The only reason for Jesus to mix clay with the spittle and smear it on the eyes of the blind man was to remind you that he who restored the man to health by anointing his eyes with clay is the very one who fashioned the first man out of clay, and that this clay that is our flesh can receive the eternal life through the sacrament of baptism.

 

You, too, should come to Siloam, that is, to him who was sent by the Father.  Come and be baptized, it is time; come quickly, and you too will be able to say, I was blind, and now I see.

 

Ambrose of Milan

Fourth century

 

Bright sadness is the true message and gift of Lent.  Little by little we begin to understand, or rather to feel, that the sadness of Lent is indeed “bright,” that a mysterious transformation is about to take place in us.  It is as if we were reaching a place to which the noises  and the fuss of life, of the street, of all that which usually fills our days and even nights, have no access - - a place where they have no power.  All that which seemed so tremendously important to us as to fill our mind, that state of anxiety which has become our second nature, disappear somewhere and we begin to feel free, light and happy.  It is not the noisy and superficial happiness which comes and goes twenty times a day and is so fragile and fugitive; it is a deep happiness which comes not from a  single and particular reason but from our soul having, in the words of Dostoyevsky, touched “another world.”  And that which it has touched is made up of light and peace and joy, of an inexpressible trust.

 

Fr. Alexander Schmemann

 

 

O God, deliver us from words and deeds that provoke discord, prejudice and hatred.
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O God, deliver us from suspicions and fears that stand in the way of reconciliation.
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O God, deliver us from believing and speaking lies about other peoples or nations.
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O God, deliver us from cruel indifference to the cries of the hungry and homeless.
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O God, deliver us from all that prevents us from fulfilling your promise of peace.
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Deliver us from our brokenness, we pray, O God, and by your grace

and healing presence deliver us to You.

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O Creating God, deliver us to still waters and green pastures.
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O Risen Christ, deliver us to the freedom and forgiveness we find in you.
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O Jesus, deliver us to the tough task of loving our enemies.
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O Servant of All, deliver us to joyful service in your name.
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O Holy Spirit, deliver us now and in the days to come, to the promise of a new heaven and a new earth.  Deliver us to the wholeness of justice and to the power of your peace.
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Closing Prayer

 

Charge our lives and our churches with the power of
your peace, O God. Overcome our fears and self-deceptions with the
promise of your presence. Make us signs of your generosity and justice.
Light us each day with hope, we pray, so that we may walk in your
truth and be love in your Name. 

 

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