioners of truth.
We pray in the name
of the One whom you have filled
with “grace and
truth.” Amen.
Sister Kathleen Ryan, OSB
How
does one exercise to strengthen positivity?
By savoring, 20-30 seconds at a time! Negative experiences stick
immediately (think Velcro) whereas we need to savor positive experiences for
them to work their way into the fibers of our memory. I’ve been engaging in interval training of
sorts for my soul by intentionally staying with these positive experiences when
they occur for 20-30 seconds. Here a few
of my moments:
