Sunday, October 28, 2007

A Prayer by Zac Willette

A while back, I wrote and shared the prayer of Oscar Romero.
Increasingly, I've been finding it more and more helpful -- actually
necessary -- to extend prayerful thoughts in not only this blog, but
through my emailing correspondence.

What follows is in this same vein, and in the tradition of Romero.

My friend Zac Willette, (pictured here between Margaret Post and me) wrote the following prayer. He is working on
his Masters in Divinity at Weston in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In
this prayer, it is evident to me of dear Zac's heart, faith, spirit;
his divinity certainly coming forward in a masterful way...

Yes, it's a prayer that reminds me of the Salvadorian Archbishop's
because of its expressed humility and hope; its balance of faith with
a kind of trembling fear; the sheer humanity of it -- alongside the
awesome power and knowledge of the holy emanating.

I don't know.

I just really really like it.

And if you are searching for some words to begin a meeting, or to convene your work within a collaborative space of faithful beings, I recommend this prayer. Highly.

Love to Zac!
Peace and blessings to you all!
Melissa

Oh! And please let me know if you DO use it! I'm sure that would make Zac Willette's day!

***

God who is Creator of us and Brother to us and Advocate for us
We show up here in this place
weary from what drains us
and yet somehow awake,
full of to do lists and worries we know too well
and yet hungry for what we do not know.

We gather in your presence
with hopes and fears that compete for our attention
with desires you have put deep in our hearts
and with desires we've allowed to distract us from joy.

Help us, loving and mysterious God,
to see how you show up
in wondrous and irritating ways
to comfort and challenge us
to patiently form us
and endlessly transform us.

Make us strong in love,
deep in faith,
and inexhaustible in hope.

Guide us in our time together
and give us the strength to let ourselves be guided.

Amen.

-Zac Willette
http://zacwillette.blogspot.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seriously?!? Seriously!!! I feel like it's a day of transformative reflection that is just rockin my socks off and this, this is crazy, amazing, and potent. How do prayers get published and into the hands, hearts, and heads of the world? I feel like this speaks to SO many and in such real living breathing people terms. Thank you for sharing your gifts of word, reflection . . . of journey - continually weaving paths together.

AMEN!

Anonymous said...

Tell him, please, that I will be using it next Monday, when I lead the community meeting here at the Girard house and probably to begin a few other meetings as well. It fits so many and so much....Kath