Gracious and merciful God, you call us from the complacency of our warm kitchens, noisy classrooms, comfortable homes and busy offices to the wilderness of radical obedience.
You invite us to earnestly review our spiritual lives, especially our relationship with you. As we enter this season of sober reflection and quiet contemplation, grant us, we pray:
- Rigorous soul searching — without despair,
- Genuine humility — without self-disgust,
- Honest self-appraisal — without self-hatred,
- Personal scrutiny — without self-loathing,
- Contemplative solitude — without social isolation, and
- Quiet reflection — without turning aside from intimacy.
Do not, we pray, tempt us beyond our limits. Let the challenges of radical obedience bring us close to you as we rediscover our utter dependence on your grace and mercy.
And, most of all, Holy God, bestow on us the simple joy and healing power of authentic surrender.
In the name of him who turned away from fame and fortune to save us all. Amen.
2 comments:
Nice.
AJ
I like that...thank you.
Yesterday as i was in my home town, I saw people walking around with crosses of ashes on their foreheads.
I believe the ash is produced from the burning of the left-over palm from Palm Sunday
JMS
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