I love this Celtic poem from Carmina Gadelica. (Go check out the rest of them...)

Come I this day to the Father,
Come I this day to the Son,
Come I to the Holy Spirit powerful;
Come I this day with God,
Come I this day with Christ,
Come I with the Spirit of kindly bairn.

God, and Spirit, and Jesus,
From the crown of my head
To the soles of my feet;
Come I with my reputation,
Come I with my testimony,
Come I to Thee, Jesu -
Jesu, shelter me.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites spent lots of time singing and shouting praise to God. They stood before him and raised their hands; they knelt before him; they prostrated themselves on the ground before him. They danced before him; they shouted for joy in his presence.

In the New Testament we are commanded to worship as well. Jesus said, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24, 25)

Likewise in Ephesians 5:19, 20 we read: "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Mary of Bethany broke a bottle of perfume and poured it all out on the feet of Jesus. That bottle of perfume was worth a year's wages-- a year of work.... Are we willing to pour out what we are and what we do at Jesus's feet, as an offering of our love for him?

Youth Band Information

Pro-Life: a list of alternatives to abortion, people who can help you in the state of Rhode Island. Four national 1-800 numbers are included as well.

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Stuff I wrote or sermons I gave on worship or discipleship:

Preparing the Heart for Worship

Building Men
Basics of being an encouraging wife

Centering Prayer

Different Forms of Scripture Meditation

SPENDING TIME IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Advent and Christmas Bible Study
Old and New Testament exploration of the coming of the Messiah

Prayer For Inner Healing (Handout)

Dance in worship
Dance as a language, used for worship.

Worship leading
Versus entertainment; choosing a song list; taking care of your voice.
Book Reviews and Links
Reviews and links to books with a mystical Christian slant

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The Pursuit of God: Christian Meditation and Mysticism by Eric Rose. Great page.
Be sure to read (or study) "The Mystic Way".

Contemplative Outreach Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina and Contemplation: very practical. Most articles are Fr. Thomas Keating's work. Two extremely useful Keating interviews under "News".

Lectio Divina Website "The Contemplative Prayer Online Magazine ", Contributions by Fr. Basil Pennington include many articles and sermons and even a book. There are also articles from numerous other contributors, including a must-read article by Father Luke Dysinger, O.S.B. : "Accepting the Embrace of God - The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina"

Centering Prayer and Christian Meditation Fr. Basil Pennington's own site. A friendly, simple, gentle and congenial approach to Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina ("Sacred Reading".)

New Melleray Abbey Look in th menu for "A Primer On Monastic Spirituality" which contains good material.

Carmina Gadelica: Celtic Christian Prayers

The Jesus Prayer: The classic introduction by H.R.H. Princess Ileana of Romania

See also the Book Review page for links to online mystical works.

Monastic

The CCEL hosts numerous works by the mystics, including St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and The Cloud of Unknowing (by my favorite, St. Anonymous.) Also included here are St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Brother Lawrence, Richard Rolle, John of Roysbruck, and lastly, Archbishop Fenelon and Madame Guyon (condemned as heretics by the Spanish Inquisition.)

Rule of St. Columba Delightful and fascinating. Presumably "naked" means unarmed, since "Christ and the Evangelists" wore clothes.

The Rule of Saint Albert. Carmelites follow this one.

The Rule of Saint Benedict. Extremely long and complicated. Benedictines and Cistercians follow this one.

The Monastery, "writings of a sacred nature".

Carmelite Literature on the Net
which contains, among other gems,
Living Flame of Love by John of the Cross

Liturgy Of The Hours

Spiritual Disciplines bible study

Vineyard:

Association of Vineyard Churches

Anaheim Vineyard Church

Vineyard Music International

Forerunner:

Friends of the Bridegroom

Morningstar Ministries

Metro Christian Fellowship

New Hope Chapel

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