The mystery of the incarnation reveals to us the spiritual dimension of human solidarity. Because all humanity has been taken up into God through the incarnation of the word, finding the heart of God means finding all the people of God. Therefore, a Christ in whom all people are not gathered together is not the true Christ. We who belong to Christ belong to all of humanity. — Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective
Verse of the day
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
– John 13:34-35
Voice of the day
If the goal was to increase the love, rather than winning or dominating a constant opponent, I think we could actually imagine liberation from constant oppression. We would suddenly be seeing everything we do, everyone we meet, not through the tactical eyes of war, but through eyes of love. We would see that there’s no such thing as a blank canvas, an empty land or a new idea – but everywhere there is complex, ancient, fertile ground full of potential.
– adrienne maree brown
Prayer of the day
God who is love, widen our own capacity to love so that our actions are an echo that reflect you.
Verse of the day
I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O Lord my God.
– Jonah 2:6
Voice of the day
I fall so miserably into the chasm of disbelief. Then the Spirit lifts me up again, and once more I am secured in faith. I don’t know how it happens, save that when I cry out earnestly I am answered immediately and am returned to faithfulness. I am once again filled with Spirit and firmly planted on solid ground.
– Maya Angelou, “Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now” (1993)
Prayer of the day
God, throughout periods of dejection or disbelief, give us the patience to hold on. Raise our spirits from the abyss and bring us back into trusting you.
A stark reminder and warning to us in this day and age. Merton speaks truth in these words.
The delicate action of grace in the soul is profoundly disturbed by all human violence…. Violence is not completely fatal until it ceases to disturb us. — Seeds of Destruction (Chapter XIV, location 815, Kindle Edition)
Building a world of security and peace is not accomplished through the “individual” and “private” religious experience. The call of a life of faith must go beyond the individual and encompass the whole of humanity. We have lost that understanding of faith and life in far too many ways and places in our society. As he addresses seeds of destruction and a way forward that leads to peace, Thomas Merton offers us a glimpse of a better way. I invite you to join with me in reflecting on this particular quote and Merton’s invitation to look beyond ourselves and embrace a better way of living.
The person finds his reason for existence in the realm of truth, justice, love and liberty. He fulfils himself not by closing himself within the narrow confines of his own individual interests and those of his family, but by his openness to other men, to the civil society in which he lives and to the society of nations in which he is called to collaborate with others in building a world of security and peace. — Seeds of Destruction (location 1599, Kindle Edition)
Verse of the day
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.
– 1 Peter 4:10
Voice of the day
We do this because the world we live in is a house on fire and the people we love are burning.
– Sandra Cisneros
Prayer of the day
Holy Spirit, in this time of turmoil, show us how to thoughtfully offer our gifts in service of the collective good.
Verse of the day
O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy.
– Habakkuk 3:2
Voice of the day
There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy.
– Bryan Stevenson
Prayer of the day
Merciful God, we come to you with clear eyes. As we accept our own brokenness, may we learn that everyone we encounter deserves the same mercy you bestow on us.
Verse of the day
See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Voice of the day
Violence is not completely fatal until it ceases to disturb us.
– Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude” (1956)
Prayer of the day
God, deliver us from the temptation of apathy. In its place, continue to develop our minds toward recognizing the insidiousness of violence and finding the means to counteract it.
“What does God require of thee, then, O son of man? To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” And that perhaps is the meaning of religion. Certainly it is the meaning of the good life. — Moral Struggle and the Prophets (Volume One — Walking With God: The Howard Thurman Sermon Series (location 3790, Kindle Edition)
Verse of the day
For to this end we toil and suffer reproach, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
– 1 Timothy 4:10
Voice of the day
God does not require us to achieve any of the good tasks that humanity must pursue. What God requires of us is that we not stop trying.
– Bayard Rustin
Prayer of the day
Eternal Hope, teach us the merits of remaining vigilant toward our efforts, even if they don’t seem to initially bear fruit.
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