Andrea Bocelli/Celine Dion....A Lenten Meditation in Contemporary Song

To pray is to expose the shores of the mind,
to the incoming tide of the Holy Spirit.
--Ralph W. Sockman

Prayer time is at the heart of the Lenten discipline.....
Quiet times of silence....praise and thanksgiving,
Petitions and requests for those in need,
And sometimes the reading of the prayers of others.

Prayers of others that have spoken to me:

Abraham Lincoln

Die when I may, I want it said of me that I plucked a weed,
and planted a flower wherever I thought a flower would grow."

Saint Patrick

May the strength of God guide me this day, and may his power preserve me.
May the wisdom of God instruct me;
the eye of God watch over me;
the ear of God hear me;
the word of God give sweetness to my speech;
the hand of God defend me;
and may I follow the way of God.
Christ be with me, Christ before me,
Christ be after me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right hand, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, Christ in the chariot,
Christ in the ship.
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me.
Christ in every eye that sees me.
Christ in evry ear that hears me.

John Wesley

Forgive them all, O Lord:
our sins of omission and our sins of commission;
the sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years;
the sins of our souls and the sings of our bodies;
our secret and our more open sins;
our sins of ignorance and surprise,
and our more deliberate and presumptuous sin;
the sins we have done to please ourselves
and the sins we have done to please others;
the sins we know and remember,
and the sins we have striven to hide from others,
and the sins by which we have made others offend;
Forgive them O Lord, forgive them all for his sake,
who died for our sins and rose for our justification,
and now stands at the right hand to make intercession for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord."

William Barclay

O God, Our Father,
help us all through this day so to live that we bring help to others,
credit to ourselves and to the name we bear,
and joy to those who love us, and to You.
Cheerful when things go wrong;
Persevering when things are difficult;
Serene when things are irritating.
Enable us to be:
Helpful to those in difficulties;
Kind to those in need;
Sympathetic to those whose hearts are sore and sad.
Grant that;
Nothing may make us lose our tempers;
Nothing may take away our joy;
Nothing may ruffle our our peace;
Nothing may make us bitter towards anyone.
So grant that through all this day
all with whom we work,
and all those whom we meet,
may see in us the reflection of the master,
whose we are, and whom we seek to serve.
This we ask for your love's sake.

Ronn Garton lives in Northpark, is married to Dotti, is retired in Northpark, plays tennis, attends Jack Lindquist's Sunday morning class, volunteers with Casa de la Esperanza, Traveller's Aid, and the Presbytery of San Diego, and often returns to Mexico