Remember you all are wonderful gifts from God

Good Evening Dearly Loved Ones!

Happy Self-Care Saturday!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day and managed to do something for yourselves. This isn't an easy task especially with all that has been going in our nation and the world this past week. Today was a day of mixed emotions for me. This morning I attended my 3rd. Relay For Life Survivor Lap and I can't believe that it has been the third time. After this event I attended and helped with the funeral of Jean Rath a.k.a. The Purple Lady. Jean was a dear friend of mine who has known me since I was very small and we attended St. Peter's together and were Associates of the Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity. We also were kind of eccentric activists fighting one step at a time to make the world a better place. She was famous enough to end up on "Real People", "Johnny Carson",  "David Letterman" just to name a few. Jean passed away about 2 weeks ago. I will miss her and if you are not sure what to say when someone asks you how you are, think about this "I'm fit as a fiddle and twice as squeaky!'  This evening I went back to the Santa Maria Fair Park to attend the Relay For Life "Luminaria Ceremony" to celebrate and honor those who have lost their lives to cancer and those who are survivors. Each of the aspects of today's events in my life and the lives of many others call to mind how precious life is. So to begin this time of prayer and meditation let us hear the words from Sir Elton John as he sings "Your Song"

Your Song -Elton John\

Remember you all are wonderful gifts from God and we are all blessed to have you in the world. Keep being yourselves and know that is quite okay to be extravagantly eccentric. God has made you that way. Let us celebrate life with its hues, joys, sorrows, highs, and lows each and every day and may each day a holy blessed one. 

God we thank you for reminding us of the fragility and how precious life is. Tonight we light our candles and pray for all of our family members. We pray for our family members who are living on the margins. We celebrate everyone who comes across our pathways as the face of Jesus and those who seek to do Jesus' work. We pray for our family members who are coping with discrimination, bullying, abuse, and being hated by family members who seek to divide  and not unite. We pray for all of our family members who are struggling with illnesses such as Cancer, Alzheimer's, and any other disease that presents challenges to everyday living. We pray for our family members who are on the front lines of activism who are seeking to bring about peace, safety, unity, and equality. We pray for all faith communities who are losing their elderly and keepers of the lore by aging and by entering into the Thin Places. We pray for all family members who have been touched by violence. We pray this night for all who work in ERs, Law Enforcement, and Mortuary ministries that they  may have an uneventful night. We pray that we may take time for self-care and offer to one another who need it times of respite. We pray and remember this night in group all who have died in Orlando and other places where gun violence has occurred. We pray for peace within ourselves, our families, our cities, states, nations, and the world. Let us be peacemakers and let it begin with us. We pray these prayers this night and lift them to you Gentle and loving God. Amen.

Gracious Spirit, we come to you with heavy hearts in need of healing. We offer our tender beings to you for the healing of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Gracious Spirit we pray this night for and end to bullying and persecution of our LGBTQ youth and adults who are not lovingly accepted in our family May we love them and make for them a soft place in which to fall.

Gracious Spirit, We pray for an end to domestic violence and abuse of men, women and children that all those who have been affected this way may find necessary help and safe shelter,

Gracious Spirit, we pray for our family members who are lonely, homeless, and hungry. May they find compassionate company, safe lodging, and be feed with good food.

Gracious Spirit, protect all of our immigrants, refugees,prisoners, captives, that they may receive necessary care, justice, secure shelters, be led to freedom and liberty. 

Gracious Spirit we pray that we may be good stewards of God's Cathedral of  Life and protect the land that God has given us.  May we conserve and learn to live simply out of Gods's abundance.

Gracious Spirit, we pray for rain in the drought parched areas of the world and for our family members who are affected by severe weather.

Gracious Spirit, We pray for all those who are suffering from mental illness and depression and especially our family members who are feeling low in mind, spirit, and energy. Heal them and may they know that they are loved, precious, and accepted fully into God's Family.

Gracious Spirit, we pray for all of our family members who lost their lives in Orlando and we remember those who continue to mourn their loss.  Tonight we add their names in these prayers:

Prayers of remembrance for the Orlando 49

If you would like to continue to pray and remember those who lost their lives in Orlando here they are:

God we come to you this night still with heavy hearts and we pray as we have been doing for the past week remembering our brothers and sisters who perished at Pulse in Orlando. We pray and remember  them each by name and this night and respond with "Let light perpetual shine upon them"

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Cory James Connell, 21 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

God we lift up these precious ones to you as a reminder that life is precious and that we know that you know us all by name and love us. We pray that we may come together in memory and in honor of all your children to affect positive change in this fragile and broken world that you have made. 

Gracious Spirit, we pray for our family members who may be contemplating taking their own lives may they courageously ask for help and feel your encircling love around them.

Gracious Spirit, we pray for our family members who are suffering from Zika, the respiratory viruses, A.I.D.S. and any other illnesses that are life threatening.

Gracious Spirit, heal and console all of our family members who have Cancer, Diabetes, and all autoimmune, and chronic illnesses. We pray for their caregivers.

Gracious Spirit, we pray for an end to violence and division in our country and throughout the world. We pray for our elected leaders that they may remember that it is their job to protect us and not the chosen few. We pray for sound governance and for those who are standing for election that they may truly discern if their candidacy is a good fit for this country and its citizenry. May we knit a prayer circle  of  love  around our country  where we may sew seeds of love, hope, joy,justice, peace, acceptance,and mercy, and that hate, bigotry, and division may cease. May we all be one!

Gracious Spirit, may we add our prayers, thanksgivings, remembrances, and celebrations for ourselves and on behalf of others at this time. 

Gracious Spirit we lift up our prayers in the Name of Christ Jesus. Amen.

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Good Night Gentle, Tender, and Loving Family! I love you  and may you all find the days ahead a little brighter and you hearts lighter. I give thanks to God for you this day and always.

Love and peace to the brim and over flowing,

Sara



Luminary Ceremonies of  Days Past.