march 17

The Prayer of St. Patrick
I arise today Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,Splendor of fire,Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind, Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock. I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me, God's hosts to save meAfar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.Christ shield me todayAgainst woundingChrist with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today Through the mighty strength Of the Lord of creation.

Traditional Christian Prayer
Saint Patrick is a Person after my own heart. I read his autobiographical account of his kidnapping and slavery as a very young man, an age our culture would still call an adolescent. He escaped his captors and yet returned to the land of his slavery to preach to the pagans the salvation of faith in Christ. The depths of poverty and slavery and the heights of the great leader, preacher Bishop...hero. It is a story of salvation and redemption on earth. A soul who suffered greatly but focused not on his suffering but the needs and serving others. A greater gift there is none in the truest sense he was ready and did give his life over to the salvation of others. It is an amazing story. The shamrock, the story of the Trinity carries a beauty and simplicity in a complex theology made real through the eyes and voice of faith and a heart guided by the Spirit.

March 17 2006

Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable.There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it,dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered him,“He will put those wretched men to a wretched deathand lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. ”When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

It is such a difficult thing to understand how the people of the vineyard can be so cruel. There is evil in the world still. God is foretelling the crucifixion and also I believe that the rejection and persecution of the tenants in the vineyard is a sign of to be noted of who God dearly treasures. The evil priests and Pharisees were afraid of the crowds gathered to hear Jesus. It it were not for that they would have taken Jesus away. The crowds knew that Jesus was a great prophet. The parables are so deep in layers of meaning and at the same time so simple. I pray for the strength of faith to go into the vineyard of God when God asks and to not let my heart be wearied by the presence of evil. God will give me what I need when I need it if I have the faith to remain steadfast. God creat in me a clean heart and a ready and willing spirit.