Healing Prayers and Reflections
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit
-Psalm 34.18
Cry for Justice
We come before you Creator God, bearing our broken hearts and burdens
Speaking our truth in anticipation of your healing
Ushering us into a new era of freedom and love in
Recognition that we are created in your Image and Likeness.
The stories not told withholds the gifts, yet finds
mercy in the dark womb of your love.
Spoken in your presence our narrative is transformed by Light--
May God be with representation
In wholeness and diversity.
-Gabriel James
Unity Prayer
Unity is when we come together with other individuals or groups to form something greater than any of us. For many people the heart of spirituality is a sense of being part of something larger than ourselves, a unity or oneness with our fellow humans and with the vast and intricate Reality in which we have our existence.
Unity is often built around a common purpose—a harmony of interests or values that create a shared identity. When people are united by shared values and goals, they can move together, synchronizing their efforts to attain things that none could attain alone.
Unity is inclusive. It frees us from the divisiveness of prejudice. We see our commonality without devaluing our differences. A sense of unity can transcend our fear of each other. In unity, the joy of one is the joy of all, and the hurt of one is the hurt of all; the honor of one is the honor of all.
Absorbed in the Mystery of God
Reciting the mantra brings us to stillness and to peace. We recite it for as long as we need to before we are caught up into the prayer of Jesus. The general rule is that we must first learn to say it for the entire period of our meditation each morning and each evening, and then to allow it to do its work of calming over a period of years.
A day will come when the mantra ceases to sound and we become lost in the eternal silence of God. The rule when this happens is not to possess this silence or to use it for one's own satisfaction.
As soon as we consciously realize that we are in this profound silence and then begin to reflect about it we must gently and quietly return to our mantra.
Gradually the silences become longer and we are simply absorbed in the mystery of God. The important thing is to have the courage and generosity to return to the mantra as soon as we become self-conscious of the silence.
Each of us is summoned to the heights of Christian prayer, to the fullness of life. What we need however, is the humility to tread the way very faithfully over a periord of years so the the prayer of Christ may indeed be the grounding experience of life.
-Fr. John Main
Barbara's Prayer for Healing
Dear Jesus,
I believe you have designed and created me
therefore you can also repair and restore me.
In the comfort of your love I pour out to you
the memories that haunt me,
the anxieties that bewilder me,
the fears that stifle me.
I confess my frustration
in dealing with the emotional,
physical and spiritual pain of my life.
Help me to image your gentle touch
as you tenderly enclose me in your arms.
Give me the gift of faith
to believe in your merciful love each
step of my earthly journey.
I trust your tender care will
yield peace to my mind,
serenity to my heart,
renewal to my spirit and
healing to my body.
I offer you a sacrifice of praise
in the midst of my suffering,
knowing that you promised to never
leave me nor forsake me. Amen.
-Barbara Shlemon Ryan, founder of ACT
Prayer of Lament and Liberation
God of all nations, the suffering on this earth seems too great, the oppression of your people everywhere cries out for healing and hope. We do not understand how we have come to this sad place after so much opportunity and grace. We are not content and we come to You with our complaints.
We are yearning for the freedom that You have always promised to the saints, the mystics, and the prophets. We desire freedom of heart and mind for ourselves, truth and justice for all peoples, all creatures on this earth, and for the earth itself. We desire to be useable instruments for the purposes of God.
May we not substitute our own darkness for anybody's light--nor too easy light for any necessary and needed darkness. Make us both humble and courageous at the same time, soft and strong together, properly bitter and properly sweet. We offer this prayer in deep trust that You are a Compassionate God who is listening and even answering our prayers.
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." -Isaiah 5.20
Isaiah 61 : The Good News of Deliverance
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations
"The wound is in the place where the Light enters you"
-Rumi
The Heart Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, doing deep prajna paramita,
Clearly saw emptiness of all the five conditions, thus completely
relieving misfortune and pain.
O Shariputra, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form;
Form is exactly emptiness, emptiness exactly form;
Sensation, conception, discrimination, awareness are likewise like this.
O Shariputra, all dharmas are forms of emptiness,
Not born, not destroyed, not stained, not pure, without loss, without gain;
So in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, conception, discrimination, awareness;
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;
No color, sound, smell, taste, touch, phenomena;
No realm of sight, no realm of consciousness;
No ignorance and no end to ignorance;
No old age and death, and no end to old age and death;
No suffering, no cause of suffering,
No extinguishing, no path; no wisdom and no gain.
No gain and thus the Bodhisattva lives prajna paramita,
With no hindrance in the mind, no hindrance, therefore no fear,
Far beyond deluded thoughts, this is nirvana.
All past, present, and future Buddhas live prajna paramita,
And therefore attain annuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
Therefore know, prajna paramita is the great mantra,
The vivid mantra, the best mantra, the unsurpassable mantra;
It completely clears all pain. This is the truth, not a lie.
So set forth the Prajna Paramita Mantra, set forth this mantra and say:
Gate! Gate! Paragate! Parasamgate! Bodhi Svaha! Prajna Heart Sutra.