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REKINDLING |
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This is a prayer service that was developed for
those who are engaged in caring for the sick and disabled. It was
originally crafted to be a group service which took place monthly from
December 2006 to December 2008. This version of the service is for private
devotion and as such is available at any time that is convenient for
those who wish to use it. ·
Light a candle (in a holder/container)
for yourself to help give you a sense of creating a place of solace
and comfort. ·
Have a second candle (and
holder/container) for later in the service, and a small glass (or
metal) dish about the size of a custard cup or ashtray. A glass of
water is a safety precaution. You will also need a piece of paper
(approximately 3”x 5”) and something to write with. ·
We found it to be useful to pray this
service against a background of Tibetan Bell music. The resonance of
the bells and singing bowls is relaxing and helps one to concentrate
on breathing and centering. The music we used most often was:
Seven Metals Singing Bowls of Tibet
by
Benjamin Iobst ASIN:
B00004THCW
·
Begin the music.
·
Take a moment to center yourself in this time and place.
·
Let the sound resonate through you.
·
Breathe deeply.
·
Acknowledge that it is good for you to take this time for
yourself.
OPENING INVOCATION
Spirit
of the Universe,
You
have taught us that
In
quietness and in confidence shall be our strength.
May
You keep me, I pray,
Conscious
of your presence,
Where
I can, indeed,
Take
time to
Be
still and know that You are God.
____________________________________________
O
GREAT SPIRIT
Help
me always
To speak the truth quietly,
To
listen with an open mind
When
others speak,
And
to remember the peace
That
may be found in silence.
____________________________________________
RELEASING YOUR FEARS, FRUSTRATIONS AND
WORRIES
·
Write
on the piece of paper a particular stress or burden from your
day/week.
·
Fold
the piece of paper in quarters and light it from the candle flame.
·
Drop
the burning paper into the bowl. It should burn itself out. If not,
use the
glass
of water you have standing by.
____________________________________________________________________
Spirit of the
Universe, I send my fears, my frustrations and my worries to You.
Help me to
understand that much of caregiving is acceptance.
Help me to
acknowledge and understand that much of my journey is beyond my
control.
Help me to
find my way through the endless minutiae of medications, medical
professionals,
treatments and their financial demands.
Help me to
treasure the small victories with ___________(the person(s) I care
for): a smile,
a good night’s sleep, a favorite meal, a memory or an hour
without pain.
As I burn
this slip of paper and its smoke ascends, help me to release my
burdens to You.
Help me to
gain strength from knowing (and believing) that I am not alone in my
caring.
Help me to
feel the power of the community of carers.
Help me to
feel Your endless care.
Amen.
____________________________________________________________________________
CANDLE OF HOPE
Now light the second candle from the first. As the first
candle signifies the Spirit of the Divine, the light from the second
candle represents your hopes and your needs.
Light of the
Universe,
As you are
light to me, let me be a light to others
Help me to
remember Your Light
even in the darkness of stress and fatigue.
Keep me
mindful that Your Light
never falters and never goes out.
Help me to
continue to draw sustenance
from Your light in the world.
So Let It Be.
____________________________________________________________________________
Hold on to
what is good,
Even if
it’s a handful of earth.
Hold on to
what you believe,
Even if
it’s a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
Even if
it’s a long way from here.
Hold on to
your life,
Even if
it’s easier to let go.
Hold on to my
hand,
Even if
someday I’ll be gone away from you.
A Pueblo
Indian Prayer
___________________________________________
Oh, Great
Spirit
whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose
breath gives life to all the world,
hear me for I am small and weak,
I need your
strength and wisdom.
Let me walk
in beauty and make my eyes ever behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands
respect the things you have made
my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise
so that I may understand the things
You have taught Your people.
Let me learn
the lessons You have
hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek
strength not to be greater than my brothers or
my sisters, but to fight my greatest enemy – myself.
Make me
always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So that when
life fades, as the fading sunset,
my Spirit may come to you without shame.
(adapted from a translation by Lakota Sioux Chief
Yellow Lark in 1887)
_________________________________________________________________
PRAYERS FOR OUR RECENTLY DEPARTED AND
OURSELVES
WE GIVE THEM
back to you, O God, who gave them to us.
Yet as you do
not lose them in giving, so we have not lost them by their return
Nor as the
world gives do you give, O Lover of souls.
What you gave
you do not take away; for what is ours is ours always, if we are
Yours.
And life is
eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only an horizon and an
horizon
is nothing save the limit of our sight.
Lift us,
Sustaining Spirit, that we may see farther.
Cleanse our
eyes that we may see more clearly.
Draw us
closer to yourself that we may know ourselves nearer to them.
And while you
are preparing a place for us, prepare us for that happy place, that
where
they are and you are, we too may come to be.
Amen.
(adapted from: http://sadly-missed.com/resources/bereavement_prayer.php)
______________________________________________________________________________________
Death is
nothing at all.
I have only
slipped away into the next room.
I am I, and
you are you.
Whatever we
were to each other that we still are.
Call me by my
old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no
difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we
always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile,
think of me, pray for me.
Let my name
be ever the household word that it always was, let it be spoken
without effect,
without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means
all it ever meant.
It is the
same as it ever was; there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I
be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting
for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well.
So be it.
(Canon Henry Scott Holland of St. Paul’s Cathedral)
________________________________________________________________________________________
CLOSING PRAYER – REKINDLING THE FLAME
I come to You
the Caregiver of all,
Grateful that
you have given me the opportunity
To share Your
love and care with others.
REKINDLE IN
ME MY COMPASSION, ETERNAL CAREGIVER
REKINDLE IN
ME YOUR FLAME.
I come to You
weary and tired,
Sometimes
unnerved by the tasks at hand.
Give me the
strength and stamina to do what is needed.
REKINDLE IN
ME MY PERSEVERANCE, ETERNAL CAREGIVER
REKINDLE IN
ME YOUR FLAME.
I pray to You
who listens to us all,
Teach me the
difference between hearing and listening.
Grant that I
may truly, listen even when its difficult.
REKINDLE IN
ME MY PATIENCE, ETERNAL CAREGIVER
REKINDLE IN
ME YOUR FLAME.
I come to you
bone-weary,
Overcome by
stress and fatigue
Teach me the
necessity of self-care.
REKINDLE IN
ME MY EQUILIBRIUM, ETERNAL CAREGIVER
REKINDLE IN
ME YOUR FLAME.
I come to you
in isolation,
Often feeling
inadequate and overwhelmed.
Help me to
accept the support offered by others.
REKINDLE IN
ME MY FAITH, ETERNAL CAREGIVER
REKINDLE IN
ME YOUR FLAME.
I come to you
in frustration
Feeling
powerless against disease and pain.
Help me to
accept and forgive my own limitations.
REKINDLE IN
ME MY HUMILITY, ETERNAL CAREGIVER
REKINDLE IN
ME YOUR FLAME.
Help me to
realize that in You I am never alone.
Remind me
that in community You provide us with sustenance.
Remind me
that in order to be caregivers, I need to care for myself.
Keep me
mindful of the gifts you have given to me.
Grant that my
caring may always be a reflection of the Flame of YOUR Love.
REKINDLE IN
ME YOUR FLAME.
So Let it Be.
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