By Elaine Chatwin
So, it’s Friday today and I’m two days home from our winter vacation. I was wondering how I would stay connected with Lent while we travelled. I prepared a few goals before leaving home and did manage to achieve most of them.
One of my goals was to finish memorizing a translation of the Prayer of Jesus and I have to admit it was the one I was most reluctant to commit to. I have never been fond of memory work so there was a bit of a wall to go over even before I began. To my surprise, this memory work turned out to be the most profound connection. The gift of having the prayer available to me any time, any where without needing so much as a piece of paper was invaluable.
Prayer of Jesus (Based on the Aramaic - translation by Neil Douglas-Klotz)
O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos,
you create all that moves
in light.
Help us let go, clear the space inside
of busy forgetfulness: so the
Name comes to live.
Your power springs into existence
as our arms reach out to
embrace all creation.
Create in me a divine cooperation-
from many selves, one voice,
one action.
Grant what we need each day in bread and insight:
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,
as we release the strands we hold
of other’s guilt.
Don’t let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back
(from our true purpose).
Out of you, the astonishing fire and
the birthing glory, return light and sound
to the cosmos…