Dear God
 
Give me love…
That I might love others.
 
Give me strength…
That I might help others.
 
Give me wisdom…
That I might inspire others.
 
Give me courage…
That I might save others.
 
Give me health…
That I might heal others.
 
Give me pardon…
That I might forgive others.
 
Give me discipline…
That I might persevere
 
To do all these things
in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
 
JK 1998

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Prayer Performance

Calamity had become my lot

So it was the Lord that I then sought.

Upon my knees I began to nag

But there was no change and time did lag.

The more I fussed and begged and pleaded

the less my voice seemed to be heeded.

I began to believe I was alone,

fallen into some nonexistent zone.

My sad, pathetic supplications

were fast becoming indications

that my being is but nothingness.

Alas, I couldn't bear suffering this.

I petitioned with Job's insistence,

then dreaded the coming resistance,

but God with His glacial sense of time

answered me mutely in mental mime.

It finally came to my attention

and I began to  have prehension

that asking with preconceived answers

is a stage with too many dancers.

The choreography remains lost

as bounding bodies are bumped and tossed.

The stage must be cleared and calm procured

for the Lord's messages to be heard.

 JK  September 22, 2010

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 Pre-Service Prayer

 

Oh Lord quiet my heart,

My breathing, my senses,

Avert them from

All the clatter of the world,

Lift them to the heavens,

Open them to Your Word.

 

Arouse my soul, unlock my mind,

Help me hear Your message.

Your Son, Your Holy Ghost,

Your angels and saints,

Bring them to the alter.

Free me of my restraints.

 

JK November 16, 2008

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PEACE

The Lord in His mercy takes your mental anguish,

Letting your tensions drain away.

Leaving your heart to no longer languish,

Upon the unpleasant parts of the day.

When the miseries of life become oppressive,

Your stomach churning deep within,

And thoughts turning sore and obsessive

Begin to overflow the brim…

Replace them with reverent prayer loud and clearly,

Echoing off the angels’ wings,

From whom reprieves are passed out dearly,

That PEACE that only heaven brings.

JK February 14, 2009

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Sabbath Sabotaged

 Sometimes the fourth commandment

Is broken for a myriad of reasons,

Some well founded, others of a lesser sort.

Thus in keeping the Sabbath holy,

Often best intentions somehow fall short.

When we have failed to gather in church

With our fellow Christians,

Let us make amends with prayer,

Meditations from our hearts,

Demonstrations that we care.

Call the one we know is lonely.

Send money to a cause that’s worthy.

Give our children words of kindness.

Look to see the need around us.

Avoid pursuits that are mindless.

So if we’ve missed the rituals,

That serve as important reminders,

Let us at least summon the Spirit,

To heed this prayer, bask in God’s love,

And be sure to mirror it.

JK  2002

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Flight Prayer

I pray God sends His angels

with strongest wings,

to lift and carry this plane up on its way,

and set it down gently at the end of day.

Man has created so many things,

that were never meant to be his nature.

I realize suspended helpless above the world,

looking down on clouds puffed and swirled,

flight for man is but nomenclature

for contraptions he did oddly contrive.

All those clouds curled and burled in balls,

could never cushion a plane that falls.

It is only You, my Lord that keeps us alive.

We pride ourselves on clever robotics,

today's Tower of Babel is aeronautics.

So as we ride our latest sensations,

stay close, Dear Lord and try not to laugh,

send St. Joseph with Your rod and staff

to guide our unnatural adaptations.

JK   Dec. 12, 2007

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      Blessings of the Beasts

Thank you Lord for this fine feast

and all the blessings of this day.

Thanks also to each plant and beast

that gave of themselves to nourish.

From the greatest to the least,

be they fauna, flora, fowl or fish,

their sacrifice, esteemed and beseeched,

enables us to feed and flourish.

                                JK February 21, 2002

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