A few years ago I met an old professor at the University of Notre Dame. Looking back on his long life of teaching, he said with a funny twinkle in his eyes: “I have always been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted until I slowly discovered that my interruptions were my work.”
That is the great conversion in our life: to recognize and believe that the many unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions of our projects, but the way in which God molds our hearts and prepares us for his return. Our great temptations are boredom and bitterness. When our good plans are interrupted by poor weather, our peace of mind by inner turmoil, our hope for peace by a new war, our desire for a stable government by a constant changing of the guards, and our desire for immortality by real death, we are tempted to give in to a paralyzing boredom or to strike back in destructive bitterness. But when we believe that patience can make our expectations grow, then fate can be converted into a vocation, wounds into a call for deeper understanding, and sadness into a birthplace of joy. — Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life
“Greed offers us a false promise of self-sufficiency. We mustn’t forget that no matter the wealth or items we accumulate, we are still at risk. Catastrophe, illness, or diminishment with age will come to all of us.”
—Lisa Colón DeLay, The Way of the Desert Elders: How the Wisdom of Ancient Christians Sustains Us Today our Lift Every Voice Book Club selection for May and June
What else falsely promises you a sense of control over circumstances or others, and what is at the root of that desire for security?
View or listen to our conversation with the author here.
Verse of the day
Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
– 1 John 4:20
Voice of the day
The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: “You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together.”
– Oswaldo Payá
Prayer of the day
God our first conciliator, when we dissolve into disagreement, turn our minds to radical openness in finding common ground.
In a world where the military industrial complex is given free reign and violent, racist, white nationalism is worshipped by far too many, these words of Pope Francis must be heard…
We never tire of repeating that the name of God cannot be used to justify violence. Peace alone is holy. Peace alone is holy, not war! …Peace, a thread of hope that unites earth to heaven, a word so simple and difficult at the same time. Peace means Forgiveness, the fruit of conversion and prayer, that is born from within and that, in God’s name, makes it possible to heal old wounds. Peace means Welcome, openness to dialogue, the overcoming of closed-mindedness, which is not a strategy for safety, but rather a bridge over an empty space. Peace means Cooperation, a concrete and active exchange with another, who is a gift and not a problem, a brother or sister with whom to build a better world. Peace denotes Education, a call to learn every day the challenging art of communion, to acquire a culture of encounter, purifying the conscience of every temptation to violence and stubbornness which are contrary to the name of God and human dignity. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 71-72
We do not have weapons. We believe, however, in the meek and humble strength of prayer. On this day, the thirst for peace has become a prayer to God, that wars, terrorism, and violence may end… We seek in God, who is the source of communion, the clear waters of peace for which humanity thirsts: these waters do not flow from the deserts of pride and personal interests, from the dry earth of profit at any cost and the arms trade. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 70
Pope Francis shared the following thoughts at the end of an address he gave at an Interfaith gathering on the Ur Plain (the home of Abraham before he left to follow God’s call). We need to hear this message today, not the white christian nationalist message being delivered in Washington, DC.
Brothers and sisters of different religions, here we find ourselves at home, and from here, together, we wish to commit ourselves to fulfilling God’s dream that the human family may become hospitable and welcoming to all his children; that looking up to the same heaven, it will journey in peace on the same earth. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace
It is up to us, today’s humanity, especially those of us, believers of all religions, to turn instruments of hatred into instruments of peace. It is up to us to appeal firmly to the leaders of nations to make the increasing proliferation of arms give way to the distribution of food for all. It is up to us to silence mutual accusations in order to make heard the cry of the oppressed and discarded in our world: all too many people lack food, medicine, education, rights, and dignity! It is up to us to shed light on the shady maneuvers that revolve around money and to demand that money not end up always and only reinforcing the unbridled luxury of a few. It is up to us to preserve our common home from our predatory aims. It is up to us to remind the world that human life has value for what it is and not for what it has. That the lives of the unborn, the elderly, migrants, and men and women, whatever the color of their skin or their nationality, are always sacred and count as much as the lives of everyone else! — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 59
Verse of the day
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
– Hebrews 12:1
Voice of the day
Perhaps the fundamental work of witness is the act of faith—an ethical and imaginative leap beyond what we can see. It is a sober reverence of, and a commitment to fight for, the always-unknowable other.
– Sarah Aziza
Prayer of the day
God Our Refuge, history shows lineages of people who made the best out of what was broken. Teach us not to glorify their suffering, but to bear the burden of existence with them
“The art of photography reminds us that light and shadow are both essential for each other to create something beautiful and meaningful.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
How do light and shadow complement each other in your spiritual life?
To register for the self-study companion retreat to the book with extra resources and guidance, click here. Use code HEART20 to take 20% off through May 31st.
Verse of the day
My brothers and sisters, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.
– Galatians 6:1
Voice of the day
Do not become the ones who hurt you. Stay tender with your power. Never fight to injure, fight to uplift. Fight because you know that in this life, you deserve safety, joy, and freedom.
– Chanel Miller, Know My Name (2019)
Prayer of the day
May our methods of mending and mitigating harm be rooted in your tenderheartedness.
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