Litany of the Graces of the Cross

This is a wonderful litany,
one of those prayers that makes you think,
not just a recitation of
a bunch of "holy" words.
The first time I read through it,
I loved it.
I decided to do a little research
to see who put this prayer together
and then offer it here
on the Liturgy House blog.
This litany was compiled by
A Dominican priest, Father Peter John Cameron, O.P.
You are free to distribute this as widely as you like.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Litany of the Graces of the Cross

Response: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

We adore you, O Christ,
when we do not get our own way. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in the midst of day-to-day aggravations, frustrations, and annoyances. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when we live deprived of recognition or gratitude. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when dealing with others who exalt themselves and demean us. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in the face of worry, anxiety, and fear. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when we forgive others and show them mercy,
especially when it hurts. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in the face of others’ thoughtlessness. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in confronting our daily inner rebellion. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in refusing to give in to vanity and self-importance. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in always thinking about others first
and putting them first. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when others take us for granted. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when suffering the agony of depression. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in our inability to make sense out of life
or to have things follow our plans,
especially when we’re trying so hard to be good. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in rejecting self-assertion and self satisfaction. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in the midst of the oppressiveness of life
– its futility, drudgery, pointlessness, and tedium. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in letting go of the order and control we crave. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when accosted by the unfairness
of seeing the wicked succeed. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
despite the world’s contradiction, humiliation, and derision. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
by refusing to live according to our feelings. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when we are under-appreciated. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when our egoism and willfulness flare up. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
when we are persecuted for your sake. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
as we live by love and no lesser motive. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in finding peace in the total surrender of self. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
in accepting that God works in the ways we least expect. Rs

We adore you, O Christ,
as we search for self worth
only in God’s love for us and nothing else. Rs

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Jesus, Please Come Today

I haven’t blogged much lately.
Well, yes I have,
but not here at Liturgy House.

It certainly hasn’t been
for lack of something to say (or write)
about worship and Liturgy.

Life just seems to be so busy lately.
Really.
It seems like time
is just starting to zoom on by.
Time is literally flying
and it seems like I just don’t have enough of it
(time)
to write all the things
that are dancing in my head,
to do all of those projects
I really want to do.

I heard this song on the radio yesterday.
This song motivated me to blog
here at Liturgy House.

Now,
first of all,
let me say that I am not a particular fan
of contemporary Christian music.
It’s not that I don’t like it.
Well,
for the most part
I don’t.
Simplistic chord structures,
repetitive pre-schoolish type melodies.
Now,
that might be the classical pianist in me talkin,
but I like music with a little bit
“music” in it.

. . and then there are some texts
that are so superficial. . .
I think one of the reasons
I favor the Gospel of John
over all of the other books of the Bible
is because the text is so layered with meaning. . .
And the hidden messages of John’s Gospel
arise as your life changes,
as you grow and become.
It’s a text,
a very poetic text,
layered and layered
with meaning.
Now,
that might be the poet in me talkin’ now. . . .
. . . but as is oft the case,
I digress.
My point is that in contemporary Christian Music
we often get a very, very
very simple text
that doesn’t go beyond
or much deeper than face value.

And then there is quite a big difference
between Christian Music
and Liturgical Music.
Sadly,
so many in my field
just aren’t aware
or don’t have a clue.

Having made all of the criticisms
I have made above
let me also say
that there is some really great
contemporary Christian music out there.
But just because it is great Christian music
doesn’t necessarily mean
that is it great or appropriate liturgical music.

As Catholics,
we worship in community.
Some Christian music
has us worship as individuals.
Oh,
we might all be in the same church
at the same time,
but sometimes the music
puts us into private
individualistic
little worship,
in the same church with everyone else,
but separate and apart,
though physically all in one place.

Now,
having said all of the above
sometimes I think
I just think too much.
Seriously.
I mean,
a poet never runs out of words to say.
Remember,
I may be a pastoral musician
via public persona,
but I am a poet at heart.
And poets never run out of words.

The other thing
is that sometimes
people who are involved
in a particular ministry
find it very difficult
to be ministered unto
in that same ministry.
Know what I mean?
The musician
has a hard time
letting other musicians
minister unto to them.

I have been in this field
for almost 30 years.
I truly believe
my criticisms and concerns are valid.

Yet it is also true
that I don’t find it easy
to let others use music
to minister to me.
I find I’m very critical
of the text,
of the musicianship,
of it’s use at the particular time,. . .
. . . i.e.,
I think too much.

Enough words.
I heard a song yesterday
(which I had heard many, many times before)
that literally moved me to tears.
I think a part of the magic of music
is not everything I rambled about above.
A big thing about music
is where you are. . .
. . in life,
in your joy,
in your sorrow,
in your happiness,
in you sadness,
in your relationships
with God and with others. . .
when you hear the song.

. . and so,
this song made me cry.
. . . it also motived me
to blog here . . .

“Jesus, please come. . .
. . please come today. . .”
A VERY simplistic text,
very basic musically,
but a very real prayer. . . .