PRAYERS FOR THE BLUE PLANET

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Prayer for a blue planet

Our Father of the Heavens:
Your whole creation, sun, moon, stars and this earthly orb, which you made with your hands in all its fragile beauty, and every creature of this earth to which you have given life, all of them testify to your power and grace, save only man whose mouth is stopped with words. Forgive us for what we speak and do not speak. Forgive our world, your world, which you have left us free to nurture and to defile. Make yourself known to all who are broken in spirit or in flesh, and that is all of us. We long for your peace, which the world can neither give nor take away, the peace that exists only in the eye of the storm, and the heart of the battle. Give us finally the joy of the child born to Mary, whose mercy stretches out across the skies. Amen.

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 Peter Ogle

Cancer Survivor, Corvallis, Oregon

 From his blog THE OGLER

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BLUE WORLD

by Justin Hayward of THE MOODY BLUES

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Heart and soul took control
Took control of me
Paid my dues spread the news
Hands across the sea
Put me down turned me round
Turned me round to see
Marble halls open doors
Someone found the key
And it's only what you do
That keeps coming back on you
And it's only what you say
That can give yourself away
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Underground sight and sound
human Symphony
Heard the voice had no choice
needed to be free
Fly me high touch the sky
Left the earth below
Heard the line saw the sign
Knew which way to go
Cos it's easier to try
Than to prove it can't be done
And it's easier to stay
Than to turn around and run
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It's a blue world
It takes somebody to help somebody
Oh it's a blue world
It's a new world
It needs somebody to love somebody
Oh it's a blue world
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Heart and soul took control
Took control of me
Paid my dues spread the news
Hands across the sea
Put me down turned me round
Turned me round to see
Marble halls open doors
Someone found the key
And it's only what you do
That keeps coming back on you
And it's only what you say
That can give yourself away
Cos it's easier to try
Than to prove it can't be done
And it's easier to stay
Than to turn around and run
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It's a blue world
It takes somebody to help somebody
Oh it's a blue world
It's a new world
It needs somebody to love somebody
Oh it's a blue world
It's a blue world
It takes somebody to help somebody
Oh it's a blue world
It's a new world
It needs somebody to love somebody
Oh it's a blue world

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A silent prayer for those who do not speak
From our large blue planet to the unborn, small and meek
Pray for all our brothers and sisters to be aware that all is
connected to The One.
 To the Father and the Spirit and His only begotten Son
That all life is sacred, and all life has the right
To live as soul intended, for this, we all must fight
So let your silence now be heard as the evil tries to sway
Or else nothing will be left when it comes to Judgement Day….

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Lisa P. Donato 
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HOME ALTARS

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 Home Altars

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Home altars are ancient - every home in ancient Rome
had one - both to protect the house and serve as a focal
point for worship.
Today, home altars can be found in the
dwellings of Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs,
and people from numerous other paths of religious belief.
In Mexico home altars can be found everywhere.
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Altars are as varied and unique as their makers -
no two are alike.  Each has its own distinctive look.
Altars bring the idea of sacred space into the home,
and transform the material, the mundane, into
something special, something with a spiritual
symbolism that transcends poverty or wealth,
or the material trappings of a house.
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The elements that make up an altar can include:
a cloth with a special weave, coloring, or texture;
statues and pictures of divine/holy personalities;
symbolic representation of the four elements -
 air, earth, fire, and water;
 photos of friends and/or relatives (living and deacesed),
political figures, cultural heroes and heroines;
items of special significance to the resident or home;
and whatever else may come to the imagination.
Altars can be simple and stark, 
or elaborate affairs with numerous items displayed.

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Altars are very personal.
Some people find creating them to be a
highly enjoyable act, on many levels.  And of course,
they can be changed, as the seasons or particular
religious days/events pass through their cycles.
This is personal religion - without the priests,
without the crowds, without the building
called a church, or temple.
You create the space; you decide on what
prayers, meditations, or just silent slices of time
will go on here; you arrange and conduct your "services."
It can be as meaningful as you want it to be.
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