Silent Sunday
I place my hand over my mouth
The invitation for this silent Sunday is to have a break from all the voices, thoughts, opinions and commentary that are going on around and within us, and to listen at a deeper level in quietness and trust to the beckoning of the Holy One. I invite you to join in with the music, readings, quiet prayer and reflections around this theme.
Opening music:
Lyrics:
Abide With Me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, O abide with me
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changes not, abide with me
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness
Where is death's sting? Where grave thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me
Help of the helpless, O abide with me
Time: 8 minutes
Quiet prayer / meditation:
I invite you to open your hearts in a time of prayer (you can choose between a guided time of prayer and a 20 minute time of simple silence below). If you find your mind wandering, gently let go of your thoughts and return to silence, to being present, to awareness of your breath or your sacred word.
Listen to the following music as an ending to the time of prayer:
Lyrics:
How much room is there inside of us for what we don’t already know,
Do we have the courage to venture beyond the safety of the known,
Into the wisdom of uncertainty where insight is born,
Into the wisdom of uncertainty humility is born.
How much room is there inside of us for what we don’t already know,
Do we have the courage to venture beyond the safety of the known,
Into the wisdom of uncertainty where insight is born,
Into the wisdom of uncertainty creation takes form.
Sacred Reading:
Read the following readings through twice or three times, with an attitude of open receptivity. Allow a few minutes of silence between the readings. Listen for any words that call out to you, or that draw you into the sacredness of silence that is deeper than your usual knowing.
Psalm 57 extract
Be merciful to us, O Beloved!
We open our hearts to You, for in You is love and wisdom.
In the shadow of Your wings may we find peace.
We cry to the Source of all life,
to the Eternal One whose longing is wholeness for all.
Send Your Spirit to awaken us,
put to rest all that keeps us in darkness and division.
O Beloved, send forth Your steadfast love and faithfulness!
(Adapted from Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill)
"Cradle me, Holy Spirit, in your dark silver cloud
and protect me against the heat of my own speech,
my own judgments, my own vision.
Ward off the sickness of consolation and desire,
of fear and grief that spring from desire.
I will give You my will
for You to cleanse and rinse of all this clay."
~ Thomas Merton
"Dismount. Travel lighter. Wings will be given.
Be clear like a mirror reflecting nothing.
Be clean of pictures and the worry that comes with images.
Gaze into what is not ashamed or afraid of any truth.
Contain all human faces in your own without any judgment of them.
Be pure emptiness.
What is inside that? you ask.
Silence is all I can say."
~Rumi
For Further Reflection:
Below are some additional quotes for you to take this theme further.
"Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid in academic studies, but you can't think your way out of emotional difficulties. That takes something altogether different. You have to make yourself soft then, and just listen. Re-establish contact with a slice of eternity." (Etty Hillesum)
Job 40:4-5 “I am insignificant—how can I reply? I place my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.”
Ending Prayer: BLESSING THAT UNDOES US
On the day when you are wearing your certainty like a cloak
and your sureness goes before you like a shield or like a sword,
may the sound of God’s name spill from your lips
as you have never heard it before.
May your knowing be undone.
May mystery confound your understanding.
May the Divine rain down in strange syllables
yet with an ancient familiarity,
a knowing borne in the blood, the ear, the tongue,
bringing the clarity that comes not in stone or in steel
but in fire, in flame.
May there come one searing word:
enough to bare you to the bone,
enough to set your heart ablaze,
enough to make you whole again.
Amen
(By Jan Richardson)
Ending music:
Lyrics:
Wisdom, Compassion, Love, Understanding
Wisdom, Compassion, Love, Understanding
Wisdom, Compassion, Love, Understanding
Come be in my heart (come dancing)
Come be in my hands (come singing)
Come be in my feet (come running)
Come be in my working and playing
the words I am saying
my laughing, my crying
my living, my dying
Come, be in my heart, Holy One, come
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Sharon's book that was previously called "Contemplative Living" has been republished by AnamChara Books under the title "Deeper: Finding the Depth Dimension Beneath the Surface of Life". The Kindle version is available from Amazon, and the hard copy version can be ordered from loot.co.za or Takealot, or from your local bookshop through Ingram Distribution.