Verse of the day
Did I not weep for those whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the poor? But when I looked for good, evil came, and when I waited for light, darkness came.
– Job 30:25-26
Voice of the day
When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.
– Dom Helder Camara
Prayer of the day
Thank you for the life and work of Dom Helder Camara; may we dismantle the systems of greed that leave some with plenty and many without.
Verse of the day
A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life.
– Proverbs 28:16
Voice of the day
We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Prayer of the day
Lord, give us the strength and heart to do more than merely bandage up wounds; give us the courage to destroy systems of injustice and imagine new ways of communal existence.
“We have to do small things and believe a big difference is coming. It’s like the miraculous drops of water that seep through mountain limestone. They gather themselves into springs that flow into creeks that merge into rivers that find their way to oceans. Our work is to envision the drops as oceans. We do our small parts and know a powerful ocean of love and compassion is downstream. Each small gesture can lead to liberation. The bravest thing we can do in this world is not cling to old ideas or fear of judgment, but step out and just do something for love’s sake.” — Richard Rohr
“The problem with building your peacemaking on what you’re against and not what you’re for is that you’re always prepared for a fight and always looking for an enemy.”
— Osheta Moore, Dear White Peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace
“The ancient Celts used to have ‘threshold stones’ at the entrance to a sacred site, one on either side of the portal or passageway. . . The stones were markers and reminders that the soul was crossing over into a sanctified space.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
How do you mark the sacred spaces in your life?
“I believe that nonviolence has the power to melt the stoniest heart.” — Gandhi
Verse of the day
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer.
– Romans 12:12
Voice of the day
To hope is to risk frustration. Therefore, make up your mind to risk frustration.
– Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
Prayer of the day
To hope in this world can be frustrating; when the frustration is at its peak, remind us that this is the work of hope.
On November 10, 1958, Thomas Merton wrote a letter to Pope John XXIII in which the famous American monk shared with the new pope some reflections about the world and Church. In one part, Merton describes how he has begun to understand that being a cloistered monk does not necessarily mean withdrawing from the world in an absolute sort of way.
Instead, he has discerned the Spirit calling him to another form of ministry from within the walls of the monastery by writing letters, connecting with women and men that he might never have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.
— Read on www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/the-friends-of-thomas-merton/
Verse of the day
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
– Matthew 5:4
Voice of the day
… The lesson of Bloody Sunday is that truth delayed makes wounds fester. … we might be better served to reflect on three realities whose value to the process of creating a more humane society … empathy for those who suffer, the state taking responsibility for its own wrongdoing, and telling the truth in public.
– Gareth Higgins, “Bloody Sunday and Telling the Truth”
Prayer of the day
Lord, on this fifty first year since Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland we continue to cry out with the victims of violence throughout the world, “How long, how long must we sing this song? How long? How long?”
– U2, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
“How can justice be attained when, in the expiation of an old wrong, another wrong is to be committed? No reasonable creature would conceive of the idea of obliterating ink stains with ink, or spots of oil with oil. (How can) blood be washed out with blood?” — Bertha von Suttner
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 