Prayers From The *Salos:

Meditations of Rev. Dasa William Griffith

SALOS 1:

The stench of poverty fills the city, invading the air and the nostrils,

Save us Majestic Lord, God of the Universe,

Save us from the wolves foaming at the mouth, rabid,

waiting to devour the darkness, waiting to devour the night,

Save us Majestic God, with the naked Christ,

Your Son, humiliated, beaten, wounded, stripped,

blood soaking the soil of Calvary, blood soaking the wood, staining and cleansing the cross,

Let Your heart for the poor make us poor, make us obedient, humble and washed,

Save us. Wash us. Save us again and again and again.

SALOS 2:

I come to You, my Lord, on my knees, naked, broken, poor.

I come to You, my Lord, stripped bare, rejecting all things but You.

I submit my flesh to you, an offering for Your sacrifice.

I submit my soul to you, returning to You what belongs to You.

I submit my possessions to You, giving them to those who ask, as You demand.

I submit my mind to You, surrendering every thought to Your thoughts.

I submit myself to You my Lord, giving myself to as Your slave,

the lowest of the low, to do with me as You will.

I beg You my God, I beg You, to accept this offering of ash and dust,

in all of my brokeness, all of my poverty, all of my weakness.

SALOS 3:

I saw the very face of Christ today as I gazed into the eyes of a homeless woman,

weathered by the elements, her wrinkles like leather,

her hair matted and her hands and feet covered in dirt and dust and despair;

I saw the very face of Christ today as I gaze into the eyes of a prostitute looking into a mirror,

I see a young man rejected and alone, his face telling the story of his ravaged body,

his brused and broken soul.

I saw the face of Christ today as I look upon a soldier,

returning from battle to face another war, a war of rejection,

alcohol his only friend, his rags his only uniform,

I saw the face of Christ today,

stained by tears,

ravaged by men,

rejected by a nation,

homeless, alone, forgotten and abandoned,

I saw the face of Christ today,

in pain,

in suffering,

in poverty,

in filth,

I encountered you today, My Lord,

I encountered my God - and I knew You,

I long to be with You without end, for I have met my Lord...

I saw the face of Christ today.

SALOS 4:

The world has exploited Your creation, giving into greed, enslaving the flesh,

You have found favor with me my Lord,

You have given me this gift, this partner, this creation made in Your image,

I love her as You love Your people, Your church,

I desire her, I long for her, I dream of her,

I caress her skin, soft and toasted by the sun,

I run my fingers through her hair, touching her to only serve her,

I refrain from my flesh, an animal inside, growling, a beast, a wolf howling,

I want to take her, and I refrain from my flesh,

I refrain, knowing she is Your vessel, Your eyes and legs and breasts,

I elevate her to You my Lord, an offering in obedience, a graceful creature,

anointed and blessed, I am locked, barred from my desire, from surrendering to my flesh,

She is free, open, untouchable, My wife, Your slave,

My Queen, Your bride, My desire, Your will,

reserved, preserved, untouched,

for she belongs to You.

SALOS 5:

You are my Light in the darkness,

You are my fortress in battle, this war,

My body burns against the spirit, and You give me release,

I am cooled by the breeze as You brush Your hand against my flesh,

I am calmed as the life force is saved in desire for You,

I retain it, I save it, and You tap it from my spirit,

You are the God of my creation, my existence, my desire,

You empower me against all flesh, You raise me to a higher place

upon foundations of steel and of iron,

and I defeat the sinking sands on which I tread, this path they call the world,

I offer You all of me, reserving nothing for myself,

My flesh, my bones, my life force, my soul...

I will soon enough blow freely in the wind, ash and dust carried away forever into eternity by Your breath,

The flesh will die, the soul will live, My body soon will turn to dirt, my spirit living on,

I will dwell in Your presence, saved by grace, my soul will journey on

to You.

SALOS 6:

Violence and chaos rule this world, greed and lust rule this world,

disease and poverty rule this world, crime and punishment,

war and peace, love and hate rule this world.

Your design, Your plan, how can we know?

Your ways are not our ways, Your thoughts are not our thoughts,

You are timeless, the world ruled by time.

You are everywhere, the world standing here, spinning, fixed, rotating again and again,

revolution after revolution,

When will it stop, ceasing all time, ceasing all rule, ceasing all greed

lust

pain

suffering

poverty

and drying every tear.

In this journey bring us comfort, peace, hope, in death bring us home with You.

SALOS 7:

We were commanded by Christ Jesus, Our Master, Our Lord, to pick up our cross and follow Him.

We were commanded by the Christ to conform NOT to this world

but to turn it upside down.

We are called to be His disciples, O Lord God.

Take us. We are Your slaves, Your fools,

rejecting the world and following Him who brings us peace.

SALOS 8:

Your beauty is evident My God, in a world saturated in suffering and ugly rebellion,

The world rebels against love in favor of hate, rebels against compassion in favor of pride,

rebels against You in favor of self,

You created us in Your image, Your image transcending gender, sex and fear.

You made the flesh out of dust and dirt,

The body beautiful, admired in awe, not in lust, admired in prayer, not in heat.

You made the breasts of woman in the image of Your breasts,

and they shook a kingdom, striking Solomon in their splendor,

You created man, molding him, crafting him, solid and sturdy, and You made him in Your image,

You created us in Your image, anointing flesh and bone for Your glory, Your praise,

You crafted penis and vagina, breast and leg, arms and chest, after all that You are.

Flesh to flesh, dust to dust, Your creatures

in full submission to You.

SALOS 9:

Let my love be Your own, given freely to those unloved, given to those who wrestle with their flesh,

seeking to please their own desire, while rejecting a love affair with You.

God, my Master, I Your slave, take my love and channel it,

funnel it, tap it, for those unloved and unloved still.

Let all that is within me turn to love, from burning flesh to burning spirit.

Let my nakedness be an offering to You, and a defeat to the enemy of love.

Let my humiliation be Your glory, shame me as I cast away my clothes, my pride, my desire.

Own me, take me, make me Your own.

Fill me with Your spirit and in my nakedness, let me burst in ecstasy.

Let my soul triumph over body, my mind triumph over fear.

Let my nakedness, both flesh and spirit, strip me of my pride,

setting aside my body, mind and soul, for Your pleasure alone.

Preserve my life, preserve my seed, drain it through spirit and not through lust,

Keep me in contemplation and discipline, keep me in Your arms my Lord.

Let the spirit transcend this body, empower me beyond the stars.

SALOS 10:

Humble me my Master, My Lord, keep me chaste and speak to me,

command me, discipline me, and let me follow.

Strengthen me in my weakness, in my poverty provide my bread,

In You alone I place my trust, in You alone I place my life,

my flesh, my spirit.

I am Your own.

SALOS 11:

My bed is now a floor, dirty, here and there,

I worship You,

I thank You,

for my wealth is found in You alone.

My flesh has been conquered, my spirit entwined with Your own,

My feet, naked, dirty, they are your workmen.

I praise You in all things, I thank You for all You give me, and all You withhold.

I praise You on the mountain and on the beach,

In storm and in tranquility, my praises are for You.

You are my God. My Master. My All.

I am Your slave, now and when all I am will pass away.

SALOS 12:

My God, You are my eyes in the blindness of this world,

You comfort me in suffering, You enable me to embrace the pain,

You give me hope in hopelessness, and strength in weakness,

You have spoken and I have heard, You have commanded and I have followed,

There is only You my God, my reason for being.

Take me into Your arms, and let me always listen, let my silence be worship,

let my chastity be an offering, let my poverty be my wealth,

let my obedience be Your pleasure, You are my God, I see You in all there is,

I see you in the suffering, Your presence evident, Your peace prepared.

Let Your mouth hush the noise, of the world that does not know You, and let us introduce You, to all who suffer,

not with trumpet, pomp or carpet, but in love,

let this be the way.

*(Salos is the Greek word for "holy fool")

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