The Prayer Circle

Hello, and welcome to Maureen's Prayer Album.

My mother Maureen was diagnosed this summer with cancer of the liver. While the disease was discovered early and her prospects are good, she is currently very ill.

I am amazed and deeply grateful at the outpouring of concern, good wishes, and manifest love that my mother has received from her friends, co-workers, and acquaintances since her disease was first diagnosed. Many kind and generous people have offered their invaluable assistance to her and to my family during this difficult time. Many have also offered their prayers, meditations, and positive thoughts for my mother, and I know this has genuinely touched her heart. My mother feels encouraged and cared-for by the thoughts and prayers of these marvelous people in her life.

I debated a long time before starting this blog. I didn't want to make it seem like a demand for more attention from those friends of ours who have already given us so much. Rather, I simply want to create a space where thoughts and prayers on my mother's behalf can be expressed in a way that she can re-read and be comforted by when she needs it. I will be posting prayers, meditations, and quotes from different spiritual traditions here. If you feel so moved, please leave a note for my mother in the "Comments" section. If there are any prayers from your own tradition you wish to share, we would love to read them; you can also simply write to say hello.

Thank you all for the comfort and love you offer us at this trying time.

I'm going to start with a quotation from the Sutta Nipata, a book of the Khaddaka Nikaya, which is a collection of Buddhist teachings.

"By the power and the truth of this practice, may all beings have happiness, and the causes of happiness.

May all be free from sorrow, and the causes of sorrow.

May all never be separated from the sacred happiness which is sorrowless...

Let your love flow outward through the universe,

To its height, its depth, its broad extent,

A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.

Then as you stand or walk,

Sit or lie down,

As long as you are awake,

Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;

Your life will bring heaven to earth."