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Father, into your hands

I commend my Spirit

Luke 23: 46

 

It is not the job of Christians to defend God,

but to proclaim God.

 

 

 

 

Opening Meditation

 

And now

the full humanity of Christ,

with all its joys,

and all its pains,

is freely given

and freely received

into the Godhead.

 

‘I go to prepare a place for you’ he said (John 14:12)

and to each and every one of us

he offers welcome

to the eternal kingdom.

 

God of all time,

God of all things,

and God of all people;

through our Lord Jesus Christ

you have made yourself known to us

as a loving, rescuing God;

defend us from all

that would separate us

from your loving care,

and strengthen our purpose

to serve our Lord

with heart and soul

and mind and strength

all the days of our earthly life;

and of your great mercy

forgive us our many sins

and bring us at the last

to your eternal kingdom.

Amen

 

 

To consider…

 

• What person or people in my life do I attempt to control or manipulate? How do I do it; do I use promises, persuasion, blackmail, being nice, being angry?  Do they work?
• When did I think I had control over a situation or person, but didn’t? What happened?
• Are there issues where having my own way is really important? Not important?
• What happens when several people want their own way?
• When is it hardest to let go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closing meditation

 

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

 

Go, silent friend, your life has found its ending.

To dust returns your weary mortal frame.

God, who before birth, called you into being,

Now calls you back,

His accent still the same.

 

Lord Jesus, we let you go.

You cannot cling to life forever,

Nor can we cling to a dying frame,

Nor do we grudge you that peace which passes understanding which you have promised us.

 

So go to heaven,

Where you will welcome those who die in your faith,

Whose death, with your death, we remember.

 

Tell them that we love them,

That we miss them,

That they are not forgotten.

And cheered by the prospect of a day

When there will be no more death or parting,

And all shall be well, and all shall be one,

Any that have died before us be among the first to welcome us into heaven

Where, with you enthroned in glory

We will share in the everlasting feast of your family.

 

Till then,

Keep us in faith,

Fill us with hope,

Deepen us through love,

To the glory of your holy name,

Amen.

 

 

To think about:

 

We cannot do everything,

and there is a sense of liberation in knowing that.

This enables us to do something,

and do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,

a step along the way,

an opportunity for God’s grace to enter

and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,

but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders,

ministers not messiahs,

we are prophets of a future not our own.

-Archbishop Oscar Romero-

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