Prayers and Thoughts for Lent

Mizsissy

This year, almost a year to day after my first chemo, I wanted to make Lent a special quiet time of self-renewal.  I thought it might be nice to share this idea with other Christian women here who are also recovering from treatment or learning to live with treatment.  Many of us have found that life is very different from when we were first diagnosed, and we need to find ourselves.  We could make this a time of quiet introspection, cleansing and spiritual renewal.

I have a strong belief that physical and spiritual health are closely intertwined and that you cannot neglect the one without hurting the other, so I think having a period of spiritual renewal is essential to recovering from treatment.

I am planning on going without a few of my favorite things (cocktail hour and desserts) this Lent and try to live a little more quietly for a while..  

I would love to share thoughts and ideas on this subject with others who might have a similar goal. 

Mizsissy 

Mizsissy

My first thought is to share with you a prayer that seems particularly appropriate to Lent:

A Morning Resolve

I will try this day to live a simple, sincere and serene life, repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God.

In particular I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right.

And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

73gr

These three gospels are used during Cycle A (2005, 2008, 2011), and are recommended at Liturgies celebrating the Scrutinies of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

As part of our "Praying Lent" site, we offer these openings to prayer, on these important Lenten gospels.

The Woman at the Well
The Third Sunday of Lent - The First Scrutiny - John 4:3-42

Why did the Samaritan woman come to draw water at noon, the hottest time of the day?
Did she want to avoid the times the other women in town came to the well?
What are the places in my life where I am embarrassed, where I avoid interaction with others?
What are the noon day wells of my life?
Can I imagine Jesus approaching me there?

Jesus tries to reveal his thirst to her - perhaps his thirst for intimacy with her - but she puts him off. She's not worthy. It won't work. When he offers to satisfy her thirst, she puts him off. He can't satisfy what she needs, at least with this well, and without a bucket.

How do I put Jesus off, with excuses, with problems, with barriers? I don't have time; I haven't done this before; my stuff's too complicated; I don't know how to find you in this mess.

When he shows her that he knows her, she knows she's in the presence of someone special - perhaps the one she has thirsted for all her life.

Do I let Jesus show me that he knows and understands me?
Can I find the words to say he is the one I have thirsted for all my life?

The grace will come when I see that I have been at the well a long time and have long been thirsty. When I can name the new thirst, the Water that now satisfies that thirst, I can overcome my remaining resistance to trust. When I see that Jesus reveals himself to me by revealing me to me, thereby showing me my need for him as Savior, I will rejoice and tell the whole world, too.

The Man Born Blind
The Fourth Sunday of Lent - The Second Scrutiny - John 9:1-41

The man born blind washed the mud from his eyes in the pool called, Siloam, "The One who is sent."
How is Jesus a pool to wash the mud from my eyes, that I might see?

As soon as he could see, his life became very difficult. People wondered if he was the same man, before they believed he could now see.
Has the restoration of my sight so changed me that others are surprised at the transformation?

So much fear seems to surround the restoration of his sight.
What fears do I now have to seeing clearly who Jesus is and what choices I must make to be with him?

The grace will come when I acknowledge that my eyes have been opened. Others may not want to believe I can see, but I know I can only keep repeating it, to myself and to them. I may experience rejection by some for claiming this new vision, but in the Light I can see clearly one who has healed me, and I give him thanks and praise.

The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead
The Fifth Sunday of Lent - The Third Scrutiny - John 11:1-44

Martha speaks profound sorrow at the death of Lazarus, but it is tinged with a touch of blaming Jesus: "Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died."

Where do I resent the losses in my life and somehow blame God for them, rather than seeing them as places where God's glory will be revealed?

Even when Jesus tells Martha, "I am the one who raises the dead to life!" she finds it hard to believe he means now, in the case of her dead brother.

Where do I doubt that Jesus can bring life?

Jesus stands before the tomb weeping. He places no barriers to his feelings about death. Could he be staring at and facing the tomb of his own death?

Can I be with him there?
Can I stand before and face the tombs in my daily life?

Jesus shouts the liberating words of life, "Lazarus, come forth!"

How is he shouting that to me today?

The grace will come when I experience how my 'deaths' will not end in death, but in giving glory to God. When I experience how entombed I have been, tied and bound, no longer alive, dead for a long time, I will sense the power of the command of Jesus that I "come forth."

73gr

Prayer for Lenten Days

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23, 24

Loving Lord! Thank You for bringing me into these days of introspection. I take this time to analyse my ways and meditate upon the ultimate sacrifices You have made for me, a grant sinner.

Lord! There were times when I had been so mean to others and when I had lost my patience and integrity. There were times when I had lost faith in You when I had been unfaithful to You without even acknowledging Your sacrificial love for me. Please forgive me for all the sins I have committed against You as well as my fellow-men.

Let me regain the spiritual values I have lost and restore in me the original first love for You. I rededicate myself at Your feet, Lord! Search me and fill me with Your divine presence so that my life can reflect the Gospel. Let this Lenten season be a time of restoration and the means for renewed direction and perspective. Please guide me and make me a channel of blessing to others. Thank You for helping me to reflect Your love and sacrifice. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Prayer When You Need Healing Inside

O God, these prayers come from all of us. Someone prays on our behalf, but the prayers belong to everyone, and come from our hearts more than from our mouths. In some ways none of us really knows how another feels, because each of us must struggle with his own fears, cope with his own problems, hurt from his own pains, search for his own goals, forgive and be forgiven his own failures. In such matters, God, when we seek understanding and hope for encouragement, it is to You that we turn. In moments such as these, we reach beyond ourselves and our troubles to You--asking not so much for things, but for a second or two of Your Presence. Just Your slightest touch, and the day will be blessed, the raw spots will be healed and there will be peace in the hours ahead. And so we pray to You Dear God, Almighty, Everlasting One--all of us--giving thanks for this moment, Your touch and our healing. Amen.

A Lenten Prayer: How to Fast

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling within them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on trust.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on nonviolence.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.

Gentle God, during this season of fasting and feasting, gift us with Your Presence, so we can be gift to others in carrying out your work. Amen.

Prayer to Jesus Crucified

Behold, my beloved and good Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in Your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech You to impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and love, with true repentance from my sins and a most firm desire of amendment; while with deep affection and grief of soul I consider within myself and mentally contemplate Your five most precious Wounds, having before my eyes that which David the prophet long ago spoke about You, my Jesus: "They have pierced My Hands and My Feet; I can count all of My Bones." (Ps 22:17-18)

Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its needs, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than criticize, to sympathize rather than condemn, to encourage rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. Amen.

~William Barclay, in A Time to Pray

A Lenten Morning Offering

Lord Jesus, You lived and died for me. Help me to keep that thought before me today so that whatever life brings, whether it be success or failure, satisfaction or disappointment, happiness or sorrow, I may offer it to You.

Through me, may everyone I meet this day see You, Lord, feel Your Presence, and experience Your love. Lord, I offer You today.

May I serve You by serving others in Your Name making all that I do a gift of love and thanksgiving for all You have done for me. Amen.

The Great Lenten Prayer of St Ephraim

O Lord and Master of my life, cast from me the spirit of sloth, despondency, lust for power and idle talk. (Prostration)

But grant unto me, Thy servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love. (Prostration)

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to judge my brothers and sisters. For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. (Prostration)

O God, cleanse Thou me a sinner (say this 12 times, with as many bows, and then again the whole prayer from the beginning throughout, and after that one great prostration)

73gr

Lent - Meditation and Prayer

Lent, beginning with Shrove Tuesday, can be a time for increasing attention to reflection and prayer; an opportunity to 'practice what we preach' in kindness and care.
photo credit Susan Kramer
Daily Meditation for Lent

Begin by sitting with a straight back on a cushion on the floor, your bed or a chair. If you wish, light a candle, burn some incense.

Close your eyes or let them half shut and rest. Clasp your hands in your lap or lay them palms up on your legs.

Begin even and regular breathing such as this: Breathe in for 2 counts; breathe out for 2 counts; breathe in for 2 counts; continue this pattern.

Following a few rounds of even breathing, spend at least 5 minutes thinking what the message of Lent means to you. What can you do for self-improvement these weeks before Easter? What ways can you show more kindness and care?

After a few minutes turn your attention back to even, gentle breathing. Listen to the sound of your breaths. Think about the strength and renewal the 'unseen' oxygen gives your body; reflect on the 'unseen' spirit of caring love underlying your life.

To conclude your meditation, think of at least one person with appreciation and kindness. Take a deep breath, stretch out - relaxed, renewed.

Daily Prayer for Lent
Lord, may I always remember
To be kind and care.
And ever watchful
For opportunities to share.
Reflecting good with all my might
Inspired by Your holy light!

73gr

PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX

Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in Your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech You that You would impress upon my heart, lively sentiments of Faith, Hope and Charity, true repentance for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment, while with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate Your five most precious wounds, having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy of You, O good Jesus: they have pierced my hands and feet, they have numbered all my bones.

THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS

1. Father, Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do.
2. Woman, Behold Thy Son!... Behold Thy Mother!
3. Verily, I Say Unto Thee, Today Thou Shalt Be With Me In Paradise.
4. Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachtani.
5. I Thirst.
6. It Is Finished.
7. Father, Into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit.

PRAYER OF THE SEVEN LAST WORDS

O divine Jesus, incarnate Son of God, for our salvation You consented to be born in a stable, to spend Your whole life amidst poverty, trials, and misery, and to die by suffering on the Cross. At the hour of my death, please tell Your Father, Father, forgive them. Tell Your Mother, Behold your child. Tell my soul, This day you shall be with me in paradise.

My God, my God, do not forsake me in that final hour. I thirst, yes, my soul thirsts, for You who are the fountain of living waters. My life will surely pass away like a shadow; and in a short while everything would be accomplished. Therefore, my adored Saviour, from this moment to that final hour, and for all eternity, I commend my spirit into Your hands. Lord Jesus, receive my heart and my soul. Amen.

PRAYER IN HONOR OF CHRIST'S PASSION

I give you glory, O Christ, because You, the Only-begotten, the Lord of all, underwent the death of the Cross to free my sinful soul from the bonds of sin. What shall I give to You, O Lord, in return for all this kindness?

Glory to You, O Lord, for Your love, for Your mercy, for Your patience.

Glory to You, for forgiving us all our sins, for coming to save our souls, for Your incarnation in the Virgin's womb.

Glory to You, for Your bonds, for receiving the cut of the lash, for accepting mockery.

Glory to You, for Your crucifixion, for Your burial, for Your resurrection.

Glory to You, for Your resurrection, for being preached to men, for being taken up to heaven.

Glory to You who sit at the Father's right hand and will return in glory.

Glory to You for willing that the sinner be saved through Your great mercy and compassion. Amen.

INVOCATION TO THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You. (Diary of St. Faustina, 84)

THE HOLY CROSS PRAYER [HISTORY]

O Crux Ave, Spes Unica

Mizsissy

Lorenzo,

Thank you for all these beautiful and inspirational posts.  Yesterday in church the Canon was visiting and delivered a beautiful sermon based the meeting of Jesus with the woman at the well.  It was a lovely sermon that reminds us that even the most cast out and sinful person can come first in the kingdom of the Lord.

I love the fasting prayer and I am going to try the Morning Meditation...a nice way to start each day in Lent.

We are so fortunate to have you Lorenzo!

Miz 

Mizsissy

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.  [Luke 4:6]

  

Mizsissy

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. [Luke 3:3]