Thomas Merton's Prayer, "My Lord God"

Thomas Merton's Prayer

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

“The Merton Prayer” from Thoughts in Solitude Copyright © 1956, 1958 by The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. Used by permission of Farrar Straus Giroux. 

Prayer of St. Brendan

Prayer of St. Brendan (Irish Contemplative)

Lord, I will trust You.
Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You. Amen.

Kendrick Lamar's Halftime Show

From Ned Duke, Jr. 

The halftime show may have left some people scratching their heads, but for those of us who understand the significance of Negro Spirituals and the tradition of Griot storytelling, it was a powerful moment.

For those who may not know, a Griot is a West African term for a storyteller, musician, and historian who passes down the traditions and history of their community. In modern times, a Griot can take many forms - including musicians, poets, and artists.

Kendrick Lamar's performance was a testament to this tradition. His music, which often incorporates elements of jazz, blues, and hip-hop, is a modern-day interpretation of the Negro Spirituals that were sung by enslaved Africans in America.

These songs, which seemed like simple spirituals on the surface, actually contained hidden messages and codes that helped enslaved people communicate with each other and plan their escape to freedom.

When people say they "hated" the halftime show, it's often because they don't understand the historical context and significance of the music and performance. But that's exactly why our history is so important.

By learning about and appreciating our collective history, we can gain a deeper understanding of the cultural references and traditions that shape our world today.

So, let's take a moment to appreciate the beauty and significance of Negro Spirituals and the Griot tradition. And let's celebrate artists like Kendrick Lamar who are keeping this tradition alive in modern times. #Griot #NegroSpirituals #BlackHistory

Luke's gospel is just in time: for times like these!

 Luke's gospel is just in time: for times like these!

Gandhi's Nonviolence Speech from the film, Gandhi

 

7 February 2025 ~ From the Rector's Desk

 St. Mary’s Newsletter, 7 February, 2025

From the Rector's Desk

---

From the Rector’s desk

“We cannot always do great acts, 

but we can always do small acts with great love.”

Saint Mother Teresa

The problems and challenges of the world are plentiful at all times, including our own.  If you are anything like me, I have to balance between staying aware of the current events of the world and feeling overwhelmed.  While the challenges are many, we can always embark on actions which do make a difference.  Here at St. Mary’s, we have a decades-long tradition of giving generously to organizations that help people in need, both near and far.  In addition, the members of our parish are extremely kind and live out their faith in loving actions of charity.  

As Saint Mother Teresa once said, “we can always do small acts with great love.”  Our giving is best, and is generative, when our giving is tied to our deepest love.  Our actions may include a regular practice to call our friends and relations on the telephone to connect and share time with them. Sending a note to shut-ins, or sending a card to those whose birthday is upcoming are great ways to connect with one another and share our love and concern.

Perhaps our actions include keeping a Prayer List of those who are in need, which may include our own family, but also perhaps our parish’s prayer list, as well as praying for those in need around the neighborhood, the nation, and the world.  

I have heard that there are those who make it a yearly practice to plant trees, which have nearly no negative consequences.  I remember as a child our small town would give out seedlings to kids in the schools and encourage us to plant them on Arbor Day.  If you can’t plant a tree, perhaps you can give funds to a group who does.  

There are a plethora of organizations where we each might give a portion of our own gifts, our own money.  As a church, we have long partnered with organizations such as North Light Community Center (see the feature on this great organization below) as well as other organizations locally and globally which do amazing work to help a world in need.  

I encourage you all to take on a new practice of “doing small acts with great love,” and I would love to hear what ideas you have for sharing our goodness with the world.  I would love to hear what you are doing.  Taking on a new practice need not be difficult nor complex.  Some ideas may be praying over our church’s Prayer List each week, bringing food items to the church to donate on Sunday, encouraging our friends and family in difficult times, giving directly to an organization whose mission tugs at our heart strings. 

The Very Reverend Peter Carey, Rector

Hometowns

 

Now THIS was a halftime show!

 

Cape Cod, the Sands of Time

 

A merciful God

 

A Poem on Hope, Wendell Berry

 

A Poem on Hope, Wendell Berry

It is hard to have hope. It is harder as you grow old,
for hope must not depend on feeling good
and there’s the dream of loneliness at absolute midnight.
You also have withdrawn belief in the present reality
of the future, which surely will surprise us,
and hope is harder when it cannot come by prediction
anymore than by wishing. But stop dithering.
The young ask the old to hope. What will you tell them?
Tell them at least what you say to yourself.

Because we have not made our lives to fit
our places, the forests are ruined, the fields, eroded,
the streams polluted, the mountains, overturned. Hope
then to belong to your place by your own knowledge
of what it is that no other place is, and by
your caring for it, as you care for no other place, this
knowledge cannot be taken from you by power or by wealth.
It will stop your ears to the powerful when they ask
for your faith, and to the wealthy when they ask for your land
and your work.  Be still and listen to the voices that belong
to the stream banks and the trees and the open fields.

Find your hope, then, on the ground under your feet.
Your hope of Heaven, let it rest on the ground underfoot.

The world is no better than its places. Its places at last
are no better than their people while their people
continue in them. When the people make
dark the light within them, the world darkens.

–Wendell Berry