Good Friday Prayer, April 19, 2019
Good Friday blessings, friends. I’ve been eating up so much Richard Rohr lately. He’s long been one of my heroes. Father Rohr has set me – along with countless others – free. It’s not an overstatement to say he has changed my life, and his latest book has been (IMHO) his best yet. I beg every one of you to read this book, or even listen to the accompanying podcasts. You will not remain the same.
On this Good Friday, I think of a couple of truths from Father Rohr that sink deep into my bones today. First, that “God loves things by becoming them.” And second, “everything will be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, it is not yet the end.”
My understanding of the cross and what it means is very different now than it was growing up, and through Richard Rohr, I love and appreciate it in a whole new (and much more healing, helpful) way. God incarnate in Jesus Christ embodies for me how love is the undercurrent beneath every single thing in our world.
I wish you tangible experiences today of Christ’s pervading, unconditional love. And in doing so, offer another sneak peek toward my book – launching this fall – that includes a Lenten prayer.
***
For Lent
Redeeming One,
You came, Jesus, to show me the
best way to live and walk this path.
You let yourself feel the depth
of need surrounding you.
You kept a purity of focus.
You always, always chose love.
All with bravery and trust.
I need you, Jesus, to walk
beside me now,
helping me reflect,
confess, prepare…
This Lenten path puts before me
the questions and realizations
I so often stuff away.
With each step, I’m recognizing
barriers built through my
rote habits and unrealized prejudices,
my base-line grudges and routine neglects…
I must acknowledge compromises
that drew me further away
from my own soul and your calling.
But I’m coming back home.
Hone my desires to that
pure focus you held.
Help me fast from self-absorption,
finding my sustenance in the
rich profundity of suffering-love.
Draw my heart and feet forward
on this path that’s both total mystery
and innate to who I am in you.
A minor melody marks our cadence,
yet you tune my ears for more than that.
Resurrection is always the final number.
Help me walk, Savior Lord,
with hope amid heaviness,
ears to the ground.
I will welcome my mortality
and the potential in ashes and dust.
Amen.
Psalm 51:17 * Isaiah 53:4-6 * Luke 9:23-24
“If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves and take up
their cross daily and follow me…” Luke 9:23
Thank you Arianne for your prayers.
Belated birthday wishes and a Happy and Blessed Easter!
Fran
Thank you so much, dear Fran! I hope your Easter was meaningful and uplifting in every way. We miss you!
Arianne, Bless you for expressing your belief, your hope, your doubts, your security in the Lord so meaningfully. I share your great appreciation for Fr. Richard Rohr and the great expansion of awareness and growing understanding he has helped to usher into my faith. Please continue!
May you and your family enjoy a most meaningful Good Friday and Easter.
Blessings to you all.
Marti
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Dearest Marti, how kind and encouraging you are! Thank you so much for all of your supportive words. What a gift for me to learn of our shared love for Richard Rohr! You are a model for generations to come, Marti, as you grow and open yourself to new ways of understanding. I hope you had a beautiful Easter. We miss seeing you! Sending much love to you, Mari!