TODAY - PRAYERS TO INVITE CHRIST THE NAVIGATOR ABOARD OUR FRAIL VESSELS
TO LEAD US TO SAFETY.
Prayer of a Breton fisherman
Oh Lord!
My boat is so small
and the sea so huge, rough and turbulent.
I am the captain of my boat, but you are my Master.
Take care of my tiny boat and guide me.
Christ the Navigator,
Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbour,
where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict.
Show me the course I should take.
Renew in me the gift of discernment,
so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go.
And give me the strength and the courage
to choose the right course,
even when the sea is rough and the waves are high,
knowing that through enduring hardship and danger,
in your name we shall find comfort and peace.
Basil of Caesarea (c. 329-379)
Disturb us, Lord
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas
where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land,
we shall find the stars. We ask you push back the horizons of our hopes, and to push us in the future
with strength, courage, hope and love.
Attributed to Sir Francis Drake (1577)
I’m content to leave the navigation to you.
All shall be well, Lord!
It’s hard to grasp this in this struggling world.
Earth’s foundations eroding,
stained dark by seas of suffering.
Evil surging, waves crashing with destructive force
on moving sand.
Threatening cliff-falls of faith.
Lashing the puny breakwaters of belief,
threatening inundation.
Yet, all shall be well?
Seasick with seasonal anxiety,
the hard knot of panic just below my heart.
I look to you.
Wondering, doubting.
Is your hand stretched out yet again?
Will you restrain the storm, bring peace?
Lord, you are the still centre of every storm.
In you is calm, whatever the wind outside.
In you is reassurance, however high the waves.
In you is strength, however contrary the tide.
I put myself in your hand.
The sea is vast. No landmarks.
I don’t know the way.
At times I can’t even point to north.
But I’m content to leave the navigation to you.
To meet the unknown.
To find, if not new continents of faith,
at least an island or two.
Knowing that, in spite of storm strength,
all shall be well.
And Lord, there are others, sailing other crafts.
I pray for them, today.
Eddie Askew: “Many voices, one Voice”
