Category Archives: prayer

He descended to hell

Posted on April 20, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

In my resurrection icons Jesus does not rise alone, but hanging on his winding cloths, his wounded feet, holding on his holy hands, a conspiracy of new creation spills from an empty tomb. Image via Monastery Icons

Posted in holy days, poetry, prayer | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tenebrae

Posted on April 17, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

Scarlet shadows seeping backward from the cross; cruel fascination draws us to the flame like moths, extinguished one by one; love like an earthquake sends us trembling toward the tomb

Posted in holy days, poetry, prayer | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The stones would shout

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

If these walls could speak, they would sing of the sun’s light seeping into sandstone, warming the night when Love comes calling … Continue reading →

Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation | Tagged | Leave a comment

A prayer for the anxious preacher

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

Faint stigmata of fingernails in palm-flesh, the careful unclenching of the jaw do not show, but You know, Anointed with anxiety in the Garden. If I lay end to end the moments I have spent, keys in hand, chanting, “okay, … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, prayer | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A prayer for the weary preacher

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

Abundant Word, your economy of language makes wine out of water, a feast of fish and bread, breaking nets out of sleepless nights I come with crumbs, with unslept eyes, high on the fumes of the day, my shredded garment … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, prayer | Leave a comment

A prayer for the woman preaching

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

You remember us as the woman who anointed Your anointed one … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, prayer | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Thaw

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

Create in me a new heart, O God (Psalm 51:11a) Wind trills taughtly-anchored telegraph wires. A stave of birds compose an arpeggio, ready for flight. Hedges shrug off the gusts and hold the line, but Something is trying to stir … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, prayer | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wednesday Morning Prayer

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

Reposted from the Episcopal Cafe. The recommended Canticle for use after the first testament reading at Morning Prayer on a Wednesday is Surge, illuminare: Rise and shine. On a day like any other buses ran, some on time buskers sang, … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, prayer | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Winter prayer

Posted on January 27, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

Snow has fallen, slurring my footsteps, skewing my pathway to prayer. Only become as a child, you say: trade caution for the headlong hurtle; build snowmen, not as idols but monument to the meeting of flesh and raw air.

Posted in poetry, prayer | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How cats answer prayers

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Rosalind C Hughes

I know that I have a weakness for whimsy, but there was something about that cat. She had a flash on her forehead that was the exact colour of the sand in the Jordan desert. Continue reading →

Posted in prayer, story | Tagged , , | 2 Comments