As it is Incredible: A velvet prayer for now

Transcript

There are moments in the world when something shifts. Not loudly, but deeply.

Pope Francis has passed. A man who, for all the complexity of his role, reached towards something many in power forget. Compassion.

He reminded the church of love. Of the poor. Of the broken. Of the Earth, and not long ago he did something truly beautiful.

He lifted up Mary Magdalene. Called her the "apostle to the apostles". Not a footnote, a first voice. That kind of honoring matters. It ripples.

And I wanted to begin here because this prayer is not a rejection, it's a continuation of remembering. Jesus once said, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the Truth.

The spirit is still speaking. The truth is still unfolding, and sometimes it sounds like velvet.

I offer this prayer as a remix, not because the original was wrong, but because now is asking for a new voice.

THE PRAYER

The Velvet Prayer.

Thy kingdom, thy will, be done, on earth as it is incredible.
And give us the stay our daily bread. Yes.
What nourishes, what breaks, what becomes.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forget those who trespass against us.
Because remembering every wound is not the same as wisdom.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us into your glory like a child running into sunlight, sticky with laughter, and filled with yes.

For thine is the power with the world in compassion forever and ever.
Amen.

REFLECTION AND CLOSING

May Francis rest in the love he pointed toward. May Magdalene's voice rise through every silence she was denied.

And may we still breathing, still questioning, still becoming. Keep listening for the spirit as it whispers something new through ancient prayers and irreverent mouths alike.