Finding Peace

My heart is restless Lord I am searching
For joy when I should be looking for
Peace. I should be asking more of you and saying less of me. I know you have me here right now and it’s where I’m supposed to be. I don’t know how to try and I feel like I’m doing this only as a last resort. I want joy, but it’s peace that I need. I find peace when I am here in adoration and the grace that I receive. It’s hard to let go of trying to find joy, because I love joy and you have given me a joyful heart. Remind me not to love joy more than I ought to love you. Let Your Will be done Lord in and through me. Allow me to speak love and life into all I encounter and may the work be fulfilling. Perhaps I already have the answer in front of me even now. I am at peace when I am with you. If I am with you, I will know peace and there is so much good I can do as a priest. Poetry and prayers, mentoring, connecting with all people especially our young people, being a councilor and confidant and all these things give me joy. Maybe being a priest isn’t where I want to be, but maybe being a priest is where I need to be for me, for you, and for others. Please Lord, help me to discern ever more this big decision and I pray that wherever I go and whatever I do, I may find or be led to a place of peace. Help me find joy in all the things I have peace with and may i never lose the joy and the childlike faith and love that you have given me. Amen.

Mercy and Healing

Drink from the fountain of mercy
Be washed in the waters of love
Where the chains fall away and you are free
The sun giving warmth and light from above

Come to the table of goodness and plenty
Partake in the great wedding feast
Where blessings run over and never are empty
All are now equal no greatest no least

In the great light of love there is mercy and healing
Joy and peace will be together once more
When we can move past the hurt we’ve been feeling
We find the forgiveness we’ve been searching for

He bled and died from the wounds we inflict
His ultimate sacrifice the cost of our sin
The greatest act of love and grace he chose to depict
And as he was murdered they were all forgiven

Jesus forgave his killers so why can’t I let go
Of a burden that is not even mine to bear
Lord forgive my un-forgiveness and help me to grow
Remind me that in every situation you are waiting there

Cover me Lord in your loving embrace
Wash me with your precious blood
Fill me with mercy, healing and grace
Drown me in your Most Holy flood

Sing to my soul the sweetest note
Burn your word into my mind
Move me as I read what you wrote
That where I seek you, my heart may find

A place of profound peace and refreshing sleep
A place of great joy where it is forever content
A place of restoring grace and where mercy runs deep
A place where broken things are mended you are present

I ask this and all things with great confidence in your name
To the one who was and is and ever will remain
For we know you hear our cries and hasten to us when we call
But Your will be done not mine for you are Lord of all

Amen

Silence

Stay here with me and find your rest
Find relief in the shadow of my loving embrace
I challenge you in the practice of silence and patience
The point is not to find words where there are none
The greatest friends are comfortable in the silence
In the space between moments
Are you comfortable in the silence yet?
Do you trust me enough that even in the silence I will speak
I just want you to be with me spend time with me
Find the deep inner peace in your life
Be content with me and what I give you
Be content just to be and nothing more
Trust me: I am more than enough
I am all you need and I love you
Lose yourself in the shadow of the cross
Rejoice for I come to seek and save the lost

Called to Be Free

We are bound by our sins, chained by our choices
We cry out, we scream with soundless voices
We are slaves to what we love, prisoners to our desires
All we touch burns and we are ****** from razor wires
Trapped in an endless circle a cycle so vicious
We can’t find up, it is tormenting and malicious

But we are called to be free
We are called to truly see
The weights we carry have been lifted
We deserve nothing but how much we have been gifted
We are called to leave the madness far behind
To seek and know true peace of mind
We are called to rise up on great wings
To laugh in the meadows and dance in the springs
To leap with young legs for the joy of being alive
To go beyond just enough and learn how to thrive

We lose ourselves in the everyday action
We forget ourselves and lose satisfaction
We miss the point and we miss the mark
We wander aimlessly stabbing in the dark
We are the walking dead animated flesh and bone
We cut ourselves off and then feel all alone

But we are called to be free
We are called to look beyond “only me”
We can find ourselves in a breath of prayer
We remember ourselves in our Savior’s care
We can reach the goal and reclaim our center
We a full of light and life when we let Jesus enter
We are united to Christ and to one and all
To be free and alive: this is the call

Amen

The earth will fall and the mountains will crumble
The day will come when the sun shines no more
In time all will fail and all will fade
It was always meant to be this way
But the word of the Lord endures forever
The law of the Lord is perfect and true
Bound to Christ we find our chains gone

Songs to the Lord unceasing like perfume to the heavens reaching
The Lord hears the cry of the poor and downtrodden
He comes to their aid
He lifts up the lowly and oppressed
Gives sight to the blind and by his word the dead are raised
Healed from affliction in body and spirit
The devil hears the name of Jesus and runs for fear of it

Shepherd your people Oh God
Lead them and keep them on the right way
Guard them from danger
Bring them back when they stray
We are the flock of your land
We are the work of your hand
We are the wheat in the fields
We are the harvest with great yield
We are the weary the tired and worn
We have caused you much pain and scorn

Come to me with open hands and empty hearts
Come to me and be filled in every part
Come to me humble and broken
Listen closely and receive the words I have spoken
Come to me with awe and wonder
Come to me but do not expect lightning and thunder
Come to me in the stillness and the silence
Come to me and find peace amidst the violence
Come to me with reverence and respect
Come to me and know that I made you perfect
Perfect the way you are and for what you need to do
It was for a greater purpose that I have chosen you

You may not understand but all will be made clear in good time
But that is all for today because we are almost out of time

Keep Watch

Keep watch with me for an hour or so
Be vigilant for when I return you do not know
Keep watch through the darkest light
Keep watch and you will surely see the light
Be alert for the hour is quickly drawing near
For those who are prepared there is no cause for fear
Stay awake with me in the garden as I weep
Though it is hard, do not give in to sleep
Be with me as we walk side by side
Be wary when life is good of the sin of pride
Keep your eyes open and fixed on your savior and friend
And in the storms my Guardian Angels I will send
Can you not stay awake for an hour in the day
Are your eyelids so leaden that you drift off in slumber
Be watchful be awake for one day I may call your number
Are you ready when I come again in glory and power
Will you stand strong and tall where evil cowers
Are you open to the Spirit’s guiding
Are you filled with wisdom and understanding
Do you proclaim the good news and do so in the power of my name
Do you live in my love and are you forever changed
Do you seek first to understand then be understood
Do you seek to make peace where there is war
Do you work for the common good
The time is now, what are you waiting for
Open my eyes to see with your love and truth
Open my heart to the joy and faith of the youth
Open my life to your wisdom and plan
Open my soul as only you can

Trust in Me

Take nothing extra with you do not plan ahead
Trust in my divine providence that you will be safe and fed
I send you out two by two a companion for the way
The time is now to sow and gather we must not delay
Be gracious and thankful for what you are provided
And be discerning when someone has confided
Bring peace to those who give you welcome
Stay and enjoy the company
In a place of hostility do not linger
For wasps all have a stinger
Take heart I am with you always
Even to the end of the age
I have loved you from before time began
I am Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords I Am Who Am
I send my angels to guard you, the Spirit to guide you
I give you my mother and I walk beside you
The world is at my feet and I hold you in my hands
I want for your good so heed my commands
They will keep you on a right path and straight
They will take you into my fold by the narrow gate
You are my children my beloved so dear
More precious than all the treasure I am sincere
You are loved and cared for, watched over day and night
No matter where you are you will never leave my sight
I will hold you to my chest
I will give you peace and rest
Take refuge in the shelter of my wings
In the shadow of the cross Grace sings
Look to me in my boundless mercy
Be satisfied all you who are thirsty
Lay your hands upon my life
Let your Spirit fall upon me like spring rain
Be ever present in my joy and my strife
Help me find healing and goodness even amidst pain