“We must remove the landmines in our hearts which prevent us from making peace. The landmines in the heart are greed, hatred, and delusion. We can overcome greed with the weapon of generosity; we can overcome hatred with the weapon of loving kindness; we can overcome delusion with the weapon of wisdom. Peace-making starts with us.”—Maha Ghosananda
Verse of the day
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
– Philippians 4:8
Voice of the day
Life and faith are never easy. The books our students read shouldn’t be either.
– Ryan Duncan, “How Book Bans Hurt Kids and Hinder the Gospel”
Prayer of the day
On this National Read Across America Day, Lord we are grateful for the gift of words and literature; may we not be afraid to engage with works that challenge us.
Verse of the day
For no one ever hates his own flesh, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body.
– Ephesians 5:29-30
Voice of the day
If we are worth anything, it is not because we have more money or more talent, or more human qualities. Insofar as we are worth anything, it is because we are grafted on to Christ’s life, his cross and resurrection. That is a person’s measure.
– Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero
Prayer of the day
Guide our hands and feet as we care for members of your body; give us an expansive view of people’s worth.
“Sometimes you just have to extend a little grace to those who might have slighted you. Not because they deserve it, but because we don’t deserve it either.”—Ruth Ann Angus
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”—Henry David Thoreau
We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others. — Attributed to Saint Clare of Assisi
As a member of the noble class, St. Clare had the finest goods available to her—clothes, food, shelter. Yet she often shunned those possessions and shared what she had with the less fortunate. She understood that God was found not in worldly possessions but rather in our character and how we treat others.
— Read on www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/lent-with-st-clare-saturday-after-ash-wednesday/
Verse of the day
He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
– Mark 6:31-32
Voice of the day
Social media, across platforms, creates the illusion that you can maintain hundreds or even thousands of connections at a meaningful level. … [I]t’s important to me to maintain a distinction between friends and friendly acquaintances. … My world has benefited from being smaller, less public, and more intimate.
– Beth Cooper-Chrismon, “I Gave Up Social Media For Lent, and I’m Here to Tell You: That Was A Great Choice”
Prayer of the day
During this Lenten season, may we not simply draw away from distraction, but also press further into the gifts of resting, re-centering, and recharging.
As I continue my Lenten journey with Thomas Merton in the book Lent and Easter Wisdom From Thomas Merton: Daily Scripture and Prayers today’s reading brought to my mind this verse from 1 John. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear… 1 John 4:18 As we continue our journey with my dad, I am surprised by the number of times he talks about retribution and God’s vengeance. Each time Denise and I remind him that God is a God of love and not retribution. I am not sure where this comes from and to be honest, it is heartbreaking for both of us to hear him doubting his own worthiness when it comes to Love, Mercy, and Forgiveness.
Lent has often been and for many it continues to be a time of groveling in ashes and doubting one’s own worthiness when it comes to that Grace, Mercy, and Love. For me, when Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law and the prophets (Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.) in Matthew 5:17 he fulfilled the Law with his command to ‘…love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:37-40
Dionne Warwick sang this beautiful song about what the world needs right now. What the World Needs Now Am I a sentimentalist? Am I a cockeyed optimist? Perhaps I am. I would rather be that than a fatalist who has given up on the world and humankind which is created in the image of God.
Merton had the following to say about this concern of mine: Now one of the things we must cast out first of all is fear. Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks up our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to give ourselves. If we were terrified of God as an inexorable judge, we would not confidently await His mercy, or approach Him trustfully in prayer. Our peace and our joy in Lent are a guarantee of grace. — Thomas Merton (Seasons of Celebration, p. 116–117)
May we, dear reader, find that Grace, Mercy, Love, and Peace each and every day. And may we share the same with everyone we come into contact with directly in our daily living or indirectly through our prayers.
This quote makes me smile as I always had a love/hate relationship with jogging during my time in the Air Force when running was a part of our annual physical evaluation!
IT IS SUPPOSED TO be good for the heart, the lungs, the muscles, and physical well-being generally. It is also said to produce a kind of euphoria known as joggers’ high.
The look of anguish and despair that contorts the faces of most of the people you see huffing and puffing away at it by the side of the road, however, is striking. If you didn’t know directly from them that they are having the time of their lives, the chances are you wouldn’t be likely to guess it.
-Originally published in Whistling in the Dark
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 