Archive for the ‘lectionary’ Category

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Easter 4: A Blessing with a Gate in It

April 25, 2026

Image: Blessing of the GateImage: Blessing of the Gate
© Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Easter 4, Year A: John 10.1-10

I know I am not alone in thinking that life has been very threshold-y of late, in beautiful and challenging ways. So this is for you (and for us), for the fourth Sunday of Easter: a blessing with a gate in it. May we be open to the grace that comes to meet us in every crossing, every passage, every place where we are working to come through.

Blessing of the Gate

Press your hand
to this blessing,
here along
the side
where you can feel
its seam.

Follow the seam
and you will find
the hinges
on which
this blessing turns.

Feel how
your fingers
catch on them—
top,
bottom,
the slightest pressure
sending the gate
gliding open
in a glad welcome.

Wait, did I say
press your hand
to this blessing?

What I meant was
press your hand
to your heart.

Rest it over that
place in your chest
that has grown
closed and tight,
where the rust,
with its talent
for making decay
look artful,
has bitten into
what you once
held dear.

Breathe deep.
Press on the knot
and feel how it
begins to give way,
turning upon
the hinge
of your heart.

Notice how it
opens wide
and wider still
as you exhale,

spilling you out
into a realm
where you never dreamed
to go
but cannot now imagine
living this life
without.

—Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief

_____________________


Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image Blessing of the Gate, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, Easter, Gospel of John, lectionary | 1 Comment »

Easter 3: Table Blessing

April 18, 2026

Image: EmmausImage: Emmaus
© Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Easter 3, Year A: Luke 24:13-35

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.
—Luke 24:31

I am thinking about the Emmaus story that comes to us on the third Sunday in this season of resurrection. I am so grateful for how Christ meets us in the breaking of bread, and how, even (and sometimes especially) in our deepest losses, a table can become a holy place that invites us to recognize him in each other. So today, in whatever hope or hurt or hunger you carry, this blessing is for you.

Table Blessing

To your table
you bid us come.
You have set the places;
you have poured the wine;
and there is always room,
you say,
for one more.

And so we come.
From the streets
and from the alleys
we come.

From the deserts
and from the hills
we come.

From the ravages of poverty
and from the palaces of privilege
we come.

Running,
limping,
carried,
we come.

We are bloodied with our wars;
we are wearied with our wounds;
we carry our dead within us,
and we reckon with their ghosts.

We hold the seeds of healing;
we dream of a new creation;
we know the things
that make for peace,
and we struggle
to give them wings.

And yet, to your table
we come.
Hungering for your bread,
we come;
thirsting for your wine,
we come;
singing your song
in every language,
speaking your name
in every tongue,
in conflict and in communion,
in discord and in desire,
we come,
O God of Wisdom,
we come.

—Jan Richardson
from How the Stars Get in Your Bones: A Book of Blessings

_____________________


Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image Emmaus, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from How the Stars Get in Your Bones: A Book of Blessings. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, Easter, Gospel of Luke, lectionary | 1 Comment »

Easter Sunday: In the Garden of Resurrection

April 5, 2026

Image: In the Garden of ResurrectionImage: In the Garden of Resurrection
© Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Easter Sunday, Year A:
John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10

“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Jesus asked Mary Magdalene when he met her outside the tomb where she had expected to find his body. As Easter arrives, I am thinking about emptiness that comes as an astonishing grace and a discombobulating joy, calling us into a world we can barely begin to imagine but that we receive a glimpse of on this day.

On this Easter Sunday, beloved ones, I am sending so many blessings for you.

Seen
A Blessing for Easter Day

You had not imagined
that something so empty
could fill you
to overflowing,

and now you carry
the knowledge
like an awful treasure
or like a child
that roots itself
beneath your heart:

how the emptiness
will bear forth
a new world
that you cannot fathom
but on whose edge
you stand.

So why do you linger?
You have seen,
and so you are
already blessed.
You have been seen,
and so you are
the blessing.

There is no other word
you need.
There is simply
to go
and tell.
There is simply
to begin.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

_____________________


Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image In the Garden of Resurrection, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, Easter, lectionary, sacred time | 2 Comments »

Holy Saturday: To Hold Our Anguish and Hope in the Same Hand

April 4, 2026

Image: The Sixth & Seven Words: It Is Finished/Into Your HandsImage: The Sixth & Seven Words: It Is Finished/Into Your Hands
© Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Holy Saturday:
Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42

They took the body of Jesus.
—John 19:40

This is the day that calls us to breathe.

This is the day that invites us to make a space within the weariness, the fear, the ache.

This is the day that calls us to hold our anguish and our hope in the same hand.

This is the day that beckons us to turn toward one another and to remember we do not breathe alone.

In the Breath, Another Breathing
A Blessing for Holy Saturday

Let it be
that on this day
we will expect
no more of ourselves
than to keep
breathing
with the bewildered
cadence
of lungs that will not
give up the ghost.

Let it be
we will expect
little but
the beating of
our heart,
stubborn in
its repeating rhythm
that will not
cease to sound.

Let it be
we will
still ourselves
enough to hear
what may yet
come to echo:
as if in the breath,
another breathing;
as if in the heartbeat,
another heart.

Let it be
we will not
try to fathom
what comes
to meet us
in the stillness
but simply open
to the approach
of a mystery
we hardly dared
to dream.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

_____________________


Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image The Sixth & Seven Words: It Is Finished/Into Your Hands, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

 

Posted in art, blessings, lectionary, Lent, sacred time | 2 Comments »

Good Friday: Let All Stand Still

April 3, 2026

Image: The CrucifixionImage: The Crucifixion
© Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Good Friday: John 18:1-19:42

There they crucified him.
—John 18:18

All too quickly the breaking of the bread becomes the breaking of the flesh.

All too soon the cup offered at the table becomes the life poured out at the cross.

After the rending, after the emptying: an impossible stillness, an aching silence, an incomprehensible hollow for which no word will ever be adequate.

On this day that asks us to bear witness to what is breaking, may we not turn away.

Still
A Blessing for Good Friday

This day
let all stand still
in silence,
in sorrow.

Sun and moon
be still.

Earth
be still.

Still
the waters.

Still
the wind.

Let the ground
gape in stunned
lamentation.

Let it weep
as it receives
what it thinks
it will not
give up.

Let it groan
as it gathers
the One
who was thought
forever stilled.

Time
be still.

Watch
and wait.

Still.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

_____________________


Also for Good Friday . . .

Once upon a time, Gary and I created a video that intertwines my Seven Last Words art series with his exquisite song “This Crown of Thorns.” I would love to share it with you. [For my email subscribers: if you don’t see the video below, click here to go to The Painted Prayerbook site, where you can view it in this post.]

Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image The Crucifixion, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, lectionary, Lent, sacred time | 2 Comments »

Holy Thursday: The Final Word Is Love

April 2, 2026

Image: The Last SupperImage: The Last Supper
© Jan Richardson

Readings for Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday:
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19;
1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35

It is Holy Thursday, and we are invited to the table with Jesus and the disciples as he speaks his final words on this side of his dying. What he speaks of the most at that table is love. Thirty-one times he uses the word. He enacts this love, too, as he washes the disciples’ feet and shares the bread and the cup one more time.

The love that Jesus enacts and speaks this night is an extraordinary grace. But, as the disciples will hear him say at the table, such a grace is not reserved only for them. They are to pass the gift along: to enact this love, to live this love, to give flesh to this love in this world.

On this day, beloveds, this blessing is for you.

Blessing the Bread, the Cup
For Holy Thursday

Let us bless the bread
that gives itself to us
with its terrible weight,
its infinite grace.

Let us bless the cup
poured out for us
with a love
that makes us anew.

Let us gather
around these gifts
simply given
and deeply blessed.

And then let us go
bearing the bread,
carrying the cup,
laying the table
within a hungering world.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

_____________________


Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image The Last Supper, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, lectionary, Lent, sacred time | 4 Comments »

Lent 1: What a Desert Is For

February 21, 2026

Image: Gift of the WildernessImage: Gift of the Wilderness
© Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Lent 1, Year A: Matthew 4:1-11

As Lent has begun, I’ve been thinking about different kinds of deserts. 

There are deserts we have chosen, and ones that we have not. There are deserts that seem devoid of life and sustenance, and ones that hold hidden wellsprings and remarkable beauty. There are deserts where we might feel completely alone, and ones where, to our surprise, help and company come to us in forms we did not expect.

Sometimes these are all the same desert, and we are the ones who become different as we travel deeper into it, able to perceive and know more clearly what the desert holds than we did when we first entered into it.

Always a desert changes us, if we allow it. And this is what Lent offers to us. This season provides a landscape that welcomes our own inner terrain: our fear, pain, and grief; our joy, solace, and hope; and the wild space within us where all of this lives together. Lent tells us that everything we carry in us—everything we carry in us—is met, held, and transformed in Love.

As we move into this season, this is a blessing for you.

Where the Breath Begins

Dry
and dry
and dry
in each direction.

Dust dry.
Desert dry.
Bone dry.

And here
in your own heart:
dry,
the center of your chest
a bare valley
stretching out
every way you turn.

Did you think
this was where
you had come to die?

It’s true that
you may need
to do some crumbling,
yes.
That some things
you have protected
may want to be
laid bare,
yes.
That you will be asked
to let go
and let go,
yes.

But listen.
This is what
a desert is for.

If you have come here
desolate,
if you have come here
deflated,
then thank your lucky stars
the desert is where
you have landed—
here where it is hard
to hide,
here where it is unwise
to rely on your own devices,
here where you will
have to look
and look again
and look close
to find what refreshment waits
to reveal itself to you.

I tell you,
though it may be hard
to see it now,
this is where
your greatest blessing
will find you.

I tell you,
this is where
you will receive
your life again.

I tell you,
this is where
the breath begins.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons


P.S. I want to let you know about this online event happening soon with Nazareth Retreat Center:

A CONVERSATION WITH JAN RICHARDSON
Virtual Retreat Hosted by Nazareth Retreat Center
Saturday, February 28, 2026, 2-4 pm (ET)

I am so looking forward to this online event offered by Nazareth Retreat Center on February 28! As we enter into Lent, we will explore how to notice God’s presence in the unexpected, to find grace in the quiet and in the chaos, and to embrace the unfolding mystery of life. We would love for you to join us from wherever you are!

Info & registration: https://nazarethretreatcenterky.org/programs/1939/a-conversation-with-jan-richardson.

If you have any questions, please contact Nazareth, and they will be glad to help.

_____________________


Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image Gift of the Wilderness, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, lectionary, Lent, poetry | Leave a Comment »

To Be Salt and Light

February 6, 2026

Image: Blessing of Salt, Blessing of Light
© Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Epiphany 5, Year A: Matthew 5.13-20

Jesus’ words this week are meant to wake us, to remind us of what we carry in our bones: the living presence of the God who bids us be salt in this world in all our savory particularity; to be light in the way that only we can blaze.

—Jan Richardson, from Epiphany 5: Blessing of Salt, Blessing of Light
The Painted Prayerbook, January 2011

_____________________


You are the salt of the earth. . . . You are the light of the world, Jesus tells us in the gospel passage for this week. So this is a blessing for you, for this time, with such gratitude for you who are salt and light in this world.

Blessing of Salt, Blessing of Light

By the time you come
to the end of this blessing,
these words will be barely enough
to fit in the palm of your hand.

But fold your fingers around them
and take them
as an offering,
a sacrament,
a sign.

Touch the words
to your tongue
and taste how
they have traveled
through marrow and bone
to reach you,
how they have passed
through each chamber
of your heart,
how they have come
through the layers
that make up your soul—
the strata of stories
and questions,
longings and
dreams.

Savor the way the words
are not mere residue
or dross,
the bitter leavings
from the refining.

By their taste,
you will know instead
they are the essence,
they are the core,
they are what has come
through the burning,

holding still
the memory of fire
and the imprint of light,
holding the clarity that comes
when all that is not needful
passes away.

So take these words
as a blessing;
touch them
to your mouth
(may you taste)
your eyes
(may you see)
your ears
(may you hear)

and then let them go;
let them fall to earth
where all salt finally returns.

See the path they make
for you,
the path that blazes
inside of you,
lighting the way
ahead of you
that only you
can go.

—Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief

Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image “Blessing of Salt, Blessing of Light,” please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, Epiphany, Gospel of Matthew, lectionary, poetry | 2 Comments »

Holy Week & Easter Sunday: We Begin in the Dark

April 8, 2020

And Love Will Rise Up and Call Us By NameImage: And Love Will Rise Up and Call Us By Name
© Jan Richardson

If we have grown weary in this season. If we have become overwhelmed. If we are living with fear or anxiety or worry about what lies ahead. If the swirl of Holy Week has become intense. If time is moving strangely. If grief has been a traveling companion. If the ground beneath us has given way. If resurrection seems less than certain.

—Jan Richardson, from Holy Saturday: Breathe
The Painted Prayerbook, March 2018

Beloved friends, I hardly know what to say in this Holy Week except that my heart is with you, along with my prayers. This year, more than ever, I am mindful that John’s Gospel tells us Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark and found it empty. As we move through the shadows cast by COVID-19, I have gathered up a collection of reflections I’ve written for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. I offer them with so many blessings and with deep gratitude for you and the graces you bear. In the darkness and in the day, may the risen Christ meet you with solace and hope.

Holy/Maundy Thursday

Holy Thursday: At the Table, Speaking of Love
Holy Thursday: Blessing the Bread, the Cup
Holy Thursday: Take a Blessing
Day 38/Holy Thursday: Cup of the New Covenant
Holy Thursday: Feet and Food


Good Friday

Good Friday: Speaking, Still
Good Friday: Still
Good Friday: A Blessing for What Abides
Day 39/Good Friday: They Took the Body of Jesus
Good Friday: In Which We Get Nailed


Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday: Anticipate Resurrection
Holy Saturday: Breathe
Holy Saturday: Vigil
Holy Saturday: In the Breath, Another Breathing
Day 40/Holy Saturday: Therefore I Will Hope
Holy Saturday: The Art of Enduring
Holy Saturday: A Day Between


Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday: Where Resurrection Begins
Easter Sunday: This Is Not the End
Easter Sunday: While It Was Still Dark
Easter Sunday: A Blessing for the Rising
Easter Sunday: Seen
Easter Sunday: Out of the Garden


Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image “And Love Will Rise Up and Call Us By Name,” please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com. (This is also available as an art print. After clicking over to the image’s page on the Jan Richardson Images site, just scroll down to the “Purchase as an Art Print” section.) Your use of janrichardsonimages.com helps make the ministry of The Painted Prayerbook possible.

Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, Easter, lectionary, sacred time | 15 Comments »

Epiphany Day: If You Could See the Journey Whole

January 4, 2020

TheWiseOnesImage: The Wise Ones © Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels for Epiphany Day: Matthew 2.1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.
—Matthew 2.1

Friends, as Epiphany Day draws near, I want to share a blessing with you that first appeared here at The Painted Prayerbook some years ago. In the turning of the sacred year, this day of mystery and light continues to be a favorite of mine. I pray that no matter how hidden your path may become, you will be attended with mercies and wonders in every step. Blessings to you!

For Those Who Have Far to Travel
A Blessing for Epiphany

If you could see
the journey whole,
you might never
undertake it,
might never dare
the first step
that propels you
from the place
you have known
toward the place
you know not.

Call it
one of the mercies
of the road:
that we see it
only by stages
as it opens
before us,
as it comes into
our keeping,
step by
single step.

There is nothing
for it
but to go,
and by our going
take the vows
the pilgrim takes:

to be faithful to
the next step;
to rely on more
than the map;
to heed the signposts
of intuition and dream;
to follow the star
that only you
will recognize;

to keep an open eye
for the wonders that
attend the path;
to press on
beyond distractions,
beyond fatigue,
beyond what would
tempt you
from the way.

There are vows
that only you
will know:
the secret promises
for your particular path
and the new ones
you will need to make
when the road
is revealed
by turns
you could not
have foreseen.

Keep them, break them,
make them again;
each promise becomes
part of the path,
each choice creates
the road
that will take you
to the place
where at last
you will kneel

to offer the gift
most needed—
the gift that only you
can give—
before turning to go
home by
another way.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons


P.S. And Merry Women’s Christmas, too! My new retreat for Women’s Christmas (which some folks in Ireland and beyond celebrate on Epiphany/January 6) has just been released. It’s a retreat that you can download at no cost and use anytime you wish throughout the year. For a link to the retreat and more about Women’s Christmas, click the Wise Women image or the title below. You are most welcome to share the retreat gift with others.

Wise Women Also Came
Women’s Christmas 2020: What the Light Shines Through


Using Jan’s artwork…
To use the image “The Wise Ones,” please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com. Your use of janrichardsonimages.com helps make the ministry of The Painted Prayerbook possible. Advent special! During this season, subscribe to Jan Richardson Images and receive unlimited digital downloads for use in worship for only $125 per year (regularly $165). Click Subscribe to sign up. (Extended through Epiphany Day/January 6!)

Using Jan’s words…
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use Jan’s blessings or other words from this blog without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.

Posted in art, blessings, Epiphany, Gospel of Matthew, lectionary, mystery | 3 Comments »

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