I’ve still been thinking and praying on hope which began with my chance encounter with graffiti (see earlier post). I continue to bring this to prayer.
This morning I read Psalm 46 which contains one of my most favorite verses: “Be still and know that I am God.”
To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
SelahThere is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
SelahCome, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
‘Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.’
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah
What prayer, poem, memory, etc. do you turn to when you are struggling to hang on to hope?
"She wrote the way she lived: on the fly, without retrospect, always on the way, climbing higher."
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Christy 09.26.07 at 11:47 am
Matthew 19:26
For nothing is impossible with God
Jer 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Cathy Keller 09.26.07 at 1:34 pm
Isaiah is encouraging to me.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are mine.” Isaiah 43: 1
OR
I call to mind this verse by St. Francis de Sales.
“We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast and our trust fixed firmly on God.”
Sister Julie 09.26.07 at 2:03 pm
Thanks for those, Christy and Cathy. When I was a younger religious, I learned a wonderful phrase from my IHM mentor: “This too shall pass.” Being filled with impatience, I hardly knew how to respond to her wisdom. Yet that phrase has stayed with me and been a companion in rough times. Much of that has to do with the fact that my IHM had said it to me with such tender care.
Melissa 09.26.07 at 2:10 pm
“Not my will, Yours” (not sure where I picked that one up from over the years, but it has helped me so many times) and this simple saying from A Course in Miracles - “I could see peace instead of this.”
Tom Cloutier, SFO 09.26.07 at 2:23 pm
For me, when things are becoming more and more crazy, and the way is darker and darker, when I find it harder to hear Jesus saying to me, “Do not be afraid”, it is then that I , once more, turn to my big sister, “Little” Therese of Lisieux, and remember the words she addressed to her sister Celine when she was going through a rough patch:
“How naughty it is to spend the night fretting instead of resting on the Heart of Jesus.”
While I am “naughty” from time to time, I do find myself resting a bit more…and the Heart of Jesus is a more and more comfortable place to be!
sr betsy 09.26.07 at 2:38 pm
Hi Sr. Julie
I like to pray Psalm 91 - there is something reassuring about that psalm. I love to pray when it comes up for Sunday Night Prayer.
This is my first time commenting on your blog - excellent - tho’ I visit quite often!!
sr betsy
Another Sister Julie, CSSF 09.26.07 at 8:37 pm
Sometimes when I am “naughty” as was posted above, I am tempted to pray, “Just this once, Lord, not Thy will but mine be done!”
But most times, I repeat Julian of Norwich’s verse:
All shall be well,
all shall be well,
and all manner of things shall be well.
Elizabeth 09.28.07 at 8:18 pm
Interesting question… I went through the quotes and the things that I access more and there are several things that I realized I had saved in many different places. Some of you may not agree with the source or even what it says. It is not meant as disrespect, simply my take on the Divine.
“This, too, shall pass.”
Bob Marley’s song “No, Woman, No Cry”
“We were created for Joy.”
“The Universe is not Vindictive”
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer… I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me, and when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only Strength will remain.” (modified from ‘Dune’)
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of the Universe.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine…
We were born to make manifest the Universe that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” (modified from original version)
Thanks… I ended up changing my work area so I can see that everyday. It helps.
Blessings!
Elizabeth
Diane 09.29.07 at 9:28 am
Several years ago, an elderly sister in my community was teaching me Spanish. The very first thing she had me do was memorize St. Teresa of Avila’s prayer,
Nada te turbe;
nada te espante;
todo se pasa;
Dios no se muda,
la paciencia
todo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene,
nada le falta.
Solo Dios basta.
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things pass away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
The one who has God
Lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
I also highly recommend the book, The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, edited by Paul Rogat Loeb.