This is the last of the four prayers I was given on New Year’s Eve. It brought me a sense of relief and comfort to grasp fully that every kind of physical, mental and emotional suffering comes to an end when we die.
The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).
Lord,
When I leave my body here,
I’ll also leave my pain,
And when I leave my mind for good, I’ll leave my burdens, too.
When I leave my heart on earth, I’ll leave my grief, as well,
But I won’t leave my soul behind, For it is one with you.
The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be nomore death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Revelation 21:4; NLT).
Context: This prayer arrived on Christmas Day, and took two more days to write. Maybe I’m slowing down in my old age…
He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20; NLT).
Come, Jesus, come –
Be born again in me,
And I in you.
I’ll do my best
To share your cross,
Your love for others, too.
The way is long,
The path is hard –
My efforts seem in vain,
But, Lord, despite
My fruitlessness, I long
To serve your name.
For you’re my Saviour
And my King,
My genesis and goal,
So come, Lord, come –
I offer you my heart, mind, strength
And soul.
You must lovetheLORDyour God withallyour heart, allyour soul, allyour mind, and all your strength (Mark 12:30; NLT).
References
I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3; NLT).
God is love, and all who live inlove live inGod, andGodlivesin them (1 John 4:16; NLT).
The gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it (Matthew 7:14; NLT).
The Rosary Hospital
To my great pleasure, the rosaries posted before Christmas are gradually reaching their destinations, despite the postal strikes and challenging weather conditions.
Meanwhile, I remade my Fiat rosary with the inadequate knot. It came out much better the third time, so I have no regrets about starting again – it’s all good practice.
One exciting development (from a purely personal point of view), is that over the last few days I’ve become more confident about the strength of my joining knots, so I’ve stopped reinforcing them with superglue. It’s taken quite a while to reach this stage, but I’m pleased to be getting there. Purists don’t use glue when making rosaries – perhaps mine could be held together with faith!
If you would like more rosary news, or if you have any broken rosaries to donate, you are very welcome to contact me at “The Rosary Hospital”, on Facebook.
Context: God often gives me a special prayer well in advance, ready to post on Christmas Day, but this year it didn’t happen. In fact, I had begun to think there would be no Christmas prayer at all this year. To begin with, I felt I should be able to write something appropriate, but I knew I couldn’t do this without inspiration, so eventually I placed the matter in God’s hands, and let it go.
Then, on the 21st of December, I received a long Christmas prayer, which was very difficult to put into words, to condense, and to edit. Eventually it took the form of a spoken exchange. The first section pictures Christ speaking to us, whilst the second pictures us responding to him.
✝️ She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them (Luke 2:7; NLT).
I was born in the shadow of want,
And lived in the shadow of fear.
I worked in the shadow of hate,
But knew that my Father was near.
I wept in the shadow of grief, And prayed in the shadow of pain.
I walked in the shadow of death,
Then rose, to save all, and to reign.
The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15; NLT).
✝️ We all have sinned against you (Jeremiah 14:20; NLT).
Though we dwell in the shadow of sin,
And grieve in the shadow of loss,
We pray, and give thanks, and rejoice, For we follow your way of the cross.
Though we walk in the shadow of death, We trust in your staff and your rod.
Lord, you are here, in earth’s darkness,
So we sing in the shadow of God.
Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 63:7; NLT).
Christmas greetings:
My very best wishes to every reader who visits this website. May God bless you. I pray for you all every day.
✝️ With love, and many thanks for your support, from Ruth xxxxxxx
Context: Just before getting into bed, I always stand before my picture of Christ of Saint John of the Cross. I hold the frame, resting my cheek against it, whilst thanking Jesus for all that has happened during the day, both good and bad. I also ask for his help with difficult situations, and for guidance about things I don’t understand.
To my surprise, whilst I was doing this last Thursday night, today’s prayer arrived unbidden. I quickly realised it was Christ’s response to the personal disappointment and puzzlement I had just been sharing with him.
Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8; NLT).
As for me, I am in your hands – do with me as you think best (Jeremiah 26:14; NLT).
Whether I live or die
I’m in your hands,
Subject to all your tests
And your commands;
Ready to fail, to suffer Yet believe;
Ready to do your will,
To serve, and grieve;
Ready to pray; give thanks –
I’ve made my choice:
Ready to lose my life, Lord,
And rejoice.
Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it (Mark 8:35; NIV).
Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16; NIV).
References
Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).
The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 13:3; NIV).
Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found (Psalm 11i:35; NLT).
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).
I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).
Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NIV).
Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living (Romans 6:16; NLT).
Rosary News
Yesterday I launched The Rosary Hospital on Facebook, asking for broken rosaries, which I recycle into new ones. Here is a very simple five-decade rosary I made this evening. The only new parts are the cord and the olive-wood cross:
Sunrise over the sea, taken from my front door yesterday morning
Context: On Sunday evening I was reading about the Annunciation, and reflecting on how Mary freely chose to bear God’s Son. Then today’s question and answer dialogue came straight into my mind, all at once:
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word (Luke 1:38; KJV).
I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT).
Will you accept this illness? Yes, I will, Lord. Do you accept this pain? Yes, Lord, I do.
Can you accept this trouble? Yes, I can, Lord,
And I’ll embrace my cross with joy
For you.
Will you accept this burden? Yes, Lord, freely. Do you accept this grief? Yes, Lord, I do.
Can you accept this anguish? Yes, Lord, gladly,
So I’ll give thanks, and bear my cross
For you.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NIV).
References
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).
I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church (Colossians 1:24; NLT).
If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:17; NLT).
Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:10; NLT).
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34; NLT).
Rosary-making news: The Rosary Hospital (with thanks to J.W.)
On Sunday I finally hit on the best way for me to make Fiat Rosaries successfully. These rosaries help the user to explore all four mysteries in one cycle of prayer. The story of how they began is available here: https://associationfiat.com, in several different languages.
The same evening, a friend offered to send me some broken rosaries, to my great delight. I’ve already received a box of similar materials from a shop in Walsingham, and am recycling their usable parts to make corded rosaries.
My husband commented dryly that I’m now running a “Rosary Hospital”, which felt instantly significant. As I don’t charge for what I make, recycling rosary parts helps to keep my costs down. If recipients want to, they can donate to the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Making rosaries is a spiritual exercise, and a form of ministry which brings me great pleasure and purpose, though I still have much to learn. If the Rosary Hospital idea develops further, I’ll post about it here.
Meanwhile, here is yesterday’s non-Fiat rosary (making one each day is enough for my arthritic hands). It’s extra large, chunky and tactile, made especially for an elderly lady:
Context: Today’s prayer continues my exploration of how God can use our willingly-embraced and gladly-offered suffering to help others. This thread started just a few days ago. Here is a link, in case you want to read that blog first: https://wp.me/p45bCr-cZE. I’m now numbering these linked prayers about suffering, as there is at least one more to come.
I am nothing but dust (Genesis 18:27; NIV).
I’m nothing but dust, Lord,
I’m nothing but sin;
I’m nothing but grief,
And I’m nothing, within.
Yet, Jesus, like you, I am ready to sup:
To share in your anguish,
And drink from your cup.
So I offer my suffering,
Sickness, and pain:
May your will be done, Lord,
Again and again.
I offer my life,
And I offer my death:
May I share your sorrows,
Then enter your rest.
Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29; NLT).
God’s rest is there for people to enter (Hebrews 4:6; NLT).
References
He became anguished and distressed (Matthew 26:37; NLT).
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39; NLT).
Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptised with my baptism of suffering” (Mark 10:39; NLT).
O LORD, I give my life to you (Psalm 25:1; NLT).
The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).
I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church (Colossians 1:24; NLT).
Since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:17; NLT).
Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:10; NLT).
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18; NIV).
Rosary-making news:
On Saturday I made a requested five-decade rosary for my priest, which for some reason proved very difficult, though I managed in the end. Today I’ve made one and a half rosaries, and am starting to feel more confident about my method, as it slowly evolves:
Context: A few days ago, just before I began to be ill with Covid, I woke around 5am, and was surprised by the arrival of this prayer, which gradually unfolded over the space of about an hour:
Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker (Psalm 95:6; NLT).
You are my Maker,
My spirit,
My soul;
You are my source,
And my way,
And my goal.
You are my Pattern,
My body,
My blood;
You are my mind,
And my heart,
And my love.
You are my Master,
My strength,
And my breath;
You are my grief,
And my pain,
And my death.
You are my Shepherd,
My staff,
And my rod;
You are my life,
And my Lord,
And my God.
Context: The evening before writing this prayer, I realised I was developing a respiratory infection. Next morning, after a rather strange and feverish night, this little blog came to me before I had even started to pray. It was surprisingly hard to put into words. NB: The infection turned out to be covid
When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him (Matthew 6:7-8; NIV).
May my prayers be simple:
“Thank you, Jesus.”
“I love you, Jesus”:
May this be my praise.
May my words be plain: “Forgive me, Jesus.”
May your Spirit
Set my heart ablaze.
May my prayer be:
“Jesus, I forgive them.”
May I do your will,
And serve your name.
May my conduct show I follow you, Lord:
One with you in joy,
And grief, and pain.
The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).
Reading: Luke 11:2-4; NLT
Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
Context: Early yesterday morning, during silent contemplation, some words started to thrust themselves upon me. I tried ignoring them, hoping they would drift away. However, they became more and more insistent, until eventually I had to write them down.
Their source was a story told during a zoom session I had attended a few days earlier. The meeting was part of a two-year process of spiritual formation and discernment which I recently joined. The speaker described her dear friend’s practice of responding immediately to events she saw as negative by saying, “Thank you, Jesus.”
This approach to life’s many trials and sorrows certainly beats other reactions, such as impatience, anger, swearing, stress, blaming others and self-pity. Accordingly, I have now started using this practice myself.
Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NIV).
So, as soon as anything happens which I feel to be “negative”, I respond to it immediately by saying, “Thank you, Jesus”. With practice, this approach rapidly starts to become habitual. It’s remarkable how quickly it defuses my negative reactions, turning my mind straight back to God, and getting events into perspective.
An example
A good example of this happened yesterday when I wanted to print a single copy of a prayer from my iPad. The printer is in another room, so I couldn’t see what was happening. After a short time I became aware of a characteristic sound: paper crashing to the floor every few seconds. I hurried to the printer, which was churning out page after page.
My old reaction of instantaneous irritation rose up for a split-second, but then I remembered my new practice, said, “Thank you, Jesus”, spontaneously beginning to laugh as I picked up the paper. All the sting of the event had been removed by those three little words. Then I cut the pages in half and stapled them together to make a little notebook, bringing good from bad.
Opportunities for practicing
Here are a few general examples of opportunities to introduce this practice, but I’m sure you can quickly think of many more:
Trivial irritations and frustrations
Minor misunderstandings and disappointments
Spilling, dropping, or breaking something
Making a mistake, getting something wrong
Accidents and falls
Events not working out as I had hoped
Someone hurts me
Failing at something
Delays, postponements and cancellations
Sickness, pain and disability
Undergoing medical treatment
Receiving bad news
Losing the capacity to do something I used to manage, or enjoy
Losing someone I love, or someone I rely on
Feeling depressed, anxious, afraid, or panic-stricken
Three precious words
To these, and more, as they occur, I will now respond as quickly as possible with those three, precious, deceptively simple words: “Thank you, Jesus”. What a difference they make! Why not try it for yourself?
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (Romans 7:25; CSB).
References
The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21; CSB).
I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD (Psalm 116:17; NIV).
Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you (Isaiah 30:20; NLT).
I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).
Patient endurance is what you need now (Hebrews 10:36; NLT).
Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realise that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life (Ecclesiastes 7:14; NLT).
The LORD your God istesting youto see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul (Deuteronomy 13:3; NLT).
Rosary news:
I’ve run out of cord, but more is on order, so will hopefully arrive soon. Meanwhile, today I put all my kit into an organiser box, rather than having it loosely mixed up together in a tray:
