The theme for February is a reflection on Peace and Gratitude for the little moments, using verse from Joyce Rupp, and from Wendell Berry. Allow any word or image that may stand out for you as your centering prayer.
Joyce tells us:
- the little moments, / assumed and presumed, / slip quickly through / the fingers of my busy life…a walk on a musky-wooded path, / a cup of coffee silently savored, / a birdsong in the squeaky hours of dawn, / the gentle touch of an [old] hand, / a loving letter from a grateful stranger, / a fading crescent moon in a royal blue sky.
- I turn to gather / finely layered remnants like these / in the come and go of my days, / and discover, with surprise, / how quickly my inner room / is a harvest place of gold.
Wendell Berry writes:
- ‘When despair in the world grows in me / and I wake in the night at the least sound / in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, / I go and lie down where the wood drake / rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. / I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought / or grief. I come into the presence of still water. / And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.’
Joyce Rupp – A Thanksgiving Blessing:
- May an abundance of gratitude burst forth as you reflect upon what you have received. / May thanksgiving overflow in your heart, / and often be proclaimed in your prayer. / May you never forget the Generous One / who loves you lavishly and unconditionally.
As you begin to relax now in body and mind, slow your breathing, and enter your meditation, centering your prayer…let us remember the words from…
Psalm 92: 2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, / your faithfulness in the evening….
Love and every blessing, Kathryn, Meditation Leader.
References:
Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary. Ave Maria Press, 2000, USA.
Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild things and Other Poems. Penguin, 2018.
Remember to watch an introduction to Centering Prayer Meditation with Kathryn. You can see it here
Kathryn Pile leads a meditation on the first Tuesday of the month at 1:00pm in the Malone Room (214 Richardson Street, Middle Park). It runs for 50 minutes and is followed by an invitation to spent time together socially.