The Chester Prayer

Give me a good digestion Lord and also something to digest;
Give me a healthy body Lord with sense to keep it at it's best.

Give me a healthy mind good Lord to keep the good and pure in sight
Which, seeing sin, is not appalled but finds a way to set it right;
Give me a mind that is not bored, that does not whimper, whine or sigh,
Don't let me worry over-much about this fussy thing called ''I'';

Give me a sense of humour Lord, the grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life and pass it on to other folk.

This prayer is to be found in Chester Cathedral.

Saint George's Day

St. George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello, painted 1470. 

Now in The National Gallery, London, England.

Creator God,

Give us the bravery of St. George to stand up for what we believe.

Give us the strength to overcome the dragons in our lives and in the world.

And when we see people in distress, give us the compassion to help them.

Amen.

by The Ugley Vicar, Ugley, Essex, England.  22nd. April 2007

_________________________________

St. George (AD 275 - 303) Patron Saint of England.

Roses are for Remembrance

Gracious Spirit, Master,

I pray for Healing for all victims of war and conflict,
I pray for Healing for all victims of man-made and natural disasters,
I pray for Healing for all who suffer from sickness of body, mind or spirit,
I pray for Healing for all the nations and people of the earth,
I pray for Healing for the earth and all creation,
I pray for Healing for my family and my friends.
I pray for all souls in transition to your eternal peace.
I pray for all who mourn the passing of a loved one.

I would ask for the Blessing of Your Holy Spirit on all creation.
May the white light of Love embrace us,
May the blue light of Healing enfold us
And may the golden cloak of Peace and Protection encircle us.
In Your name which is Love so be it.

Amen
                                                                                     R.E.B

Received in Meditation

It all began with a thought; the thought of God which brought into being all that was, is and will be.  It is by thought that we communicate with God, and by thought that God, through His messengers communicates with us.
All that is contains the essence of the Holy Spirit of God's life in all things, and to God all Spirit belongs and returns.  It is this Spirit in all that flows with the tides of God's evolution and His evolutionary plan for His creation.
The free will that was given will be removed to save the integrity of the creation if the human aspect of created life-forms does not use that freedom wisely.
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                  R.E.B

Native American Prayer

Creator, open our hearts
To peace and healing between people.

Creator, open our hearts
To provide for and protect all the children of the earth.

Creator, open our hearts
To respect for the earth and all the gifts of the earth.

Creator, open our hearts
To end exclusion, violence and fear among all.

Thank you for the gifts of this day and every day.

Celtic Blessing

The peace of God, the peace of men,
The peace of Columba kindly,
The peace of Mary mild, the loving,
The peace of Christ, king of tenderness,

Be upon each window, upon each door,
Upon each hole that lets in light,
Upon the four corners of thy house,
Upon the four corners of thy bed.

Upon each thing thine eye takes in,
Upon each thing thy mouth takes in,
Upon thy body that is of earth,
And upon thy soul that came from on high.

Bless O Christ, thy face,
Let thy face bless everything,
Bless O Christ, thine eye,
Let thine eye bless all it sees.

Peace between neighbours,
Peace between kindred,
Peace between person and person.

      _________________

Over the years I have been asked to perform house blessing services for a variety of reasons, the above blessing was included where appropriate.

Light of the Spirit

You and I are creatures of light, we function with great difficulty in low light and darkness.  It's not just the physical aspect of seeing but the mind is tricked and the spirit depressed by the lack of light.
When a candle is lit in a dark room shadows dance and the surrounding darkness ebbs and flows with the flickering flame; the candle is extinguished and the darkness engulfs.  Switch on a bright light and the darkness is banished.
So it is with the Light of the Spirit.  Allow in the Light of Spirit and it will illuminate your entire being, darkness will be banished and you will live in light.  Strengthen your spirit-self and the light will be firm and strong, doubt and fear will cause the light to flicker but as long as you cling to belief the light will never be extinguished.  Although darkness and evil will try to encroach, the Light of the Love of Spirit will keep it at bay.

A few years ago a church member approached me to tell me that her friend, an 82 year old lady, had been attacked and raped in her own home.  Her family had found a new home for her; would I visit her.  The lady was physically in poor shape and bore the signs of the attack but her indomitable spirit and inner light were remarkable.  She told me that she had forgiven the young man who attacked her, that she felt sorry for him and his family; she hoped that he would be helped and that she prayed for them all the time.
After we had prayed together she asked for her new home to be blessed.  Her whole being was alive with the Light of Spirit and I knew that I had been privileged to have visited a truly enlightened soul-being.
Even in the darkest time of this experience she had asked for and received the Light of Spirit which she now shared with all who came into contact with her.
I don't know whether I could equal her courage, her faith and her love in such dark circumstances; but hers was a living lesson.
In the light of Spirit, so radiated, we see God.
                                                                                                                                          R.E.B

' Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.'  Matthew. chap.5 verse 16

On Death

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; and like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
                                                                                                         by Kahlil Gibran

[ I can't believe its taken me this long to include a quotation from my favourite philosopher/poet ]

Crux Eterna

    Watercolour by Margaret M Brownlow

The Lamp of the Body

33. No one when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lamp-stand, that those who come in may see the light.

34. The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

35. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.

36. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.

Extracted from The New King James Version. Chap.11  v.  33 - 36