Prayers and Meditations

Awaken

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations

Originally in Quechua

Wake up! Children of the Incas, shout!
Turn your eyes this way with your head held high;
so we can be heard around the world.

The new day is beginning, The sun greets you, as a mother looking upon her children gathered below him.
Her sparkling light shines upon you as it had in the good times of our glorious Kingdom of Tawantinsuyu.
Upon you workers who have suffered too long!

Here it is! Our victorious day has arrived.
Obtained by the blood of our brave fighters,
who sacrificed their lives and were hung by their necks,
because they fought their exploiters in the past.

It is necessary to bring back the consciousness of our ancestors.

People Equal

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations ,

By James Berry

Some people shoot up tall.
Some hardly leave the ground at all.
Yet-people equal. Equal.

One voice is a sweet mango.
Another is a nonsugar tomato.
Yet-people equal. Equal.

Some people rush to the front.
Others hang back, feeling they can’t.
Yet-people equal. Equal.

Hammer some people, you meet a wall.
Blow hard on others, they fall.
Yet-people equal. Equal.

One person will aim at a star.
For another, a hilltop is too far.
Yet-people equal. Equal.

Some people get on with their show.
Others never get on the go.
Yet-People equal. Equal.

 

James Berry was a Jamaican author of several books of poetry and children’s literature. 

Still I Rise

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations

By Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

 

Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. 

The Call

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations ,

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I have heard it all my life,
A voice calling a name I recognized as my own.

Sometimes it comes as a soft-bellied whisper.
Sometimes it holds an edge of urgency.

But always it says: Wake up my love. You are walking asleep.
There’s no safety in that!

Remember what you are and let this knowing take you home to the Beloved with every breath.
Hold tenderly who you are and let a deeper knowing colour the shape of your humanness.
There is nowhere to go. What you are looking for is right here.

Open the fist clenched in wanting and see what you already hold in your hand.
There is no waiting for something to happen, no point in the future to get to.

All you have ever longed for is here in this moment, right now.
You are wearing yourself out with all this searching.
Come home and rest.

How much longer can you live like this?

Your hungry spirit is gaunt, your heart stumbles. All this trying.
Give it up!

Let yourself be one of the God-mad, faithful only to the Beauty you are.
Let the Lover pull you to your
feet and hold you close, dancing even when fear urges you to sit this one out.

Remember- there is one word you are here to say with your whole being. When it finds you, give your life to it.

Don’t be tight-lipped and stingy.
Spend yourself completely on the saying.
Be one word in this great love poem we are writing together.

 

Oriah Mountain Dreamer is a Canadian writer and mystic.

Do It Anyway

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations

Credited to Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

 

St. Mother Teresa was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. 

Teach Me

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations

Author unknown

Teach me to treasure much
The simple things of life.
The touch of wind and snow, of rain and sun;
And when the hours of work are done,
The quietness of rest, the fair
And healing sustenance of prayer.
Help me keep a shining, singing gladness deep
Within for blessing yet to be
Through all eternity.

At the dawn of a new Millennium:
In a world of darkness, give us your light;
In lands of war and prejudice, grant us peace;
In a world of despair, give us hope;
In a world of sadness and tears, show us your joy.
In a world of hatred, show us your love:
In a world of arrogance, give us humility;
In a world of disbelief, give us faith.

Give us courage to face the challenges
of feeding the hungry clothing the naked,
housing the homeless, and healing the sick.
Give us the power to make a difference in
Your world, and to protect your creation

Prayer for a Diverse Community

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations ,

By Catholic Center for Concern’s Education for Justice

Creator of all races and ethnicities,
help us see that a diverse community is the way
to deepen our lives and to know you more deeply.

Guide us to see that entering into a vital and just relationship
with others who are different from us
is the way to make ourselves whole.

Guard us from fear of the other,
from the fear that our own security is threatened
if we become truly willing to make a place at the table for all.

Open us to live out what we profess to believe:

That our true security is in You and in your call to justice and peace,
That we are a part of your global family,
That, because of your Incarnation, the human dignity of everyone is sacred,
And that we are constantly called to conversion and inclusive community.

We pray that you help us recognize any forms of racism in our hearts,
And in our legal systems and social structures.
Forgive us our sins of exclusion.
Heal our souls and spirits.
Ground us in compassion for all through your grace.

Help us take the steps you call us to take
To build a more just community,
Where difference is respected
And where we can all join hands
And rejoice in the common good.

Through the mercy of God, we pray.

Amen.

What Shall I Render Unto God?

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations

By E. Hammond Oglesby

In a world divided by hatred, render love.
In a world smashed by fear, render faith.
In a world burdened by ethnic strife in eastern Europe,
Render kindness over cruelty.
In a world torn by the Wall of shame,
Render the refreshing spirit of Glasnost and perestroika.
In a world smeared with the pain of hunger and homelessness, render food and shelter.
In a world tormented by the demons of sexism and racism, render equality and liberty.
In a world cursed by apartheid,
Render the joybells of freedom.
In a world that disvalues our children,
Render protection and compassion.
In a world unsure about the future,
Render the cup of salvation;
Render the shield of faith. Pay your own vows unto the Lord.

 

E. Hammond Oglesby is a Baptist Minister, author, and professor. 

Closing Guided Imagery

eamaya1 Guided Reflections, Prayers and Meditations ,

Opening: Close your eyes. Take a restful posture and a deep breath. Let go of any tension which you may be feeling. It is important that your mind be quiet, restful and peaceful… allow images and feelings to come freely…During this meditation we will look back on some important feelings and themes from the past days.

In this guided imagery, I am going to invite you to reflect on various themes, various memories. We will reflect on these individually now and communally later.

Challenge: Can you recall an experience when your heart went out to another person? A child rejected by his peers… a lonely old woman… a disabled beggar… a desperate addict… a scene of dehumanizing poverty? What did you feel at that moment? Does this scene continue to haunt you? Have you prayed about it? Has it remained in your memory?

Loneliness: When did you feel lonely? Did you miss your family? Was there a friend you longed for? Were there birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, or deaths which accentuated your distance from what you know as “home”? When did you feel alone?

Fear: What made you fearful? What kept you awake at night and occupied your mind during the day? A particular class or relationship… conflict in community… an issue in your family or at home… something that happened over the last four months—or may happen in the future? Did you share these fears with another person, your community, or with God?

Peace: When did you feel peace? Think of a time when you experienced consolation—a feeling that: “Yes, this is the right place for me to be right now. There is no other place I would rather be in the world.”

Anger: What made you angry? An absurd situation… an argument which escalated… a strained relationship… a rude stranger? Perhaps you perceived an injustice—was it an injustice to you or to another person? When were you angry? Do you tend to keep your anger interior, or do you express it? When did you lash out at an innocent bystander or talk viciously about another person? Were you aware of this violence?

Anxiousness: When did you feel stress? How did it manifest itself? Physical tension… restlessness… obsessing… preoccupations during prayer? Was this resolved or does it remain unresolved? When were you stressed? What could this anxiety teach you about yourself?

Joy: Remember a time when you felt joy? What were the circumstances? Did you feel gratitude? How frequently do you feel content to this degree? Most days… occasionally… rarely? When did you experience joy?

Sorrow: Was there an occasion when you felt sorrow? Perhaps you hurt someone or were hurt by someone… Perhaps someone you knew was treated cruelly? How did you respond to this sadness? By journaling… walking alone… thinking… praying? When were you sad?

Friendship: Is there a person here you can call your friend? How has the friendship developed? What qualities do you find about that person? Have you become a closer friend with God? With yourself?

Courage: Can you remember a time when you acted courageously? When you stood up for another person or an important value? Perhaps, there was a courageous position to take but you realized that it wasn’t your stand to make? Were you able to step back?

Humor: What memory of our time together has brought you a good laugh? Were you able to laugh at yourself? When were you laughing?

Adventure: What types of adventure attracted you and brought you to this place? As days became more routine, did you still find “newness,” or did you resign yourself to the tedium? Did you wait for the excursions and breaks to find adventure, or were you able to find excitement in your everyday experience?

Love: Have you experienced a deepening of love and appreciation for another person… for a group of people… for God… for yourself… or life itself? How have others shown their love for you?

Closing: Take a moment to sit with these memories… Now open your eyes… with your imagination fresh with a spirit of gratitude… Spend a half hour in quiet considering these questions. Feel free to journal. We will have the opportunity to share some of these experiences as a community later today.

Adapted from closing reflection with Casa de Solidaridad, 2003