“To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised
Against injustice, ignorance, and lust,
The inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.
The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many.”
“The greatest gift of the human person is not the ability to think but the freedom to love.”—Ilia Delio, OSF, Franciscan Prayer
“The poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.”—Gustavo Gutiérrez
On our walk this morning, we happened to see this dolphin swimming and playing in the water near the walkway we were on. I’m not sure how long we stayed to watch and enjoy this beautiful creature; however, I do know that we left our friend after it swam out of our view with an amazing sense of peace. Moments in nature are often where we can see God’s presence and where we can, as Thomas Merton wrote in New Seeds of Contemplation, join God and creation in the cosmic / general dance.
I have been thinking a lot about the world situation today and often wonder what Merton, Dorothy Day, and Daniel Berigan, some of my spiritual mentors, would have to say about the violence, hatred, and warfare we experience today. These thoughts have invited me to dig deeper into their writings as I process my own thoughts and contemplate how we can make a difference in the world today.
Merton had this to say about peace and love: “So instead of loving what you think is peace, love other people and love God above all. And instead of hating the people you think are warmongers, hate the appetites and the disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed — but hate these things in yourself, not in another.” — Passion for Peace.
There is so much to consider, dear reader, and my prayer is that you and I won’t become overwhelmed and paralyzed by it all. May we do all that we can through prayer and action in our own little corner of the world and seek to do justice, love mercy/kindness, and walk humbly with God and with one another.
Verse of the day
So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
– Matthew 6:34
Voice of the day
Learn from yesterday, live for today, look to tomorrow, rest this afternoon.
– Charles M. Schulz, “Charlie Brown’s Little Book of Wisdom” (2001)
Prayer of the day
Dear Creator, we are thankful for the time you give us to learn, to live, and to rest.
Verse of the day
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
– John 14:2-3
Voice of the day
The gap between the ideal and the real is too vast, too deep, and the need to begin mending it begins with grieving.
– Sandy Ovalle Martínez, “Día de Muertos Reminds Christians to Grieve”
Prayer of the day
Lord, as we grieve the loss of our loved ones, remind of us the hope we have in knowing you have prepared a place for them.
“War is an absolute failure of imagination, scientific and political.”—Adrienne Rich
As I spent some time with Sister Moon tonight, I pondered all that is going on in this nation and world… the hatred, the fear, the violence… As I sat in the stillness I found myself thinking about Jesus’ command to love our neighbor (yes that includes our enemies) and this quote from Thomas Merton came to mind.
The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them. (No Man Is an Island p. 168)
We could learn a lot by simply being still and listening to the gentle whisper of God’s call to love.
Verse of the day
Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.
– John 6:10-11
Voice of the day
[Christ] seems to have come to carry religion out of the temples into the fields and sheep pastures, onto the roadsides and the banks of the rivers, into the houses of sinners and publicans, into the town and the wilderness, toward the membership of all that is here.
– Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow (2000)
Prayer of the day
Jesus, you meet us where we are. Help us have an active faith, one that goes out and is evident in the world.
