Prayer Before the Shroud of Turin

Pope Francis at Turin ~ June 2015

The Shroud of Turin, many believe, is the figure-imprinted burial cloth of Jesus, the "icon of love," Pope Francis has called it. 

After this Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but in secret, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him leave; so he came and took Jesus' body away; and with him was Nicodemus, the same who made his first visit to Jesus by night; he brought with him a mixture of myrrh and aloes, of about a hundred pounds' weight. They took Jesus' body, then, and wrapped it in winding-cloths with the spice; that is how the Jews prepare a body for burial. In the same quarter where he was crucified there was a garden, with a new tomb in it, one in which no man had ever yet been buried. Here, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus, because of the Jewish feast on the morrow.  John 19:38-42

A lot of people spend a lot of time analyzing the shroud. They carbon-date its threads and analyze the DNA of its blood stains. They count the attached pollen grains and categorize its weave. Volumes upon volumes have been written, and endless hours of film documentary produced, for and against its being the genuine article - the real deal.

But for all of that busy-ness and expenditure, we are not helped to pray. Pope John XXIII said, "The Church is not a museum of antiques but a garden of life." Might we then allow the shroud in our meditation to be mystically alive: take it down from the wall, remove it from its frame and glass; free it to move around the world where, in love, it may enfold the rooms, scenes and minds of suffering and death. Let it wind its way towards the world's new Easter. "Come Holy Spirit...and you shall renew the face of the earth."

Such a prayer may not be sweet, and some may resent it for cutting too close to the bone of their ideological safe house. There were Gospel figures who wanted Jesus not only dead, but sealed away in his stone-cut tomb. But he broke out of that confinement that Sunday morning - stunningly. Can I allow the Risen Christ, who has left us his shroud, to break out again and even stun me?

Prayer Before Jesus' Shroud

Holy Shroud of Jesus' Burial,
wind around my country of
many mass shootings,
the classrooms,
campuses,
street corners and
stadiums,
theatres and
night clubs,
the venues where gun mayhem
halts life.

Winding Sheet of Jesus' Burial,
encircle the factories of death,
where the machines and
technologies of destruction
are imagined.
Encircle the world's
pentagons,
the oval offices,
the square offices,
the rectangular offices,
where presidents,
premiers,
prime ministers and
chancellors,
ponder,
discuss,
and rustle up death.

Grave Blanket of Jesus,
en-wreathe the silos,
hangers,
warehouses,
ports and bases,
where drones doze
at-the-ready,
the missiles, tanks,
the nuclear-tipped submarines
with divine nick-names,
the super sonic everything
likened to angels,
GPS systems
pin-pointing ivoried-elephants,
landing rockets
on the enemy.

Holy Blood-stained Shroud,
bandage up the yellow bus,
the play ground,
the market,
the hospital,
the school, 
the synagogue,
the mosque,
the cathedral.

Grave Clothes of Jesus,
ring around the laboratories,
the research centers,
perfecting the lucrative tools of death,
the heat-sensitive systems,
containers for the secrets of
mass ruin and germ warfare.

Cloak of Jesus Entombed,
cover the other Abu Graibs,
the places where conscience has died
and savagery reigns.

Enveloping Cloak of Jesus-Buried,
pull all human hearts together,
and out of our sleep-walk,
our too-busy-to-know-better lives,
wearied by the scary news,
the blood-news,
the smoke and flame news,
the shocking news that
doesn't shock anymore -
give us Jesus-shaped minds.

Swaddle
the sex-trafficked,
the sex-abused,
the child laborers,
the kidnapped girls,
the boy-soldiers,
the pornographied,
the cut out,
flushed out,
the thrown-away.

Bundle up the children whose innocence
is deadened
by adults
addicted,
crazed,
impoverished,
hateful,
the movie producers,
the war game creators,
the profiteers of
entertainment-killing and
death.

Enfold us, Holy Shroud,
cocoon like,
waiting to awaken -
repented,
spun around,
re-birthed,
gladdened.


Father Stephen Morris

Intercessions ~ Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tomb and Altar of St. Francis of Assisi

As the new month of October begins,/ we pray the blessings of good health,/ safety and personal growth/ for those who celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries and other days of remembrance./ We pray as well for those who are without family or friend,/ who have no one to celebrate their lives./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the President of the United States/ these days of national fatigue,/ tension,/ anger and broken-heartedness./ We ask heaven to help us in the restoration of hope./ We pray to the Lord.

The nation and our church are going through a very hard time,/ deeply troubled by accounts of sex abuse./ May we learn well the lessons of non-exploitation/ and the value of each human person's dignity./ We pray to the Lord.

Thursday is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi,/ the patron saint of ecology./ May our country lead in making the world a green place,/ the healthy,/ beautiful,/ safe and joyful place of God's envisioning./ We pray as well for Pope Francis/ as he celebrates his name's day./ We pray to the Lord.

For storm and flood victims,/ families in disarray,/ prisoners,/ those away from loved ones,/people trapped in terrible work environments,/ addictions,/ inner conflicts,/ legal or financial problems./ We pray to the Lord.

Finally,/ we pray for ourselves and those at Mass around us today./ May we live Christ-formed lives./ We pray to the Lord.

Jesus before Pilate

When morning came the chief priests, having made their plan with the elders and lawyers and all the Council, put Jesus in chains; then they led him away and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He replied, "The words are yours." And the chief priests brought many charges against him. Pilate questioned him again: "Have you nothing to say in your defence? You see how many charges they are bringing against you." But, to Pilate's astonishment, Jesus made no further reply. Mark 15:1-5

In the previous two verses St. Mark relates that while spending the night in jail, Jesus was spit on, blindfolded, insulted and punched. Like Abu Graib: a disgusting display of power. The most awful things happen in prisons. I expect Mark does not reveal the worst of it. 

Then, first thing in the morning, the religious leaders, who have been up all night (and gotten their concocted story straight: "This is what we'll say...") now lead Jesus in chains (how ridiculous!) off to Pilate. They have to get Pilate involved because they are an occupied people, Rome is in charge, and Rome has taken to itself authority over executions. So, the religionists need to convince "Rome" that everyone would be better off without Jesus.  

The Flemish painter, Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), has given us this painting titled, Jesus Before Pontius Pilate. He has captured the scene through contrast: the gentle and calm beauty of Jesus surrounded by an assembly of human beings in their most stupid, degraded ugliness - their inner foulness breaking through their outer form. They are the disfigured faces of bullies, liars, death-planners, death-approvers, soul-less power-persons. Pilate, ready to wash his hands of the whole matter, already looks like a corpse. Notice the figures on the left (armored and weaponized) go from lighter, to darker, to darkest. There are souls like that.

At first, these mobsters tell Pilate that Jesus has blasphemed (made  himself out to be divine, or something close to that). But Pilate wouldn't have cared - he wasn't interested in religion. So they had to get Pilate to see that Jesus was a dangerous threat to Rome's power. That's why they add, "Well Pilate, the real problem is that this man has said we don't need to pay taxes to Caesar, and that he's really the king, and not Caesar." This gets Pilate's attention, but only because he's afraid if Caesar gets wind of any insurrection, his outpost job will be on the line. Remember, the first task of any institution is to preserve its prestige and power. That's the real evil trapping Jesus. 

But Pilate understands what's actually going on - what a charade this is. He knows Jesus isn't a serious threat to the empire. Jesus had said, "My Kingdom is not of this world." And in a few verses Pilate will share with Jesus that he knows the real problem is that the religious leaders are envious of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus was more popular than they.

What's strange here is that Jesus doesn't respond to Pilate's questions - he remains silent. Jesus knows himself. Silence can be an answer, and Jesus' silence reveals that he is answerable only to God. Why do so many Christians not believe this and instead fall into line with the power-deciders. I notice how quick so many Christians are to accept what military people and politicians have to say. Their word is truth. Do we give greater fealty and glory to admirals, politicians, political platforms, generals and "war heroes" than to our own saints? Especially if those saints are peacemakers who follow Christ's commandment, "Love your enemies."

Pilate doesn't dislike Jesus, but he's caught in a predicament and Jesus isn't talking. He's hoping Jesus will talk more so maybe he can find a way out of his problem. That's why Pilate is "astonished" - Jesus isn't doing anything to save himself. Jesus knows where the only real power is - and it's not in Caesar's empire.

A final thought about the silence of Jesus. We live in a culture that can't stop talking. There is almost no rest from words. Empty words. Dishonest words. Vain and arrogant words. Pandering, television words that only care about our buying some product. I have recently started to mute commercials with a click of the remote. The silence feels bless-ed!

Intercessions ~ Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We ask blessings for rescuers during the recent hurricane in the Carolina's,/ and the many who are helping to restore normalcy there./ And may each human heart be rescued from the worst of hatred,/ selfishness and division./ We pray to the Lord.

Pope Francis will soon travel to the Baltic countries of Lithuania,/ Latvia and Estonia./ May he be kept safe/ and his message of family restoration and human dignity be welcomed./ We pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States/ and all in leadership and government./ May Jesus find them among the Gospel's pure of heart./ We pray to the Lord.

Our country lives from one news cycle to another,/ the stories of scandal,/ power abuse and outrage./ May we be more attentive to that story which is unique and close to each of us/ the story of God/ in the unfolding of our unique,/ personal lives./ We pray to the Lord.

With the start of Autumn this week,/ a time of interiority/ and the end of the growing season,/ may we not neglect the season's invitation to grow and evolve into more truly human persons./ We pray to the Lord.

This coming Saturday is the Feast of the Archangels,/ Michael,/ Gabriel and Raphael./ In a dangerous and unsettling world,/ may we,/ our nation and our families,/ know their protection and safe-guarding./ May they lead us in the ways of healing and peace./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the comforting of the sick,/ care-givers,/ those in mourning,/ or who are suffering and enduring great stress,/ the pain of losses and uncertainty./ We pray to the Lord.

Mother of God, Whose Eyes Give And Receive

Here is a detail of the famed and much-loved, early 12th century icon of the Vladimir Mother of God. It is of the Eleousa type or style: The Tenderness Mother of God.

We see this tender affection evident in the Holy Child looking up to his mother. The two stand cheek to cheek. His left hand reaches around his mother's neck. But the deepest message of intimacy is seen in her eyes, which do not return the Child's gaze, but which look into our own.

They are suffering eyes. Maybe Mary has just heard Simeon's "sword of sorrow" news (Luke 2:22-40). I'd suggest there is more - perhaps Mary's sorrowing eyes have a global or even cosmic significance. The Vladimir Mother of God is Russia's national icon, having presided over that nation in all of its centuries old suffering. That is largely the suffering of invasions and wars - perhaps most pointedly the great and most costly wars of the 20th century. 

But human beings can make short-shrift of the uncomfortable things, so let us make plain the Works of War so we may not sentimentalize the Mother's gaze, but appreciate all the more the commensurate depth and intensity of her kind mercy.

The Works of War:

human ash
poison clouds
the spoiling of farms, forests and fields
the seizure and disruption of food supplies
starvation
the incineration of cities, homes and villages
the scattering of families
the contamination of soil and water
the imprisonment of dissenters
the inflicting of wounds and burns
the violation of women
the terrorizing and murdering of children
the creating of orphans
the spread of disease
the desecration of sacred places
the silencing of birds and bells
the destruction of beauty
carpet bombing
genocide
execution
mass graves
flame and theft
the degrading and deadening of consciences
the idolatry of power - its degradation of persons
the emptying of language
the waste of money and war profiteering
the instilling of suspicion and fear
the hate-claim of hearts

In my meditation, I can sit before these eyes of giving and receiving. I imagine to my right there are persons whose lives are all-suffering: the people of North and South Carolina flooded out in a hurricane, the asylum seekers at our southern border - the children separated from their mothers, the Syrian refugees forced to escape their bombed out city, the damaged soldiers returning home from a war they didn't even understand, the Pope who is navigating a Church tattered by scandal, family members (friends or acquaintances) who are burdened, sick or troubled...

Then I imagine taking the suffering from those persons to my right, and being mindful of my own grief or pain, I hand it over to the eyes of the Mother of God in the icon here. From her eyes she gives her tender mercy. I can sit in this circular meditation for some few minutes or even longer: giving to and receiving from her. I might synchronize the giving and receiving with my slowed breaths. It is a silent prayer of compassionate heart-awakening. 

"Shed Your Light"

When it rains, the water droplets wash the atmosphere of dust, pollen and pollutants. Indeed, when I took this early afternoon photo, the air smelled very clean.

Then, when the sun comes out after the rain, and the air is full of moisture, the light bends (refracts), passing through the moisture and hitting the surrounding objects, (like rocks, water and leaves) at larger angles, This causes the light to be reflected more vividly. That's what's happening in this picture looking upstream.  

A friend said, "Coming upon a moment like this, full of contrast and vibrancy, is like walking into a painting." How good life is! And this theme of light, which is God's first gift: Let there be light, and Christ, who calls himself, Light of the world, might inform us as we offer this prayer from the Middle Ages.

O Christ, our Saviour,

shed your light upon the path

 I have to tread,

that I may keep it without stumbling

and without faltering,

and come in the end to see you face to face

in the heavenly kingdom.

Amen.

Intercessions ~ Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We intercede again for Pope Francis who continually asks for our prayers,/ as he struggles to serve a Church divided and weakened by scandal./ Grant him peace,/ strength and safety./ We pray to the Lord.

This past Tuesday,/ the nation remembered September 11, 2001./ We pray for those who died that day/ and those who mourn them./ We pray as well for the thousands who have died since/ for having worked on and around Ground Zero./ We pray to the Lord.

Our religion calls us to be peacemakers./ We pray that the God of peace may cleanse the nation of our will to war./ May God give us a measure of divine wisdom and enduring resolve in the creative work of peace./ We pray to the Lord.

It is hurricane season./ Grant safety to those in harm's way,/ and blessings for those who help with rescue and recovery efforts./ Restore hope to those who suffer losses./ We pray to the Lord.

The Jewish people are celebrating their central holy days this month./ We pray for them,/ asking peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples./ May they model healing and reconciliation as a gift to the world./ We pray to the Lord.

Friday was the Feast of the Holy Cross,/ and Saturday,/ the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows./ We pray for those whose lives are like a crucifixion,/ where people are anguished,/ bloodied and traumatized./ May they know relief and resurrection./ We pray to the Lord.

Psalm 80 ~ God's Plea That We Would Listen

I've met Christians over the years who kind of pride themselves on not following the news. They don't watch TV news, they don't read newspapers, they don't follow any online news, they don't read books. They say the news depresses them and trust, "Someone will tell me if the world is ending." Kind of smug, I think. In a hurting world, that attitude is a luxury we don't have. 

The psalmist knew the news of his day. Indeed, though the word psalm means praise, more often than not the psalms are complaints. Usually the complaining is about painful illnesses and enemies giving the psalmist a hard time. Still, here at the start of Psalm 80, we're called to join in: "Ring out your joy to God our strength." 

The psalmist knows the score, that's why he calls God, Our Strength in the first line. Don't we need strength to survive it all: the family troubles, the Church troubles, the national  chaos, the environmental tragedies, the wars - the awfulness we hear about every day?

Verses 3,4: Here we're given the liturgical context for the psalm.Its' a full moon at the harvest time which is September and October. It could be the first day of the Jewish New Year. Jews still keep these ancient feasts.

Verses 5,6: God reminds the nation that the obligation to celebrate these days has come down ever since God led them out of Egyptian slavery. That was a long time ago!

Verses7-9: In these verses we hear God going into some detail about those long ago days. We're forgetful creatures and need reminding: "I freed you," "I saved you," " I answered". 

"O Israel, if only you would heed!" God is reduced to pleading with humankind, as if to say, "Oh please, pay attention to me. Don't walk away. We've been through so much together. I'm your God; you're supposed to be my people. Wasn't that the agreement?"

Listening recently to so many speeches and remembrances over the funeral days of Senator John McCain: "Country first," "Nation first," "Party first," -  gee really? These psalm verses sound like God wants to hear from us, "God, you're first." 

Some will argue, and granted that Europe in the early 1930's was something of a chess game, but we might recall the Reichskonkordat, the pact the Vatican made with Germany (July 20, 1933) - the Vatican being the first to offer prestige and legitimacy to Hitler's dictatorship. This psalm lets us hear God's voice, as God says to humankind, "Please remember, I come first." 

Verses 10-14: "Don't be so quick to trust yourselves," God says in the psalm. History has shown how inclined we are to mistakes, infidelity, distraction. Still, God is there waiting for us to come to our senses, to wake up, as Jesus often says. God remains ready to take on our enemies, which are interior: our tribal pride, selfishness, resentments, greed, materialism, indifference, desire for power and control, short-sightedness, desire for the upper hand...

Verses 15,16: In our abandonment of God, which is often manifest in our spiritual immaturity and religious superficiality, we risk starvation, and we don't even know it. God waits and wants to feed us with a great bread made from refined wheat. And not just water from the rock, but honey! God is like an un-relenting Mother whose specialty is nourishing food. We are always God's people.

A New Breastplate Prayer for a New Day

Breastplate of Ferdinand I
Holy Roman Emperor ~ 1549

A New Breastplate Prayer For A New Day

I awaken and arise this new day,
calling upon the oneness of God,
who in inner relatedness
is family of three - 
creating, reclaiming, loving, restoring.

I awaken and arise this new day
through Gabriel's winged, good news;
   young Mary's acceptance,
through the shining of Bethlehem star,
through the meandering waters of Jordan,
through the desert combat of forty days,
through the giving of sight to blind Bartimaeus,
through the friendship of women at Calvary's cross,
through the three-Mary's witness of Easter morning,
through angels' attesting on Ascension day.

I take to myself this new day
the whirling light of bright seraphim,
the song-worship of angels,
the Alleluia of Christ's bright rising,
the charge of prophets,
the pondering of apostles,
the clarity of martyrs,
the fresh energy of confessors,
the creativity of saints.

I take to myself this new day
the depth-enormity of universe,
the flaring of sun,
the flabbergast of galaxies,
the softness of moon phase,
the spark and blaze of fire,
the electric flash of lightning,
the mystery of atoms,
the skin-touch of breezes,
the freshness of winds,
the crash of waves,
the blue-green of ocean,
the strength of rocks,
the fertility of soil,
the hatching of eggs,
the breeching of whales,
the patterning of flowers,
the leafing-out of trees.

I call upon
God's power to evolve me,
God's wisdom to inform me,
God's eye to care for me maternally,
God's ear to hear me in my pleading,
God's word to awaken me,
God's hand to squeeze my own,
God's way to open before me,
God's shield to hover over and before me,
God's cherubim to join me.

I call upon all that is good
to stand by my body,
to stand by my soul
against addictions,
   curses and any who would wish me harm or ill,
against politicians who serve themselves,
against clerics who've forsaken soul,
against panderers, hustlers,
   the shady deal,
   the dirty deal, 
   the secret deal,
   the deadly deal,
against false advertisers and
   tricksters,
against betrayers,
   thieves and cheats,
against willful ignorance and
   complicity in bad deeds,
   through lazy indifference,
against war profiteers,
   shows of force,
   degraders and dividers,
   brutes and bullies,
against the soul-destroying messages of 
   racists,
   anti-semites,
   white supremacists,
   women haters,
   home-invaders,
   sex abusers and traffickers,
   against gun idolaters,
   terrorists - home grown and of the faraway kind.

Christ, protect me from
money-worship,
self pity,
resentment,
vanity and too much talking,
smugness,
showing off,
self-preoccupation and
contentment with being so desperately earthbound.

Put a hedge around my heart,
safeguarding it from my own worst possibilities,
from the temptation not to grow,
against stumbling and faltering and
withering anxieties.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ to my right,
Christ to my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when when I sit down,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of those who remember me,
Christ in the mouth of those who speak of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I awaken and rise up this new day,
calling upon the oneness of God,
whose inner community of three,
imagines, enlivens, salvages, protects.

Intercessions ~ Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our nation is held in the grip of a political and cultural fever:/ delirious in stubborn disunity./ We ask the good Jesus to break that fever/ as he broke the fever afflicting Peter's Mother-in-law,/ and to return us to balance and calm service./ We pray to the Lord.

Across the nation, young people and students have returned to school./ May their new year be blessed with safety,/ academic success,/ friendship and growth in goodness./ We pray to the Lord.

Yesterday was the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary./ We pray for the little children of the world,/ the ones who are burned and wounded in wars,/ who are homeless,/ wandering,/ who are not held or loved./ We pray to the Lord.

Give strength and peace to Pope Francis in this time of great testing./ Keep the Church from dissolving into a scandal of bitter disunity./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the ruined countries of Yemen,/ Syria and Afghanistan/ where war has turned cities and towns to dust./ The children are not in school,/ food and water are increasingly scarce,/ while others are making huge profits off of war materials./ We pray to the Lord.

May our inner ears be opened,/ to hear the cry of our ravaged,/ degraded planet,/ the cry of those who are not heard because they are little,/ elderly,/ poor,/ un-educated,/ the wrong race or nationality./ We pray to the Lord.

Re-thinking Saint Patrick's Breastplate

St. Patrick Window ~ Belmont Abbey

"In conclusion be strong - not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless strength. Put on God's complete armour so that you can successfully resist all the devil's craftiness. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore,  you must wear the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. Take your stand then with truth as your belt, integrity your breastplate, the gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God..." Ephesians 6: 10-16

Perhaps these verses of St. Paul, writing to the Ephesian Christians, inspired St. Patrick to compose his well-known, much-loved prayer of protection which has come to be known as the St. Patrick's Breastplate, The Lorica of St. Patrick, or The Cry of the Deer. Even if perhaps Patrick didn't pen the prayer (doesn't matter) someone who knew his thought did, and it has come down these many centuries to us. How blessed are we!

But I would suggest that prayer needs re-thinking. It is a new day, with new problems and soul dangers. Patrick's world was a superstitious  Druid-world of magicians, witches, wizards, warlocks and monsters. Sorry to say, but often translators have to do a bit of a dance because women seem to get lumped in with the litany of spiritual trouble-makers. In my mind that needs to be remedied ASAP.

So, I've taken Patrick's lovely format and brought it up to date with some fresh words and concepts. I call out explicitly the dangers for us who live almost 1600 years later. Patrick's fifteen lines beginning with Christ with me, are perennial and remain untouched.

Some folks only like and allow for their prayers to sound old-fashioned. To each his own. But read this one too, and see if there isn't something that resonates with you, something that dear Patrick couldn't possibly have had in mind. 

These are scary, dangerous days of menace and mayhem. Every age is really, but this is the one we have to live in and with. I hope the re-thinking of a venerable, ancient prayer steps up to the reality of our own troubled time.

All of that is a bit of a tease: I'll put the prayer up this Sunday coming.

Joining a Child's Prayer

British painter, Milly Childers, (1866-1922) painted this, Girl Praying in Church, while touring France with her father. This is an old church - see the damaged pillars on the right. It is a poor church - the walls are mildewed and the floor uneven. 

That's a wooden credence table on the right, where the wine and water cruets are placed for Mass. There is even a wooden step a little altar boy might use to better his reach. The statue of Mary is crowned, and she holds the Infant who wears a blue fabric cloak.  

The little girl is poor as well; her dress is plain; perhaps shabby. The altar cloth looks as if it could do with some ironing. The only opulence is the bone china flowers under the glass domes that money-ed people have placed over the years, perhaps when the church knew more comfortable times. The domes serve to keep dust off the "flowers" and to protect them from breakage. These ornamental flowers can be contrasted with the few real stems the child holds and will likely leave on the altar when her prayer is completed. 

What might her prayer-thoughts be? Is there trouble at home or at school? Is her world at war or peace? Is she hungry, lonely, fearful? Or is she counting her blessings before the Mother of God, lamenting or complaining about nothing, just thanking. I am reminded of Paul Claudel's very tender poem:

At midday I see the church open,
It draws me within.
I come, Mother of Jesus Christ,
Not to pray.
I have nothing to bring you,
Or to ask of you.
I only come, O Mother,
To gaze at you,
To see you, to cry simply out of joy,
Because I know that I am your child,
And that you are there...