June The Thirtieth

O FATHER, calm the turbulence of our passions; quiet the throbbing of our hopes; repress the waywardness of our wills; direct the motions of our affections; and sanctify the varieties of our lot - Amen.

-- MARY CARPENTER

June The Twenty-Ninth

ALMIGHTY God, Lord of all saints and of all souls, look upon us, and so guide and govern us by Thy Spirit that we may come at last to take part with that great host, who, looking back upon the way in which they have been led, praise and magnify Thy holy name - Amen.

- GEORGE DAWSON

Two children of Texas cotton picking family looking out from back of wagon as their family travels to look for work. Location: Texas, U.S., September 1931, photographer unknown.

June The Twenty-Eighth

O GOD, the Might of all them that put their trust in Thee, grant that we may be more than conquerors over all that make war upon our souls, and, in the end, may enter into perfect peace in Thy presence - Amen.

- ROMAN BREVIARY

June The Twenty-Seventh

O THOU who art heroic love, keep alive in our hearts that adventurous spirit which makes men scorn the way of safety, so that Thy will be done. For so only, O Lord, shall we be worthy of those courageous souls who in every age have ventured all in obedience to Thy call, and for whom the trumpets have sounded on the other side; through Jesus Christ our Lord - Amen.

- BENJAMIN JENKS (1646-1724)

June The Twenty-Sixth

O LORD, our Guide, even unto death, grant us, I pray Thee, grace to follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. In little daily duties to which Thou callest us, bow down our wills to simple obedience, patience under pain or provocation, strict truthfulness of word and manner, humility, kindness; in great acts of duty or perfection, if Thou shouldest call us to them, uplift us to self-sacrifice, heroic courage, laying down of life for Thy Truth's sake or for a brother - Amen.

- CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

June The Twenty-Fifth

THE INSUSCEPTIBLES

Then the long sunlight lying on the sea
Fell, folded gold on gold; and slowly we
Took up our decks of cards, our parasols,
The picnic hamper and the sandblown shawls
And climbed the dunes in silence. There were two
Who lagged behind as lovers sometimes do,
And took a different road. For us the night
Was final, and by artificial light
We came indoors to sleep. No envy there
Of those who might be watching anywhere
The lustres of the summer dark, to trace
Some vagrant splinter blazing out of space.
No thought of them, save in a lower room
To leave a light for them when they should come.

by ADRIENNE RICH

photo of children on Cape Cod sand dunes by Cornell Capa, 1946

June The Twenty-Fourth

WE bring before Thee, O Lord, the troubles and perils of peoples and nations, the sighing of prisoners and captives, the sorrows of the bereaved, the necessities of strangers, the helplessness of the weak, the despondency of the weary, the failing powers of the aged. O Lord, draw near to each, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord - Amen.

- ST. ANSELM

Refugees from Pakistan make their way toward India for a haven after the nation was split in two, divided by religious hatred. Photograph by Margaret Bourke-White; 1947.

June The Twenty-Third

O GOD, the Strength of the weak, the Friend of sinners, and the Comfort of the sorrowful; grant Thy mighty protection to the tempted; reveal Thy grace to the fallen; maintain the faith of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, and give the consolation of Thy presence to those who are disappointed, embittered, lonely, or in despair, for Thy mercies' sake - Amen.

- DIVINE SERVICE

June The Twenty-Second

FATHER, with thankful and humble hearts we appear before thee. We would thank Thee for all the benefits that we have received from Thy goodness; it is to Thy blessing we owe what success we have found. Every opportunity for doing good; every impulse in the right way; each victory we have gained over ourselves; every thought of Thy presence, O Father; every silent but loving glance on the example of our Pattern, Thy Son our Lord -- all are alike Thy gits to us. Give us strength and wisdom to walk faithfully and joyfully in the way of willing obedience to Thy laws, and cheerful trust in Thy love. The best thanksgiving we can offer to Thee is to live according to Thy holy will; grant us every day to offer it more perfectly, and to grow in the knowledge of Thy will and the love thereof, for evermore - Amen.

- MICHAEL SAILER (1751-1832)

June The Twenty-First

BLESS what there is today. Bless what there is every day. Today - the longest day of the year. Happy Father's Day and I'll keep you in my prayers.

- Love you, Daddy

ABIDE with us, O Lord, this night, that the brightness of Thy love may be around us, and that the darkness be not dark. Abide with us, O Lord, this night, for in loneliness we are not alone if Thou be nigh. Abide with the sick, the sorrowful, the forsaken, and the weary, O Lord, to strengthen, to comfort, to cheer, and to give rest. Shield us all from that darkness of the soul which seeth Thee not, that loneliness of the heart, which beareth not Thy voice. Abide with us through life, and in the valley of the shadow of death forsake us not, but bid us be of good co9urage, for Thou art with us still.
Blessing and glory and thanksgiving be unto Thee, O God, forever - Amen.

FAMILY PRAYER

June The Twentieth

O GOD, Creator and Master of the world, mercifully protect Thy creature, made in Thine image, in these morning hours. Deliver me from despondency and slothfulness; grant me joy and vigor of soul, so that with a glad heart I may praise Thy mercy, Thy holiness, at every hour and in every place. For Thou, O Lord, art my Creator and the Master of my life - Amen.

June The Nineteenth

Metta Karuna Prayer

Oneness of Life and Light,
Entrusting in your Great Compassion,
May you shed the foolishness in myself,
Transforming me into a conduit of Love.
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary,
Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink,
During time of famine,
May I protect the helpless and the poor,
May I be a lamp,
For those who need your Light,
May I be a bed for those who need rest,
and guide all seekers to the Other Shore.
May all find happiness through my actions,
and let no one suffer because of me.
Whether they love or hate me,
Whether they hurt or wrong me,
May they all realize true entrusting,
Through Other Power,
and realize Supreme Nirvana.
Namo Amida Buddha

June The Eighteenth

LORD, do not permit my trials to be above my strength; and do Thou vouchsafe to be my strength and comfort in the time of trial. Give me grace to take in good part whatever shall befall me; and let my heart acknowledge it to be the Lord's doing, and to come from Thy Providence, and not by chance. May I receive everything from Thy hand with patience and with joy - Amen.

- THOMAS WILSON (1663-1755)

June The Seventeenth

O LORD God of our fathers, we bless Thy holy name, Thy grace and mercy for all those who have gone before us to rest in Thee; all, in all vocations, who have pleased Thee. And, we pray Thee, give us also grace to walk before Thee as they walked, in righteousness and self-denial, that, having labored as they labored, we may afterwards rest as they rest - Amen.

- CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

June The Sixteenth

GRANT unto us, Almighty God, in all time of sore distress, the comfort of the forgiveness of our sins. In time of darkness give us blessed hope. In time of sickness of body give us quiet courage; and when the heart is bowed down, and the soul is very heavy, and life is a burden, and pleasure a weariness, and the sun is too bright, and life too mirthful, then may that Spirit, the Spirit of the Comforter, come upon us, and after our darkness may there be the clear shining of the heavenly light; that so, being uplifted again by Thy mercy, we may pass on through this our mortal life with quiet courage, patient hope, and unshaken trust, hoping through Thy loving-kindness and tender mercy to be delivered from death into the large life of the eternal years.

- GEORGE DAWSON

June The Fifteenth

Bismillaah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem

Al hamdu lillaahi rabbil 'alameen
Ar-Rahman ar-Raheem
Maaliki yaumid Deen
Iyyaaka na'abudu wa iy yaaka nasta'een
Ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem
Siraatal ladheena an 'amta' alaihim
Ghairil maghduubi' alaihim waladaaleen
Aameen

In the name of God, the infinitely Compassionate and Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.
The Compassionate, the Merciful.
Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.
You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path,
the path of those who have received your grace;
not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.
Amen.

June The Fourteenth

Goodnight Earth

The earth is big and fat and round,
I love the sky, the sea and the ground,
I love the birds and dogs and sheep,
and all the animals that fall asleep,
I love the flowers and rocks and trees,
I love the earth, and it loves me.

- from Paganwiccan.about.com

June The Thirteenth

O GRACIOUS Father, keep me through Thy Holy Spirit; keep my heart soft and tender now in health and amidst the bustle of the world; keep the thought of Thyself present to me as my Father in Jesus Christ; and keep alive in me a spirit of love and meekness to all men, that I may be at once gentle and active and firm. O strengthen me to bear pain, or sickness, or danger, or whatever Thou shalt be pleased to lay upon me, as Christ's soldier and servant; and let my faith overcome the world daily. Perfect and bless the work of Thy Spirit in the hearts of all Thy people, and may Thy kingdom come, and Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. I pray for this, and for all that Thou seest me to need, for Jesus Christ's sake - Amen.

- THOMAS ARNOLD

June The Twelfth

MONET: 'LES NYMPHEAS'

THE eyelids glowing, some chill morning.
O world half-known through opening, twilit lids
Before the vague face clenches into light;
O universal waters like a cloud,
Like those first clouds of half-created matter;
O all things rising, rising like the fumes
From waters falling, O forever falling;
Infinite, the skeletal shells that fall, relinquished,
The snowsoft sift of the diatoms, like selves
Downdrifting age upon age through milky oceans;
O slow downdrifting of the atoms;
O island nebulae and O the nebulous islands
Wandering these mists like falsefires, which are true,
Bobbing like milkweed, like warm lanterns bobbing
Through the snowfilled windless air, blinking and passing
As we pass into the memory of women
Who are passing. Within those depths
What ravening? What devoring rage?
How shall our living know its ends of yielding?
These things have taken me as the mouth an orange -
That acrid sweet juice entering every cell;
And I am shared out. I become these things:
These lilies, if these things are waterlilies
Which are dancers growing dim across no floor;
These mayflies; whirled dust orbitting in the sun;
This blossoming diffused as rushlilghts, galactic vapours;
Fluorescence into which we pass and penetrate;
O soft as the thighs of women;
O radiance, into which I go on dying ... .

June The Eleventh

O THOU in whom we live and move and have our being, who seest where we are blind, who knowest where we are ignorant, do as Thou thinkest fit with us this day. We implore Thee to be the crown of all our joys, our abiding shelter in every sorrow, the Good Shepherd of Thy flock throughout the world, leading them through weariness and trouble here to Thy heavenly fold on high, where peace and joy forever dwell, and where Thou wilt be all in all - Amen.

- FAMILY PRAYER

June The Tenth

O GOD, in whom is neither near nor far, through Thee we yearn for those who belong to us, and who are not here with us. We would fain be near them to shield them from harm and to touch them with the tenderness of love. We cast our cares for them on Thee in this evening hour, and pray Thee to do better for them than we could do. May no distance have power to wean their hearts from us, and no sloth of ours cause us to lag behind the even pace of growth. In due time restore them to us, and gladden our souls with their sweet sight.
We remember too the loved ones into whose dear eyes we cannot look again. O God, in whom are both the living and the dead, Thou art still their life and light as Thou art ours. Wherever they be, lay Thy hand tenderly upon them, and grant that some day we may meet again, and hear once more their broken words of love - Amen.

- WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH

June The Ninth

INCLINE, O Lord, Thy merciful ears, and illuminate the darkness of our hearts by the light of Thy visitation - Amen.

- GELASIAN SACRAMENTARY, A.D. 492

June The Eighth

Travelling through the Dark

TRAVELLING through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.

By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.

My fingers touching her side brought me the reason -
her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still, never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.

The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.

I thought hard for us all - my only swerving -
then pushed her over the edge into the river.

- by WILLIAM STAFFORD

June The Seventh

O THOU, who satisfiest the desires of the hearts that Thou hast made, and who refreshest those who are weary, our longings praise Thee, our desires worship Thee, and our whole natures call aloud for Thee. Enable us so to rise to Thee that - having thus risen - we may love all that Thou lovest, and care for every one for whom Thou carest, and for every thing that is dear to Thee. Prepare our hearts, we beseech Thee, to delight in whatsoever is true and beautiful and good, through Jesus christ our Lord - Amen.

- WILLIAM ANGUS KNIGHT

June The Sixth

FOR whatever peace there is in the world, for whatever love, for whatever hope, for whatever joy, for whatever comfort, for whatever freedom, for whatever beauty
Thank you. Bless What There Is.

- by the blog author

June The Fifth

O HOLY Spirit, Love of God, infuse Thy grace, and descend plentifully into my heart; enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling, and scatter there Thy cheerful beams; dwell in that soul that longs to be Thy temple; water that barren soil, over-run with weeds and briars, and lost for want of cultivating, and make it fruitful with Thy dew from heaven. Oh, come, Thou refreshment of them that languish and faint. Come, Thou Star and Guide of them that sail in the tempestuous sea of the world; Thou only Haven of the tossed and shipwrecked. Come, Thou Glory and Crown of the living, and only Safeguard of the dying. Come, Holy Spirit, in much mercy, and make me fit to receive Thee - Amen.

- ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430)

June The Fourth

MAY healing come, either in mind or spirit or body,
Where and when it needs to.
May the healing spirit of the Universe surround
Those who have need of it
Each and every day
Until complete health is restored.

MAY strength abide within mind and body
Until this has been accomplished.
May the person asking for healing
Receive it.
May the person asking for strength
Receive it.
May the person asking for courage
Receive it.

In all these things we ask for mercy
And kindness and peace of mind.
Assist us in the work at hand.

- by the blog author

June The Third

GRANT, Lord, that I may not, for one moment, admit willingly into my soul any thought contrary to Thy love - Amen.

- E.B. PUSEY

June The Second

NEITHER in life nor in death is there aught to fear,
For Love indwells and sustains the Whole.

In life there is naught to fear,
For step by step, like little children,
We are led by him who holdeth our hands,
By him who hath crowned our lives, day by day,
With his wonders of beauty and love and delight.

In death there is nought to fear,
For there, also, love is supreme,
There also God's hand shall guide us, as little children.

Death is nought but the passage at last
From this our darkness and gloom to yonder splendor of light,
From this our half-knowledge, half-friendship, half-goodness,
To that perfection:
From this our death
To that fullness and freedom of life - Amen.

- JOHN S. HOYLAND
The Parisians: Little girls in front row of audience of children sitting very still, with rapt expressions, watching puppet show. Paris, France, May 28, 1963. Photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt.

June The First

BE our Shepherd, O Lord, we entreat Thee, and may we receive all good things from Thy sweetness; so that, obtaining an eternal habitation in Thy tabernacles, we may be filled with the plenteousness of Thine everlasting cup, through Christ our Lord - Amen.

- SARUM BREVIARY, A.D. 1085