March 5, 2012

    I am adding a new feature to the blog, Light A Candle which can always be accessed from the "A Few Good Sites" links on the right side of the page. You will be lighting candles as prayer for who or what you want. The directions are easy to follow and the candle will be lit for 48 hours.
   For a few weeks the link will also be posted here. Just click on the text below the candle. On the site click on an unlit candle to start. The candles will be lit under the group heading which are the letters of the name of this blog. We will also be able to see each others prayers and comments. The picture is not mine.

Light A Candle

   In my meditations today I recalled the verse from Psalm 142 and the impact it has had on quieting my prayer over the years allowing me to be present to the stillness that seems to invite the Spirit to join me. If it moves you please spend a few minutes with the verse and the image  -

                                          "Let my prayer rise like incense before You,
                                                              my uplifted hands
                                                             an evening offering."

   Here is a link to a 16th. century composition for soloist and 3 voice choir singing the second verse of Psalm 141. It is sung by members of the Male Choir - Drevneruski Rospev, a  group of professional singers who recorded this in pre-democratic Russia. This recording has never been available in the U.S. It was given to me quite a few years ago by a friend who knew of my interest in Russian orthodox liturgical music. 
   You might listen to it while pondering the Psalm and the photo. Click on the link -


                                      http://www.box.com/s/iunnzs8681f5sffj9tg0

        One of the great prayers of the service of The Mass in the Catholic Church has been the Kyrie Eleison, translated as "Lord, have mercy." Or, Lord, be gracious - or, Lord, be generous. It has been in use for the entire length of Christian history, recited or sung in its original language which is Greek. It is rare to find a recording of the Mass by any of the great classical composers that doesn't include the Kyrie. Such is its importance in liturgy over the centuries.
      Here is the Kyrie as is has always been used followed by a different version from the Poet
R.S. Thomas. As a poet Thomas lived a bleak spiritual life always wondering where God has gone and why isn't God more present to him. None the less it is a most appropriate poem for where the world is generally today. Post poem I have included a link to a version of the Kyrie which is sung, as am example  of Gregorian chant.

          Lord, have mercy. ------ Kyrie, eleison. 

          Lord, have mercy. ------ Kyrie, eleison. 

         Christ, have mercy. ---- Christe, eleison. 

         Christ, have mercy. ---- Christe, eleison. 

         Lord, have mercy. ------ Kyrie, eleison. 

         Lord, have mercy. ------ Kyrie, eleison. 

                              ----------------------------------

            Kyrie,    by R.S. Thomas


              Because we cannot be clever and honest       
              and are inventors of things more intricate
              than the snowflake - Lord have mercy.


             Because we are full of pride
              in our humility, and because we believe
              in our disbelief - Lord have mercy.


             Because we will protect ourselves
             from ourselves to the point
             of destroying ourselves  - Lord have mercy.


             And because on the slope to perfection,
             when we ought to be half-way up,
             we are half-way down - Lord have mercy.     


                                      -----------------------------------------


            The Kyrie by the Capella Gregoriana:
                             http://www.box.com/s/jeevonice6zr65cuntyj

                              -------------------------------------------------

    Like incense, our growth, the living essence of who we truly are, also rises to meet our Creator as we nurture and feed the things of the heart. We are always rising to meet God whether our journey is outward, or inward. This is the Way Of Life that the Spirit is calling us to - the prophetic voice deep within that speaks for God through intuition - the felt sense of what is our authentic being.

Let our life rise like incense to God's Hands

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   Finally a poem for pondering:

                            - God Never Stops Arriving -

"I was a hidden treasure,

 and I wanted to be known – " *

"I came to you as Jesus,

 so I could touch you and be touched."

"I came to you as Adam and Eve,

 so I could share myself with you."

"I came to you as Moses,

 so I could free you from bondage."

"I came to you as Sarah,

 to give hope to your empty heart womb."

"I came to you as Job,

 to show you the way through your pain."

"I came to you as Mary,

 so you could know surrender."

"I came to you as the Magdalene,

 so you would know love without conditions."

"I came to you as the Baptist,

 so you could proclaim my coming."

"I come to you now, because I love you.

 Now, my beloved, now – will you come to me?"

                                                          Bill Lagerstrom 2008

* Hallaj, circa 910.

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More finally, the view from the window I wake to every morning -

   Peace,  Bill Lagerstrom