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Autumn Equinox Prayer
by Ed Hays on Sep. 25, 2009
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Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionI unite myself with ancient memories that sleep within.
Ancestors of long ago whose fears have left their fingerprints upon me,
remind me of my holy communion with that river of humanity
that flows through my soul.
May this flame be my autumn sacred fire.
a fire or candle may be lit
I greet you, child of night — my anger.
May I live with you in a creative way.
Be fuel for the prophet within me
to speak and act against the darkness of injustice.
I greet you, daughter of the dark — my sexual needs.
May I always dance with you in creative, selfless ways.
May I live with you in openness and without fear.
I greet you, sons of darkness — envy and the need to be noticed.
I fear you not, for you can teach me how I must love myself fully
if I am to love others and my God with all my heart.
I greet you — night-spirit of aggression.
May you be a powerful force for good in my life.
You are the energy that can impel me to achieve great deeds,
to heal the Earth of brokenness.
May I live with you in good health of body, mind and spirit.
And may all my friends of the dark
be in harmony with the spirits of light within me,
living together under the loving eye of our merciful God.
Amen
From Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim by Ed Hays
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Prayer action suggestion:
Celebrate the changing of the seasons with friends, family, co-workers or strangers on the street. Give thanks for the seasons that feed the cycle of life.
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Yet again, Fr. Hays offers us
Yet again, Fr. Hays offers us a prayer that does not mention the Holy Name of Jesus (why bother with that when we can praise the "daughter of the dark — my sexual needs"?). How a Catholic website can publish prayers that can not in any sense be considered Catholic, or even Christian, is beyond me.
Perhaps then my dearest Clint
Perhaps then my dearest Clint in light of your continuous harsh comments here and elsewhere, we might wish together to meditate, repeatedly, slowly, with slow breathing, the petition regarding "sons of darkness — envy and the need to be noticed."
I only share this out of a deep and solicitous concern for our inner peace with Our Lord Jesus Christ through which we grow to love even our enemies, not envy. I share this only compelled by the obligations of our Spiritual Works of Mercy to counsel . . .
Forgive me for this please, and let us pray for each other within the mystery of this profound prayer from the Reverend Father Hays as we join within the dance of the planetary pilgrims, as I joined my prayers with you this morning before dawning the Feast of Ste. Thérèse de L’Enfant Jesus et de la Sainte Face, as we processed in the softening darkness the long and solemn dance of the Holy Rosary through our small Mexican town, with petitions for justice and for peace, the most intimate and integral peace in coming through this insightful prayer from Father Hays, to integrate that which most holds us from all-giving Love, God, through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Forgive me ever, I beg you, and your prayers
your least little one
frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT (Congrégation de Subiaco)
Harsh comments, dear Frere
Harsh comments, dear Frere Charles? No, honest comments. In what way can this prayer possibly be considered Christian? It is not directed to Christ Jesus, to the Father, nor to the Spirit. It is addressed to the children of the dark, night spirit of aggression, daughter of the dark, etc. How is this a Christian prayer?
I'll stick with the Liturgy of the Hours, Rosary, Little Office of the BVM, etc.
Clint, clint, do you really
Clint, clint, do you really recite daily the Liturgy of the Hours, the Most Holy Rosary, the Little Office of the BVM (or only on Saturday?), "etc."?
When do you find time to post here at NCRonline.org?
This profound prayer by the Reverend Father Ed Hays in no way addresses any "cihldren of the dark" as you dare claim, but rather brings us to peace, and to overcome such distractions from our prayer, meditations, comtemplations, of God. I draw once more for your personal consideration these lines regardinh the "sons of darkness — envy and the need to be noticed."
Do you so need to be noticed as to post harsh coments constantly here? Are you filled with the son of darkness of envy (more often called a sin, but here labelled in a way to make it otherwise comprehensible to us), an envy for these good priests and religious who regularly post their columns and their thoughts and their homilies, and as with the Reverend Father Ed Hays, their prayers, for our edification in the integral conversion to and plentiful practice of our Roman Catholic Faith in Jesus Christ, Our Lord?
Let us pray together. I pray the Liturgy of the Hours, despite the most profound pain of no longer being surrounded by the loving warmth of my choirs past, like a babe in a warm nursery. I too pray the Rosary regularly, and chant the Salve, and the Magnificat, that most Revolutionary and Prophetic prayer. And I love to read the promising prayers of the Reverend Father Ed Hays.
If you find the other prayers, from books, from rote, so fulfilling and constitutive to your practice of the Faith, why do you come here to condemn the Reverend Father Ed Hays who so humbly and generously and graciously shares his prayers with us, so publicly (imagine the embarrassment this must bring, particularly when folks like you condemn them!)?
I can only recall another prayer, the Pryer for His Daughter by the great Irish poet WB Yeats, which includes the line:
"For arrogance and hatred are the wares // Peddled in the thoroughfares."
Why do you hate these gentle, simple, profound, spontaneous prayers of the Reverend Father Ed Hays? Is it not out of Envy, and the need to be noticed?
With all due respect, Father,
With all due respect, Father, celebrating the equinoxes is something pagans, nature worshippers and secular humanists do. Our Hebrew ancestors and brothers, on the other hand celebrate the harvest at this time.
Fr. Ed: A beautiful prayer
Fr. Ed:
A beautiful prayer as usual!
This is a very good way of
This is a very good way of putting the gateway of the two times together. We all have traits that can be used for good or bad like stubborness versus stick-to-it-iveness. The person who is good at leading can negatively become a dictator. I never thought about celebrating the wholeness of the two parts coming together but I think we should do it more often! This way celebrates our brokeness that can be made whole.
This isn't a prayer. It
This isn't a prayer. It sounds like some sort of neo-Pagan Chant. "Ancient memories", "child of night," "daugher of the dark", "sons of darkness." It's all obviously stolen from some pagan ritual, you just need to replace God with "Mother Earth," and you're all set for a Wiccan ceremony.
With all due respect to you
With all due respect to you Father this sounds the a prayer of paganism worshiping nature and not the Majestic Christ who has an ocean of mercy but however will return to judge the living and dead by fire. Perhaps you need to reflect on this and discern your vocation.
DEAR FATHER ED, I READ THIS
DEAR FATHER ED, I READ THIS PRAYER, & HAVING THE "GIFT OF PRAYER",AMONGST OTHERS, THAT HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO ME BY THE "HOLY SPIRIT", OF WHICH I DON'T DESERVE. THIS PRAYER WENT RIGHT TO MY SOUL. I'M EXPERIENCING WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN. I HAVE NOW REGISTERED & LOOK FOWARD TO MORE. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, & MY GOD BLESS YOU & YOUR FOREVER.
It seems to me that the
It seems to me that the negative responses here forget that all of creation is God's, the equinoxes, the different needs in mankind, everything. To acknowledge that God is indeed in charge of his creation isn't bad but good.
Father Hays, Thanks you for
Father Hays,
Thanks you for your simply beautiful reflection and prayer asking blessing on the darkness and the light in us all. Teilhard du Chardin and his convictions of our oneness with all creation as our oneness with a loving God made a strong lasting impression on my spiritual life. He too was unappreciated in his time and even vilified by "the church", yet how right he was! The comments you received fulfill the blessing and promise of persecution of those who suffer for God's name. Alleluia!
The truth is since there is
The truth is since there is only one God, almost all faith expressions could in some way be said to praise Him. This being said, I don't understand the need to resort to new age, pagan or otherwise apparently non-Christian expressions in prayer when as a Catholic we have the fullness of truth and possibly the most beautiful forms of prayer. Why not follow our elder brothers in Christ, the saints and imitate their prayer. Why denigrate or lessen the ideal standard that exists in the Church.
Sincerely in Her Immaculate Heart,
Tony
I wonder what St. Francis of
I wonder what St. Francis of A. would make of this prayer? To the good Frere Charles who attempts to defend it..you should know that this prayer is not of the ordinary and is a red flag (especially in the USA, with the rise in new age and satanic worship) to most Catholics. Why do you chastise this ordinary fellow Clint for defending his faith and God. We all must grow in our spirituality and understanding, your arrogance did not help this individual to grow either! I have never read any of the Fathers of the Church or Doctors of the Church address their sexual needs in a prayer as this one has. This prayer does not lead one to the Lord Our God, Jesus the Christ, it leaves one with a great deal of confusion, which does NOT glorify any One part of the Trinity. We must not be mislead by the somewhat good intentions of our own Catholic Priests or Religious lest we go down the path toward Hell. I wonder what Pope Benedict XVI would make of this prayer? St. Bernard of Clairveax pray for us all!
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