Prayer of the Chalice

Father, to Thee I raise my whole being,
a vessel emptied of self. Accept Lord,
this my emptiness, and so fill me
with Thyself-- Thy Light, Thy Love,
Thy Life-- that these precious gifts
may radiate through me and over-
flow the chalice of my heart
into the hearts of all with
whom I come in contact this
day, revealing unto them
the beauty of
Thy Joy
and
Wholeness
and
the
Serenity
of Thy Peace
which nothing can destroy 
Amen

This is one of my all time favorite prayers.  Love the way it leads you to ask for the Father's precious gifts to share them with others in addition to raising yourself in closer union with The Holy Trinity.

While working today over at the fieldhouse, a hot day which reminds me of the fast approaching southern summer (ah a good sacrifice that is also fun and allows you to see the fruits of your manual labor-gardening and yardwork. Plus a nice tan doesn't hurt), this prayer has returned to my heart.  Took a few months where it just didn't spring to my mind or heart, but over the last few days has come back to my consciousness while praying. Seemingly like I  just rediscovered it for the first-time. Makes me pause to think why does this happen within us?  Of course the flow of life demands at times different needs within our spiritual journey, hence in formal prayer the shifts of what is needed takes place to nourish, remind, or ask for our loving God's help, which then allows the flow to informal prayer to have a guiding jumping off point.  Thanks Holy Spirit, Blessed Mary, Guardian Angel!

OK to be honest, didn't really think too deeply about this besides "Wow, why did I get complacent and stop saying this wonderful prayer?"  Guess it is all part of trying to get adjusted to life back home.  Duh. Recognizing the missteps and stumbles I'm making, double duh Linda. Ahhh, it is always a continual shifting this way and that as awareness makes me slap my forehead at how easy it is to become distracted, complacent, selfish and plain lazy in trying to love and follow Jesus as He teaches and shows in the Gospels.  


So try and fail, get back up ask forgiveness and mercy, remember that our Lord loves us and will help us if we just ask and do our humanly best to live and love Him.