Ordinary Time

Pause

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!

2 Corinthians 5:17

It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life for me,
And I’m feeling good

Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse in “Feeling Good” (1964)

Listen

I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples. God himself will be with them as their God.”

Revelation 21:3

Think

Holy One, Creator and Master of all, I give you thanks for my body and praise to your Spirit, moving through and among us here on earth. You bring light to the darkness, Lord, that life may triumph over death, that love may overshadow hatred and division, and that we, your humble servants, may serve you all of our days.

Be with me, God. Dwell close by, that I might never be far from your reassurance, guidance, compassion, and protection. You lead me, and I follow; you call me, and I answer. I am loved, I am honored and blessed, and I am forever yours. Nothing compares to you. Let me always remember the grace and great mercy you show and have shown for all your children. And may all things be forever new in you, O Divine and Loving Protector, O God. Amen.

Alex Flannagan

Pray

Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I welcome everything that comes to me today.
I let go of my desire for power and control, affection and approval.
I open to the love and presence of God.
Amen.

Adapted from Thomas Keating’s “Welcoming Prayer”

Go

“There’s a season for everything… a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted… a time for tearing down and a time for building up, a time for crying and a time for laughing… ” (Ecclesiastes 3)

Practice faith. It helps us make it through the seasons.

And as the cycles pass, remember that each ending is, in its own way, the beginning of something new.

Blessings.