You are invited to begin this time with a breath prayer. As you enter into a stillness, use these words to align with your breath. Explore this breath prayer for this month as a way to center your body, mind and soul.
Breath Prayer
Inhale: Lord, open my eyes
Exhale: To love as You love
THE CENTER PRAYER
Will you pray for the Center for Spiritual Formation?
Dear God:
We pray for the life and ministry of the Center:
May it become a healing stream
for those who would be sustained by prayer;
May it become an ever-flowing river
for those whose spirits have grown dry;
May it become a fountain of life,
for those who would practice their faith
in a dry and thirsty land;
And may it nourish the seed of your Word—
the Church,
yielding a bountiful harvest for your
Kingdom.
AMEN
Specific Prayer Needs of the Center
Please join in prayer for these specific needs of the work of the Center in this season. If you would like to help with provision for these needs, contact Rhonda Strouse at director.rhonda@centerformation.org
Opening Statement:
“We present these prayers to the Holy One to whom all praise and gratitude are given as we seek to travel the sacred pathway of the Center…
May the Center be a community that holds Love for all of God’s people – where there is a knowing of Presence and Peace – near and far, deep and wide.
May we see through Love’s eyes in all we encounter and listen to the Holy One who draws us where there are pleas for Love’s voice.
Let the Center receive new traveling companions on the journey up the mountain in shared pilgrimage and draw together with those who have long sought the Center as a refuge of Peace. May there be a constant infusion of invitation, embrace, and lingering connection for all.
May each of us share in the Spirit’s heart of generosity in support for the Center as we grow in our reach, our teaching and offerings, and seek to leave an imprint on the world that is Love.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
May It Be So.
Featured Prayer From Melissa Madara
O God,
sometimes there are no words.
I like words. I need words.
Words give voice to the pain; definition to the indistinct; order to the chaos;
they distract from discomfort and provide an escape from helplessness.
But sometimes the struggle is too deep for definition
and the experience too nuanced for explanation.
And so in the struggle, give me the courage to linger
in the awkward discomfort of stillness.
Help me resist the urge to pacify, to minimize, to trivialize;
to fix or reframe or advise or distract;
but rather simply to be.
To listen for the sound of sheer silence.
To simply listen.
To bear witness to your Spirit,
who meets us in the deafening silence of our pain
in sighs. Groans. Utterances too deep for words.
And in the quiet, may your presence be felt in my presence.
May your silent tears join with mine.
May your breath fill the empty space
and may you breathe new life into the dust.
Amen.
Rev. Melissa Madara is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church and serves as the Chaplain and Coordinator of Spiritual Life at Lebanon Valley College, as well as the Executive Director of Sacred SoulScapes, a ministry that weaves together embodied and experiential forms of spirituality such as hiking, yoga, and spiritual direction/companionship. Her deepest passions in life and ministry are helping people of all ages and abilities connect with God in unique, imaginative, and engaging ways.
Melissa graduated from the Ministry of Spiritual Direction program in 2022, and continues to serve as a program facilitator and behind-the-scenes coordinator for several evolving ministries of the Center.
Prayer from the Center’s Archives
The Center for Spiritual Formation has a treasure trove of prayers collected over the years through our Ministry of Spiritual Direction training, retreats and workshops.
Jesus, you cared for all the sick who came to you. We want to care with loving compassion, to attend to details with gentleness. But we become weary and impatient, angry and abrupt. It is hard to watch the suffering of those we love—hard to find energy for all we must do. We grow discouraged and resentful. Let us learn from your life of compassion.
Spirit of healing and comfort, be with us in these difficult times. Teach us to take time for ourselves, to be gentle with our own limits, to ask help from others. May your grace allow us to forgive ourselves when we fail, to let go of our expectations, to grieve all our losses.
Send your healing power to us and the ones for whom we care. We trust in your love.
~Kathleen Fischer