A Great Cloud of Witnesses – Christine Valters Paintner

“St. Paul writes in his letter to the Hebrews about the great cloud of witnesses. They are the ones who inspire us to endure through life’s challenges and find joy, cultivate love, and discover purpose to our days.”
 

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors Walk with Us Toward Holiness
 What inspiration have you received from the great cloud of witnesses?

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A Liberating and Creative Presence – Henri Nouwen

Our true self is in God. As we are told again and again in John’s Gospel, we can love others because God first loves us. The spiritual life is coming into touch with that first love, which says that we belong to God. As Jesus said, “Just as I don’t belong to the world, neither do you” – but you, rather, belong to the Lover who gives you to yourself. We can be a liberating and creative presence in the world only if we don’t belong to the world, if we don’t depend on the world for our real identity. This is the real paradox of ministry: that we can minister to the world only if we don’t belong to it. — The Road to Peace

Reflection Question: In what ways do you feel that you do not belong to the world …. and in what ways do you find yourself entangled in the world?

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. – 1 Corinthians 12: 7 – 11

Sojourners Verse and Voice – 6 November 2026

Verse of the day

For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.
– Luke 19:10

Voice of the day

Where our Lord appeareth, peace is taken, and wrath hath no place.
– Julian of Norwich

Prayer of the day

God, remind us that your righteousness is not a wall that keeps us apart, but a love that draws us closer. Teach us to meet others with that same grace, choosing compassion over judgment and connection over distance. Amen.

The Descent – Christine Valters Paintner

“This season call us into the grace of descent. We spend so much of our spiritual lives trying to ascend. Descent is the path of having everything stripped away that offered comfort. In the mystical tradition, the descent is also the slow revelation of the true face and incredible mystery that is God.”
 

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year — A Self-Study, Online Retreat
 What will you release and relinquish in preparation for your descent into the dark unknown?

Sojourners Verse and Voice – 4 November 2026

Verse of the day

But showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
– Exodus 20:6

Voice of the day

Love ought to show itself in deeds more than words.
– St. Ignatius of Loyola

Prayer of the day

God, let our love for you be more than something we profess; let it be something people experience through us. May our hands bring comfort, our words offer encouragement, and our actions reflect the steadfast love you so freely give. Teach us to make love visible in the way we show up for one another. Amen.