Verse of the day
And let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”
– John 7:38
Voice of the day
If the drought hits tonight / Do not fear because you and I / We are like water, like water / Made to survive
– Alicia Keys, “Hallelujah/Like Water”
Prayer of the day
Fill us from the fount of living water so that we may have the will to move forward as one.
Verse of the day
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness.
– 2 Timothy 2:24-25
Voice of the day
Rage is the impulse toward justice. But if we stay in rage, if we don’t let it move through us and out of us, then what happens is we become unable to recognize when we are the ones who are doing harm.
– Kai Cheng Thom
Prayer of the day
Ever-Present Help, guide us to redirect our anger, which is so capable of wounding, toward transformative repair instead.
Celebrating St. Columcille’s Feast Day:
“[Columcille] traveled with twelve other monks to cross the sea in a coracle and landed on a small island off the coast of Scotland, now known as Iona. It was here that he began his new work, and Iona became a center of pilgrimage for Celtic Christianity.”
—Abbey of the Arts, Dancing Monk Feast Days: Reflections, Creative Invitations, and Prayers
What spiritual foundations are you called to lay down?
Verse of the day
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
– 1 Corinthians 3:16
Voice of the day
O green vigour of the hand of God, in which God has planted a vineyard, it shines in the heights like a stately column, You are glorious in your preparation for God.
– St. Hildegard of Bingen
Prayer of the day
God who is the vine, remind us, your branches, that your Spirit resides in our bodies. Let us grow in how we can best reflect your love and mercy.
When we learn to live in forgiveness, we grow in our capacity to become men and women of peace. What is true of peace in a social context is also true in the areas of politics and the economy, since peace permeates every dimension of life in common. There can be no true peace unless we show ourselves capable of developing a more just economic system. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 83
Jesus was a revolutionary, who did not become an extremist, since he did not offer an ideology, but Himself. He was also a mystic, who did not use his intimate relationship with God to avoid the social evils of his time, but shocked his milieu to the point of being executed as a rebel. In this sense, he also remains…. the way to liberation and freedom. — The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society
Verse of the day
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
– Matthew 5:6
Voice of the day
I am all for churches being a part of the nonviolent marches and protests that have happened in the wake of violent killings, but these protests happen only after a tragic event has taken place. I want the church to be what prevents these acts from ever happening. I want the church to be the community that is so dedicated to loving our neighbors, to caring for the poor and neglected, and to living out true reconciliation that these killings do not even take place.
– John M. Perkins
Prayer of the day
Redeemer and righteous one, set our hearts ablaze as we go out into the world to avert harm and care for each other.
“In a world which runs nonstop where we are always accessible, we have to make the choice to step out from under its tyranny of demands. Sabbath calls us to restore ourselves and remember that the world will go on without our labors. It is ultimately an act of humility which means to remember our earthiness.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Monk in the World: An Online, Self-Study Retreat
How do you practice Sabbath?
The call to compassionate ministry is a great call. But we must not be fearful. We must not say, “I can’t do that.” When we are aware that we are the beloved, and when we have friends around us with whom we live in community, we can do anything. We’re not afraid anymore. We’re not afraid to knock on the door while somebody is dying. We’re not afraid to open a discussion with a person who underneath all the glitter is much in need of ministry. We’re free.
I have experienced that constantly. When I was depressed or when I felt anxious, I knew my friends couldn’t solve it. Those who ministered to me were those who were not afraid to be with me. Precisely where I felt my poverty, I discovered God’s blessing. — A Spirituality of Living
Verse of the day
Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.
– Amos 5:14
Voice of the day
The hope is based in people and only in people. The hope is not in any particular system of government, any particular church style, any particular law. But it’s a hope in man—in the basic goodness of man—but without being blind to the evil that’s in us too.
– Elizabeth McAlister
Prayer of the day
God who we encounter through people, keep us aligned against evil and aspiring toward the good we are capable of.
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