John Philip Newell is a poet, scholar, teacher, and Church of Scotland minister recognized for his work in Celtic spirituality. He is passionate about seeking peace in the world and harmony among people of all religious traditions. This prayer book grew out of a spirituality course on peacemaking he taught at Casa del Sol in New Mexico with a Jew and a Muslim. After each session, participants moved into a half hour of meditative prayer. The devotional material in Praying with the Earth signals the yearning for oneness that is present in all spiritual traditions. The art is from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sources.
Here you will find prayers for mornings and evenings in a weekly schedule. Each day begins with one of the beatitudes of Jesus and a prayer of awareness. Then there are three readings from the Psalms of the Hebrew Bible, the Gospel of Matthew from the New Testament, and the Qur'an. The day's devotions conclude with a Prayer for the Life of the World and a Prayer of Blessing.
Here are some prayers from the book:
At the close of day
as busyness fades
as light dims
and footsteps soften
we open again the inner door of our being
to enter stillness
to feel our way through the dark
to You
the Silence from whom we are born
the Name before names were spoken
the Love of life's beginnings.
At the close of day
we come.
May our enemy become our friend, O God,
that we may share earth's goodness.
May our enemy become our friend, O God,
that our children may meet and marry.
May our enemy become our friend, O God,
that we may remember our shared birth in you.
May we grow in grace
may we grow in gratitude
may we grow in wisdom
that our enemy may become our friend.
Blessings on the day
born of night.
Blessings on the earth
wedded to heaven.
Blessings on the creatures
adored by angels.
Blessings on our bodies
alive with spirit.
Blessings on our minds
filled with dreams.
Blessings on our hearts
opened by love.
Blessings, blessings, blessings.
