Verse of the day
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
– Galatians 3:28
Voice of the day
If there is no friendship with them and no sharing of the life of the poor, then there is no authentic commitment to liberation, because love exists only among equals.
– Gustavo Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation (1971)
Prayer of the day
Remind us that until all are free, none are truly free; may we commit fully to the liberation of all.
“The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with prayers of crying out to God. Prayers of Lament give form and voice to our grief, a space to wail and name what is not right in the world in the context of prayer.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, The Online Self-Study Retreat ~ A Midwinter God: Making a Conscious Underworld Journey
What sorrows and griefs do your prayers of lament name?
Verse of the day
And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
– 2 Corinthians 3:18
Voice of the day
The most important thing to remember is this: to be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become.
– W.E.B. Du Bois
Prayer of the day
Lord, guide us as we change and navigate this world; thank you for all that we are becoming.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. There are many traditional observances that people take up during this holy season. Some give up red meat on Fridays. Others might give up chocolate or alcohol for the Lenten season. Some folks choose to take a 40-day break from Social Media. These days of “fasting” aren’t a way to earn credit with God but rather they invite the individual to look beyond the physical world and join Jesus in his 40-day fast in the wilderness (you can read the following passages about Jesus and his wilderness experience — Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13).
In the past, Denise and I have followed the tradition involving doing some new act of faith and/or service that will go beyond Lent. Ultimately, I believe that this season invites me to reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus with a special focus during Holy Week and his journey towards the cross. I believe it calls me to remember and to return to the central relationship of my faith, Jesus.
I truly appreciate the Ash Wednesday reflection that Thomas Merton wrote in his book, Seasons of Celebration. He opens the reflection with the following words: Even the darkest moments of the liturgy are filled with joy, and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the lenten fast, is a day of happiness, a Christian feast. It cannot be otherwise, as it forms part of the great Easter cycle. (p. 91)
He also reminds us that the season of Lent is about far more than fasting.We must remember the original meaning of Lent, as the ver sacrum, the Church’s “holy spring” in which the catechumens were prepared for their baptism, and public penitents were made ready by penance for their restoration to the sacramental life in a communion with the rest of the Church. Lent is then not a season of punishment so much as one of healing. (Lent and Easter Wisdom From Thomas Merton, p. 2 Kindle Version) One of the most profound Lenten experiences that I had was when I was deployed to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan in 2005. My colleague and friend, Fr Steve was working with a Sergeant who was preparing to join the Catholic Church. At the Easter vigil mass on the Saturday before Easter Sunday, he was welcomed into the church. It was a joy-filled moment for the Sergeant and for each one of us who was at the service.
So this evening the congregation that I am currently serving as the Interim/Transitional Minister will gather for worship. As a part of that service, I will make a cross of ashes on the worshippers forehead as a reminder that even though we came from dust and to dust we shall return we are also embraced by the love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of our loving Creator. May this Lenten season be a time of reflection and blessing for you, dear reader, as we walk this journey together.
“Sacred time is being present to the moments of eternity available to us at any time we choose to pause and breathe.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
Is your daily life governed by the rushed and frenzied multi-tasking, or punctuated by mindful moments of silence, solitude, and sacred time?
President Carter has decided to enter hospice care and spend his remaining days with his family in the comfort of his own home. I have walked with many families through this journey and believe that hospice care is a gift to the patient and their family. Both of our moms were in hospice and died with grace and dignity at home.
President Carter is a humble Peacemaker/President who is perhaps best known for his work after he left the White House and went to work with Habitat for Humanity and developed the Carter Center’s mission to Wage Peace, Fight Disease, and Build Hope at home and around the world. Read more about this work by clicking on this link: The Carter Center.
As I reflect on this humble servant of God and the people of the world, I am thankful for the work that he has done and the work that the Center will continue to do into the future. my prayer is that the below quote might guide and direct me as I continue to be a Peacemaker.
“The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices.” — Jimmy Carter
I wrote this reflection a few weeks ago for the Abbey of the Arts’ “Monk in the World“ blog.
When I was asked to contribute a Monk in the World guest post, I was not exactly sure what direction the post would take. I looked back at some of my earlier posts for the Abbey and noticed how what was going on in my life at the time when I was writing informed my post. The last post that I wrote was written in the middle of 2020 amidst the isolation created by the global COVID-19 Pandemic.
It is now nearly three years since (almost to the month) the shutdown and a lot has happened. My wife Denise and I moved from the church in Estes Park, Colorado to a new call in Carrollton, Georgia. During the late summer and early fall of 2021, we crisscrossed the country (from Carrollton to Austin, Minnesota, to Florence, Alabama, to Mobile, Alabama) caring for my dad, Denise’s dad (in Florence), and her former mother-in-law (in Mobile) who was still a very dear friend and grandmother to Denise’s two sons.
We somehow managed all of that driving and work while at the same time I was pastoring a church and working with them in-person and via Zoom, emails, and phone calls as they tried to figure out how to come out of the pandemic and re-imagine what church could be post-pandemic. During that time, Denise’s dad, and her boys’ grandmother both died. My dad (in Austin) finally made it out of the hospital, but his cognitive decline was increasing.
On December 26, 2021, I contracted COVID-19 and was laid up for about ten days. I continued to suffer from the impact of long-COVID and had to resign from the church for health reasons on February 6, 2022. Now we find ourselves on the Gulf Coast of Alabama where I am serving a church as their Interim/Transitional Minister.
As I look back at these last few years, I am slowly realizing that we had a lot of traumatic thresholds that we were able to walk through thanks to the grace of Godde and the prayers, support, and encouragement of dear friends who are family. It was through Christine’s guided meditation at a recent Wisdom Council retreat that I had time to reflect prayerfully on these thresholds. The word that came to my heart was Hope. Whether I realized it or not, during the most traumatic times of transition, hope was present even though I didn’t realize it at the time. Hope was standing on the threshold with us and was guiding us in Love.
Over the past seven years I have spent a lot of time studying and reflecting on the writings of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk from the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Sadly, he died on December 10th, 1968, which was 27 years to the day after he entered the monastery. His writings have had and continue to have a profound influence on my own life and spiritual journey.
During the Wisdom Council retreat, a prayer of Thomas Merton’s which has played a significant role in my own spiritual journey came to mind. My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. And I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thoughts in Solitude, p. 79)
Hope stands on the various thresholds of life and Hope is accompanied by Love. As I walk with the congregation that I am currently serving through the process of transformation as they seek to call a new pastor, Merton and thresholds have played a big role in that ministry. Whatever you, dear reader, may be going through in your own journey as you approach your own thresholds, my prayer is that you will sense the presence of Hope and Love with you. May you, like Merton, …not fear, for Godde is ever with you, and Godde will never leave you to face your perils alone
“One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these—to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.” — Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes
“The way to healthy living is to shift from quantitative economic growth to quality of life, food, water and air—to shift from craving to contentment and from greed to gratitude.” — Satish Kumar
There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and mercy of God to the whole world. There is not an act of kindness or generosity, not an act of sacrifice done, or a word of peace and gentleness spoken, not a child’s prayer uttered, that does not sing hymns to God. — Thomas Merton in The Seven Story Mountain (p. 161-162)
These words from today’s end of day reading from Thomas Merton: Book of Hours spoke to my heart after a very challenging day. May God continue to lead us in such a song of daily praise!
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 