This current crisis may feel strange and challenging for most of us,
but we should remember that there are many people for whom being
house-bound has always been a part of there everyday reality – and
hopefully this time will be a lesson in how to include those who
can’t be physically present with us more effectively within our Churches
and our wider community life.
While Christians believe that God can been encountered anywhere, it
is clear that there is a power to certain places, that the act of
going to Church can be an important part of preparing yourself to be
ready for that encounter – and without that we might be finding it
harder to tune in to the Divine presence.
Therefore I hope that these Stations, written by Simon Bailey, might
be helpful – as he says in his introduction, below, your home might not
have the exact spaces so you might want to translate them to the
layout of the place where you live, and as you pray them I am sure
you will add the particular concerns of the current situation – for
those that are especially vulnerable, for the health workers treating
the sick, for all those involved in keeping the nation fed, those
struggling as work has come to an end.
Simon also wrote Stations in a town or village, and Stations around
the body, as well as one for the spaces within a church or chapel so
you might like to buy a copy of the complete set to explore once we
are able to get out and about again -
https://canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781870652124/stations
Gwilym
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seven
Stations in your home
You
probably pray at home
as
much as you do at church -
or
more.
These
stations are chosen to help you
watch
and pray over your day to day life.
Every
home is unique:
you
may not have all these separate places,
but
adjust the stations for yourself.
Choose
a time when the house is empty.
Or
use these prayers as part of your routine,
as
you happen to be in each place.
The
words to thinks about are the eight verses
of
an ancient Celtic prayer-poem about the home.
It
is a prayer for protection
and
may be used as a ‘Caim’:
As
you say the words you raise your arm,
and,
pointing, you draw a circle sun-wise
around
yourself in the name of God to protect you.
The
circle goies with you as you go.
Begin
the Caim:
“O
God, bless the place where I live;
give
blessing to all that it holds.”
Be
slow and quiet and take time to pray.
A
Caim
O
God bless the place where I live;
give
blessing to all that it holds.
O
God bless the journeys I make;
give
blessing to travel and rest.
O
God bless the words that I speak;
giving
blessing to silence and talk.
O
God shield my heart from guilt;
fill
our bodies and spirits with joy.
O
God bless the folk I live with;
give
blessing to your livelihood.
O
God let my spirit rise up;
let
the darknesses in us go down.
O
God shield my heart from distress;
give
protection from evil and wrong.
And
O God bless my body
To
be close to my soul,
So I
enter whole into life
With
the dear Child of Mary.
1.
The Door
Going through the door -
Leave it open,
and think about the threshold,
the edge between the world outside and home,
your place of security and belonging.
There may be tensions here,
but inside the door you belong.
Say:
Living God
living and strong,
loving and gentle,
pour mercy upon us.
Think about these words:
“O
God Bless the journeys I make;
give blessing to travel and rest.”
Pray for
each one who comes and goes through your door;
those who sleep in doorways, shut out from a home.
2. The Living Room
Go into the main living area, the living room -
Sit down.
This is the base of your life.
This is where you live out your human existence,
living and crying, listening and singing,
talking, thinking, arguing, planning …
Say:
Living God
living and strong,
loving and gentle,
pour mercy upon us.
Think about these words:
“O
God bless the words that I speak;
give blessing to silence and talk.”
Pray for
those who share your life;
the lonely.
3. The Kitchen
Go into the place where you cook, the kitchen.
Stand
by
the cooker, the fridge,
or the washing machine.
Perhaps put the kettle on…
Life goes on here too,
but in a slightly different way -
preparation, cleaning up, work,
washing, ironing, storing,
and, again, talking, thinking, planning -
a busy place for many people,
an easy place to wait and pray,
while the hands are busy with other things.
Say:
Living God
living and strong,
loving and gentle,
pour mercy upon us.
Think about these words:
“O
God shield my heart from guilt;
fill our bodies and spirits with joy.”
Pray for
all who work here and the care they take;
the arrogant and proud who never serve
and are afraid to care.
4. The Dining Room
Go into the place where you eat, the dinning room.
Sit
down where
you normally eat meals.
Meal are more than sustenance:
they are human celebration, feast and joy,
friendship and sharing,
welcome for strangers
and the bonding of friends.
Say:
Living God
living and strong,
loving and gentle,
pour mercy upon us.
Thinking about these words:
“O
God bless the folk I live with;
give blessing to our livelihood.”
Pray for
the chance to share more;
the hungry and the poor.
5. The Stairs
Go through to the stairs
Sit
at the top of the stair of in a passage.
Like the door this is another in-between place,
a place for movement and connection.
Why else do so many people like sitting on the stiars
to think and be quiet?
Stairs – going up – hint at hope,
reaching, effort, risk, aspiration.
Say:
Living God
living and strong,
loving and gentle,
pour mercy upon us.
Think about these words:
“O
God let my spirit rise up:
let the darknesses in us go down.”
Pray for
all the hopes of your household;
time to watch and think and reach up;
the hopeless and defeated.
6. The Bathroom
Go into the place where you wash, the bathroom.
Fill
the
sink.
Splash the water on your face…
This is the place of refreshment and cleansing,
restoring freshness.
Like that first splash of cold water in the morning …
Bathing and washing are full of echoes
of inner cleansing and renewal.
Say:
Living God
living and strong,
loving and gentle,
pour mercy upon us.
Think about these words:
“O
God shield my heart from distress:
give protection from evil and wrong.”
Pray for
a refreshed and renewed spirit
for all who use this room;
those who feel guilty and dirty,
stale and corrupt.
7. The Bedroom
Go into the place where you sleep, the bedroom.
Lit
down
on the bed …
This is the place for sleep and rest,
for the ending of the day.
For many it is a place of love too.
For some it is a place of sickness.
It is a very personal place,
a place of dreams,
of long thought into the early hours,
of tears and pain,
private possessions and treasures.
With the thought of sleep
there is always the near or distant echo
of death and final rest.
Say:
Living God
living and strong,
loving and gentle,
pour mercy upon us.
Think about these words:
“And
O God bless my body
To be close to my soul,
So I enter whole into life
With the dear Child of Mary.”
Pray for
rest, a quiet mind, a good death;
the bed-ridden, the restless, the loveless.
Repeat the Caim
and this time pray for protection
for all those,
all over the world,
who have no home at all.
Pray
Father and Mother of us all,
you are live through and through,
and we bless You.
Let Your new world come,
let what You long for be always done,
in everyone, everywhere – and in us.
Be near enough to reach our need every day.
Be gentle enough to forgive us
the hurt we have done to You -
are we are gentle and forgive in our turn.
Never let us fall
but draw us away from evil and the dark.
For we know the world that is coming is Yours,
all Yours, in richness and beauty and splendour.
Amen.
acknowledgement: 'Stations in your home' from Stations: Places for Pilgrims to Pray by Simon Bailey is (c) Simon Bailey 1991. Published by Canterbury Press. Used by permission. rights@hymnsam.co.uk.
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