Cremation Prayer
Goddess of fire,
sun's fire, lightening,
flame on the hearth, fire that cleasnses and destroys,
fire that purifies,
you have taken our beloved one (name).
(She/he) has become flame and ash.
From (her/his) spirit
a pure flame arises.
We warm our hands
at the hearthfire
of memory and love.
from The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk
To Find Peace, One Must Go Through A Lot Of Noise
Because you are human, you will get tired, sloppy, impatient, crabby, giddy, greedy, excited and scared.
You will make mistakes.
You will not always care deeply about every person in your life.
You will not always have power to make the lame walk, or blind see.
Life and death are not under your control.
This is not failure. It is just being human.
The world lives and breathes, and we can draw its spirit into us.
Think rolling waves, warm sun, wet grass, fresh earth, crowded elevator, busy streets, birds singing. Get into all the sensations of life today. You don't need a lengthy meditation to connect to Nature-just draw it in.
from Healing Cards by Caroline Myss and Peter Occhiogrosso
Lord Jesus,
have mercy on all who have died.
Bring them, especially those we remember today,
into the fullness of your joy
and let them live with you in heaven.
Lord Jesus, hear our prayer,
for you are our savior and our Lord
for ever and ever.
Amen
(prayer from Service of Remembrance, November 2011, St. Matthew's, Limerick, Maine)
Our Creator would never have made such lovely days and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
From Mother Teresa:
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self- centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of having selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do it anywyay.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It never was between you and them . . . anyway.
Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdome to know the difference.
Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr
Listen to your life. I discovered that if you keep your eye peeled to it and your ears open, if you really pay attention to it, even such a limited and limiting life as the one I was living on Rupert Mountain opened up to extraordinary vistas. Taking your children to school and kissing your wife goodbye. Eating lunch with a friend. Trying to do a decent day's work. Hearing the rain patter against the window. There is no event so commonplace but that God is present in it, always hidden, always leaving you to recognize him or not to recognize him, but all the more fascinatingly because of that, all the more compellingly and hauntingly...If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything I was trying to say both as a novelist and as a preacher, it would be something like this: Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness; touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis, all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. Frederick Buechner, from Listening to Your Life
St. Theresa's Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
Rite to Honor the Dead (from The Grandmother of Time by Zsuzanna E. Budapest)
This meditation is the oldest form of worship. I believe the human race invented religion because of the awe death causes in us, the emptiness we feel when loved ones depart and we wonder where they have gone. If they send us a vision, if they return in a dream, we know they haven't gone away, they have just passed over to the other side. In October, this other world comes very close to the world of the living.
Create an alter for your ancestors by decorating a table with a white cloth, flowers, and a small bowl of water. Sprinkle some herbs on your candles. Put pictures of your departed relatives in the middle. Light your white or yellow devotional candles in front of them. Burn a little incense for the ghosts-one of the oldest of customs. Put out some food, such as red fruit or hard candies. Use your won words to speak as if you were talking to your own mother, father, aunt or child saying something like this:
Dear [name], Hello! this is your [relative-daughter, sister, whatever] talking. Happy Halloween! I have set out food for you to eat and water for you to drink. I honor you, my ancestor, because what you were is who I am today, and I am all that you could give me. I thank you for my life and ask you for more protection on the street, in my home, and within myself, so that I may reject negative ideas and will not internalize oppression. Rest in the holy beauty that is the Goddess; rejoice in your nearness to the source of all life, Extend your powers like wings over the family you have left behind,and we shall remember you with reverence on this night every year.
If your parents or relatives are buried where you can go visit them, go to the cemetery as well. Make sure all your loved one's graves are well tended, and pay your dues to the cemetery caretakers. Do this on Halloween for sure , or November 1, the feast of the dead.
Guidance (source unknown)
I would like to share some thoughts on the word "guidance".
When I meditated on the word guidance, I kept seeing dance at the end of the word. I remember reading that God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't feel right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues; perhaps with a nudge to the back, or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one, moving beautifully. To dance, takes surrender, willingness and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
When my eyes drew back to the word guidance, I saw "G" and thought of God, followed by "u" and "i"-dance- with God u and i dance. This statement is what guidance means to me. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you and your family on this day and everyday. May you abide in Him as He abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting Him to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.
This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. If God has done anything for you in your life share this message with someone else, for prayer is one of the best gifts we can receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards, so lets continue to pray for one another.
I hope you dance!
Traditional Gaelic Blessing
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flwoing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars
pour their healing light on you
Deep peace to you
Prayer for Thin Places
O God, when work and responsibility wrap around my life like a woolen cloak, and wonder is closed off from my life, throw aside my protection. Guide me back to those places where my soul lies open to the cool breath of mystery from your Spirit. I ask this for the sake of Your great love. Amen. (Sylvia Maddox, 2004)
Fruit-Gathering
Let me not pray to be sheltered from
dangers but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved but hope for the patience to win my freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my success alone; but let me find the grasp
of your hand in my failure.
Rabindranath Tagore
Life is short...
break the rules
forgive quickly
kiss slowly
love truly
laugh uncontrollably
and never regret anything that made you smile.
Unkown
