Canaan in the Desert:
Phoenix, Arizona
Opening Prayer
Jesus, you once said to those you loved, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. May we find comfort that these words are for us today, and may we learn to trust you more each day. -A2J Community (Silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible No one is like you, O LORD; You are great, and your name is mighty in power. Who should not revere you, O King of the nations? The LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. In his anger, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath. God made the earth by his power; he formed the world by his wisdom And stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain. And brings out the wind from his storehouses. I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; It is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me, LORD, but only with justice—Not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing. -Jeremiah 10:6, 7, 12, 13, 23, 24 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. Lamb of God You take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: grant us peace. -Roman Missal (Time of silence for confession of sin) Words of Jesus “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! -Matthew 7:7-11 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayer for Ourselves and Others Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. -Psalm 54:2 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer Lord, catch me off guard today. Surprise me with some moment of beauty or pain so that at least for the moment I may be startled into seeing that you are here in all your splendor, always and everywhere, barely hidden, beneath, beyond, within this life I breathe. -Frederick Buechner (1926-2022 ) 
Mount Arat, Armenia
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